Room for improvement
FedEx, Ryder standings influence tourney fields
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If you're one of those who loves to refer to standings, then this is your time of year. For baseball? Well, sure. But if your thing is golf, the choices are plentiful, too.
For the longest time, what mattered in late summer was the money list and, while that's still of primary concern, there are other standings that wrestle for our attention. Most notable, there are the
When late Sunday afternoon arrives and the numbers are crunched after the final swings are taken, the top 120 names in the standings will proceed to TPC Boston in Norton for the sixth annual
Well, maybe not quite 120 names, because whereas the FedEx Cup represents an avenue through which a player could potentially win $10 million, there are standings that carry even more significance. If you don't think so, just ask Justin Rose, who sits 78th in the standings, but is more focused on the fact that he's seventh on the European Ryder Cup points list. His possible inclusion depends on those standings, which explains why Rose is skipping The Barclays to chase important European Ryder Cup points at the KLM Open in the Netherlands.
"It would be my first [Ryder Cup] ever and it's a priority for me," Rose told GolfWorld. "I don't like to be in this situation, but I don't want to put myself in a position of having to be picked [by European captain Nick Faldo]."
If Rose were to play well in the Netherlands, chances are he could sew up a spot on Faldo's team and thus be free to head for TPC Boston, where he has fared well. The 28-year-old Englishman has a third- and a fourth-place finish in four appearances at the Deutsche Bank and he's shot in the 60s nine times in 18 rounds. But he's also got a passion to play in the Ryder Cup, so if he were to stumble in the Netherlands, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Rose tee it up in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in Scotland, the last chance for points.
Fellow Englishman Ian Poulter is in a similar position, but he's taking a different route.
Though he sits 11th in the European Ryder Cup points list, Poulter will play in The Barclays to try and improve his 63d-place standing in the FedEx Cup. He will, however, keep his options open next week. If he doesn't move up in the FedEx Cup standings, it wouldn't be a shock to see him head to Gleneagles and throw his effort into a bid to nail down an automatic berth on Europe's team.
What is at work here are two sets of standings within the framework of the European Ryder Cup landscape.
Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, and Robert Karlsson from the World Points standings have locked up spots and so have Miguel Angel Jimenez and Graeme McDowell from the Ryder Cup points list. Rose, Oliver Wilson, and Soren Hansen are in position to nail down the next three spots on the Ryder Cup points list, but Germany's Martin Kaymer, Poulter, Ross Fisher, Nick Dougherty, and even Colin Montgomerie could move into the picture.
Back in the United States, it's the FedEx Cup standings that matter and the idea is to push as high as possible. Only the top 70 will proceed from the Deutsche Bank to the BMW Championship in St. Louis (Sept. 4-7). From there, the top 30 names will play in the Tour Championship (Sept. 25-28).
What is known for sure is that Tiger Woods, the defending FedEx Cup champ, will not be one of those advancing, even if he does sit No. 1 on the FedEx list, as he is out for the season with a knee injury.
The system has been tweaked since its 2007 debut. What is more apparent than last year is a more volatile nature to the points distribution. For instance, last year only two players outside the top 120 played well enough at The Barclays to earn their way to the DBC and only two from outside the top 70 got spots into the BMW. The 30-man field at the 2007 Tour Championship? It included just three names who didn't start the playoffs within the top 30.
There promises to be more fluctuations this time around, which bodes well for names of local interest. Brookline native James Driscoll, for instance, is 123d in the standings and will need to play well this weekend to advance. Rhode Islanders Brad Adamonis (93d) and Brett Quigley (118th) are in position to at least make it to the Deutsche Bank Championship, but Patrick Sheehan, another Ocean State product, is 120th and, like Driscoll, needs to play well at Ridgewood.
Of course, the flip side is, those players at least have a chance, given where they sit in the standings.
If you check yet another set of standings, the PGA Tour money list, there are notable names who are forced to the sidelines for each of the next three weeks and in no immediate position to improve their status. For veterans such as Davis Love (150th), Jeff Maggert (163d), and Billy Andrade (183d), missing the playoffs means they must wait for the Fall Finish before they make a push to try and maintain full-exempt status.
In search of a white knight
Sometimes, no news is good news. But not when you're talking about the Champions Tour stop at Nashawtuc CC in Concord, because it's getting down to crunch time for the longest-running 54-hole event on the calendar."It's starting to get disconcerting. Time is becoming more urgent," said tournament director Tracy West, who is continuing in her exhaustive search to come up with a title sponsor to succeed
"Unless there's a white knight soon, yeah, it's conceivable we might not have a Champions Tour event in 2009. And that would break my heart, personally."
The tournament dates to 1981 when it began a three-year run at Marlborough CC. But since 1984 the tournament has been a summer fixture at Nashawtuc CC. Whether it returns for a 29th edition depends, said West, on either a title sponsor coming forth or the addition of several more companies to join a possible "consortium."
Right now, West said a few companies have expressed an interest in such a scenario, but others would be needed.
Sponsored by Digital from 1984-92, the tournament was backed by Bank of Boston (1993-99), FleetBoston (2000-03), and Bank of America before things took a downturn in the world of financial institutions.
West realizes she's not alone, that other tournaments on the Champions and LPGA tours are having sponsorship woes, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept the consequences of the current economic landscape. That's why she's trying to remain positive, even while conceding, "We've only got three or four weeks to pull this off."
Climbing the PGA's ladder of success
The second year of the PGA Tour playoff series - theBig falls for top-10 names
| Player | 2007 | 2008 |
| Zach Johnson | 7th | 112th |
| Charles Howell | 8th | 79th |
| Rory Sabbatini | 6th | 55th |
| Brandt Snedeker | 9th | 49th |
Some other notable falls
| Player | 2007 | 2008 |
| David Toms | 25th | 121st |
| Mark Calcavecchia | 20th | 104th |
| John Rollins | 16th | 82d |
| Lucas Glover | 45th | 95th |
| Mark Wilson | 38th | 80th |
Big gains for top-10 names
| Player | 2007 | 2008 |
| Justin Leonard | 85th | 8th |
| Kenny Perry | 58th | 2d |
| Ryuji Imada | 55th | 9th |
| Anthony Kim | 42d | 5th |
| Player | 2007 | 2008 |
| Scott McCarron | NA | 77th |
| Lee Westwood | 177th | 50th |
| D.J. Trahan | 115th | 18th |
| Briny Baird | 102d | 29th |
| Sean O'Hair | 70th | 16th |
Uihlein avoids the (playoff ) rush at US Amateur
Talk about your crowded tee boxes.The first hole at Pinehurst No. 4 in the fabled sandhills of North Carolina needed plenty of traffic control yesterday morning when a whopping 26 players arrived at 7:30 to take part in a playoff for the final two spots into the match-play portion of the US Amateur.
That's right, 26 for 2, a scenario that had to have championship officials shaking their heads, after deciding to send out four foursomes and two fivesomes.
A quick research showed that it wasn't quite a record - that in the 1980s there was a playoff involving 31 players. But still, with only two spots available, it figured to be a hectic endeavor.
Shockingly, it wasn't.
That's because three players - Ross Beal, Jason Bittick, and Jack Newman - all birdied the first hole and thus did 23 competitors pack their clubs and head home.
Included in that large group was former Rhode Island State Amateur champion Brad Valois, who had played his final seven holes Tuesday in 2 under par to become one of the 26 on the cut line at 5-over 145.
Bittick earned the 63d spot when he made par at the second playoff hole, but Beal and Newman both made bogey and had to play four more holes.
At the sixth hole, Beal secured the 64th and final match-play spot when Newman made bogey.
The fact that Bittick survived the massive playoff was noteworthy, because, while playing in the final pairing late Tuesday, he had birdied the demanding par-4 18th at Pinehurst No. 2 to get into the playoff.
One notable name who avoided all the playoff drama was Peter Uihlein of Mattapoisett.
Cruising to qualifying rounds of 69-71, Uihlein was joint 10th to breeze into match play.
Out early in his first-round match yesterday against Trent Leon, who is a senior at Oklahoma State (where Uihlein will be a freshman in a few weeks), Uihlein never trailed and finally advanced, 1-up. This morning, he will face Derek Fathauer of Jensen Beach, Fla.
Uihlein, a graduate of the Leadbetter Academy in Bradenton, Fla., was the only New Englander to make it into match play.
Brian Higgins of Bellingham was in line to do so, but he bogeyed two of his final three holes Tuesday to finish 6 over.
Also missing the cut were Ben Spitz of Norwell (78-72); Louis Amira of Cambridge (87-76); Doug Parigian of Lowell (77-89); C.J. Denmark of Longmeadow (82-75); Mike Slosek of Adams (77-79); Ricky Jones of Thomaston, Maine (76-73); and a trio from New Hampshire - Austin Eaton III (79-80), Craig Steckowych (75-80), and Mark Stevens (77-75).
Etc.
Watching the stars come outThere's no sport quite like golf when it comes to attracting athletes from other sports and celebrities from all over, and that once again will be proven at the sixth annual
Welch jams his way in
With the Nationwide Tour swinging through the Northeast, an array of New England-based pros took advantage and jumped into the Monday qualifying routine - with mixed results. Michael Welch of North Quincy shot 67 to snare medalist honors to get into the
Spectator sports
Fairway news: Representatives from the PGA Tour, USGA, and the Royal & Ancient are in China as guests of NBC to lobby for golf to be included in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Clubhouse view: But, of course, while they're there, they'll catch some women's beach volleyball.
Breaks of the game
Des Smyth is an amiable Irishman who has carved out a respectable pro career since 1974, one that features eight wins on the European PGA Tour. But while his career earnings of roughly $2.5 million Euros represent a good amount of hard work, it pales in comparison with what his son, 24-year-old Greg, piled up in only a few moments. How about $9,426,636 Euros - or close to $13,962,612? That was the grand prize in the Irish National Lottery, which Smyth's son, a college student, won. And to think, he didn't have to sweat out one 4-foot putt.
Checking accounts
Numbers: Lorena Ochoa earned $1,838,616 over her first nine tournaments, but has made just $498,590 over her last six . . . Speaking of money for women golfers, 18-year-old Vicky Hurst will tee it up in Gettysburg, Pa., with a chance to establish a record for a Futures Tour season. Hurst ($78,472) needs just $3,058 to surpass the total Beth Bauer piled up in 2001. Hurst (four) and Mindy Kim (three) have combined to win seven of 15 tournaments.
A reward of its own
When she heads to William & Mary this weekend for her sophomore season, Sarah Whitney of Hingham can do so knowing she has made a difference for some young golfers. Determined to give back to a game she loves, Whitney looked around and decided there weren't enough competitive opportunities for young women, thus, she helped organize the South Shore Girls' Invitational at South Shore CC in Hingham. "Golf is fun and I want to see young girls playing it," said Whitney, "because you can learn so much about yourself." Whitney's mentor was former South Shore CC head professional Holly Taylor, who recently stepped down to take a similar position at the PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla. "I had her in the Rockland [Golf Course] junior program years ago and when I took the job at South Shore, she came to me and said she wanted to work with the kids," said Taylor, whose junior helpers also included Chris Riley of Hingham. "I said to them when I left, 'Keep it going,' and I'm thrilled that they did." Monica Chow (senior division) and Jaquelyn Elley (juniors) won their respective divisions in that tournament.
For a good cause
LPGA standout Laura Diaz will join her brother, Ron Philo Jr., for a fund-raiser to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation Sept. 5-7 at Sugarbush CC in Warren, Vt. Philo, the 2005 New England Open champion, and Diaz will host a junior clinic and take the course as amateurs try to "beat the pro." For information, go to www.sugarbush.com or call 802-583-6725.
