As longtime readers know, I used to be a regular contributor/participant of golf.com’s weekly PGA Tour Confidential roundtable. Well, the editors wanted to show their support after my emotional Twitter rant of epic proportions yesterday (more on that in a bit), so they invited me to join them again as a guest.
Luuuuuke: FTW!
If for some reason you haven’t read this week’s SI Golf Group’s PGA Tour Confidential, do it now. We kicked around Luke Donald’s come-from-behind victory at the Disney, which also won him the PGA Tour money title and made him the frontrunner in the Player of the Year race.
Which American are you backing?
If you haven’t checked out the latest edition of SI Golf Group’s PGA Tour Confidential, it’s worth a look (though I’m sure it’s your second stop on Monday mornings after WUP). We have a lively discussion, starting with which American player we feel most emotionally invested in. Apologies to my international readers (for what it’s worth, most my picks are non-Americans…not finalized yet).
Lee Westwood retakes the top spot in world rankings
As you’ve probably heard, Lee Westwood, who celebrated his 38th birthday with a victory at the Indonesian Masters, recaptured the number-one spot in the official world rankings after Luke Donald lost in a playoff to Brandt Snedeker on the other side of the world at The Heritage. With both Donald and Westwood in contention going into the weekend, it was clear one of them would replace Martin Kaymer, who didn’t compete last week, as No. 1 (if Donald had also won, he would have surpassed Westwood).
Na in the woods, not the Blair Witch Project
I know you’re totally over Kevin Na’s trip in the woods, but the cultural implications are pretty interesting. Just one hole and 16 strokes turned Na nearly into a legend (and rid of his reputation as merely a really, really slow golfer). I mean, it’s not often that someone other than Tiger or John Daly move the needle and receive national coverage — Na was on SportsCenter, featured on the front page of the New York Times and shown on the Jumbotron at an Oakland A’s vs. Detroit Tigers game! Naturally, we discussed the phenomenon over at PGA Tour Confidential.
By the way, sorry for the lack of posts yesterday. I had a rather excruciating journey to Hilton Head and I busted my laptop in the process. Note to self: remember to completely close the cap on a nearly full bottle of soda before putting it in your bag that has your laptop, iPad and every other electronic device you own — it creates quite a mess (not to mention a headache that I now have to deal with). Anyway! If you haven’t seen it already, here’s an excerpt from our roundtable...
Every day this week, the SI Golf Group is addressing one pressing question about the Masters in a daily version of PGA Tour Confidential. On Thursday, we discussed what the biggest surprise of the day was, and last night we tossed around who we think will win and why. My answer? Geoff Ogilvy.
Anything that has to do with Sergio Garcia usually creates a healthy discussion. We saw glimpses of the “old” Sergio with his solid play in the first two rounds of last week’s Transitions Championship, but then he faltered over the weekend to finish T15. This week’s PGA Tour Confidential host, Mike Walker, posed the question, “Have we already seen the best we’re going to get from Sergio, or does he have the drive to become a top player again?” Here’s an excerpt from our lively chat:
Hello from Palm Harbor, Florida, and Innisbrook, the site of the Transitions Championship! A huge thanks to Conor for his contributions the last several days, especially for holding down the fort yesterday (even golf writers needs a day off or two). If you haven’t read it already, check out the SI Golf Group’s weekly Sunday e-mail roundtable.
We touched on plenty of debatable topics, such as — Is this the beginning of more success for Watney? Is Kaymer still worthy of No. 1? What to expect from the struggling Phil Mickelson the rest of the season? Was Tiger’s Sunday 66 at Doral a sign he’s going to win soon or just one round? Did Doral deliver as a big-time event?
And, of course, the one I posed in the headline: Which young American has the best chance of becoming the next major media star?
In an essay ghost-written by Harrison Frazar for SI Golf Plus’ inaugural standalone PGA Tour Confidential issue, he talks about possibly stepping away from the game because his heart isn’t in it anymore. While it’s hard to feel too sorry for a guy who has earned $9.3 million in his career, it’s an interesting and honest look into the mindset of a tour player and the difficulties of being on the road and battling injuries.
During last night’s e-mail roundtable chat about Rory Sabbatini’s victory, among many other topics, the caliber of the Honda Classic as a tour stop was brought up, which led to a debate over what kind of events we enjoy watching more — one where the field struggles or one where birdies flow freely. Of course, this prompted a West Coast vs. Florida swing discussion. Which do we prefer? Personally, I enjoyed the Honda (especially the commute, which was walking from one side of the hotel to the other), but it’s different when you’re covering a tournament on-site and when you’re watching it on TV from your couch.
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