PGA Tour 2016-2017

[Don Wassall]

Justin Thomas won the first event of the calendar year, the Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii. The topflight field consists of winners of PGA tournaments during the past year.

Thomas is just 23 and has now moved up to 12th in the world rankings. He's good friends with Jordan Spieth and this was the first tournament the two have played in which Thomas finished ahead of Jordan. He's yet another bright young star on the Tour. It should be another great year for golf.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Justin Thomas won the first event of the calendar year, the Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii. The topflight field consists of winners of PGA tournaments during the past year.

Thomas is just 23 and has now moved up to 12th in the world rankings. He's good friends with Jordan Spieth and this was the first tournament the two have played in which Thomas finished ahead of Jordan. He's yet another bright young star on the Tour. It should be another great year for golf.

Right Don. Thomas wins his second tournament in the wrap around season and broke through with his first win last season. Already has 3 career wins. I believe Spieth was quoted as saying this win could open the flood gates for Thomas. ....and yeah the young talent on the PGA Tour has never been brighter and should make for another exciting PGA season.

 

[FootballDad]

Funny, I was at an airport bar when some of this news was on whatever sports channel was on, but the crawl on the bottom of the screen was just all about which tournaments His Majesty Tiger Woods was thinking about gracing this year. It's pathetic.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Looks like Justin Thomas has picked up where he off from last week! He becomes the youngest player, age 23, in PGA history to card a 59 in the opening round of the Sony Open! Playing partner and friend Jordan Spieth shot a modest 65. LOL!

 

[Don Wassall]

Thomas follows up his 59 with a 64, giving him the lowest two-round score in PGA history! The course they're playing is one of the easiest ones on tour, but Thomas's play the past few months and especially the past two weeks has been outstanding. Hopefully he can finish the job at the Sony and make it back to back wins and three for the current wraparound season. Justin currently has a five shot lead over Gary Woodland.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Don't mean to kick a man while he's down, but it is news. Tiger Woods making his 2017 debut shot a 4 over 76 in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open and was in 145th place going into today. He's currently 133rd, but hasn't started his second round yet. The cut line is -1 as of now.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Don't mean to kick a man while he's down, but it is news. Tiger Woods making his 2017 debut shot a 4 over 76 in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open and was in 145th place going into today. He's currently 133rd, but hasn't started his second round yet. The cut line is -1 as of now.

Woods misses the cut. The Golf Channel spent the first 20 minutes of their telecast on him. They keep talking about him in between other stories. I guess it'll never end.

 

[Don Wassall]

Hideki Matsuyama repeats at the Phoenix Open (now called the Waste Management Phoenix Open), giving him two Tour victories this season and five worldwide in the past 3 1/2 months. At just 24, he's easily going to become the most accomplished Asian golfer ever. This pleases (((Rich Lerner))) of the Golf Channel to no end, as during the small amount of time I watched the tournament, he kept excitedly referring to the rise of Asian golfers on the men's tour, even though the number of Asian players in the top 100 has increased only modestly since 2011, from 10 to 14.

Rabbi Lerner also emphasized the talking point that golf is now a "global" game. It's global if the world consists only of the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and a few southeast Asian countries. Where are those magical affletes that Lerner, the unofficial international chairman of the We Worship Tiger Forever Club, likes best of all?

BTW, the attendance at the Phoenix Open each year is jaw-dropping -- this year the total was 655,434, with over 200,000 fans on Saturday alone!

 

[Carolina Speed]

Spieth, Day, and Patrick Reed all seem to be heating up. They are at or near the top of the leaderboard at the AT & T Pebble Beach pro-am after round 2. However, they have to share the lead story with guess who? TW is withdrawing from the next 2 tournaments due to back spasms.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Spieth, Day, and Patrick Reed all seem to be heating up. They are at or near the top of the leaderboard at the AT & T Pebble Beach pro-am after round 2. However, they have to share the lead story with guess who? TW is withdrawing from the next 2 tournaments due to back spasms.

Jordan Spieth, -17, takes a 6 shot lead over Brandt Snedeker and 7 shots over Dustin Johnson headed into the final round of the AT & T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. Be nice to see Spieth have another dominate season like he did in 2015 or at the very least redeem himself and get that green jacket back.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Jordan Spieth wins the AT & T at Pebble Beach, becoming just the second golfer since WW II to win 9 tournaments at age 23 or younger. Let's hope he gets back on the 2015 pace and wins at least one Major this year!

 

[Carolina Speed]

Does anyone here want to guess what and who is the lead story on The PGA Tour website this week? I'll give you a hint. He's currently ranked 693rd in the world and is not even playing in this weeks event.

 

[Don Wassall]

It won't ever end. But Tiger's almost never competitive any more and it's only a matter of time until his next serious injury. All the likely juicing the media never dared to investigate despite the drastic change in his physique -- just as they willingly portrayed Tiger's character off the course as the opposite of what it was until his then-wife exposed what a big lie it was -- talk about fake news! -- came back to bite him in a huge way.

Nine years without a major, washed up early in what should have been prime years, and 693rd in the world rankings. 693rd!!! It's all splendid karma as far as I'm concerned, both for Woods and the emasculated, self-loathing golf journalists who continue to try to will a pathetic shell of a golfer into regaining his long-ago glory.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Not much going on today other than college basketball, so I was watching the Genesis Open and Dustin Johnson leads at -10 after rain delayed round 2. If he hangs on and wins and Jason Day finishes worse than third, he becomes the number 1 player in the world.
Also, I got to play a full round of golf today since my Cancer diagnosis about a year ago. Played pretty well actually, but more importantly, I really enjoyed playing again!
Also, want to give a little recognition to local PGA player J.T. Poston. He went to Western Carolina and is currently in a tie for 4th at -7. I hope he can get his first win soon.
Way to go JT!

 

[Carolina Speed]

Not much going on today other than college basketball, so I was watching the Genesis Open and Dustin Johnson leads at -10 after rain delayed round 2. If he hangs on and wins and Jason Day finishes worse than third, he becomes the number 1 player in the world.
Also, I got to play a full round of golf today since my Cancer diagnosis about a year ago. Played pretty well actually, but more importantly, I really enjoyed playing again!
Also, want to give a little recognition to local PGA player J.T. Poston. He went to Western Carolina and is currently in a tie for 4th at -7. I hope he can get his first win soon.
Way to go JT!

Dustin Johnson wins the Genesis Open and becomes World number 1. Jason Day falls to number 2. McIlroy falls from 2 to 3.

 

[Don Wassall]

That makes ten straight years with a PGA Tour win for Johnson, the longest streak on the tour. He becomes the 20th man to be ranked world number one since the rankings started in 1986.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Dustin Johnson won his second straight tournament today and his 14th overall PGA Tour victory.

There are many outstanding American golfers in their 20s and 30s, and they brought the Ryder Cup back to the U.S. last year.

Evidently the tour is not toast, even though Tiger hasn't won anything in almost a decade.

 

[Don Wassall]

The only downside to Johnson's win is that it was a prestigious WCG event, that was taken from where it was traditionally played, Doral (the "Blue Monster") because Donald Trump now owns that course. Doubling down on their spinelessness, the PGA Tour moved it to Mexico this year.

 

[Carolina Speed]

The only downside to Johnson's win is that it was a prestigious WCG event, that was taken from where it was traditionally played, Doral (the "Blue Monster") because Donald Trump now owns that course. Doubling down on their spinelessness, the PGA Tour moved it to Mexico this year.

I agree Don, however, I have to give the PGA a little credit for not pulling out of North Carolina for the PGA Championship as others did such as, the ACC and NBA All Star Game due to Governor Pat McCrorys's stance on transgender bathrooms and passage of HB2 Bill.
The PGA Championship will be played a Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, NC in August.

 

[Don Wassall]

Dustin Johnson won the WGC Match Play championship, defeating 22 year old Spaniard Jon Rahm in the final match. It's the third straight win for Johnson and the second straight since he became world number one in the rankings. Unlike the musical chairs of the last couple of years with McIlroy, Spieth and Day taking turns at the top, Johnson now has a healthy lead in the rankings and seems very comfortable as the top dog.

Rahm is a burly kid (220 pounds) who went to school at Arizona State and is already regularly in contention on the PGA Tour. He looks to be the next great Spanish player in a line going back to Seve Ballesteros.

 

[Jack Lambert]

It's great to see Jon Rahm playing well. I think he'll be winning a major sooner rather than later; Mickelson recently called him a Top-10 player on tour. Also, DJ has been on fire as well.

Anyway, with the Masters approaching, I've been watching the last couple weeks of golf. I decided to check BSPN for potential news stories. Is the top story about how good Dustin Johnson is going into the Masters as the favorite? Or perhaps DJ becoming the first player to win all four of the WGC events (surpassing even Tiger)? Is it about Jon Rahm playing so well? What about any other golfer that's been playing well thus far in 2016? How about Jordan Spieth, who has owned Augusta lately? Or McIlroy? Or Day? Or Mickelson still playing fairly well at 46? Or Fowler making a move to potentially win his first major? Nope.

It's some drivel, titled: "How Tiger Woods, in his heyday, made golf cool by transcending it?" I think this is the worst obsession the media has this side of the Trump/Russia drivel. They're all on their knees, hoping and praying their "hero" will come back and magically contend at the Masters in two weeks. Stuff like this is simply pointless. Golf is in the best spot it's been in years, with a wide variety of players able to win on any given week.

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id...f-cool-became-cultural-icon-transcending-game

 

[Don Wassall]

Anyway, with the Masters approaching, I've been watching the last couple weeks of golf. I decided to check BSPN for potential news stories. Is the top story about how good Dustin Johnson is going into the Masters as the favorite? Or perhaps DJ becoming the first player to win all four of the WGC events (surpassing even Tiger)? Is it about Jon Rahm playing so well? What about any other golfer that's been playing well thus far in 2016? How about Jordan Spieth, who has owned Augusta lately? Or McIlroy? Or Day? Or Mickelson still playing fairly well at 46? Or Fowler making a move to potentially win his first major? Nope.

It's some drivel, titled: "How Tiger Woods, in his heyday, made golf cool by transcending it?" I think this is the worst obsession the media has this side of the Trump/Russia drivel. They're all on their knees, hoping and praying their "hero" will come back and magically contend at the Masters in two weeks. Stuff like this is simply pointless. Golf is in the best spot it's been in years, with a wide variety of players able to win on any given week.

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id...f-cool-became-cultural-icon-transcending-game

The truth is that Arnold Palmer made golf cool by transcending it. He paved the way for the tremendous growth and popularity of the PGA Tour, not Tiger Woods.

Golf Channel's three-part series on Palmer's life was shown a couple of times during the Bay Hill tournament two weeks ago, Arnie's event. I highly recommend it to anyone, whether they are old enough to remember Palmer's career or not. He had a remarkable life -- in fact he was one of the co-founders of the Golf Channel among his many business ventures -- and was a great man, and I'm not throwing the word "great" around lightly. He had more class in one of his pinky fingers than Woods does in his entire body. No one ever treated fans and people in general better than Arnold Palmer.

 

[Carolina Speed]

It's great to see Jon Rahm playing well. I think he'll be winning a major sooner rather than later; Mickelson recently called him a Top-10 player on tour. Also, DJ has been on fire as well.

Anyway, with the Masters approaching, I've been watching the last couple weeks of golf. I decided to check BSPN for potential news stories. Is the top story about how good Dustin Johnson is going into the Masters as the favorite? Or perhaps DJ becoming the first player to win all four of the WGC events (surpassing even Tiger)? Is it about Jon Rahm playing so well? What about any other golfer that's been playing well thus far in 2016? How about Jordan Spieth, who has owned Augusta lately? Or McIlroy? Or Day? Or Mickelson still playing fairly well at 46? Or Fowler making a move to potentially win his first major? Nope.

It's some drivel, titled: "How Tiger Woods, in his heyday, made golf cool by transcending it?" I think this is the worst obsession the media has this side of the Trump/Russia drivel. They're all on their knees, hoping and praying their "hero" will come back and magically contend at the Masters in two weeks. Stuff like this is simply pointless. Golf is in the best spot it's been in years, with a wide variety of players able to win on any given week.

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id...f-cool-became-cultural-icon-transcending-game

Don't eat until after you've read this, if you still have an appetite. Lead story on the PGA Tour website. Woods will not play at the Masters. On second thought you may have just gotten your appetite back. Depends on how you take it.

 

[Thrashen]

Tiger "The Has Been" Woods held a practice session this past Thursday that reportedly lasted 5 minutes before his bad back gave out again...

http://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/...asters-practice-sessions-lasted-five-minutes/

It's now been 9 years since his last Major win. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

 

[Don Wassall]

Tiger "The Has Been" Woods held a practice session this past Thursday that reportedly lasted 5 minutes before his bad back gave out again...

http://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/...asters-practice-sessions-lasted-five-minutes/

It's now been 9 years since his last Major win. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

I breezed through the comments after that article and they're almost unanimously hostile to Woods and to the (((fake news))) media that continues to prop him up and protects him from any scrutiny about the obvious. He should be getting the Mark McGwire/Lance Armstrong treatment as an athlete who disgraced his legacy by using PEDs (along with all his whoremongering), but never will of course.

Can't wait until The Masters next week. It will be even more emotional than usual because it will be the first one since the death of the beloved Arnold Palmer, who won four Masters titles and is especially revered by a tournament that more than any other honors golf and its past. It's also the 20 year anniversary of Tiger's 12 stroke win at the age of 21. The Augusta National Golf Club will honor Arnie suitably, as will the fans in attendance. The fake news media will combat that with endless tributes to Woods' 1997 win. CBS led by Jim Nantz always does a great job with The Masters, so maybe CBS will keep the Tiger-mania under control, but with uber-Tiger fanboy Nick Faldo on hand, I won't get my hopes up.