I guess hacking off two fingers wasn't enough...
What’s most peculiar is the Tour didn’t send out a ballot for PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year (which is kind of a backhanded compliment depending on how you look at it). Two names pop up right away: Brandt Jobe and Chez Reavie.
Nice
Just a fun nugget…Chez Reavie is playing this week’s Tour Championship. He’s currently No. 8 in FedExCup points and 30th on the PGA Tour money list with earnings of $2,152,267 (which is actually more than his $2,034862 Tour career earnings from ’08-’10).
But get this: Reavie can’t play in the Fall Series events — other than the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open because he finished in the top ten at the last regular season event, the Wyndham Championship (if you top ten and you’re not already in the field for the following tournament, you get a spot).
Els survives to play another week
Ernie Els has won three major championships, captured 64 professional victories, including 18 on the PGA Tour, and has been inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame, but over the last three weeks he’s been fighting to stay alive in the playoffs. Els, who has obviously struggled this season, faced elimination at the last three events, but he’s managed to survive under pressure — which he describes as more intense than being in contention.
Webb thanks his Lord and Savior
The two hottest things in golf at the moment: Webb Simpson and the belly putter. Simpson has won two of the last three events, while long putters (including Adam Scott’s broomstick) have triumphed in four of the last five. (Be honest — how many of you at home have thought about trying one out?)
Simpson has consistently played well this season with nine top-tens, including two wins and two runner-up finishes. He joins Mark Wilson, Bubba Watson, Steve Stricker, Nick Watney and Keegan Bradley as guys with multiple victories in 2011.
Marc Leishman at Brookside
Yesterday I wrote a behind-the-scenes column on the US Open Sectional Qualifer in Columbus, Ohio. I mentioned a few players, but I talked to plenty more. You see, everyone was just hanging out on the patio or pacing near the leaderboard. In other words, it wasn’t hard to chat with a guy. At PGA Tour events and/or majors, the players usually sign their scorecards and make a dash for the locker room if they don’t feel like talking. But like I’ve said, this was a laid-back environment (and there were probably only three other reporters). So, here we go!
The main attraction at Brookside Golf & Country Club
The Waiting Game
For those who teed off early and scored well enough to have a chance, the waiting game was torture. Marc Turnesa played in the first group off on No. 10 at Brookside. He came in the clubhouse — rather patio — at eight-under, only to spend nearly three hours wondering if it was good enough to secure one of the 16 available spots.
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