Soccer betting

Its one day after the Walker Cup matches, on yet another green patch of Scotland, and the trees are still bending over sideways.

What trees there are, anyway.

European Tour correspondent John Huggan is encamped in the clubhouse at the Archerfield Links, between Gullane and North Berwick, along the Firth of Forth on the Scottish coast, with winds blowing 50 mph outside, scuttling his hopes of playing.

Not to worry.

We have our weekly alternate-shot round at Pond Scrum to contest instead, with CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling as his opposite number on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

First up on the Monday agenda is an exhumation of the American performance at the Walker, where fittingly, considering the elements of the moment, they were effectively blown out 14-12 by the underdog Great Britain & Ireland team, from start to finish.

For all the bluster outdoors, these guys do plenty of huffing and puffing themselves, and the pair takes a particularly hard look at what went wrong for the latest American team to take a trip overseas for international match-play competition.

Like many before them, Uncle Sams crew was first to cry uncle, as shots sailed into the heather, gorse and toward the North Sea.

Looks like you guys got it all wrong, but then, so did everybody else. The Great Britain & Ireland side bushwhacked the Americans in the Walker Cup over the weekend in blustery Scotland, pulling off one of the bigger upsets in that esteemed events nine decades. What went wrong for the Yanks, who seemingly had far more firepower?

Elling: Huggan was there. In deference to his well-earned windburn, he gets the opening honors. The first tee ball is yours. Mind the gorse.

Huggan: My mind goes back to a long ago school I attended in Arizona. It was for low handicappers, and the instructor had them hitting long chip-and-run shots. Well, not one of those students had a clue how to do it properly, a straightforward shot we Scots grow up with. Ill never forget how surprised I was as I watched. So maybe I should have foreseen what happened at Royal Aberdeen over the weekend.

Elling: Heres what I saw: An almost complete reprise of every U.S. team at the Ryder over the years. The Yanks were mostly inept at the two-man team play, and slightly more dominant in singles. It was reminiscent of when the U.S. went 0-5-1 in the combination fourball/foursomes session at the Ryder in Wa was hopeless when it came to playing in an admittedly high wind. And that was the difference between the teams. Where the GB&I lads were comfortable in an environment all are well used to, the visitors were ill-equipped to cope in conditions they probably had never experienced before.

Huggan: Ive said this many times before about the PGA Tour and maybe it is just as applicable to the elite amateur level in the States: while the best players are terrific, they are terrific only when allowed to play a narrow, one-dimensional style of golf. In other words, take them out of their high/straight comfort zone and ask them to hit shots low or hold the ball up in a heavy crosswind and they soon become less than impressive.

Elling: A couple of things you mention were glaring in the BBC broadcast. Notably, that when the U.S. team turned into the wind, balls started flying everywhere. The most astounding shot of the week was when Peter Uihlein, undefeated in his first Walker Cup two years ago, had a shot into the wind from 120 yards on Sunday morning in alternate-shot format. He hit a punch-shot 6-iron that sailed 30 yards out of bounds.

Huggan: That was certainly the case at Royal Aberdeen. That the final score was as close as it was only underlines the fact that, as so often, the away team failed to adapt to life in a foreign land.

Elling: This is clearly a cliche thats rooted in fact. Ask Phil Mickelson.

Huggan: Your foursomes observation was secondary to their incompetence in the wind, though. But you are not wrong. The intricacies of alternate shot did seem too much for them at times.

Elling: Well, sharing and teamwork is a notion thats antithetical to the very fabric of the modern American player. Heh, heh.

Huggan: I had to laugh, too, when Chris Williams was faced with a chip shot from the bottom of a bank below the level of one green. His attempt to run the ball up the hill was laughably inept.

Elling: Run the ball? What a concept. Never heard of it.

Elling: It was a pretty comprehensive paddling. As GB&I captain Nigel Edwards said afterward, “the matches are not played on paper.” His side rolled up that paper and used it to swat the American boys on the backside.

Huggan: The old line that golf becomes ever more interesting the longer the ball spends on the ground was certainly true at Balgownie.

Elling: By the end, the GB&I guys had won me over. As ever, the two kids from Northern Ireland, Alan Dunbar and Paul Cutler, were impressive. I am starting to think that a team composed solely of Ulstermen would never lose to anybody. Major magic mojo.

Huggan: Having said that, Im willing to bet that there will be a few of the American team who will do well as professionals. Id be struggling to say the same of more than a couple from the home team. Different game on tour.

Elling: Random prediction from 4,000 miles away: Steven Brown will be the best of the GB&I bunch. Taller kid, awesome swing. Other guys will have trouble against the big fish.

Huggan: You may be right, but Im not so sure about him. His putting for a day and a half was nothing short of woeful.

Elling: The whole competition was thoroughly enjoyable, with one slight exception. Its hard to fathom why the BBC had to adopt such a paternalistic, pandering tone when talking about the GB&I side. Ken Brown, normally a level-headed analyst, was shown hugging a GB&I player Saturday in an attempt to console him. Veteran and beloved analyst Peter Alliss repeatedly referred to the team as “we” and “us.” Alliss also offered a mocking version of a Southern accent that included the words “Goddamn,” after a U.S. player was heard muttering following a bad shot. Come on guys, you are better than that. I think.

Huggan: You have a point. But at least you were spared five minutes of commercials after every two minutes of golf.

Elling: Touche.

Huggan: The real star of the weekend was the course. Royal Aberdeen, for reasons I have never been able to fathom, is always overshadowed by nearby Cruden Bay. Give me Balgownie every time, if I have to choose between those two.

Elling: Tough track. I lost count of how many balls Uihlein lost. Good thing he gets them for free.

The top player on the GB&I side, British Open amateur standout Tom Lewis, turned pro Monday. In some remarkably candid comments, he said last week that he has no occupational “Plan B.” Surprising?

Elling: Lewis, probably the top pro prospect on the GB&I side in the eyes of most experts, talked about his learning disorder in school and how he made no attempt to really overcome it. All he wants to do it play golf. Talk about putting all his dimpled eggs in one basket.

Huggan: Lewis is dyslexic, and so has never taken to the academic life. Much more controversial were his comments on being offered a scholarship at an unnamed U.S. college: “I was asked if I wanted to go to a U.S. coll they would do it for me. But I didnt want to do that. If I was going to do it, I was going to do it properly. I wasnt going to sit in class and let someone else do my work. Whats the point of that?”

Huggan: Is that college golfs dirty little secret, or did Lewis misunderstand the offer? Makes you wonder.

Elling: We could spend the rest of this Pond Scrum making jokes about which school it might have been. In fact, we probably ought to. That would be more fun. You nervous, Auburn fans? A secret? I would be interested to see what the grad rates are for mens college golf. Probably about the same as basketball and football. Which is to say, not very good.

Elling: Anyway, Lewis said his grade school in England was not equipped to deal with his learning disorder, but that he didnt care in the least. He just wants to play on tour. I recoil when I hear such things, because even as good as he is, hes diving into the deep end of the shark tank. The commentary already has been cruel. Spotted a reader comment on one golf website mimicking Judge Smails, “The world needs ditch diggers, too.”

According to a published report, a European Tour player has paid a huge fine for venting about another players behavior on the course at a Euro Tour event two weeks ago. How much sway should the tours hold over this insanely evolving social network phenomenon?

Elling: I am a First Amendment guy, through and through. But the answer is: plenty. While the tour players are not members of a players union and are independent contractors in a sense, dropping an avalanche of off-color and R-rated language on a peer on a personal website isnt to be tolerated. The player should obviously say these things to Huggan and I first, so we can print them with a very large headline.

Elling: In this instance, Aussie veteran Marcus Fraser took an Argentine player to task for talking on his cellphone during live play, which Fraser felt was a poor message to send. So he sent his own poor message, on Facebook.

Huggan: I have to say I am surprised. Fraser is known to me personally and is one of the most mild-mannered members of the Aussie fraternity. I can certainly think of a few of his compatriots more likely to sound off about a fellow player. I suspect there is more to this than we are being told.

Elling: Its not aga the guy was making flight but it looks horrible to be doing it on the course before paying customers. The guy was literally phoning it in.

Elling: Generally speaking, I dislike the social network and personal websites. Its given guys like Tiger Woods yet another reason to hide and spin the news without being held to any real accountability. But they serve a purpose, especially for lesser-known players who can get their personal messages out. But are the tours supposed to police Twitter and Facebook?

Huggan: On the face of it, Marcus has to be fined. I just wish the European Tour were as quick to jump on some of the other nonsense that goes on under their jurisdiction.

Elling: Recently, LPGA Hall of Famer Carol Mann posted some personal religious opinions on her Facebook page that drew attention. Whether its a coincidence or not, in my view, she no longer is as visible as an ambassador for the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Huggan: Amazing that, especially when you consider that one of this years Hall inductees was Jumbo Ozaki Ill say no more on that subject. But Im sure anyone with even a tenuous interest in golf will know what Im talking about.

Elling: The notion and timbre of “media” changes every 10 minutes. So what about Twitter? Does this mean the PGA Tour is going to start whacking former major winner Steve Elkington for sending out his hilarious cartoons that he commissions on his webpage? Theres the rub. The paranoid purveyors of the U.S. tour could zap a guy, and wed never know because fines are not announced. Who decides whats fair or foul?

Huggan: Steve Elkington is a bad example. His cartoons are nothing when compared with his rampantly homophobic views. He once called gays “shirtlifters” on his Twitter page. So its out there in public.

Elling: How much should tours police the social media content? Or should they just wait to act until the public complains? No easy answer. We have a social media policy at CBSSports.com in which we are not to write anything on Twitter or our personal web pages that casts the company in a bad light. This weekly Pond Scrum conversation must clearly rate an exception.

Huggan: I dont think the tour should have anything to do with the private views of players, even when they are expressed in a public forum. I mean, where does it end? George Orwell once wrote a very good book about this sort of stuff. The last thing the world needs is Tim Finchem sitting in judgment of anyone.

Elling: What about profane language, racial slurs, homophobic remarks?

Huggan: I mean, look at the views Paul Azinger routinely expresses on Twitter. He is a raving right-winger. I find his opinions on politics to be ludicrous and borderline offensive. But I would defend forever his right to say them.

Elling: Oh, Azinger is going to get you for that. He has the fastest Twitter thumbs in professional golf.

Huggan: I hope he does. In fact, Ive already told him what I think.

Elling: Interesting thing about Azinger is that he was sanctioned by ESPN for espousing his political views on Twitter. He works as an analyst for the Mouse network on occasion. Its all so murky. Wheres the line to be drawn?

Huggan: It is ESPNs right to be offended or not. If they are, they can choose not to employ Paul anymore. Thats called freedom, babe. Cant say I blame them, though. He is seriously off the wall at times.

Huggan: Note: I am sitting about 5 yards from Titleist clubmaker Bob Vokey, who is talking about wedges. Great stuff!

Elling: True fact: The alternate title of this weekly column, before an editor came up with Pond Scrum, was going to be “Fresh Grooves.” Which I still think is a pretty good name for something related to golf.

I guess there isnt much doubt. Yani Tseng is the best player in the world, regardless of gender?

Elling: By my scorecard, her LPGA victory yesterday in Arkansas gives her eight international wins in 19 starts, which are numbers that would make Tiger or Vijay applaud during their heyday. She plays a different game, at a different level, and she actually makes putts.

Huggan: Im a huge fan of Tsengs game. What a great swing she has. Beautiful ball-striker. And she is certainly dominant in a way that no man currently is. But we are comparing apples and oranges when we get into this “best player” thing. Lets just say she is easily the best woman golfer on the planet.

Elling: She started the season with four straight wins. Now she has five victories on the LPGA alone, including two in majors. Unlike on the PGA and Euro tours, where no clear-cut favorite has emerged as Player of the Year, the LPGA can call the engraver today. Its a complete slaughter.

Huggan: Having said that, Id be interested in seeing her tee up at Coloni and it would be cool to see if she can do better on a course that is not overwhelming, length-wise.

Elling: Nice kid, too. Tries hard, is well-liked by her peers, loves the game. I vividly recall her attending the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, walking around with Dottie Pepper and making goo-goo eyes at Adam Scott. Hey, why should she be different?

Huggan: I can confirm that I have never made goo-goo eyes at Adam Scott. And I suspect Steve Elkington hasnt, either.

Elling: Incoming … Kaboom! That whistling knockdown shot was better than any executed by an American player in the entire Walker Cup weekend.

The Presidents Cup has suffered some collateral damage as a result of the FedEx Cup series hogging the spotlight over the past few years, but theres an interesting scenario brewing this week at the BMW Invitational. There are three prominent Aussies on the bubble or just outside the automatic top 10 and only two spots available for Greg Norman to give out.

Elling: Indeed, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley rank between Nos. 10-15 in points for the International team and have huge ties to the Sand Belt, where the PrezCup will be staged in two months. Other than when he was writing the $100 million divorce settlement to his ex-wife, this is the first time I have ever written, “I would not want to be Greg Norman.”

Huggan: Ach, I dont see Gregs problem as being anything like unsolvable. If it comes down to two of the three you mention, he must go with the best putters. So, sorry, Robert.

Elling: The subplots for the International team are far more interesting than the issue of who makes the American side, where you almost have to assume that captain Fred Couples will take Keegan Bradley, the perceived frontrunner for the Player of the Year award. So, you take Badds, who isnt in Allenbys class as a ball-striker, because hes superior with one of the 14 clubs? Hmmmm.

Huggan: Believe me, putting is going to be a huge part of the game at Royal Melbourne, where the greens are glass-like and take if possible. So he has to go with Ogilvy and Baddeley, both of whom are brilliant putters.

Elling: Badds is the only one of the three with a victory this season in the States, but Ogilvy is the defending Aussie Open winner. Meanwhile, Allenby is a former Aussie Triple Crown winner who seems like hed be a dominant alternate-shot guy. Terrific stuff.

Huggan: Hardly anyone is in Allenbys class when it comes to ball-striking. Unfortunately for him, you and I are in his class when it comes to putting.

Elling: Of course, Couples avoided all of this hand-wringing by taking the easy way out. He picked Tiger, who is now No. 46 in the world.

Huggan: Sometimes I wonder if you listen to anything I say. Tiger was picked by television executives. Fred merely acted on their wishes. Must have been an e-mail of course, given that Fred never answers the phone.

Elling: Listen to anything you say? Of course I do. Everything you say? Of course I do not.

Huggan: Ogilvy has had a series of health and physical issues this year. Yet he is still on the edge of the team at No. 10, the last automatic spot. And look at his Accenture Match Play record. Its hard to imagine Greg not picking him.

Elling: Maybe one of the Aussie trio will emerge this week at the BMW Championship at Cog Hill, a big-boy venue in size. You know, decide the issue themselves, vs. waiting for a handout. It would be a nice development to track, in between everybody ripping the course.

Huggan: The really interesting bit will come if Ishikawa drops out of the automatic top-10 spots only this time it will be in Japanese.

Print
Email a Friend
Facebook
Twitter
Stumble Upon
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Delicious
Share

Its one day after the Walker Cup matches, on yet another green patch of Scotland, and the trees are still bending over sideways.

What trees there are, anyway.

European Tour correspondent John Huggan is encamped in the clubhouse at the Archerfield Links, between Gullane and North Berwick, along the Firth of Forth on the Scottish coast, with winds blowing 50 mph outside, scuttling his hopes of playing.

Not to worry.

We have our weekly alternate-shot round at Pond Scrum to contest instead, with CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling as his opposite number on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

First up on the Monday agenda is an exhumation of the American performance at the Walker, where fittingly, considering the elements of the moment, they were effectively blown out 14-12 by the underdog Great Britain & Ireland team, from start to finish.

For all the bluster outdoors, these guys do plenty of huffing and puffing themselves, and the pair takes a particularly hard look at what went wrong for the latest American team to take a trip overseas for international match-play competition.

Like many before them, Uncle Sams crew was first to cry uncle, as shots sailed into the heather, gorse and toward the North Sea.

Looks like you guys got it all wrong, but then, so did everybody else. The Great Britain & Ireland side bushwhacked the Americans in the Walker Cup over the weekend in blustery Scotland, pulling off one of the bigger upsets in that esteemed events nine decades. What went wrong for the Yanks, who seemingly had far more firepower?

Elling: Huggan was there. In deference to his well-earned windburn, he gets the opening honors. The first tee ball is yours. Mind the gorse.

Huggan: My mind goes back to a long ago school I attended in Arizona. It was for low handicappers, and the instructor had them hitting long chip-and-run shots. Well, not one of those students had a clue how to do it properly, a straightforward shot we Scots grow up with. Ill never forget how surprised I was as I watched. So maybe I should have foreseen what happened at Royal Aberdeen over the weekend.

Elling: Heres what I saw: An almost complete reprise of every U.S. team at the Ryder over the years. The Yanks were mostly inept at the two-man team play, and slightly more dominant in singles. It was reminiscent of when the U.S. went 0-5-1 in the combination fourball/foursomes session at the Ryder in Wa was hopeless when it came to playing in an admittedly high wind. And that was the difference between the teams. Where the GB&I lads were comfortable in an environment all are well used to, the visitors were ill-equipped to cope in conditions they probably had never experienced before.

Huggan: Ive said this many times before about the PGA Tour and maybe it is just as applicable to the elite amateur level in the States: while the best players are terrific, they are terrific only when allowed to play a narrow, one-dimensional style of golf. In other words, take them out of their high/straight comfort zone and ask them to hit shots low or hold the ball up in a heavy crosswind and they soon become less than impressive.

Elling: A couple of things you mention were glaring in the BBC broadcast. Notably, that when the U.S. team turned into the wind, balls started flying everywhere. The most astounding shot of the week was when Peter Uihlein, undefeated in his first Walker Cup two years ago, had a shot into the wind from 120 yards on Sunday morning in alternate-shot format. He hit a punch-shot 6-iron that sailed 30 yards out of bounds.

Huggan: That was certainly the case at Royal Aberdeen. That the final score was as close as it was only underlines the fact that, as so often, the away team failed to adapt to life in a foreign land.

Elling: This is clearly a cliche thats rooted in fact. Ask Phil Mickelson.

Huggan: Your foursomes observation was secondary to their incompetence in the wind, though. But you are not wrong. The intricacies of alternate shot did seem too much for them at times.

Elling: Well, sharing and teamwork is a notion thats antithetical to the very fabric of the modern American player. Heh, heh.

Huggan: I had to laugh, too, when Chris Williams was faced with a chip shot from the bottom of a bank below the level of one green. His attempt to run the ball up the hill was laughably inept.

Elling: Run the ball? What a concept. Never heard of it.

Elling: It was a pretty comprehensive paddling. As GB&I captain Nigel Edwards said afterward, “the matches are not played on paper.” His side rolled up that paper and used it to swat the American boys on the backside.

Huggan: The old line that golf becomes ever more interesting the longer the ball spends on the ground was certainly true at Balgownie.

Elling: By the end, the GB&I guys had won me over. As ever, the two kids from Northern Ireland, Alan Dunbar and Paul Cutler, were impressive. I am starting to think that a team composed solely of Ulstermen would never lose to anybody. Major magic mojo.

Huggan: Having said that, Im willing to bet that there will be a few of the American team who will do well as professionals. Id be struggling to say the same of more than a couple from the home team. Different game on tour.

Elling: Random prediction from 4,000 miles away: Steven Brown will be the best of the GB&I bunch. Taller kid, awesome swing. Other guys will have trouble against the big fish.

Huggan: You may be right, but Im not so sure about him. His putting for a day and a half was nothing short of woeful.

Elling: The whole competition was thoroughly enjoyable, with one slight exception. Its hard to fathom why the BBC had to adopt such a paternalistic, pandering tone when talking about the GB&I side. Ken Brown, normally a level-headed analyst, was shown hugging a GB&I player Saturday in an attempt to console him. Veteran and beloved analyst Peter Alliss repeatedly referred to the team as “we” and “us.” Alliss also offered a mocking version of a Southern accent that included the words “Goddamn,” after a U.S. player was heard muttering following a bad shot. Come on guys, you are better than that. I think.

Huggan: You have a point. But at least you were spared five minutes of commercials after every two minutes of golf.

Elling: Touche.

Huggan: The real star of the weekend was the course. Royal Aberdeen, for reasons I have never been able to fathom, is always overshadowed by nearby Cruden Bay. Give me Balgownie every time, if I have to choose between those two.

Elling: Tough track. I lost count of how many balls Uihlein lost. Good thing he gets them for free.

The top player on the GB&I side, British Open amateur standout Tom Lewis, turned pro Monday. In some remarkably candid comments, he said last week that he has no occupational “Plan B.” Surprising?

Elling: Lewis, probably the top pro prospect on the GB&I side in the eyes of most experts, talked about his learning disorder in school and how he made no attempt to really overcome it. All he wants to do it play golf. Talk about putting all his dimpled eggs in one basket.

Huggan: Lewis is dyslexic, and so has never taken to the academic life. Much more controversial were his comments on being offered a scholarship at an unnamed U.S. college: “I was asked if I wanted to go to a U.S. coll they would do it for me. But I didnt want to do that. If I was going to do it, I was going to do it properly. I wasnt going to sit in class and let someone else do my work. Whats the point of that?”

Huggan: Is that college golfs dirty little secret, or did Lewis misunderstand the offer? Makes you wonder.

Elling: We could spend the rest of this Pond Scrum making jokes about which school it might have been. In fact, we probably ought to. That would be more fun. You nervous, Auburn fans? A secret? I would be interested to see what the grad rates are for mens college golf. Probably about the same as basketball and football. Which is to say, not very good.

Elling: Anyway, Lewis said his grade school in England was not equipped to deal with his learning disorder, but that he didnt care in the least. He just wants to play on tour. I recoil when I hear such things, because even as good as he is, hes diving into the deep end of the shark tank. The commentary already has been cruel. Spotted a reader comment on one golf website mimicking Judge Smails, “The world needs ditch diggers, too.”

According to a published report, a European Tour player has paid a huge fine for venting about another players behavior on the course at a Euro Tour event two weeks ago. How much sway should the tours hold over this insanely evolving social network phenomenon?

Elling: I am a First Amendment guy, through and through. But the answer is: plenty. While the tour players are not members of a players union and are independent contractors in a sense, dropping an avalanche of off-color and R-rated language on a peer on a personal website isnt to be tolerated. The player should obviously say these things to Huggan and I first, so we can print them with a very large headline.

Elling: In this instance, Aussie veteran Marcus Fraser took an Argentine player to task for talking on his cellphone during live play, which Fraser felt was a poor message to send. So he sent his own poor message, on Facebook.

Huggan: I have to say I am surprised. Fraser is known to me personally and is one of the most mild-mannered members of the Aussie fraternity. I can certainly think of a few of his compatriots more likely to sound off about a fellow player. I suspect there is more to this than we are being told.

Elling: Its not aga the guy was making flight but it looks horrible to be doing it on the course before paying customers. The guy was literally phoning it in.

Elling: Generally speaking, I dislike the social network and personal websites. Its given guys like Tiger Woods yet another reason to hide and spin the news without being held to any real accountability. But they serve a purpose, especially for lesser-known players who can get their personal messages out. But are the tours supposed to police Twitter and Facebook?

Huggan: On the face of it, Marcus has to be fined. I just wish the European Tour were as quick to jump on some of the other nonsense that goes on under their jurisdiction.

Elling: Recently, LPGA Hall of Famer Carol Mann posted some personal religious opinions on her Facebook page that drew attention. Whether its a coincidence or not, in my view, she no longer is as visible as an ambassador for the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Huggan: Amazing that, especially when you consider that one of this years Hall inductees was Jumbo Ozaki Ill say no more on that subject. But Im sure anyone with even a tenuous interest in golf will know what Im talking about.

Elling: The notion and timbre of “media” changes every 10 minutes. So what about Twitter? Does this mean the PGA Tour is going to start whacking former major winner Steve Elkington for sending out his hilarious cartoons that he commissions on his webpage? Theres the rub. The paranoid purveyors of the U.S. tour could zap a guy, and wed never know because fines are not announced. Who decides whats fair or foul?

Huggan: Steve Elkington is a bad example. His cartoons are nothing when compared with his rampantly homophobic views. He once called gays “shirtlifters” on his Twitter page. So its out there in public.

Elling: How much should tours police the social media content? Or should they just wait to act until the public complains? No easy answer. We have a social media policy at CBSSports.com in which we are not to write anything on Twitter or our personal web pages that casts the company in a bad light. This weekly Pond Scrum conversation must clearly rate an exception.

Huggan: I dont think the tour should have anything to do with the private views of players, even when they are expressed in a public forum. I mean, where does it end? George Orwell once wrote a very good book about this sort of stuff. The last thing the world needs is Tim Finchem sitting in judgment of anyone.

Elling: What about profane language, racial slurs, homophobic remarks?

Huggan: I mean, look at the views Paul Azinger routinely expresses on Twitter. He is a raving right-winger. I find his opinions on politics to be ludicrous and borderline offensive. But I would defend forever his right to say them.

Elling: Oh, Azinger is going to get you for that. He has the fastest Twitter thumbs in professional golf.

Huggan: I hope he does. In fact, Ive already told him what I think.

Elling: Interesting thing about Azinger is that he was sanctioned by ESPN for espousing his political views on Twitter. He works as an analyst for the Mouse network on occasion. Its all so murky. Wheres the line to be drawn?

Huggan: It is ESPNs right to be offended or not. If they are, they can choose not to employ Paul anymore. Thats called freedom, babe. Cant say I blame them, though. He is seriously off the wall at times.

Huggan: Note: I am sitting about 5 yards from Titleist clubmaker Bob Vokey, who is talking about wedges. Great stuff!

Elling: True fact: The alternate title of this weekly column, before an editor came up with Pond Scrum, was going to be “Fresh Grooves.” Which I still think is a pretty good name for something related to golf.

I guess there isnt much doubt. Yani Tseng is the best player in the world, regardless of gender?

Elling: By my scorecard, her LPGA victory yesterday in Arkansas gives her eight international wins in 19 starts, which are numbers that would make Tiger or Vijay applaud during their heyday. She plays a different game, at a different level, and she actually makes putts.

Huggan: Im a huge fan of Tsengs game. What a great swing she has. Beautiful ball-striker. And she is certainly dominant in a way that no man currently is. But we are comparing apples and oranges when we get into this “best player” thing. Lets just say she is easily the best woman golfer on the planet.

Elling: She started the season with four straight wins. Now she has five victories on the LPGA alone, including two in majors. Unlike on the PGA and Euro tours, where no clear-cut favorite has emerged as Player of the Year, the LPGA can call the engraver today. Its a complete slaughter.

Huggan: Having said that, Id be interested in seeing her tee up at Coloni and it would be cool to see if she can do better on a course that is not overwhelming, length-wise.

Elling: Nice kid, too. Tries hard, is well-liked by her peers, loves the game. I vividly recall her attending the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, walking around with Dottie Pepper and making goo-goo eyes at Adam Scott. Hey, why should she be different?

Huggan: I can confirm that I have never made goo-goo eyes at Adam Scott. And I suspect Steve Elkington hasnt, either.

Elling: Incoming … Kaboom! That whistling knockdown shot was better than any executed by an American player in the entire Walker Cup weekend.

The Presidents Cup has suffered some collateral damage as a result of the FedEx Cup series hogging the spotlight over the past few years, but theres an interesting scenario brewing this week at the BMW Invitational. There are three prominent Aussies on the bubble or just outside the automatic top 10 and only two spots available for Greg Norman to give out.

Elling: Indeed, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley rank between Nos. 10-15 in points for the International team and have huge ties to the Sand Belt, where the PrezCup will be staged in two months. Other than when he was writing the $100 million divorce settlement to his ex-wife, this is the first time I have ever written, “I would not want to be Greg Norman.”

Huggan: Ach, I dont see Gregs problem as being anything like unsolvable. If it comes down to two of the three you mention, he must go with the best putters. So, sorry, Robert.

Elling: The subplots for the International team are far more interesting than the issue of who makes the American side, where you almost have to assume that captain Fred Couples will take Keegan Bradley, the perceived frontrunner for the Player of the Year award. So, you take Badds, who isnt in Allenbys class as a ball-striker, because hes superior with one of the 14 clubs? Hmmmm.

Huggan: Believe me, putting is going to be a huge part of the game at Royal Melbourne, where the greens are glass-like and take if possible. So he has to go with Ogilvy and Baddeley, both of whom are brilliant putters.

Elling: Badds is the only one of the three with a victory this season in the States, but Ogilvy is the defending Aussie Open winner. Meanwhile, Allenby is a former Aussie Triple Crown winner who seems like hed be a dominant alternate-shot guy. Terrific stuff.

Huggan: Hardly anyone is in Allenbys class when it comes to ball-striking. Unfortunately for him, you and I are in his class when it comes to putting.

Elling: Of course, Couples avoided all of this hand-wringing by taking the easy way out. He picked Tiger, who is now No. 46 in the world.

Huggan: Sometimes I wonder if you listen to anything I say. Tiger was picked by television executives. Fred merely acted on their wishes. Must have been an e-mail of course, given that Fred never answers the phone.

Elling: Listen to anything you say? Of course I do. Everything you say? Of course I do not.

Huggan: Ogilvy has had a series of health and physical issues this year. Yet he is still on the edge of the team at No. 10, the last automatic spot. And look at his Accenture Match Play record. Its hard to imagine Greg not picking him.

Elling: Maybe one of the Aussie trio will emerge this week at the BMW Championship at Cog Hill, a big-boy venue in size. You know, decide the issue themselves, vs. waiting for a handout. It would be a nice development to track, in between everybody ripping the course.

Huggan: The really interesting bit will come if Ishikawa drops out of the automatic top-10 spots only this time it will be in Japanese.

Print
Email a Friend
Facebook
Twitter
Stumble Upon
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Delicious
Share

Stiggy Hodgson celebrates winning the 14th in a 2-and-1 singles victory over Peter Uihlein. (Getty Imag Britain & Ireland regained the Walker Cup from the United States for the first time since 2003 on Sunday, holding off the Americans in the afternoon singles to secure a 14-12 victory.

The hosts needed 13½ points to win the title and took an insurmountable lead after 17-year-old Welshman Rhys Pugh won his singles match against U.S. Amateur champion Kelly Kraft 2 and 1 and Steven Brown halved with Blayne Barber.

Paul Cutler than halved with American Patrick Cantlay in the final match of the biennial event between leading amateur players.

“Im proud of all the boys,” Britain & Ireland captain Nigel Edwards said. “Theyve all played their part in beating what is a very good American team.”

The Americans were boosted by a letter sent to the team from former President George W. Bush on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2002, terrorist attacks. It was Bushs great-grandfather, George Herbert Walker, who played an instrumental role in the start of the amateur showcase and who donated the cup that bears his name.

U.S. captain Jim Holtgrieve read the letter to the team during its morning meeting.

“As you compete I hope you will reflect on the freedoms you enjoy as Americans,” Bush wrote in the letter. “Remember those who have defended your liberties and way of life. I know you will represent the United States with pride and honor.”

Holtgrieve said the letter served as inspiration for the entire team.

“It obviously meant a great deal to the guys in the team room this morning, especially on this day of all days,” he said.

But on the course, the home team was simply too strong, as Britain & Ireland wrested back the cup after three consecutive losses.

Britain & Ireland led by five points after the morning foursomes, but the Americans pulled closer after Russell Henley beat Tom Lewis 4 and 2 and Jordan Spieth defeated Andy Sullivan 3 and 2 in the first two singles.

Jack Senior then halved with American Nathan Smith before Michael Stewart earned a full point for the hosts by beating Patrick Rodgers 3 and 2.

Peter Uihlein, Chris Williams and Harris English then all earned points for the Americans, but it wasnt enough as Pugh and Brown secured the victory.

Despite the loss, Spieth said the experience will help him a lot in the future.

“Any time you can represent your country, for me, its the biggest honor Ive ever had,” Spieth said. “Being on this team is the biggest honor Ive ever had playing golf. … The crowds, the emotions are higher. The format is different. Peter and I both hope that we can play on a Ryder Cup some day or multiple. I think its a great step towards it.”

Print
Email a Friend
Facebook
Twitter
Stumble Upon
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Delicious
Share

Former top-ranked golfer Lorena Ochoa radiates happiness as she moves around the clubhouse at Las Lomas, a private golf club in an upscale part of Mexico City.

Sh in early December. She seems content spending more time at home after retiring in 2010 while at the top of the sport.

Her departure left something of a power vacuum on the LPGA Tour, but life is going smoothly for the 29-year-old Ochoa. She says she has no intention of making a comeback.

“Im not going to return full time, this is a fact,” Ochoa said in an interview with the Associated Press on Friday. “Id like to play one or two of my favorite tournaments and be on the golf course with people I love.”

Ochoa won 30 tournaments and a spot she held when she retired at 28. In December 2009, she married Aeromexico executive Andres Conesa, who has three children from a previous marriage.

“Im very well, very happy and enjoying this stage of my life,” Ochoa said. “It feels nice to have more time at home, to be more normal and not live out of a suitcase. Physically Im fine, and very excited to be expecting a baby.”

Ochoa said she watches some LPGA events on television and has followed the chase for No. 1 in her absence. Yani Tseng of Taiwan has the spot now, and in the last year it has also been held by Jiyai Shin of South Korea, Cristie Kerr of the United States and Ai Miyazato of Japan.

Others have been in the hunt, too, including Suzann Pettersen of Norway.

“Yes, I watch the tour, but not every Sunday,” Ochoa said. “Im not glued to it. I know speaking with my friends who are still playing, that it is very important that we have a solid No. 1. This helps the image of golf and makes competition better.”

Tseng seems to have replaced Ochoa as the top name in to win five majors by that age.

Ochoas absence also has left a gap in womens golf in Mexico, where the sport has a low profile and struggled to produce top players.

Mexicos top female player is probably Sophia Sheridan, who is also from Ochoas hometown of Guadalajara.

“We have to be patient,” said Ochoa, who played for the University of Arizona before turning pro. “There are very good young players at universities in the United States. But nothing happens overnight.”

Print
Email a Friend
Facebook
Twitter
Stumble Upon
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Delicious
Share

In the movie biz, this might be called an homage.

With the PGA Tour enjoying its lone dark week of the season and no stateside tournament set until next week at Cog Hill outside Chicago, some attention might finally be paid to one of the underrated treasures of the game, the Walker Cup, a biennial match between the Sons of Uncle Sam and the boys from Great Britain and Ireland.

Though most casual fans have barely noticed it over the years, the Walker has been around since 1922, and just as with its professional big brother, the Ryder Cup, the American side has taken a few hits in the recent past.

The GB&I team won four of the five competitions starting in 1995, though the Yanks have since won the past three and will be huge favorites when the two-day competition starts Saturday at Royal Aberdeen, Scotland.

In classic match-play format, our two global golf analysts, European correspondent John Huggan and CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling take a brisk, breezier-than-normal tour through the games biggest plotlines of the moment in their weekly Pond Scrum matchup.

Feel free to keep score.

Theres one notable exception to most international cup competitions. These cementheads rarely concede a point.

Webb Simpson won for the second time in three weeks Monday night to become the PGA Tours sixth two-time winner this season, and jumped right into the Player of the Year battle. Just like last year at this point, nobody has amassed three season victories. Which is better, having a dominant player, or the ensemble photo of the past two years?

Elling: Better for whom? I get the sense that the hardcore golf fans like the diversity and emerging storylines of the new faces, but we all know that the casual followers prefer to have an identifiable figure out front, whether its Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or somebody of that ilk. Same on the womens side, even.

Huggan: I have to go the dominant-player route, especially when the current situation has done nothing but identify a bunch of interchangeable parts, all of whom look almost identical from 50 yards away. White shirt, visor, well-coached swing, etc.

Elling: Simpson wears pink pants. Hes identifiable from five fairways over.

Huggan: Ill give you the pink pants. But I forgot to mention the belly putter. Is everyone using one now?

Elling: Exactly what I was going to say. Theyre like big-headed drivers. I expect interchangeable heads and lofts on em soon.

Elling: For a while now, Ive believed that golf was entering a period similar to the late 1980s and early 1990s, when faces like Faldo, Couples, Norman and Love were the top guns, yet Im not sure anybody was viewed by the masses as a transcendent guy because of who preceded them. But now I think theres even more –- insert dreaded NFL term here -– parity than ever. Simpson was a modest 94th in U.S. earnings last year, and now hes ranked No. 14 in the world. Meaning, theres not much separation at the top of the totem pole.

Huggan: Having said that, I think Tiger Woods spoiled us with his level of celebrity. Never before had the worlds most famous sportsman been a golfer. And it will be a long time before that happens again.

Elling: The word you are looking for is “never.” If Tiger ever makes it back for any length of time, he can certainly be that guy again. Seriously, what does he have to do? Win three times a year? Even in his diminished capacity, he seemingly can handle that. Over the past two years, we have had exactly one player win thrice in a season, and that was Furyk, who won the FedEx finale last year and secured the top-player honors with that victory. He hasnt won since, Id add parenthetically.

Huggan: Of course, someone has won three times this year … step forward Thomas Bjorn. Or are we just talking about the one-dimensional PGA Tour?

No, weve got enough spare ammo for multiple continents. Thomas Bjorn won for the third time this season last weekend on the European Tour and seems like the leading Player of the Year candidate overseas. Whats gotten into the balding, somewhat paunchy, chain-smoking, mercurial Dane these days? Wasnt his career supposed to be through?

Elling: Apparently he thought so. The story a few months back was that he called his swing coach, Pete Cowen, shortly before his first victory in the spring and said he didnt think he wanted to play anymore. He makes Bubba Watson look like Mr. Stability.

Huggan: I have theory on this. It isnt often that Thomas is compared to Jack Nicklaus. But here goes. Right after Jacks dad died early in 1970, the then lazy Bear took it upon himself to rededicate himself to the game in tribute to his father. Thomas dad sadly passed away earlier this year. I see a similar pattern.

Huggan: Thomas has always been one of the most interesting people out there. I mean, how many guys have ever walked off a course citing “demons.” Hes a great interview. One of the brightest and sharpest brains out there.

Elling: It wasnt long ago that Bjorn was taking down Tig see the 2001 Dubai event, where Bjorn beat him on Sunday in eye-to-eye fashion. Seems like more than a decade ago in a million regards.

Elling: In fact, the European Tours two top stories this year arguably have been comparative graybeards Darren Clarke and Bjorn, who have five wins between them at a point most of us had assumed they were past their expiration date. Does Europe have a comeback player award?

Huggan: We dont. Or we give it to Steve Stricker every year. I forget which. I was there for that Dubai duel. Thomas was a real player back then. And without doing much different he could have won two majors by now.

Elling: Those two players werent just viewed as dead, but in advanced stages of decomp, which is what made the stories that much better. Interestingly, theres a Ryder Cup undercurrent to it all. Both would love a captaincy and in some minds they rank 1-2 as the latest favorites for the European helm in three years time, correct? Remarkably, Bjorn is now poised to actually on the next Ryder team. He was an assistant on the last one.

Huggan: I think you may be correct. Depending on how each plays over next couple of years, they look favorites to be skippers in 2014 and 2016. Order to be decided. And Bjorn has been vice-captain twice. Word has it that he was captain in all but name back in 2004.

Oh ye of little faith, and that includes the both of you, what say you after the FedEx Cup twists and turns of Monday night, when some very high-profile guys were sweating bullets and birdies trying to advance to the third series event in Chicago? It was quite a subplot, no?

Elling: I have been advising fans for the past couple of years not to get too caught up in the weekly points confusion, and to just wait for Atlanta to truly sort out the frontrunners for ease of mind. But the 18th hole at TPC Boston beca you had to get there successfully to survive. It added a serious undercurrent to a crazy day when seven different guys held at least a share of the lead.

Huggan: Oh, it was riveting. Cant tell you how nervous I was when multimillionaire Ernie Els came up the last needing to make a putt so that he can play in another big-money event next week. Oh, the pressure.

Elling: Ahhh, Scottish sarcasm. Refreshing as the onshore breeze at St. Andrews. In January.

Elling: Three players made huge stands on the last hole, with Els, Geoff Ogilvy and Chris Stroud all making birdie or eagle to advance to Chicago in the Nos. 68, 69 and 70 spots, the last ones available. The funny part was, the fans in the stands at the 18th had no clue what was going on. When the three guys finished the hole in clutch fashion, the applause from the throng was nothing unusual.

Huggan: Its hard to get too excited about something that has no historical context. I mean, who is going to remember any of this stuff in even six months time? Ogilvy was under more pressure. But only because he needs to play well to make the Presidents Cup, which is being played in his backyard at Royal Melbourne in Australia. Not sure he gives two hoots about the FedEx thingy.

Elling: Why does the bigger context matter? It was darned entertaining on Monday night. With the tourney title, FedEx spots for two major winners, and the Presidents Cup points all boiling away, that was a nice little cauldron of stew that NBC had on the fire.

Huggan: It was entertaining, yes. But that was all. Move on.

Elling: No knock on E and hes not a bazzillionaire playing for even more piles of cash for his bank account. He had fallen down dead all day, then eagled the hole to claim the 70th and last spot in next weeks field. Ogilvy was nearly as clutch. He has a Presidents Cup berth on the line, and hes a Sandbelt product, like you indicated. Three Aussies next week will be angling for PrezCup spots in the final tournament in which points can be gleaned.

Elling: Trust me. Making it to Chicago matters for Stroud, who has been characterized in the past as a “Fall Series standout” on the tours own website. As one media guy noted, that can be interpreted as meaning, “This Guys No Good.”

Huggan: Lets hope for the sake of the Aussies that Ishikawa doesnt need a pick. As I pointed out last week, International team captain Greg Norman will be hearing from the suits in Japanese television if that scenario plays out. Im sure Stroud is delighted. And Im delighted for him. But Im not sure Ill remember his name two weeks from now.

Elling: Ishikawa was fifth in Japan last week, so he looks pretty solid for a top-10, automatic berth. It looks like it all comes down to Allenby, Ogilvy and Baddeley for the last three spots. All Aussies, all terrific picks, all good guys, all past Aussie Open winners. Quandary time.

Huggan: All good guys? Have you spent any time around Allenby? Of those three, Id take Ogilvy and Baddeley, on the basis that you dont pick bad putters for match play. Allenby is a bad putter.

Elling: Allenby is one of my favorite guys. He turned 40 a few weeks ago and celebrated in Key West for so long and loudly, he had to receive medical attention. True Aussie style, mate.

The Walker Cup matches are this weekend in Scotland. Where does this event rank among the international cup competitions?

Elling: It doesnt much rank at all, though it should. For purity of sport, the asinine political entanglements of the team selections process aside, its about as good as it gets. But I am an admirer from afar. John has actually attended many and seen plenty of future stars in their last amateur hurrahs.

Huggan: The Walker Cup is old-time golf, which is good and bad. The atmosphere, courtesy of many stuffy R&A and USGA types, is one where working-class people need not apply. But the golf is terrific, especially as you get to walk the fairways with the players.

Elling: Virtually every younger top-50 American player these days took his final bows as an amateur at the Walker. Fowler, Johnson, Holmes, Kim, Overton and the list goes on and on. Give us a scouting report on the venue, will ya? Might as well use your local Scottish know-how for the greater edification of golfing mankind.

Huggan: Oh yes, the selections. It is obvious to all that neither team has its 10 best players. Both systems are idiotic and out of date will make changes for the next matches. Im just looking forward to hearing both captains trying to tell us they each have picked their best sides.

Elling: Teams are chosen by committee, which is where good ideas are inevitably diluted, polluted, quietly strangled and eventually expire. As for the venue, we hear its narrow as hell and will potentially hurt the Yanks long-ball contingent?

Huggan: Royal Aberdeen, or Balgownie as it is known locally, is perhaps Scotlands most underrated venue. It is a brilliant links, especially the front nine, which winds its way through some spectacular dunesland. The back nine isnt quite as good, particularly the two greens that were redesigned/ruined by Donald Steel, but it is still pretty nifty.

Huggan: The weather forecast isnt too great, either, which may be the home sides best hope of success. On paper, and in relatively calm conditions, they have no chance against the U.S. team.

Elling: For we U.S.-centric types, which players on the Great Britain & Ireland side look like cant-miss prospects down the road? Put on your scouting cap for us.

Huggan: Tom Lewis is the best-known member of the home side. Hes the English kid who led the Open Championship after 18 holes in July at Sandwich. Michael Stewart of Scotland looks almost as good. He was runner-up in the British Amateur this year, won the South African Amateur and took the Scottish Amateur last year. Plus, he kicks Lewis rear every time they meet, apparently.

So, what can we make of Webb Simpson, the newest leader of the PGA Tours two-victory brigade in 2011 and yet another belly putter aficionado?

Huggan: I think Webb is a great name for a golfer.

Elling: Second-most-famous Webb in golf history. Behind Ty Webb (no relation). Outside of Keegan Bradley, who jumped straight off the Nationwide Tour to win twice this year, including a major, Simpson has been the seasons biggest breakthrough player. In addition to his two victories, Simpson nearly won in Tampa and lost to Bubba Watson in New Orleans after calling a penalty when his ball moved imperceptibly on the putting green at address. He was probably owed one by the gods after the latter. Instead, hes got two.

Huggan: Pink pants aside, he looks like a very good player. But dont forget he won because the French guy choked. Where have we heard that before?

Elling: I said this half-jokingly to somebody in the press room. The wedge shot that Chez Reavie yanked on the 72nd hole was the most impactful dead pull in Boston since Carlton Fisks homer in 1975 World Series. Thats a baseball reference for you U.K. readers.

Huggan: Reavies not French? Well with a name like “Chez” he should feel right at home there, at least.

Elling: Simpsons swing has surely gotten better over the past few months. Nobody can contend this often with smoke, mirrors and a belly putter. Hes obviously a guy of deep faith who wears his religion on his sleeve. If he believes it helps him, thats got to give him a mental edge, comfort and confidence of some sort. His caddie Paul Tesori said something after the round that was remarkable, calling Simpson the strongest player hed ever looped for, “and that includes Vijay Singh, one of the top 10 players of all time,” Tesori said. If thats true, Simpson could be a pillar of Ryder Cup teams for years.

Huggan: Baseball? Rounders, you mean?

Elling: As for the belly barrage, even Mickelsons gutting it out, if you will. Look, its a trend at the moment, the hot new toy. The numbers of users surely will begin to shrink soon, but that doesnt mean that its going to disappear. Far from it. Especially as players get Els, Goosen, Furyk and Mickelson all turned 40 over the past couple of years. All are former world top-five fixtures. All four are using the belly now. I just dont see too many more guys making the switch. I hope Im right, because it still rubs me the wrong way on principle.

Huggan: I agree. The significant thing is the ages of many doing the switching. If that doesnt prove that those things are nothing more than a crutch for old guys whose nerves are failing, nothing does. Ban them now!

Elling: For those of you keeping track, thats five of the past six wins in the States by guys with belly or broom models, including a major. Note: Dont call me and Huggan, call the USGA. Thats directory assistance for Far Hills, N.J., by the way. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews has telephones, too. Or soup cans and strings, at minimum.

Huggan: I feel sorry for those whose nerves have gone, but that is a big part of the game, one that shouldnt be eliminated by ironmongery. Also, I have it on good authority that the R&A no longer closes for lunch. So call any time.

Did you guys want some catsup for flavoring? Surely you will be dining on your own words after the PGA Tour signed a new TV deal with CBS and NBC that extends the rights fees for another decade. Who thought it was possible in this economic climate?

Elling: Not me, thats for sure. This puts the tour on firm footing for another decade and is a huge victory for American fans, who soon will be able to track the tour on cellphones, tablets and the Internet. I tip my cap to the head honcho. Didnt think it was possible.

Huggan: Hmmm, while Im pleased that Ill still be a the small print made me a little suspicious that this was the great deal wee Tim would like us to believe it is. But as you say, maybe this is the best he could hope for in the current climate.

Elling: For most fans, the contract is just another bit of tid, a sports deal with incomprehensibly big numbers, that already has been lost in the bigger picture. It shouldnt. This is a notable accomplishment. Finchem had to give more, but he got more, and the tenure of the contract is a record nine-year span. Over the short term, fans wont even notice the difference. CBS and NBC will divvy up the tournaments along the same lines as they have for a decade or so. In golf, change is something that most people resist.

Huggan: If I happened to be a PGA Tour player, I would love the job Timmy has done for me and the next five generations of my family. But Im not, so I dont. Im really not sure history will be too kind to him when assessing the job he has done vis-a-vis what is best for the game overall. If he really cared, hed have done something about the ball years ago.

Elling: Hes not in charge of the game. Hes in charge of 45 tournaments and about 300 players. Wally Uihlein and the lawyers are in charge of the game, no?

Huggan: Correct. Speaking of whom, Ill be sure to say hello to Wally out there on the Balgownie links this weekend as he watches son Peter play for the American side. He loves me, does Wally.

Elling: Its a relief, really. Plus, the extension probably means 10 more years of Levitra, Cialis and Viagra ads.

Huggan: They do keep me up at night, right enough.

Elling: Speaking of nocturnal creatures … this cannot be. We made it through an entire week of Pond Scrum with no Tiger barbs.

Huggan: Who? The worlds 44th-best player?

Elling: We will leave the Tiger-torturing to another outlet, then. Did you see that the new owner of the house next-door to Tigers manse in Orlando has removed the infamous oak tree? Rest assured, the hydrant is still there.

Huggan: I did. Funny.

Elling: With that, well conclude our weekly lifting of the leg. Just ahead, Huggan will be at the Walker Cup this weekend as Elling takes off for Chicago and the BMW Championship at the critically controversial Cog Hill next week. So, as Ishikawa says when he yanks one O.B., sayonara.

Print
Email a Friend
Facebook
Twitter
Stumble Upon
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Delicious
Share

Monday at the Deutsche Bank Championship was filled with pressure shots and plenty of nervous moments, typical of any PGA Tour event that goes to a playoff. And that was before Webb Simpson beat Chez Reavie on the second extra hole. might have felt it even more.

All three of them were outside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings, on the verge of being eliminated from the chase for a $10 million p to just squeeze in and advance to the third playoff event outside Chicago.

“Theres no better exercise than Ive been through the last three weeks to really test your nerves, your game, your putting, your chipping, your driving,” Els said. “So Ive really been under the gun. And I think its been good.”

It just didnt feel great.

Els, a three-time major champion and former world No. 1, had to play the Wyndham Championship just to get into the FedEx Cup playoffs, and even then faced long odds at No. 118 in the standings. But he barely made it out of the first round to reach the TPC Boston, and he was on the bubble again Monday.

He was at 7-under par for the tournament, needing one more birdie to crack the top 70. Els holed a 15-foot par putt on the 15th, then made a 6-foot slider for par on the 17th to keep his hopes alive. Needing a birdie on the 18th, Els just went over the back of the green. Walking toward the green, he saw a scoreboard to the left that showed him projected to be 71st. It was the first scoreboard he looked at all day.

“I knew I had to get it up-and-down,” Els said.

It was birdie or out, and a chip some 5 feet by the hole was not what his nerves needed. Settling in over the ball with his belly putter, the putt was true for birdie and the Big Easy was mightily relieved.

“It almost feels like youre trying to make the cut the way I played,” said Els, who has never missed out on the Tour Championship since the FedEx Cup began in 2007. “It brings out a little fight in me again.

Stroud, who started these playoffs last week at No. 106 and moved up to No. 75 after The Barclays, looked like he would easily advance to the third playoff event until nothing came easily in the final round. He was 4 over on the day and needed an eagle on the par-5 18th to crack the top 70.

He had a 2-iron from 232 yards when he changed at the last minute to a 3-iron and struck it perfectly. The ball crawled over the ridge, was inches from hitting the pin and settled just over 3 feet away for an eagle.

“After a long, lousy day … its nice to finally see that Im not going home all empty-handed,” Stroud said. “So I get to go to Chicago.”

The last piece of theater came from Ogilvy, who was at No. 91 going into the TPC Boston.

He, too, looked to be in good shape when he holed out a bunker shot on the 13th. But he made bogey on No. 14, then another one on No. 16 that left him so furious he slammed his putter to the ground. His next tee shot went into a depression in front of a rock, and he had to take a one-shot penalty for an unplayable lie.

His last chance was to make a 20-foot par putt, only Ogilvy didnt know it. He was at 5 under, certain that he needed to be at least at 7 under to get into the top 70.

“The truth? I thought it was over at that point,” he said. “Most of the day, I thought 7 or 8 was what I probably needed to be. So when youre at 5 taking an unplayable 150 yards from the green, I thought I was pretty done there.”

He went just over the back of the 18th, chipped to 6 feet and made a birdie to advance.

“It worked out,” Ogilvy said. I get rewarded with a trip to Cog Hill.”

There was a little sarcasm there. Ogilvys isnt a big fan of the redesign by Rees Jones. But he is happy to still be playing. If nothing else, it gives him one more tournament to try to play his way onto the Presidents Cup team, a big deal for a guy with a house at Royal Melbourne.

Print
Email a Friend
Facebook
Twitter
Stumble Upon
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Delicious
Share

For all that went wrong for Bubba Watson on the back nine Sunday, at least he still had the lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Right when he was starting to pull away in the third round at the TPC Boston, Watson lost control off the tee and made three bogeys in a five-hole stretch, then failed to get up-and-down for birdie from just behind the par-5 18th green. He still managed a 1-under 70 to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the second FedEx Cup playoff event.

“Its always nice to be in the final group because then you know what everybody is doing. If you play slow enough, youll be two holes back, so when you know what you have to do,” said Watson, one of golfs quickest players. “Its a good position to be in. Thats where you want to be. Every week, thats what we try to do, is get in the final group because that means you have a great chance.”

Even so, the Labor Day finish figures to be wide open.

Adam Scott (71) and Jason Day (67) were among five players in a tie for second. Luke Donald, the No. 1 player in the world, and Jim Furyk were in the large group just two shots behind.

Phil Mickelson even has a chance. He holed out a 7-iron from the rough on the 12th hole for eagle on his way to a 63, and wound up among two dozen players separated by four shots with 18 holes remaining.

“Its not even that theres so many guys,” Brendan Steele said. “Its who the guys are, too. Theres a lot of talent there. Somebody is going to have to definitely go and take this tournament. Its not going to be given to them.”

The tournament became so wild over the final hour that Steele couldnt even find his name on the first two pages of the electronic leaderboard after a bogey on the 14th. He rolled in a long birdie putt up the ridge on the 16th, then hit 5-iron to 4 feet for eagle on the last hole for a 67 and was in a six-way tie for the lead.

Thats nothing new for the TPC Boston. Six years ago, there was a five-way tie for the lead going into the final round in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Adding to the stakes this year is the FedEx Cup, with the winner assuring himself a spot among the top five at the Tour Championship when 30 players have a shot at the $10 million prize.

Watson moved to 13 under after a short birdie on the 10th to build a two-shot lead. But he was wild to the left on the par-3 11th for bogey, and he had to scramble for bogey on the 12th after a poor tee shot. He reclaimed the lead with a birdie on the 17th.

Watson was at 11-under 202 as he goes after his third win of the year, and by far the biggest of his career.

The new long shot of these playoffs is Chez Reavie, who had a 68 and was one shot behind. Reavie started the season on a major medical exemption, meaning he had 13 events to earn $673,983 and keep his card. He missed his mark through June, then got into enough tournaments and did well enough to qualify for the playoffs.

At No. 87 this week, he now has a good chance and maybe even the Tour Championship at East Lake for the first time in his career.

Not bad for a guy who, despite having earned more than $1 million this year, isnt even eligible for the Fall Series because he wont have full standing again until next year.

“Its been a strange year,” said Reavie, who missed the second half of 2010 with a knee injury he didnt know existed. He had his meniscus repaired in his right knee, along with a rebuilt ACL using the ligament from his knee cap.

Mickelson, who is using a belly putter this week, had three straight birdies early in his round, a birdie-birdie-eagle stretch in the middle and finished with a two-putt birdie from 10 feet. He finished his round some two hours before the leaders even went to the range, not very optimistic that he would be in the mix.

The wind arrived, however, and while it made a two of the par 5s easy to reach, it caused some confusion and became even more punishing when balls strayed from the fairway.

Of the last eight players to tee off in the third round, Jerry Kelly had the best score at 68. That put him in the mix, just one shot behind. Those players in the last four groups had a combined score of only 3 under.

Now, its anyones game on Monday, when the wind again is likely to be a factor.

Print
Email a Friend
Facebook
Twitter
Stumble Upon
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Delicious
Share

Jamie Donaldson shot a 6-under 65 Saturday to pull ahead of Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy and lead the European Masters after three rounds.

Donaldson, a 35-year-old Welshman seeking his first career victory, was at 14 under and one shot ahead of Westwood. McIlroy was another stroke back in third on a sun-baked day in the Alps.

A downpour soaked the course soon after fans left at the end of the round. Donaldson will be playing in a final group Sunday whose tee times were moved to the morning to avoid the worst of storms that are forecast.

European Masters Related links Leaderboard

“Im the underdog in effect, even though Im winning by one,” Donaldson said. “Its awesome. You are playing with two of the greatest players at the moment.”

Westwood, ranked No. 2, had seven birdies, including all four par-5s, in a 64 that was the days best round.

“Its always nice to play a round with no 5s and no bogeys, especially on a course like this that can trip you up,” Westwood said.

McIlroy began the day in a four-way tie for the lead at 8 under, but the U.S. Open winner dropped shots at the 16th and 17th in his 67.

“It wasnt the greatest way to finish, but Im still in there,” he said.

Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, last weeks winner at Gleneagles, Scotland, had a 66 and was at 11 under with Gary Boyd of England. Martin Kaymer of Germany was among six players at 10 under, trailing Donaldson by four shots.

Donaldson shot seven birdies, the lone bogey coming at the 629-yard ninth hole.

“I played really good all the way round,” said Donaldson, who has two runner-up finishes on the European Tour, most recently at Malmo, Sweden in July 2009. “I will go out [Sunday] with the exact same game plan.”

Westwoods round included four straight birdies between the sixth and ninth holes.

“They are scoring holes,” said Westwood, who fought a heavy cold. “I tried to hit in sensible places all day and try not to make mental errors.”

McIlroy birdied the first and sixth then sank a 40-feet putt for an eagle-2 at the scenic seventh hole. He got back-to-back birdie-4s after the turn before his putting let him down at the par-3 16th.

“Theres a 61 or 62 out there,” said McIlroy, who lost a playoff on this course at age 19 when taking a four-shot lead into the final round.

“I should have won here in 2008 and I feel I should be leading this tournament by a bit already,” McIlroy said.

Print
Email a Friend
Facebook
Twitter
Stumble Upon
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Delicious
Share

Rory McIlroy shot a 2-under 69 to move into a four-way tie for the lead in the European Masters second round on Friday.

European Masters Related links Leaderboard

The U.S. Open winner, who had an eagle two and a double-bogey 7, is 8 under with Englishmen Gary Boyd and Simon Dyson, Jamie Donaldson of Wales.

McIlroy rued missing a four-foot putt for birdie at the 18th.

“I really wanted to make that to get into the lead on my own,” the Northern Irishman said. “All in all, Im tied for the lead and its not a bad position to be in.”

Morning leader Nick Dougherty of England ended his 21-tournament streak of failing to make the cut, shooting 72 to be 7 under.

Dougherty has not reached weekend play since the Singapore Open in November 2010, and does not yet figure on the current European money list.

Joining Dougherty one stroke behind the leaders were Martin Kaymer of Germany, Jaco van Zyl of South Africa, Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay and Danny Willett of England.

World No. 5 Kaymer and sixth-ranked McIlroy can climb to third with victory here.

Lee Westwood, the world No. 2, also shot 69 and is two shots back on 6 under with nine other players.

Starting his round after lunch, McIlroy hit possibly the days best shot when driving to the pin at the 339-yard fifth, fading right over trees to bypass the dog-leg fairway.

He sank the two-footer for an eagle he described as “pretty special,” but gave back both shots on the 629-yard ninth.

McIlroy p drawing a bemused glan and eventually three-putted from 4 feet.

“I was pretty frustrated heading into the back nine,” McIlroy acknowledged, “but I played OK. Theres been a lot of traffic on [the greens]. You start becoming a little tentative.”

McIlroy steadied himself and only a birdie at the 15th interrupted his sequence of pars.

Kaymer had his own double bogey at the par-3 16th, taking four shots from the green edge after his tee shot found a small hole.

“Sixteen was a joke,” said the 2010 PGA champion, who criticized the putting surfaces. “The greens have become really bad in the afternoon. There are a lot of other guys who got stuck at 7 or 8 under.”

Kaymer cheered up at the prospect of battling McIlroy for the title and a higher world ranking.

“Maybe we c that would be fantastic,” the former world No. 1 said.

Print
Email a Friend
Facebook
Twitter
Stumble Upon
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Delicious
Share

As it turns out, Irene was not even the biggest whirlwind of the week, at least as it related to teamwork and the amassing of American golfing troops.

Seemingly out of nowhere, unlike Irene, Tiger Woods got named to the Presidents Cup team, a move that toppled a few trees in cyberspace.

Then the defending NCAA champion was left off the U.S. team for next weeks Walker Cup matches in Scotland, an equally ill wind in the eyes of the amateur aficionados.

It all happened while the PGA Tours mega-money season opener in the FedEx Cup series, The Barclays, was caught in Irenes crosshairs and in danger of being washed away at cozy Plainfield Country Club, where the final round was axed for safety and practicality purposes.

Abbreviated tournament or not, rising American star Dustin Johnson won his fifth PGA Tour title Saturday, leaping to No. 4 in the world ranking, then hustled off immediately after the shortened trophy session to catch a flight before the storm shut down the rest of the regions harried airports.

Similarly, there is no shortage of fast, breezy bluster with our two in-house analysts, European Tour correspondent John Huggan and CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling, who meet weekly via dueling computers to break down the breakdowns in a two-man match called Pond Scrum.

Like the entertaining finale at Sundays U.S. Amateur at Erin Hills, theres often not much separating this pair when they start saying it and spraying it. You could rename this venue Errant Hills, in fact.

With a hurricane bearing down on the Eastern seaboard, was the tours decision to pare The Barclays to 54 holes was right call, since there were FedEx Cup spots on the line?

Elling: No question, it was a rough call, but the right one. Sure, they could have hu and this weeks event outside Boston doesnt start until Friday. What was most bothersome was that it took forever to make the decision. The NFL and MLB rescheduled or canceled games a full day before the tour pulled the trigger on the adjustment. Very shaky stewardship in many regards. Its never good when glacial state government moves faster to react to impending doom, is it?

Huggan: Of course it was the right call. Lives were at risk, for goodness sake. And as it turned out, the course was under water Sunday right? I mean, what other course of action could any sane people possibly have taken?

Elling: Speaking of weak, Tim Finchem was nowhere to be found. When the Golf Channel unearthed him Friday after the decision had been made to pare 18 holes, he was safe and sound in Ponte Vedra Beach, monitoring the situation from a thousand miles away. Barclays is one of the biggest sponsors in the global game, with three tournaments on as many continents, and he damned sure should have been around when any decision to chop a tournament was made. Nice leadership. No captain on board when the megamillion-dollar ship was foundering?

Huggan: Although since when did the PGA Tour do anything quickly? Other than fine people that is.

Elling: Quickly? You mean secretly. Finchem told the Players Advisory Committee on Thursday that he wanted to stay until Tuesday and play all 72 holes. So yeah, I darned well would have liked to have spoken with the guy. Some media guys were grousing about the integrity of the tournament after it was trimmed. What about the integrity of leadership?

Huggan: Im surprised Finchem didnt show. Of course, given his diminutive stature, he knows it is raining a bit later than most of us.

Elling: Nothing small about his private jet. He should have been around.

Huggan: My goodness, how pompous can you get? “Integrity??” See my comment above about lives being at stake. Give me and by that I mean le was hardly the only major tactical withdrawal that raised eyebrows. The Golf Channel pulled everybody out en masse on Friday, too, and had to ask ESPN for permission to use its post-round interview footage from Saturday with Johnson. Nobody was there to ask questions. Gee, and I thought the “playoffs” were supposed to be important? Long-distance information, give me Memphis, Tenn. Im calling FedEx to rat them out. Fifty-four holes was 18 more than Finchem or the home-of-golf network went.

Huggan: That does seem excessive. It was pretty clear when the bad weather was going to arrive, right? Maybe it was all to do with Golf Channel “talent” getting their hair mussed in the wind.

Elling: As for critics of the 54-hole decision, I thought it was slightly, mildly unfair that when the decision was made to pare 18 after many players had started and well before some in the afternoon wave teed off. In other words, some players knew what was happening and adjusted their game plans accordingly over the entire day. Again, hardly ideal. An advantage was gained in the eyes of some players.

Huggan: You have a point there. Decisions like that need to be made when all players are off the course.

Elling: Again, that was a byproduct of stalling too long to make the precautionary call.

Elling: This is a related, bizarre note, but with the Barclays rainout, the PGA Tour will go three straight we the Deutsch Bank Championship this week ends on Monday, and theres no event at all next week. The fates are a funny bunch. Stage is all yours, National Football League.

Huggan: What is this obsession with playing 72 holes? Where does it come from?

Elling: Thats a great question. A PAC board member said he first asked Finchem about the possibility of trimming to 54 holes on Thursday and he balked. Easy for him to say. He wasnt here dodging Irene, was he?

In the mind of Fred Couples, tabbing Tiger Woods as a member of the Presidents Cup team four weeks before the captains picks were due to be announced was a logical move. About half the world disagrees. Were sensing that you two hammerheads might actually agree on something for once.

Elling: Well, my first-blush instinct was to excoriate Couples for being lazy and taking the easy way out, rather than actually evaluating the American hopefuls and making a prudent move. After all, Couples reportedly didnt know that Woods hadnt advanced to the FedEx Cup series, so hes not exactly paying attention, is he? But thats just for openers.

Huggan: I understand what Fred did. As Ive pointed out before, the Presidents Cup is not really competitive; it is an exhibition. As such, it is subject to commercial and economic pressures from sponsors, television, etc. Im sure Fred was told to get Tiger picked ASAP so that Woods can be used in the pre-event publicity.

Huggan: It picks Ryo Ishikawa for the International side. Japanese television money will talk.

Elling: The blog-o-sphere was afire with folks defending the notion that Woods absolutely deserved the spot. I didnt realize golf had become such a ceremonial sport. I thought that pomp was only reserved for the Masters. I stand corrected. Meanwhile, a guy who won three times last year, was FedEx champ and PGA Tour Pl Jim Furyk. I just dont understand the unconditional embrace out there for Woods. His record speaks volumes about his readiness. Period.

Elling: Now, with all my venting on that front complete, picking Tiger isnt my biggest objection in the scenario. Its the fact that Couples couldnt show the good graces to wait four weeks to announce the selection, and at least pretend to pay attention to what guys like Keega are doing in the FedEx series.

Huggan: Freds decision, of course, had nothing to do with who is deserving of the spot or who has played the best golf in the qualifying period. In professional sport, its all about cash, baby. And Tiger is spelled $$$$$ when it comes to the Presidents Cup.

Elling: Couples made one thing clear. As you and a few other scribes have stated, he underscored the fact that the Presidents Cup is a junior-varsity exhibition compared to the Ryder. He also managed to alienate a cadre of fans who will be pulling for Couples to stumble and Woods to flop. And by that, I mean American fans.

Huggan: You are, of course, correct, if we are talking about a real world where people get what they deserve. But were not. As you well know, I suspect.

Huggan: Does anyone really care about the result of the matches? I dont. I just want the thing to be close and entertaining. And I want to watch some of the very best players performing on one of the planets very best courses, Royal Melbourne. We should just enjoy it for what it is, without getting too worked up about who is getting screwed in the process.

Elling: I live in a sad, Utopian world. Sigh. Speaking of which …

Are you kidding? LSU standout John Peterson, the NCAA champion and a guy who nearly won a Nationwide Tour event last month as an amateur, was left off the U.S. Walker Cup team that was finalized after the U.S. Amateur on Sunday night?

Elling: I guess Tiger wasnt eligible? The Walker Cup captain makes Couples look like a neurosurgeon. Unlike Woods, Peterson has been piling up wins and is ranked No. 7 in the world amateur rankings. As a Yank, I am not sure I have ever felt more embarrassed to be a member of the USGA. Well, the Shinnecock cock-up was worse.

Huggan: Ah yes, amateur bodies picki and sadly these things are not always just about golf. Personalities and nationalities both play parts in this often distasteful business. Both teams will go into this years matches with something less than their best 10 players. It has nearly always been that way and it always will be.

Elling: You have to wonder if Petersons post-round comments after that Nationwide event, where he said that there were a bunch of guys in college capable of regularly beating PGA Tour pros, rubbed some folks the wrong way. Still, even if he had said Gadhafi should be governor of New Jersey, he should have been a lock for the team.

Huggan: On the GB&I side, th is almost impossible to justify. And it sounds like your man Peterson has been equally hosed. But let me repeat, these things are not unique. As soon as you get blazers involved, there is going to be a fire to put out.

Elling: Finally, LSU fans have found somebody who gagged worse at the final decision-making gun than their own football coach, Les Miles. Its U.S. captain Jim Holtgrieve. Embarrassingly, he red, white and blew it. There are a couple of specious picks on this team that had better make like Peter Uihlein did two years ago, when he was a huge reach as a selection after a mediocre freshman season at Okie State, and win every point.

Huggan: Ah yes, the Uihlein example. While he has played some superb golf since the last Walker Cup, Peter didnt perform that well at Merion two years ago. He won at least two of his points by being not quite as bad as his opponents.

Elling: And why was Uihlein picked? Perhaps in part because his father runs one of the biggest manufacturing companies in golf? I guess the good thing is for the American side is, it probably wont matter much. This shapes up as the most lopsided rout in Walker history on paper.

Huggan: The big problem over here is that the team is picked by a six-man committee: the captain, a chairman and one guy from Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. Typically, each one goes in there pushing for as many as he can from his own nation. So they end up with a compromise side. If the best 10 were, say, all Irish, that would not be the team ultimately selected.

Elling: Oh, nice. I guess Monty (the real one), Eisenhower and Stalin were not around to help out. Way too many cooks toiling over the broth.

Huggan: I agree. On paper it doesnt look good for the home team here. Quite apart from the fact that they are not the looks quite always a po it likely wont be close.

Once again, the American college system has come under fire. Or, rather, a players decision to remain in school rather than turn pro. This time, Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam said that Michelle Wie needs to devote more of her attention to golf.

Elling: I could not disagree more strongly. If Wie wants to finish at Stanford and actually have a life outside the game before she makes golf her vocation, have at it. I hope shes going to every Palo Alto kegger party and fending off nerdy Stanford boys in droves. Its a rite of passage, not a wrong of passage.

Huggan: I lau a one-dimensional person from a countr know about life away from golf? Not much, I would hazard. There are a few negative things one could say about Michelle Wie, but her going to Stanford to get a great education is not one of them. Annika needs to get a life.

Elling: The same suggestion has been made with regard to Patrick Cantlay, a supremely talented rising sophomore at UCLA who finished second Sunday at the U.S. Amateur. He shot 60 in a PGA Tour event already and has been reeling off made cuts like a tour veteran. Hes going back to school.

Elling: Finishing school really crushed Matt Kuchars career. I bet Matt was really second-guessing the decision to return to Georgia Tech when they handed him that $3 million bonus check for finishing second in the FedEx Cup last year. Or when they handed him the Arnold Palmer Award for topping the money list. Or the Vardon and Byron Nelson awards for having the lowest scoring average. What a disastrous decision. Hes only one of the most well-adjusted and well-liked guys on tour.

Huggan: I watched Cantlay in the final of the U.S. Am yesterday. He is clearly quite a player, as his record this summer makes clear. But he might want to take a wee look at his behavior in times of stress. He wasnt too impressive under pressure during the match. And he wasnt exactly sporting in his comments afterwards. There was no tribute to his conqueror, for example. Ive seen 10-year-olds show more class in defeat.

Huggan: He did everything except stamp his foot and demand an ice cream.

Elling: Well, he was in Wisconsin. I am sure they had several flavors available. Fair point on the aftermath. Hes 19. It underscores the bigger point: He is not ready for the big leagues in some ways. Or not as ready as he will be in a couple of years.

Huggan: That was obvious yesterday. He needs to go back to school and grow up a little before he hits the PGA Tour.

Elling: Theres evidence to suggest that waiting a few years wont matter much for Wie, anyway, because there are plenty of folks who think she was at the apex of her game when she was 16 or 17 and playing in U.S. Open qualifiers against the men. And beating many of them. Shes got physical problems with her wrists that will be always troublesome. In the womens game, players peak at absurdly young ages sometimes. Ask Aree and Naree Song.

Huggan: The last thing we need out there is another Anthony Kim or Sergio Garcia.

Elling: Think about this. How many times has a player ever said, “I should have quit school early and chased the fast money?” I can think of zero. Kuchar is the ultimate cautionary eventually.

Huggan: Kuchar is at the top? Wow, I missed that.

Elling: I would say ranking in the world top 10 is pretty close to the top, yeah. So, if you personally had been picked for a Walker Cup team years ago, when you were a top amateur in Scotland, would you have gone to college yourself?

Huggan: I did thin University of Stirling, which produced tour players over here after I had all but given up playing full-time amateur stuff. So Im not the best example.

Huggan: As for the Walker, my timing was awful. But if they had been picking a side at the end of 1983 rather than the beginning, Id have been in with a good chance of making it.

Elling: Well, based on your admittedly iffy wedge game, I guess you made the right call. You are much better with a pencil and keyboard than the lob wedge.

Boys, they played a European Tour event last week at the 2014 Ryder Cup venue in Scotland. How did that turn out?

Elling: Is the five-man playoff over yet? I was not-so-breathlessly following it on the Internet from here in New Jersey. It took 75 minutes or so to complete, right?

Huggan: Well, if ever we needed proof that the Centenary course at Gleneagles is not where the Ryder Cup sho was tedious beyond belief. Its an uphill par-5 with inappropriate rough, silly trees and no chance of reaching in two. So, in other words, it was a 100-yard par-3 for the five participants. If eventual winner Thomas Bjorn hadnt finally seen off the rest, it could have gone on forever.

Elling: Course design aside for the moment, is there anything better than seeing a battalion of guys needlessly play same hole six straight times? Nothing monotonous about that call. Nothing at all. Incredible.

Elling: As for the 18th hole, it really makes you hold your breath in anticipation for the Ryder Cup there in three yea everybody laying up to the same 90-yard mark and hitting wedges.

Huggan: Ive said this before, but the C and the fourth-best in Auchterarder. The saddest thing though, is that there is a great composite course out 13-14-18 on the Kings course. That would be great, but I dont see it happening. For one thing, Gleneagles and the European Tour would have to admit that the Centenary course is rubbish.

Elling: Who owns that resort? Is the message not being heard?

Huggan: I think it is owned by a brewing/distilling company. But Gleneagles is the Scottish home of the PGA, so that is a factor too. They wont change it, even though everyone thinks they should. Besides, does it really matter? The Ryder Cup hasnt been played on a decent course over here since 1981.

Elling: They havent had a Ryder in Scotland since 1973. And this where they elect to stage it?

Huggan: Exactly, when you think of the potential venues, it is an outrage, especially when, as you say, Scotland has had but one Ryder Cup so far. Southport and Ainsdale have had more, for goodness sake.

Elling: Missing that Gleneagles playoff on TV while being held hostage in my New Jersey hotel room by hurricane coverage might not have been so bad. It might even have been less repetitive, if thats possible.

Huggan: Again, you make a good but obvious point. But one that would see those in charge having to admit to error. Not going to happen!

We have a new FedEx points leader in Dustin Johnson, who won the Barclays on Saturday (theres an odd sentence to read). What took him so long to get his first win this year?

Elling: For all his gifts, he has a few limitations. Mainly, he is incredibly average with his wedge and putter. His new caddie, Joe LaCava was helping read nearly every putt last week. That has to be a good thing.

Huggan: That is a mystery given Johnsons obvious talent level. The only conclusion one can draw is that there isnt too much going on between his ears. Certainly, if that shot he hit OB at the 14th hole in the final round of the Open Championship at Sandwich last month is anything to go by, thinking is not his strong point.

Huggan: Having said that, I love to watch him play. He hits it miles and he gets on with things without any obvious fuss. His pace of play is a great example to all.

Elling: That boy can mash, though, huh? He was flying 3-woods as far as playing partners Kuchar and Vijay Singh were hitting their drivers. He reduced Plainfield Country Club to a series of pitch-n-putt par-4s. He was able to drive the green on three of them.

Elling: I am ripping off my own Twitter feed, but Johnson has won the last two PGA Tour events cut to 54 holes, at Barclays and 2009 Pebble Beach events. He would be deadly on the LPGA. Hes already proven he can handle Natalie Gulbis.

Huggan: Ive said this before, but I worry about that obviously shut face at the top of his swing when it comes to his wedge game, which is reputedly his technical weakness. Until he fixes that, he will win only in weeks when his talent is enough to beat the rest.

Elling: Indeed, when he has a wedge in hand, that shut clubface at the top makes him look like a guy flipping pancakes with a big spatula.

Huggan: Then again, he is Americas best player and No. 4 in the world. Ill be surprised if he doesnt win a major next year. Having LaCava on his bag doesnt hurt his chances, either.

Elling: I think LaCava, who toted previously for Couples, is going to be a huge influence. I was standing a few feet away in the second round when he talked D.J. out of hitting a shot from inside a greenside hazard area. Johnson took the penalty drop and saved par. LaCava sagely made Johnson think the idea to take the drop was the players own. Masterpiece of subtle manipulation.

Huggan: I bet the Aussie public is looking forward to seeing him down there later this year.

Elling: You mean at the aforementioned exhibition?

Huggan: And the Aussie Open the week before. A real event.

Elling: Johnsons coach, Butch Harmon, thinks LaCava can make a huge difference. As it is, D.J. already has five wins at age 27, more than any other player still in his 20s on the U.S. tour. Get Rory McIlroy back over here and lets get a rivalry started, OK?

Huggan: Rory is too busy working on his forehand at the moment, although he is due to tee up in Switzerland this coming week. Coincidentally or not, the European Masters at the endlessly picturesque Crans-sur-Sierre also sees the start of qualifying for the 2012 Ryder Cup side.

Huggan: Thatll be “winning” European Ryder Cup side, of course.

Elling: Did you see the picture of Rory smooching with his tennis doubles partner over the weekend, in front of the entire Yale football team? Having those two guys, very eligible bachelors both, dueling it out for the next few years should be very interesting. Sign me up.

Print
Email a Friend
Facebook
Twitter
Stumble Upon
Google
Yahoo
Digg
Delicious
Share