Holidays - (the ultimate golf blog returns in one week)

Well that time of the year has come again - I am going on holidays. I will be back in a week, but if you really need an ultimate golf blog fix then I am going to leave you with the most popular posts of 2007.

1. FedEx Cup Explained
The most popular post of 2007 (by a long way) was my Fedex Cup explained post - I guess that makes sense because no one could work out how it all worked and when they did it still didn't make much sense. This post had over 200 visitors in one day alone!

2. Tiger Woods PGA Tour video review
There must be a few Tiger Woods video games fans out there because this happens to be the second most popular post.

3. Q School 2008
I was late with the info got some of it wrong and forgot to name the post something memorable, but this post just kept getting visitors.

4. Preview Target World Challenge
I don't have any idea why this is 4th maybe you all really love this tournament?

5. Equipment review maxfli noodle long and soft
It makes sense that this is high up on the list. People seem to be searching for reviews of golf stuff everywhere.

5. Ben Hogans Golf Tips
Equal 5th this little post took off and ranks second for time spent reading/watching.

I look forward to being back with you in a week.

If you have a favorite or memorable post please leave a comment

Golf: 2007 Year in Review (Part 3)

By Jim Brighters, Sports Network, The Sports Network

STORY OF THE YEAR - FedEx Cup Runners-up - Drug testing, Annika's woes, Tiger's fatherhood

No one quite got a firm grasp of all of the nuances.

In fact, K.J. Choi really didn't get it. Choi, a devout Christian, announced he would donate the $10 million to charity if he won the FedEx Cup playoff title.

Tiger Woods told the media that would be impossible since the money goes into the player's retirement fund.

Oops.

Aside from not knowing all of the details until right before it started, the FedEx Cup by and large worked. Once the playoffs started, problems emerged. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Scott Verplank and Padraig Harrington all skipped events.

Due respect, but the tour can survive the absences of Harrington and Verplank. When the intention was to bring the top players together at the end of the year, Woods and Mickelson skipping is bad.

What made it worse is that Woods won two of the three he teed it up in before claiming the FedEx Cup title and its $10 million retirement donation. (Thank goodness.)

Mickelson groused and alluded to the fact that commissioner Tim Finchem ignored Mickelson's requests to talk about improvements for the FedEx Cup. Players squawked about waiting until retirement to get paid.

So, the tour listened.

The top 10 finishers on the FedEx Cup Playoff list will get their loot in cash next year.

Finchem will continue to tweak here and there. Some things are impossible to change, like if Woods takes a week off and still blows through the thing, but interest was up and players participated.

Golf begins to change: My thoughts on the FedEx Cup

Firstly I must say that I enjoyed the fact that the golf heavyweights have tried something new. Golf is a game of deep tradition and making changes in no easy feat, but were these changes good for the game?

I have read many articles and opinions on the FedEx Cup and at the moment I must say that the general feelings are leaning towards the negative side. The negative argument focuses on a few key problems that people had with the format

• Players pulling out - people hate it when big players pull out of tournaments for obvious reasons. There is also the conspiracy theories that say that the players were asked to pull out so that the FedEx Cup stayed alive until the last tournament.
  
• Not everyone can win it (realistically) - Some people are complaining that it isn't a true playoff unless everyone has the chance to win it. Maybe the PGA should have called it something other than a playoff to curb this? I personally think it is only fair that the better players throughout the season have a greater chance of winning because they deserve it. However, maybe they could make the points gap slightly less to have more players with a realistic chance of winning.
• They interfered with tradition - Replacing, demoting or changing the Western Open and the Texas Open has not gone down well with traditionalists. Hell the Western Open is the 3rd oldest golf tournament in the world - some people are not happy!
• The event was geared for Tiger to win it - One opinion I don't agree with, but some people are saying they picked all his favourite courses and they wanted him to win. I think that a having a close run think would have been better for golf and that I am sure they would have preferred the cup to come down to the last hole.
  

Along with these arguments many people are saying it wasn't close enough, it was boring, I couldn't get into it and the system was too confusing (this is backed up by my results - over 500 people have viewed my FedEx Cup Explained article!)

Maybe the real question should be was it the wrong era to introduce this tournament? Is golf becoming like mens tennis, which is boring and predictable because the same man wins it every time? The FedEx Cuop might fail simply because one of (if not) the greatest golfer is at his peak and the competition is not close enough to make it interesting. In the end Tiger deserved to win, but maybe we just wanted to see a close game.

Feel free to leave your comments on this issue. I will try to respond to everyone.
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Golf News: Tiger Woods wins the inaugural FedEx Cup

Earlier today Tiger Woods became the first winner of the FedEx Cup with a personal best 23 under par tournament at the Tour Championship. He was at his absolute best during the event beating Zach Johnson Mark Calcavecchia by a massive 8 strokes. This was Tigers 61st win on the tour and needs only one more win to catch the great Arnold Palmer. Tiger adds the 10 million from the FedEx Cup to his retirement fund and takes home another 1.2 million just for winning the tournament. The dominant win means that questions about just how good Tiger Woods is will continued to be asked and the answer just might be...the greatest ever!
Leaderboard - Top 10 The Tour Championship

1	Tiger Woods	USA	-23	257	64	63	64	66
2	Mark Calcavecchia	USA	-15	265	65	66	63	71
2	Zach Johnson	USA	-15	265	71	66	60	68
4	Sergio Garcia	ESP	-14	266	68	64	64	70
5	Scott Verplank	USA	-11	269	66	68	67	68
5	Hunter Mahan	USA	-11	269	65	68	65	71
7	Vijay Singh	FIJ	-10	270	68	68	65	69
7	Tim Clark	SAF	-10	270	62	69	70	69
9	Rory Sabbatini	SAF	-9	271	68	68	67	68
9	Camilo Villegas	COL	-9	271	67	68	70	66

The final standings in the FedEx Cup threw up little change. Unfortunately for golf fans the title didn't come down to a close finish, which would have probably secured the FedEx Cup's place for years to come. However, I am sure there will be some serious debate over whether the cup should continue to be part of the Tour. I must say congratulations to Steve Stricker who finished second in the FedEx Cup points standings and will add 3 million to his retirement fund!

Stay tuned this week for my thoughts on the FedEx Cup

FedEx Cup - Can anyone stop Tiger?

The Tour Championship
Today Tiger moved one step closer to winning the inaugural FedEx Cup as he had one of the best front nines we have ever seen in a major tournament. Starting at the fourth hole he reeled off 5 birdies in a row and then shot an eagle at the 9th going out with a 28! The gloss came off slightly with 2 bogeys on the back nine, but still holds a 3 shot lead over Woody Austin. Woods now moves into prime position for the FedEx Cup and his closest challengers to the title seem to be too far away to stop him now. In the end Tiger would be a worthy winner after a fantastic regular season. It's just a shame it probably won't go down to the wire.

Leader board after 2nd round: (Players theoretically still in the running for the cup in bold)

1	Tiger Woods	USA	-13	127	64	63			F
2	Woody Austin	USA	-10	130	65	65			F
3	Mark Calcavecchia	USA	-9	131	65	66			F
3	Adam Scott	AUS	-9	131	65	66			F
3	Tim Clark	SAF	-9	131	62	69			F
6	Sergio Garcia	ESP	-8	132	68	64			F
6	K.J. Choi	KOR	-8	132	67	65			F
8	Stewart Cink	USA	-7	133	67	66			F
8	Padraig Harrington	IRL	-7	133	63	70			F
8	John Rollins	USA	-7	133	64	69			F
8	Hunter Mahan	USA	-7	133	65	68			F
12	Phil Mickelson	USA	-6	134	68	66			F
12	Scott Verplank	USA	-6	134	66	68			F
14	Heath Slocum	USA	-5	135	71	64			F
14	Camilo Villegas	COL	-5	135	67	68			F
16	Rory Sabbatini	SAF	-4	136	68	68			F
16	Vijay Singh	FIJ	-4	136	68	68			F
16	Steve Stricker	USA	-4	136	69	67			F
19	Zach Johnson	USA	-3	137	71	66			F
19	Brett Wetterich	USA	-3	137	68	69			F
19	Boo Weekley	USA	-3	137	70	67			F
22	Ernie Els	SAF	-2	138	69	69			F
22	Geoff Ogilvy	AUS	-2	138	68	70			F
24	Robert Allenby	AUS	-1	139	68	71			F
24	Aaron Baddeley	AUS	-1	139	69	70			F
24	Charles Howell III	USA	-1	139	68	71			F
27	Jim Furyk	USA	0	140	71	69			F
27	Justin Rose	ENG	0	140	69	71			F
29	Jonathan Byrd	USA	1	141	71	70			F
30	Brandt Snedeker	USA	3	143	71	72			F

Golf: FedEx Cup - Who can still win it (and how)

Well as promised this post will be all about the possible scenarios that can occur this weekend at the Tour Championship for each player still in the hunt to win the FedEx Cup. The top 5, unless Tiger is injured/pulls out, are the only ones who have a chance of taking out the Cup, so lets have a look at what can still happen.

(If you are looking for how the FedEx Cup works then you can read my earlier article FedEx Cup Explained - it includes info on prize money, point allocations and more )

How Tiger can win the FedExCup

If Tiger finishes	Opponent Scenarios
1st	He wins the FedEx Cup
2nd	Stricker can win (with a 1st place finish)
3rd	Mickelson and Striker can win (with a 1st place finish)
4th-5th	Stricker can win (with 1st or 2nd place) Mickelson with a 1st place
6th-13th	Stricker or Mickelson can win (with a 2nd place or better)
14th-19th	Sabbatini can win (with 1st place) Mickelson or Stricker win (with 2nd place or better)
20th-21st	Sabbatini can win (with 1st place) Mickelson win (with 2nd place or better) Stricker win (with 3rd or better)
22nd-30th	Sabbatini or Choi can win (with a 1st place) Mickelson win (with 2nd or better) Stricker win (with 3rd or better)

How Stricker can win the FedEx Cup

If Stricker finishes	Opponent Scenarios
1st	He takes home the cup
2nd	Mickelson can win (with a 1st place), and Woods can win (with a 3rd place or better).
3rd	Sabbatini can win (with 1st place), Mickelson with a second and Woods with a 19th or better
4th or worse	He can not catch Woods

How Mickelson can win the FedEx Cup

If Mickelson finishes	Opponent Scenarios
1st	Woods would wins with a solo 2nd
2nd	Stricker can win with a tie for 2nd, and Woods can pass him with a 5th
3rd	He can not catch Woods

How Sabbatini can win the FedEx Cup

If Sabbatini finishes	Opponent Scenarios
1st	Mickelson would win with a solo 2nd
1st	Stricker would with a two-way tie for 2nd
1st	Woods would win with a two-way tie for 13th

How Choi can win the FedEx Cup

If Choi finishes	Opponent Scenarios
1st	Mickelson would win with a 2nd place
1st	Stricker would win with a 3rd place
1st	Woods would win with a 21st or better

Assuming Tiger is the man to catch (and he is) this little table gives a run down of where Tiger needs to finish for them to win the Cup (assuming they win this tournament).

Player	FedExCup Points	Can win the FedExCup if he wins and Woods finishes
Steve Stricker	109,600	Solo second or worse
Phil Mickelson	108,613	Tie for second or worse
Rory Sabbatini	103,588	Tie for 13th or worse
K.J. Choi	103,100	22nd or worse

Final Thoughts
Firstly I hope that made some sense and helps you understand what must happen for each player to win. Golf is a strange game and can throw up some strange events at times, but I think that Tiger will take the inaugural FedEx Cup home and win 10 million for his retirement fund.

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Golf: The Tour Championship Preview - FedEx Cup playoff #4

This is what we have been waiting for: the FedEx Cup final playoff when we will finally see if all the fuss has been worth it and whether any man is worth 10 million dollars just for hitting a little golf ball around (as my old Mum so elegantly puts it). So it all comes down to the TOUR Championship this weekend with five players realistically in with a chance of taking the title (and the money!) The top five in the FedEx Cup point standings:

Tiger Woods		112,733
Steve Stricker		109,600
Phil Mickelson		108,613
Rory Sabbatini		103,588
K.J. Choi		103,100

(the winner of this event is awarded 10300 points)

Predictions
All the experts are suggesting Tiger is in hot form and will run away with this one too, but we are talking about the top 30 golfers here and none of them are going to lie down. It is interesting to note that Tiger has only won this tournament once (1999) and the tournament has had 10 different winners in 10 years. My heart goes with Steve Stricker who has definitely been the surprise packet of the FedEx Cup playoffs! However, I still think that Tiger will win this one and will earn the 10 million dollars for his fledgling retirement fund!

Stay tuned for Tomorrows article "Who can win the fedex cup and what they need to do it!" where I will explain what scenarios need to occur for each player to win. If you are still confused by this strange new golf tournament you can read my earlier article FedEx Cup Explained

Golf News: Tiger is the king of Cog Hill - BMW Championship (FedEx Cup Playoff 3)

Tiger Woods has gone on to take his 60th tour victory at the BMW Championship and regains the lead on the FedEx Cup standings. Tiger, who has won at Cog Hill 3 times previous to this victory, had a fantastic round of golf and was deadly with the putter and posted a record equalling round of 63. Arron Baddeley and Steve Stricker also tried their best to stay with Tiger making some great birdies, but could not match the master.
The top ten:

Pos	Name	Country	Total	Strokes	1	2	3	4
1	Tiger Woods	USA	-22	262	67	67	65	63
2	Aaron Baddeley	AUS	-20	264	68	65	65	66
3	Steve Stricker	USA	-18	266	68	66	64	68
4	Adam Scott	AUS	-14	270	69	69	67	65
5	Tim Clark	SAF	-13	271	68	69	67	67
5	Justin Rose	ENG	-13	271	65	69	69	68
7	Stewart Cink	USA	-12	272	66	73	68	65
7	Camilo Villegas	COL	-12	272	65	69	71	67
9	Sergio Garcia	ESP	-10	274	68	70	69	67
10	Ian Poulter	ENG	-9	275	68	72	69	66
10	Rory Sabbatini	SAF	-9	275	69	72	68	66
10	Carl Pettersson	SWE	-9	275	71	68	69	67

The event saw some changes in the FedEx Cup standings with Camilo Villegas, Tim Clark and Stewart Cink all playing some great golf to come from outside the top 30 to finish within the cut off line. Unfortunately this means an early exit for Luke Donald, Jerry Kelly and Arron Oberholser who were all inside the top 30 before the event, but just missed the cut off line.
The Top 5 in the FedEx Cup standings:

1		Tiger Woods
2		Steve Stricker
3		Phil Mickelson
4		Rory Sabbatini
5		K.J. Choi

Realistically only the top 5 now have a chance at taking the FedEx Cup, but with 35 million dollars in the kitty everyone will be trying to win The Tour Championship next week.

Golf News: BMW Championship - FedEx Cup playoff #2 preview

Only the top 70 players are left standing for the 3rd FedEx Cup playoff the BMW championship. The roots of this tournament go back to 1899 when it was the former Western Open and make it the 3rd oldest golf tournament in the world (only the U.S open and British open are older). Only 30 players will remain in the running after this tournament so I expect their will be some fantastic golf.

Phil Mickelson withdraws for the BMW championship
The biggest news so far is that FedEx Cup points leader Phil Mickelson has withdrawn from the event because he says he needs to spend more time with his family. Now this could be seen as a serious problem for the FedEx Cup in the race to become golfs ultimate prize as you can't imagine Phil would not be taking a break in the lead up to say the British open or other major.

My prediction
With Phil out of the running I think that Tiger will be the favorite and rightly so he has won at Cog Hill three times and has never finished lower than seventh on the course! My outside picks would have to be Steve Stricker, who is in great form, and Robert Allenby, who won this tournament back in 2000.

Golf News: Deutsche Bank Championship - FedEx Cup Playoff 2

Phil Mickelson got the break early, and battled Tiger Woods shot-for-shot down the stretch to win the Deutsche Bank Championship earlier today. The win is his 32nd on the Tour, and it gives him the FedExCup points lead with just two events to go.
In what was a great victory for the big left hander he matched Tiger in an everything-you-can-do I-can-do-too battle. Phil himself told reporters that he has struggled against Tiger for 10 years and that his record is pathetic and that it felt great to be able to match Tiger.

The top ten:

1	Phil Mickelson	USA	-16
2	Tiger Woods	USA	-14
2	Aaron Oberholser	USA	-14
2	Brett Wetterich	USA	-14
5	Aaron Baddeley	AUS	-11
6	Geoff Ogilvy	AUS	-10
6	Rory Sabbatini	SAF	-10
8	Robert Allenby	AUS	-9
9	Fredrik Jacobson	SWE	-8
9	Steve Stricker	USA	-8
9	Troy Matteson	USA	-8
9	Camilo Villegas	COL	-8

In the FedEx cup standings there have been some big movers in both directions. Good results from Aaron Oberholser and Brett Wetterich have moved them from 67 and 51 to 29 and 22 respectively.
The top 10 on the Fedex cup standings are as follows:

		Phil Mickelson		108,613
		Steve Stricker		106,200
		Tiger Woods		103,733
		K.J. Choi		102,900
		Rory Sabbatini		102,388

		Vijay Singh		99,108
		Jim Furyk		98,963
		Geoff Ogilvy		97,954			2
		Adam Scott		97,827
		Zach Johnson		97,623

Next week the FedEx cup playoffs move to the Cog Hill golf and country club for the BMW championship with only the top 70 in the FedEx cup points remaining.

Golf News: Deutsche Bank Championship - 3rd round thoughts

FedEx Cup Playoff #2

Top 5 - After the 3rd round:

PLAYER	TODAY		TOTAL	FC RANK
Brett Wetterich	-5		-13	51
Arron Oberholser	-5		-12	67
Phil Mickelson	-3		-11	5
Tiger Woods	-4		-10	4
Aaron Baddeley	-1		-10	21

Well a short post today before a complete wrap up of the event tomorrow. I originally said that the longer hitters would be the ones to benefit on this course and from the early indications that seems to be holding true. Out of the top 5 players so far 4 are genuinely long hitters. I think this event will be won by Tiger or Mickelson, although I wouldn't discount Angel Cabrera at -9. Golf is a very strange game at times!

The top two Brett Wetterich and Arron Oberholser will be trying to finish as close to the top as possible and if this happens they could surge forward (aprrox 40-50 places) in the FedEx cup standings and possibly make the top 30. It will certainly be an interesting last round tomorrow.

FedEx Cup playoff #2 preview - Deutsche Bank Championship

Tournament information
Location	Norton, Massachusetts
Established	2003
Course(s)	TPC of Boston
Par	71
Yardage	7,115
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Purse	$7,000,000
Month Played	August/September

Tournament record score
Aggregate	264 Adam Scott (2003)
To-par	-20 Adam Scott (2003)
Current champion
Tiger Woods

First there was 144 now there is 120 players vying for the FedEx Cup and this week the Cup moves to the Deutsche Bank Championship. After his win last week Steve Stricker now tops the FedEx Cup points and will be looking to have another good week to keep himself in the running. Tiger is back to defend his title for this one and will be sure to make things interesting as I feel the course really suits his style of play (don't they all).

My prediction
The course is long and wide open and I think the winner will be someone who bombs the golf ball out there. Tiger, Scott, Mickelson, and V J are my top picks although Tiger will be hard to beat after his week off.
As for the FedEx cup it is wide open, but my prediction is the winner will come from the top 10-20 players. I think the rest have too much catching up to do. Although as Rich Beem showed, moving up 21 places, with a good performance anything is possible.

Golf News: The Barclays - FedEx Cup playoff 1.

Steve Stricker has won the 1st FedEx Cup event The Barclays in an amazing finish. When hope seemed to be lost he birdied four of his last five holes to close with a 2-under 69, turning a one-shot deficit into a two-shot victory over South Korean K.J Choi.

This is Strickers fourth PGA tour victory and his first in four years. It was a welcome tournament win after wasting four prime chances to win on the tour this year.


The top 10 at the Barclays were:

1	Steve Stricker	USA	-16	268	67	67	65	69	F
2	K.J. Choi	KOR	-14	270	64	66	70	70	F
3	Mark Calcavecchia	USA	-12	272	67	75	65	65	F
3	Ernie Els	SAF	-12	272	65	71	68	68	F
3	Geoff Ogilvy	AUS	-12	272	68	66	69	69	F
3	Rory Sabbatini	SAF	-12	271	63	71	69	68	F
7	Rich Beem	USA	-11	273	64	68	69	72	F
7	Phil Mickelson	USA	-11	273	67	70	69	67	F
9	Jerry Kelly	USA	-10	274	67	70	69	68	F
9	Ian Poulter	ENG	-10	274	70	67	70	67	F
9	Robert Garrigus	USA	-10	274	70	70	68	66	F

So there is some change in the FedEx cup standings and the top ten are as follows:

1		Steve Stricker
2		K.J. Choi
3		Rory Sabbatini
4		Tiger Woods
5		Phil Mickelson
6		Vijay Singh
7		Jim Furyk
8		Zach Johnson
9		Adam Scott
10		Ernie Els

This should make the competition even more interesting as it continues at the Deutsche Bank Championship next week.
Overall I think the jury is still out on the FedEx Cup, but so far I have enjoyed what I have seen and will reserve my judgement until the final tournament is played.

FedEx Cup Explained

Well the first round of the FedEx cup was played today and while Tiger wasn't playing there were still many formidable golfers plying their trades.

I thought that today would be the perfect day to go over the FedEx cup rules and structure for all those clueless people (including me) asking the question fedex what...?

Qualifying
Each PGA tour event from the Mercedes-Benz Championship (January 4-7, 2007) to the Wyndham Championship (August 16-19, 2007), PGA Tour players can earn points in each event they play. Most PGA Tour events in 2007 have carried a total of 25,000 FedEx Cup points spread between the winner and those finishing in 70th position in each event.

At the completion of last week’s Wyndham Championship, the leading point scorer (Tiger), had his points reset to 100,000 with the last player in the FedEx Cup race (144) starting with 84,700. This is designed to bring the field much closer together so the lower ranked players can still make the following events if they have a very good tournament (and so that someone can theoretically beat Tiger or at least get close).

The ultimate goal is to be one of the top 144 points holders to get a starting place at the Barclays tournament (the first event of the FedEx Cup).

Playoff events
1. The Barclays - Top 144 points leaders (at the end of the season)

• 50000 points on offer (Position 1-85)
  
• winner 9000 points

2. Deutsche Bank Championship - Top 120 points leaders (after the Barclays)

• 50000 points on offer (Position 1-85)
  
• Winner 9000

3. BMW Championship - Top 70 points leaders (after the Deutsche Bank Championship)

• 50000 points on offer (Position 1-70)
• Winner 9000

4. The tour Championship - Top 30 points leaders (after the BMW Championship)

• 50000 points on offer
• Winner 10300
• last place 395

Prize Money

There is no doubt that the prize money for the FedEx Cup is huge, but there is a catch. Players are only eligible to receive their money after they reach 45. They may invest this money up until then and can defer payment until they turn sixty (something about reducing tax I am sure). The money is paid in payments over 5 years. It is probably best described as superannuation for golfers.
The prize money list:

Position	Amount	Position	Amount
1	$10,000,000	31	$165,000
2	3,000,000	32	155,000
3	2,000,000	33	150,000
4	1,500,000	34	145,000
5	1,000,000	35	142,000
6	800,000	36	140,000
7	700,000	37	138,000
8	600,000	38	137,000
9	550,000	39	136,000
10	500,000	40	135,000
11	300,000	41	134,000
12	290,000	42	133,000
13	280,000	43	132,000
14	270,000	44	131,000
15	250,000	45	130,000
16	245,000	46	129,000
17	240,000	47	128,000
18	235,000	48	127,000
19	230,000	49	126,000
20	225,000	50	125,000
21	220,000	51	120,000
22	215,000	52	115,000
23	210,000	53	114,000
24	205,000	54	113,000
25	200,000	55-70	110,000
26	195,000	71-80	80,000
27	190,000	81-100	75,000
28	185,000	101-125	70,000
29	180,000	126-150	32,000
30	175,000
TOTAL	$35,000,000

Note: There is still prize money awarded for the individual tournaments that is separate to this. That money is received in the normal way.

I hope that clears a few things up for anyone that is confused. I am certainly glad I wrote this as I am now much clearer on how it all works!

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