Joey's Golf Bag

This morning, I played nine at North Texas Golf on a hot, breezy morning. The wind was from the east, which was unusual. The wind was about 2 clubs when I arrived but decreased to almost none by the time I finished my round.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

My round:

• First hole. I hit an 8-iron 27 ft short of the hole and two-putted for par.
• Second hole. I hit an 8-iron 27 ft left of the hole and two-putted for par.
• Third hole. Hit a terrible PW shot short of the hole, where it landed next to a sprinkler. I chunked the chip badly just onto the green and three-putted from about 30 ft for double.
• Fourth hole. Hit a thin 9-iron into the mud next to a sprinkler head, where the ball embedded. Took relief from the sprinkler head, badly chunked the chip about 5 ft. I then hit a perfect chip 45 ft into the hole for par.
• Fifth hole. Hit a thin SW just short of the green, chipped to 7 ft and made the putt for par.
• Sixth hole. Hit a PW to 9 ft and just missed the birdie putt. Tapped in for par.
• Seventh hole. Hit an AW to 18 ft and left the birdie putt 6″ short. Tapped in for par.
• Eighth hole. Hit a PW just over the green, putted from off the green 7 ft past the hole, but made the par putt.
• Ninth hole. Hit a 7-iron to 27 ft. Left the birdie putt 2 ft short and tapped in for par.

Today was my best score ever with respect to par (+2) on nine holes and my best score on this course. It really could have been better, if I hadn’t chunked two chips and missed all five of my birdie putts. Still, I was happy with how I played today.

Padraig Harrington, my pick to win the FedEx Cup, missed the cut by one at the Deutsche Bank Championship today. Fortunately, he’ll live to fight another day.

A total of 13 players were eliminated by missing the cut. Some notables who were eliminated from the FedEx Cup due to missing the cut include Ian Poulter, Retief Goosen, Lee Janzen and Fred Couples.

Because 86 players made the cut, there will be another cut tomorrow for the low 70 and ties.

Golf.com reports on a new LPGA English requirement in LPGA to require all players speak English.

The LPGA Tour boasts players from all over the world, and it wants all of them to be able to speak English.

The LPGA will require players to speak English starting in 2009, with players who have been LPGA members for two years facing suspension if they can't pass an oral evaluation of English skills. The rule is effective immediately for new players.

"Why now? Athletes now have more responsibilities and we want to help their professional development," deputy commissioner Libba Galloway told The Associated Press. "There are more fans, more media and more sponsors. We want to help our athletes as best we can succeed off the golf course as well as on it."

The LPGA is going to have to tread carefully on this one. Some might interpret this requirement as racism.

Update: That didn’t take long. Here is Michael Walker, Jr. in LPGA’s English-only policy is unsportsmanlike and un-American:

Even those in favor of the concept should be troubled by the fact that the LPGA won’t have a standard testing procedure. Players would be targeted for evaluation based on staff observations, according to Golfweek, and those “who already demonstrate English proficiency will not be approached.”

I had to read this paragraph three times to make sure it wasn’t a satire from The Onion, or a secret police manual from the Eastern Bloc. Not only are they requiring a language evaluation for their golfers, but they’re also making that evaluation subjective and arbitrary!

Vijay Singh won the Barclays in a playoff over Sergio Garcia and Kevin Sutherland. Kevin Sutherland was the first in with an 8 under par score. Sergio and Vijay both had birdie putts on the last hole for victory, but neither putt fell. On the first playoff hole, both Sergio and then Vijay hit long putts for birdie; Kevin Sutherland wasn’t able to hole his long chip for birdie and was eliminated. On the second playoff hole, Sergio hit into the left rough (almost in a hazard) and Vijay hit a perfect drive into the center of the 17th fairway. Sergio’s second shot ended up behind a tree on the right side of the fairway, where he was allowed to take relief for “abnormal ground” caused by a mole. Vijay hit a stellar fairway wood shot onto the green, while Sergio’s third shot was left below the green. Sergio failed to hole his short chip, and Vijay two-putted for birdie and victory.

My pick to win the FedEx Cup, Padraig Harrington, dropped to 23rd place following his missed cut. My dark horse picks, Anthony Kim dropped one place to 6th and Phil Mickelson dropped one place to 4th.

Several notable players were eliminated from the FedEx Cup by failing to make the top 120 for the next event, the Deutsche Bank Championship. That group included Zach Johnson, David Toms and Chris DiMarco.

This morning, I played 9 at North Texas Golf. The weather was very hot and sunny, with only a slight breeze from the west. Before playing, I hit short and medium pitches, hit a small bucket of balls, chipped and putted.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

My round:

• First hole. Hit a 9-iron just right of the green, chipped to 9 ft and made the putt.
• Second hole. Hit a 7-iron 48 ft short of the hole and two-putted for par.
• Third hole. Hit a fat AW short of the green into a drain. Took relief, chipped to 9 ft and two-putted for bogey.
• Fourth hole. Hit a slightly fat PW right of the pin, chipped to 5 ft, missed the putt and tapped in for bogey.
• Fifth hole. Hit a fat SW short of the hole, chipped to 3 feet and hit the putt for par.
• Sixth hole. Hit an approach shot right of the green, chipped to 6 ft and made the putt for par.
• Seventh hole. Hit a pitching wedge to 18 ft, but hit the birdie putt much too hard and it lipped out 5 ft past the hole. Missed the return putt and tapped in for bogey (much cursing ensued).
• Eighth hole. Hit a pitching wedge to 24 ft. Again, ran the birdie putt well past the hole, missed the return putt and tapped in for bogey (more cursing).
• Ninth hole. Hit an 8-iron off the toe right of the green. Chipped 9 ft past the hole and missed the par putt, and tapped in for bogey.

My putting really let me down today. I could have had a good round, but threw it away with terrible 3-putts.

Yesterday morning, Jarvis and I walked 18 at Prairie Lakes Golf Course in Grand Prairie. We went off at 8:22AM and finished about 4 hours later. The weather was hot and sunny without much of a breeze. We played the White and Blue courses.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I hit only 5 fairways, though I had a couple of good drives that were just off the fairway. I had to play off a push all day, and bad things happened when that push turned into a hook. I hit the driver only twice, both were hooks, one into the water on the 6th hole on the white course. The rest of the day I primarily used the Thriver.
• Approach shots. I hit 6 greens in regulation, one of which was a par-3 hole. My main issue today was hitting the ball over the greens. For whatever reason, my distances were longer that usual. I had one penalty off an approach shot, a 4-hybrid pushed right into the water on the sixth hole of the white course (I still managed to get up and down for double despite two penalties on that hole).
• Wedges. I wasn’t particularly pleased with my wedge play today, tending to hit them high and short.
• Chipping. My chipping was pretty good, I got up and down 6 times, though not always for par.
• Sand shots. No bunkers on this course, so no sand shots.
• Putting. My putting wasn’t good today. On the white course, I putted terribly, having three 3-putts (two on greens I hit in regulation). On the blue course, my putting was much better, as I had five one-putt greens and only a single 3-putt. I had a total of 34 putts.

I was pretty happy with my play today, as I tied my personal best (last time on a par 72 course). If my putting had been better, I could have had a really good round.

My pick to win the FedEx Cup, Padraig Harrington, missed the cut at the Barclays today. He shot a 2 over 73 to finish at 3 over, missing the cut by two strokes. My FedEx Cup dark horse picks, Anthony Kim (tied for 6th at -5) and Phil Mickelson (tied for 21st at -2), both made the cut. Of the top 12 in the FedEx Cup standings, Geoff Ogilvy and Ryuji Imada, missed the cut as well.

Eliminated from the playoffs by virtue of missing the cut and being outside of the top 120 are Tom Lehman, Jason Gore, Jon Mills, David Toms, James Driscoll, Chris DiMarco, and Joe Durant.

Normally, I’d pick Tiger Woods. Unfortunately, we won’t see Tiger again until next year, so the choice is much more difficult. My pick is Padraig Harrington. Reason: His game has no major weaknesses and he performs on Sunday when it matters.

My dark horses are Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson. Anthony Kim is a great ball striker and a good putter. He’s putted well this year, except for a relatively poor performance at the Open Championship. If he gets hot, he could win it, but he’s a bit of a long shot, since he hasn’t won a major. He’s the only player who hasn’t won a major that I think could win the FedEx Cup.

Philly Mick has been erratic this year, but he’s still managed to win twice on very good courses (Riviera and Colonial) and was beaten in a playoff at TPC Scottsdale.

There are some other great players out there, but I don’t think they can string together 4 good weeks and win it. The rest of the top 12 on the points list have flaws.

• Kenny Perry had a great year, but I think his hot streak is over, now that he’s on the Ryder Cup team. He hasn’t won a major, and that’s the main reason I can’t pick him.
• Stewart Cink. No majors either, and he uses a long putter. Can’t go with any long putter guy to win the FedEx Cup.
• Vijay Singh. Can’t putt.
• Justin Leonard. Good player, no major weaknesses, but I don’t see a killer instinct.
• Ryuji Imada. Good player, but no majors.
• Geoff Ogilvy. Fine player, has the game and guts to win it, just hasn’t been playing well lately.
• Robert Allenby. Fine player, but no majors.
• Sergio Garcia. No way. He needs an attitude adjustment to go along with his improved (except when it counts) putting stroke.

Golf is golf, so this post may be laughably stupid by the time the winner hoists the trophy.

Michelle Wie finished tied for 12th at the Canadian Open today. She finished her six sponsor exemptions with about $62k in earnings, which won’t get her a LPGA tour card.

Michelle, go to Q-School, win it, and get ready to play full time on the LPGA Tour.

Do it, girl.

This morning, I played 18 at Coyote Ridge Golf Club, going off at 9:30AM and finishing up in 4 hours and 30 minutes. The wind was strong from the south for most of the day. The weather was partly to mostly cloudy throughout the round.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I started out very nicely on the first two holes, hitting both the fairway and green on both holes (making birdie on the first). Things got a little shaky on the next few holes, as I hit two balls out of bounds left, and had to take an unplayable on the seventh hole (underneath a little pine tree). On the back, I did very well, hitting the par-3 11th green with a 5-iron and hitting six fairways (total of 8).
• Approach shots. Simply terrible. I hit only three greens in regulation, of which two were on par-4 or par-5 holes. I had perfect fairway lies on eight holes and hit two greens. My faults were mostly pushes right. I had two penalties on approach shots, an unplayable lie under little pine tree and a 9-iron into the water on the 4th hole.
• Wedge shots. I didn’t do particularly good with my wedges today; can’t even remember a good one.
• Chipping. I had a few good chips, as I got up and down four times, though usually not for par.
• Sand shots. I hit into one fairway bunker, and hit it out but fat. I hit into three greenside bunkers, one a spectacular shot to 3 feet on the 3rd hole (but missed the putt, ARRRGGGG!!!!). The other two, I got out but not close to the hole.
• Putting. My first putt was a perfectly struck 15 footer for birdie, but I missed a 3 footer for par on the 3rd hole. I had two three-putts and a total of 34 putts.

I got off to a really good start, but played poorly on the front, making five penalties, which I think is the most I’ve ever made in a round. I recovered somewhat on the back (no penalties) but my short game really let me down on the final holes.