Inside the Ropes: Memorial field gets preview of Presidents Cup course

Inside the Ropes: Memorial field gets preview of Presidents Cup course










Tom LaMarre, The Sports Xchange May 27, 2013 2:10 AMThe SportsXchange


Tiger Woods has won the Memorial Tournament a record five times, but the iconic moment at Muirfield Village comes from none of those victories.

The most enduring image from the events at Jack Nicklaus' course in Dublin, Ohio, is of Spain's Seve Ballesteros spraying champagne from a giant magnum on his European teammates after they won the Ryder Cup for the first time on American soil in 1987.

It rubbed many of the Americans the wrong way, but it was a turning point in Ryder Cup history, and not only because the Euros won on the course of the greatest player of all time while he was serving as captain.

The United States had dominated the Ryder Cup until that time, but the Euros started an 8-4-1 run on that Sunday. The passion that originally came from Ballesteros has permeated the event since, making it a major sporting event on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Presidents Cup, which hasn't produced nearly the same emotion, is hoping for the same type of boost when it comes to Muirfield Village in September.

That's why a number of players who figure to be on the U.S. and International teams in a few months, and others who hope to be, are in the field this week for the Memorial.

Captain Fred Couples, who plays mostly on the Champions Tour, also will tee it up at Muirfield Village, where he claimed the title in 1998 by four strokes over Andrew Magee.

Among those playing this week who figure to be in his team room, or at least be in the running, come September are defending champion Woods, Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Hunter Mahan, Zach Johnson, Nick Watney, Bill Haas and Kevin Streelman.

Nick Price of Zimbabwe, captain of the International team, isn't in the field but also will be at Muirfield Village this week to scout some of the projected members of his squad.

"I think it's a spectacular golf course for match-play format," Price said. "I think we saw that in the Ryder Cup back in '87, and I know the changes that have been made.

"In fact, I have to come up and start checking and see all the changes because it's been a while since I've played, but all the players really love the changes. ... But I think it's a spectacular back nine for match play."

Australia's Adam Scott, the Masters champion, leads the International contingent, which also includes Ernie Els of South Africa, Jason Day of Australia, Sang-Moon Bae of South Korea, Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, Y.E. Yang of South Korea, Branden Grace of South Africa, Geoff Ogilvy of Australia, Brendon De Jonge of Zimbabwe, George Coetzee of South Africa, K.J. Choi of South Korea, John Senden of Australia, Angel Cabrera of Argentina and Marc Leishman of Australia.

The players on both sides will get a feel for the course, but they will not get a taste of the atmosphere Nicklaus expects for the Presidents Cup.

"It's going to get a little bit loud and raucous (in September)," said Nicklaus, a four-time captain of the U.S. team in the Presidents Cup. "I'm very pleased with what has happened here. We've had the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup and now the Presidents Cup. It's pretty neat."

Of course, this week it's about whether Woods can win at Muirfield Village for the second consecutive year and the sixth time overall. His other titles came in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2009. His average margin of victory in his five victories is 3.4 strokes.

Not only that, but he has won four times in six stroke-play events on the PGA Tour this season, including the Players Championship in his last outing.

"I always look forward to playing in Jack's tournament," Woods said when he committed to the Memorial. "It's a wonderful course, and we are always treated well.


"We, as players, are very appreciative of what he has meant to the game."

Last year, Woods closed with a 5-under-par 67 to win by two strokes over Rory Sabbatini and Andres Romero, carding three birdies in the last four holes to erase a two-shot deficit.

Woods tied Nicklaus with his 73rd PGA Tour victory and did it after running a temperature of 102 degrees on Friday and Saturday.

When Woods hit his tee shot on the par-3 16th hole over the green in the final round, it appeared his chances to win were slipping away, but he holed a remarkable chip shot from 50 feet for birdie.

"He had one place to land the ball," said Nicklaus, who was watching from the television booth. "He's playing a shot that if he leaves it short, he's going to leave himself again a very difficult shot. If he hits it long, he's going to probably lose the tournament.

"He lands the ball exactly where it has to land. Going in the hole was a bonus. But what a shot. I don't think under the circumstances I've ever seen a better shot."

It's the kind of shot in the arm the Presidents Cup could use.



COMING UP

PGA TOUR: The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel and 3-6 p.m. EDT on CBS, and Sunday, noon-2 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel and 2:30-6 p.m. EDT on CBS.

LAST YEAR: Tiger Woods birdied three of his last four holes while closing with a 5-under-par 67 to claim a two-stroke victory over Andres Romero of Argentina and Rory Sabbatini of South Africa, winning the tournament for a record fifth time. Woods, who tied tournament host Jack Nicklaus with the 73rd victory of his PGA Tour career, was two strokes behind Sabbatini, who carded a bogey on the 16th hole en route to a closing 72, opening the door. Woods, who birdied the par-5 15th, knocked his tee shot over the green on the par-3 16th, but chipped in for birdie from 50 feet to take the lead. He added a nine-foot birdie putt on the final hole. Romero closed fast with an eagle on No. 15 and a birdie at No. 18 to shoot 67 and tie Sabbatini.



CHAMPIONS TOUR: Principal Charity Classic at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa, Friday through Sunday.

TV: Friday, 6:30-8:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday, 6:30-9:30 p.m. EDT, and Sunday, 7-9:30 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: Jay Haas put together rounds of 66-65-66 at Glen Oaks Country Club to run away with the title by five strokes over Kirk Triplett and Larry Mize, becoming the first player to win the tournament for the third time, all in the last six years. Haas, who also won the tournament in 2007 and 2008 and has 16 victories on the Champions Tour, posted a 54-hole total of 16-under-par to tie the tournament record set by Gil Morgan in 2006, and matched the largest margin of victory in 2012 on the Champions Tour. Triplett closed with a tournament-record, 9-under-par 62, breaking the mark of 63 held by four players. Mize finished with a 68.



LPGA TOUR: ShopRite on the Bay Course at Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club in Galloway, N.J., Friday through Sunday.

TV: Friday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: Stacy Lewis carded five birdies in the first eight holes of the final round to build a nine-stroke lead at the turn and coasted to a four-stroke victory over Katherine Hull of Australia despite struggling on the back nine and closing with a 1-under-par 71. Lewis, who took charge of the tournament by opening with rounds of 65-65, won for the second time in her last three events, also having won the Mobile LPGA Classic a few weeks earlier. Even though Lewis carded a bogey on the ninth hole, a double bogey on the 11th hole and a bogey on the 12th, she was never challenged and righted the ship by holing a 35-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. Hull sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole to close with a 68 and finish alone in second place.

Golf notebook: Euro captain adds wild-card pick for '14 Ryder Cup

Golf notebook: Euro captain adds wild-card pick for '14 Ryder Cup










The Sports Xchange May 27, 2013 2:11 AMThe SportsXchange


--Captain Paul McGinley of the European Ryder Cup team announced that he will have three wild-card selections to complete his team for the 2014 matches, which will be contested at Gleneagles Resort in Scotland on Sept. 26-28, 2014.

McGinley will have one more wild-card selection that his predecessor, Jose Maria Olazabal, had to fill out his 12-man squad for the matches won by the Euros last year at Medinah, near Chicago.

Tom Watson, captain of the United States team, announced in March that he was reducing his wild-card selections from four to three. The other nine spots on both teams will be determined by point standings based on tournament performance.

The Americans have one list, while four players for McGinley's team will come from the European Points List, with another five coming from the World Points List.

"I have said on a number of occasions that if something ain't broke, then don't fix it, and I think that applies to the qualification process for the European Ryder Cup team," said McGinley, whose proposed selection criteria received unanimous backing from the European Tour's Tournament Committee during a meeting at Wentworth. "You only need to look at the record books to see that we haven't done too badly of late, so I didn't see the need to make sweeping changes.

"I've kept the qualification list order the same as Olly had it for Medinah, the only difference being that I've increased the number of picks from two to three. I've done that to give myself a little bit of extra flexibility when it comes to making my selections. Hopefully this will ensure that I have the right players to face the examination paper that Gleneagles will set out next September."

The European Points List will consist of points gained by a player from all Race to Dubai tournaments during the qualification process, with one point equaling one euro.

The World Points List will be comprised by Official World Golf Ranking points gained in officially sanctioned tournaments around the world during the qualification process. The qualification system will begin at the ISPS Handa Wales Open on the European Tour at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales from Sept. 5-8, 2013.

--Even though Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia have not been together since the Players Championship, the war of words in the media between the two wouldn't go away, so it probably was inevitable that it got out of hand.

It all started when Woods, surrounded by fans and deep in trees to the left, pulled a club from his bag as Garcia was preparing to hit from the other side of the fairway on the second hole in round three of the Players at TPC Sawgrass.

Garcia claimed the reaction of the crowd to Tiger pulling a wood, rather than an iron to lay up, bothered him in his backswing as he hit the ball into the right trees, leading to a bogey.

Side-by-side replays showed that Garcia actually was still addressing the ball when the crowd reacted, and Woods was unapologetic later.

"Obviously, he doesn't know all the facts; the marshals told me he had already hit," Woods said. "I pulled the club and played my shot. Then I hear his comments afterward. Not really surprising that he's complaining about something."

Last week, on media day for the AT&T National that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation, Woods was asked if might consider contacting Garcia and bringing the feud, which has simmered for years, to an end.

Woods had a one-word answer: "No."

The next day, Garcia was speaking to the media at Wentworth in England, where he would play in the BMW PGA Championship later in the week.

Naturally, the topic came up again.

"(Woods) called me a whiner," Garcia said. "He's probably right. But that's also probably the first thing he's told you guys that's true in 15 years. I know what he's like. You guys are finding out."

The following night, Garcia was at the European Tour's annual awards dinner when he was asked about Woods again.

Steve Sands of the Golf Channel asked him on stage if he would invite Woods to dinner in two weeks during the U.S. Open at Merion.

"We will have him round every night," Garcia said. "We will serve fried chicken."

Later, Garcia issued this apology through the European Tour: "I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players' Awards dinner. I answered a question that was clearly made toward me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner."

Garcia apologized again at a news conference the following day.

While Woods has made it known that he does not like Garcia, the war of words has been almost as one-sided at Tiger's domination of Sergio on the golf course, with Garcia taking most of the shots and Woods responding.

On the course, Woods has beaten Garcia head-to-head the last seven times they have played on the weekend, and Woods has gone on to win the tournament each time.

They were not paired together Sunday at the Players, but they were tied for the lead late in the final round when Garcia had a chance to get at least a little bit of redemption.

Then he hit two balls into the water at the famed island green on the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass and another at No. 18, handing the title to Woods.

There were cheers from the crowd as Garcia's ball splashed down, and it will be interesting to see how the crowd greets him when he gets to the U.S. Open at Merion in two weeks.

--Josh Teater, a 34-year-old with 107 starts on the PGA Tour, shot 64-69--133, 7 under par on the Queens Course at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas, to win International Final Qualifying-America for The 142nd Open Championship.


Teater led eight qualifiers for the Open, which will be played at Muirfield on July 18-21.

"I am really looking forward to playing in my first Open Championship," said Teater, who also will be playing in his first major championship.

"You always want to get off to a quick start in these qualifiers, but I went out and bogeyed my first hole of the day. I think that may have been good for me because I was able to refocus."

The 78 players battled difficult conditions, with winds from the south at 20-25 mph, gusting to 35 mph.

Johnson Wagner and Camilo Villegas of Colombia shot identical scores of 68-66--134 to tie for second.

Wagner, who has three victories on the PGA Tour, earned his second trip to the Open Championship after missing the cut last year at Royal Lytham.

Villegas, who has won three times on the PGA Tour, will be making his fifth start in the Open Championship and 22nd overall start in a major, but his first since 2011.

Scott Brown shot 71-64--135 and tied for fourth with Brian Davis of England, who finished at 66-69.

Brown made two eagles in his second round, holing out with a pitching wedge on the par-4 fifth hole and then sinking a 20-foot putt on the par-5 10th hole.

"I'm usually not as good at qualifiers to be honest," said Brown, who earned his first PGA Tour victory this year at the Puerto Rico Open. "I am really excited to earn a spot in my first major.

"I played the World Junior Cup at St. Andrews years ago, so I have some experience playing in Scotland."

Luke Guthrie (65-71--136), Bud Cauley (70-66--136) and Sweden's Robert Karlsson (67-69--136) earned the final three spots by surviving a playoff. Each recorded a par on the first extra hole.

Andres Echavarria of Colombia shot 67-69--136, but he carded a bogey on the playoff hole and was eliminated.

Davis Love III, who has made 26 consecutive starts at the Open Championship dating to 1987, shot 70-72--142 and failed to qualify.

--The PGA of America and the PGA Tour made it clear that they were against the proposed ban of anchored putters from the time the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews announced their intentions in November.

So, with the ban coming down last week, with the implementation of Rule 14-1b scheduled to take place in 2016, where do they go from here?

"It's hard for me to answer that question right now because I really haven't thought much about that," said Ted Bishop, president of the PGA of America, when asked if his organization might ignore the anchoring ban.

"I held out hope really all the way up through the week of the Players Championship that there might be some consideration given to this compromise. I hadn't thought too much about it, seriously thought about it, as being a potential real next step. But I think those are the two options: Either you follow the rule or there's potentially another set of rules created.

"I don't think I'm going out of school by making that statement. I don't see us as an association going down that road. But I think we'll sit back and wait to see what the PGA Tour does for sure."

There are those who believe Keegan Bradley winning the 2011 PGA Championship, Webb Simpson capturing the 2012 U.S. Open and Ernie Els claiming the 2012 Open Championship set the wheels in motion for the ruling, as all use belly putters.

By that line of thinking, Adam Scott sealed the deal earlier this year when he captured the Masters while using a putter anchored to his chest, completing what has been called the Anchor Slam.

Commissioner Tim Finchem, with input from the organization's Player Advisory Council and Policy Board, said during the comment phase that the PGA Tour is against the ban.

"We will now begin our process to ascertain whether the various provisions of Rule 14-1b will be implemented in our competitions and, if so, examine the process for implementation," the PGA Tour said in a statement.

"In this regard, over the next month we will engage in discussions with our Player Advisory Council and Policy Board members. We will announce our position regarding the application of Rule 14-1b to our competitions upon conclusion of our process and we will have no further comment on the matter until that time."

Adam Scott, Tim Clark, Carl Pettersson and six other players on the PGA Tour who use anchored putters have retained an attorney, Harry Manion, to represent them, indicating legal action could be possible if the PGA Tour goes along with the ban.

Stay tuned.

--Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan, who played college golf at Oklahoma State, said they will take part in the donation drive to help citizens of Moore, Okla., which was devastated by a tornado last week that killed at least 24 people.

Fowler, who played for the Cowboys from 2007-09, said he would be participating in a donation drive that started last week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

"I'm going to be matching the first $100,000 brought in by spectators," Fowler said. "I will be matching that and see if we can get the spectators involved here, and thanks for Crowne Plaza and the Crowne Plaza Invitational for giving me the opportunity to do it."

Mahan played college golf at Oklahoma State in Stillwater in 2002-03. He was selected as Big 12 Conference player of the year in both seasons after transferring from USC following his freshman year.

He said he would to make a donation through the Red Cross.

"It's a tough thing because it's so sudden," said Mahan, who lives in Colleyville, Texas, a suburb of the Dallas. "You really can't imagine ... how people's lives change so drastically and so fast, and how they lose so much in a matter of minutes."

"I think (the Red Cross) seems like the best place for it. They drop everything to go help out, and they always do a great job. People need so much right now, it's really crazy. It's crazy to think what the people are going through right now."

Several sports figures have donated to the Oklahoma Tornado Relief Fund, including Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose check to the Red Cross was for $1 million.

Kuchar, Westwood Show Winning from Final Group a Challenge

Kuchar, Westwood Show Winning from Final Group a Challenge
Boo Weekley is Latest Example of a Hot Player Rallying to Win from Behind on the PGA Tour











Mark McLaughlin May 27, 2013 10:32 AM




COMMENTARY | Boy was I wrong about Lee Westwood.

In my post on Saturday, I predicted that Westwood's


0017.html">strong showing at the BMW PGA Championship, where he started the final round in the last pairing, would bode well for the future.



Instead, Westwood's game totally fell part with the lead. He hit more drives in the woods than the fairway at Wentworth and an improved short game reverted to its old, mediocre form.

"I'm struggling in my swing a little bit at the moment," Westwood said after a final round 73 that left him three shots out of a playoff won by Matteo Manassero. "You know, when you're in the last round, it just gets found out."

Matt Kuchar couldn't blame a faulty swing for his near miss at the Crowne Plaza Invitational. He was run down by a streaking Boo Weekley, who fired a final round 4-under-par 66 to hold off Kuchar by a stroke.

''It's difficult at the moment coming just one shot short but you can't control what other guys do,'' Kuchar said afterward.

Kuchar and Westwood did share one thing in common: They started in the final pairing on Sunday, which is becoming quite a difficult spot from which to lock down a win.

Only two winners in the last 10 events on the PGA Tour have started the day in the final group. Before Sang-Moon Bae's win last week at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, you have to go back to Tiger Woods at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March to find another last group champion.

And of the last four major winners, only Rory McIlroy has closed the deal from the final pairing. Graeme McDowell couldn't get it done from the final group last summer in both the U.S. Open and British Open.

What makes it so tough to close the deal playing in the final twosome of the day? Besides Woods, no one else on the PGA Tour feels totally comfortable in the driver's seat.

During that latest stretch since Woods' Bay Hill win, the likes of major champions Phil Mickelson, Angel Cabrera, and Webb Simpson as well as veterans Sergio Garcia and Brandt Snedeker have failed to convert from the last pairing.

Billy Horschel broke through for his first win by firing a final round 64 to overtake the leaders at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans after failing to convert from the pole position a month earlier at the Valero Texas Open.

Horschel says he learned from the disappointment in San Antonio not to scoreboard watch during the final round, something that's tough to do when the rest of the field is ahead of you.

"I was finally able to do my thing on the final round and not worry about who I was playing with or what the people in front of me or behind me are dealing with,'' Horschel said after his win. "So that was a big turning point. Knowing that I could go ahead and be focused on what I wanted to do and not be caught up in anything else that's going on the golf course. ''

Mentally, the players in the final pairing may approach their final round trying not to make mistakes while those pursuing them feel less pressure and have nothing to lose by being aggressive. Adam Scott couldn't hold on down the stretch at last year's British Open but he fired a final round 3-under-par 69 to capture the Masters. Scott's win was made possible by an aggressive, clutch birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Cabrera.

In Westwood's case, his downfall at the BMW PGA was a faulty swing that he covered up for three days. In Kuchar's case at Colonial, a hot putter simply cooled down at the wrong time.

The pro tours are chock full of talented players who can throw a 64 or 65 on the board early in a final round before the greens get hard and crusty and the nerves start fraying for the leaders. Anyone who plays golf knows how tough the game is under normal conditions. Throw some pressure and high expectations into the mix and nailing down a win gets that much more difficult.

Mark McLaughlin has reported on the PGA Tour for the New York Post, FoxSports.com, Greensboro News & Record, and Burlington (N.C.) Times-News. He is a past member of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association. Follow him on Twitter@markmacduke.