September 2010
85 posts
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10 Reasons Why the Americans Will Win
The FedEx Cup has kept the U.S players sharp when they traditionally were taking weeks off in advance of the Ryder Cup. Since the playoffs started, the U.S. is 3-0 in team competitions, winning all of them by a 5 point margin.
Europe’s best player, Lee Westwood, hasn’t played a competitive round in 2 months.
Europe’s real best player is not on the team. The Europeans will...
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The Biggest Reason Why The Americans Will Win
Amidst all this talk that the Americans are a huge underdog entering tomorrow’s Ryder Cup, writers and fans alike are missing one key factor as to why the Americans will win this year’s competition.
And that factor is…
The FedEx Cup playoffs. Yep, the FedEx Cup is why the Americans will win the Ryder Cup.
he FexEx Cup is responsible for keeping the US sharp heading into team...
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Golf Trivia!
When was the last time that all four majors in a season were won by Americans?
Difficulty Level: HARD
Click READ MORE to see the answer.
1982. Craig Stadler, Tom Watson, Tom Watson and Raymond Floyd won golf’s four majors.
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“You have to sit someone. If you have any better suggestions, let me know.”
– Corey Pavin after announcing the opening session pairings for Friday morning at the Ryder Cup.
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Bookies Put Odds on Everything
Leave it to the British Bookies to spice up the Ryder Cup. Here are just some of the more interesting bets they are taking this week:
Jeff Overton to score 5 points (50/1)
Woods and Phil Mickelson to play together (6/1)
Peter Hanson to hit a spectator with a drive (16/1)
Colin Montgomerie to quit as captain before the last shot of the event is struck (25/1)
Woods to play all five matches...
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Westwood to #1? Really?
It was reported today that Lee Westwood, despite missing the last two months with a calf injury, will somehow overtake Phil Mickelson as the World’s #2 ranked player when the next Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) is released on Monday. But wait, it get’s better: the story also indicates that it won’t be long before he moves past Tiger into the #1 spot.
Westwood will be...
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“Oh, yeah, I think there’s a great chance. Why don’t you just hold...”
– Phil Mickelson on the chances that he and Tiger Woods are paired together in this year’s Ryder Cup.
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“They get along great, are you kidding me? Rory is one of the nicest guys you...”
– Phil Mickelson on the “so-called” rivalry that has recently formed between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy heading into the Ryder Cup.
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Golf Trivia!
Who is the only player to ever beat Tiger Woods in a Ryder Cup singles match?
Difficulty level: HARD
To view the answer, click READ MORE.
Italy’s Constantino Rocca defeated Tiger Woods 4&2 at the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama. The U.S. lost the Ryder Cup that year by a single point.
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Who Will Be the Opening Ryder Cup Pairings?
With the start of the Ryder Cup just two days away, I thought I would take my best crack at what the pairings will be for the opening Fourball session.
For Europe, I think it’s pretty fair to say that Peter Hanson, Ross Fisher and Jimenez will be sitting. That leaves 8 spots for 9 guys.
The Euros tend to be a little easier to guess the pairings on since they have historically been paired...
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A Radical Idea to Change the FedEx Cup
As we have mentioned before, we love the FedEx Cup Playoffs and feel very strongly that they served their purpose this year. You can’t compare the PGA TOUR playoffs to other major professional sports playoffs because golf just doesn’t set up like that. But that doesn’t mean the TOUR shouldn’t continue to tinker with the current format to make it better and to avoid...
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“The following week we played together in the Dutch Open and Häagen-Dazs sent ice...”
– Constantino Rocca, who lost the 1995 British Open Championship in a playoff to John Daly.
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“I think you can play golf on no sleep if you haven’t been drinking....”
– Geoff Ogilvy
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: 2010 Scoring Average
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: 2010 Scoring Average
Today we will look at the combined scoring average of all players. We will use the scoring average for whichever Tour a player competed on the most. All Americans used their PGA TOUR Scoring Average, while most Europeans used their Euro Tour...
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: Singles Ryder Cup...
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: Singles Ryder Cup Record
Today we will look at the combined career Ryder Cup Singles record of each team’s players.
USA - 11-11-3 Europe - 9-10-0
The breakdown: USA - Furyk (4-1-1), Woods (3-1-1), Mickelson (3-4-0), Cink (1-3-1), Mahan (0-0-1), Z. Johnson...
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PhillyGolfGuide.com Now Offering Discount Tee...
PhillyGolfGuide.com is thrilled to announce the offering of discount tee times!
Visit our Discount Tee Times page (http://phillygolfguide.com/teetimes.html) for discounted tee times at your favorite courses. Be sure to check us out before you play, whether you’re heading to the course last minute or planning your round in advance.
Steep tee time discounts at every time of day and every...
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: Foursomes Ryder Cup...
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: Foursomes Ryder Cup Record
Today we will look at the combined career Ryder Cup Foursomes (Alternate Shot) record of each team’s players.
Europe - 13-10-9 USA - 11-20-9
The breakdown: Europe: Westwood (6-2-3), Donald (4-0-0), Harrington (2-4-3), Jimenez...
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Els Elected to Hall of Fame
Ernie Els has been elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in the first year he was on the ballot.
Els, a three-time major champion from South Africa with 62 victories around the world, received 66 percent of the vote from a panel of journalists, golf officials and Hall of Fame members.
Doug Ford, whose 19 wins on the PGA Tour include the Masters and PGA Championship, and two-time major...
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A POY Formula? →
Interesting article from ESPN researcher Justin Ray in which he tries to quantify the POY race with a formula based on past winners. If nothing else it makes us feel a little smarter that we listed Mickelson as the current POY favorite.
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Mickelson Out of Grand Slam Event
Phil Mickelson, who in April won his third Masters championship and with it a berth in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, has announced he will sit out the year-end event to rest and spend time with his family.
A busy late-season schedule and a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis were cited in Mickelson’s decision to skip the Grand Slam.
The Grand Slam of Golf, a 36-hole tournament featuring the...
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“I feel like I’m the Babe Ruth of golf. He always wanted to be a manager...”
– John Daly on never being selected for a U.S. Ryder Cup team.
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“We cannot change the nationality. So we rejected it right away.”
– Mao-hsin Tseng, father of Taiwanese LPGA star Yani Tseng, on the 25 million dollar sponsor offer extended to his daughter from an anonymous Chinese company. The caveat was Tseng becoming a Chinese citizen.
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Can Lefty Finally Claim World's Top Spot?
Phil Mickelson can erase a lot of questions and doubt this week with a repeat win at the TOUR Championship at East Lake.
While a victory would likely give Phil his first Player of the Year and possibly the 2010 FedEx Cup title (he would need a little help), it would definitely earn Lefty the World’s top player designation. Phil must win or finish alone in second place to finally overtake...
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Masters Adds Extra Hour of Coverage
Good news for those of you who can’t get enough television coverage each April from Augusta National. The Masters is adding an extra hour of television coverage next year.
Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said Tuesday that ESPN’s weekday coverage will start at 3 p.m., which is an hour earlier. The coverage ends at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.
The 2011 Masters will be...
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: Fourball Ryder Cup...
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: Fourball Ryder Cup Record
Today we will look at the combined career Ryder Cup Fourball (Best Ball) record of each team’s players.
Europe - 13-12-4 USA - 12-20-8
The breakdown: Europe: Westwood (6-4-2), Jimenez (2-1-1), Harrington (2-5-0), Poulter (2-1-0),...
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US Am Star Uihlein Keeps Winning
U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein backed up his second-round 65 with an even-par 70 on Sunday to earn medalist honors by three shots at the Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club. Uihlein finished at 6-under 204 for the week, but it wasn’t enough to lead his Oklahoma State Cowboys to the team title.
The Florida Gators posted a 5-over total of 845 to finish seven...
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: Career PGA TOUR Win %
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: Career PGA TOUR Career Win %
Today we will look at which team has a better career winning % in PGA TOUR events.
USA - 5.5% (157/2871) Europe - 1.4% (13/934)
The breakdown: USA: Woods - 71/265, Mickelson - 38/421, Furyk - 15/431, Stricker - 9/377, Z. Johnson - 7/188,...
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Golf Trivia!
Colin Montgomerie has 31 career European Tour victories, placing him 4th all-time. Name the three players ahead of him on that list.
Difficulty level: HARD
To view the answer, click READ MORE.
Seve Ballesteros (50), Bernhard Langer (42) and Tiger Woods (38).
Note: Tiger’s 38 European Tour wins are made up mostly of Majors (14) and WGC Championships (16), which are counted as official...
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: Who's Hotter?
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: Who’s Hotter?
Today we will look at which team is hotter entering the Ryder Cup. To do this we’ll look at the month’s of July, August and September and see how many wins each team has on either tour.
Europe - 8 wins USA - 4 wins
The breakdown:...
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How Mickelson Can Win the FedEx Cup
Phil Mickelson will head into the TOUR Championship at East Lake as the defending champion. If Lefty were to repeat this year against the 30-man field he would have a decent chance of winning the FedEx Cup as well, but would need some help from the current Top 4 on the FedEx Cup points list.
Here is what would need to happen:
Matt Kuchar would have to finish 5th or worse
Dustin Johnson would...
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Taylor Made Finally Loses...But Still Wins
It had been at least four years since TaylorMade lost a driver count on the PGA Tour, but it happened at the 70-player BMW Championship when Titleist edged TaylorMade, 23-22, in the driver category.
Despite this it turned out to be a very good week for TaylorMade, as Dustin Johnson won the BMW Championship and Martin Kaymer ran away with the KLM Open on the European Tour. Johnson and Kaymer...
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: Average OWGR
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: Average Official World Golf Ranking
Today we will look at the average ranking of each team based on its players Official World Golf Ranking (as of Sep 12th).
USA - 17.1 (205 total) Europe - 18.3 (219 total)
The breakdown: USA: Woods - 1, Mickelson - 2, Stricker - 4,...
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WatchThe PGA TOUR’s Top 10 Shots of the 2010 FedEx Cup Playoffs.
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PGA TOUR Looks to Avoid Major FedEx Cup Flaw
As we stated before, even though we think it could be better, we love the PGA TOUR playoffs and what it has added to the golf season. With that said, the TOUR is facing the possibility of what could only be described as a major flaw in the system and a huge black eye to the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Paul Casey is one of five players who controls his own destiny with a victory at East Lake in...
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: 2010 PGA TOUR Win %
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: 2010 PGA TOUR Win %
Today we will look at 2010 PGA TOUR Win %. Simply put, the total number of PGA TOUR wins divided by the total number of PGA TOUR events played for each team.
USA - 4.7% (12/253) Europe - 3.6% (5/139)
The breakdown: USA: Stricker - 2/18,...
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Top Candidates for Player of the Year
The 2010 PGA TOUR race won’t be decided until this year’s TOUR Championship, as there is currently no clear cut favorite.
It’s a rare year on TOUR for the fact that no one has won more than twice and there are a couple of one-win players who currently warrant strong POY consideration. The other unusual circumstance for 2010 is that there was only one major winner this year who...
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: RC Appearances
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: Total Ryder Cup Appearances
USA - 25 Europe - 19
The breakdown: USA: Mickelson - 7, Furyk - 6, Woods - 5, Cink - 4, Stricker - 1, Mahan - 1, Z. Johnson - 1, Kuchar- 0, D. Johnson - 0, Watson - 0, Overton - 0, Fowler - 0.
Europe: Westwood - 6, Harrington - 5,...
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“I thought of this traffic cop who used to work at 77th and Broadway in New York....”
– Bill Murray on the inspiration for his legendary Caddyshack performance as Assistant Greenskeeper Carl Spackler.
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Golf Trivia!
Through the 2009 season there had been six different tournament winners in the history of the FedEx Cup Playoffs (12 events). Name them.
Difficulty level: MEDIUM
To view the answer, click READ MORE.
Tiger Woods (3), Phil Mickelson (2), Steve Stricker (2), Vijay Singh (2), Camilo Villegas (2) and Heath Slocum (1).
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“You can tell he is inches away from turning. His speed is back. His putting...”
– Phil Mickelson on the state of Tiger Woods’ game after their final round pairing at the 2010 BMW Championship.
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Woods Win Streak Ends at 14 Years
With Tiger Woods not advancing to the 2010 TOUR Championship, and likely to not play another PGA TOUR sanctioned event this year, his streak of winning at least one TOUR event per season has come to an end at 14, which includes every season since he turned pro in 1996.
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: Playoff Survivors
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: # of players to advance to the 2010 TOUR Championship.
USA - 9 Europe - 1
To be fair, the Europeans have far fewer players who are PGA TOUR members who were eligible and healthy for the playoffs, however 9/12 (75%) of Americans made the TOUR Championship, while...
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“…I’m not afraid to not play him every match, that’s for sure”
– US Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin discussing Tiger Woods.
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Lefty and Tiger All Square Thru 26
After today’s final round at the BMW Championship, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have played in the same pairing in their professional careers on 26 occasions.
Each has won 11 of those head to head battles, with the duo playing to a draw on four other occasions, including their epic Round 2 battle at the 2007 Deutsche Bank Championship in which each player shot 64.
Mickelson has made...
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Plenty of Big Names Knocked Out of Playoffs
The playoff fireworks finally arrived with several big name players being knocked out of the FedEx Cup Playoffs at the conclusion of today’s BMW Championship. Tiger Woods headlined the group of household names that won’t be making it to the TOUR Championship, the 4th and final leg of the playoffs. The list also includes…
Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, JB Holmes, Stewart Cink,...
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Tiger vs. Phil, Part 25
The world’s #1 and #2 ranked players are featured in the 11:58 a.m. ET pairing for the final round at BMW Championship tomorrow. Unfortunately for the tournament, the two will be starting in a tie for 22nd place, eight strokes off the lead of Ryan Moore. This will be the 25th time the two have played together during their sure-to-be World Golf Hall of Fame careers.
The last time Woods...
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Ryder Cup Tale of the Tape: Career Majors
Each weekday leading up to the Ryder Cup we will highlight one stat comparing the American and European teams.
Today’s stat: Total Career Majors.
USA - 21 Europe - 5
The breakdown: USA: Woods - 14, Mickelson - 4, Cink - 1, Furyk - 1, Z. Johnson - 1 Europe: Harrington - 3, Kaymer - 1, McDowell - 1
It is interesting that out of 24 Ryder Cup players, only 8 have won a major, with only...
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Mickelson Fails to Capitalize in Round 2
Phil Mickelson failed to capitalize on day 2 at the BMW Championships on a day where no one in the morning wave has made a charge up the leaderboard. Mickelson had his chances for a great round but squandered away several shots, including a double bogey on the last hole after a wayward tee shot on 18, to finish at even par 71.
Mickelson, 2nd on TOUR in Par 5 birdie or better average at over 51%,...
