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Poll: Pick the Ryder Cup Winner

The two Ryder Cup squads are complete. Team USA and Team Europe meet at Celtic Manor in Wales, Oct. 1-3. Who's going to win?

Here are how the two teams look, side-by-side, players listed in order of their current world ranking: Read more...

Poll: Pick the Ryder Cup Winner originally appeared on About.com Golf on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 11:24:20.

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Pavin Picks Tiger, Zach, Cink, Fowler for US Ryder Cup Team

Team USA captain Corey Pavin announced his additions to the Ryder Cup today, and his four selections are Tiger Woods, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink and Rickie Fowler.

The players on the American points list from 12 through 22 are essentially equal. You can make arguments for any of them. Pavin could have chosen anyone from among those players and been "right." Given that, his choices are good, safe picks.

Tiger was always going to be selected, assuming he didn't tell Pavin not to pick him. Johnson and Cink are steady veterans who've won big tournaments and have Ryder Cup experience. Fowler is the exciting, buzz-worthy wildcard.

Some might wonder why Charley Hoffman - who shot 62 in the final round yesterday to win the Deutsche Bank Championship - didn't get a call. But his case is very different from that of Team Europe's Edoardo Molinari, who won the last tournament before Euro captain Colin Montgomerie's wildcard picks. Molinari has been one of the best players in golf in 2010. Hoffman hasn't. Even after his win at the Deutsche Bank, Hoffman was only No. 57 on the American Ryder Cup points list - 10 spots behind Pavin - and he failed to qualify for any of the four majors in 2010.

In selecting Tiger, Zach, Cink and Fowler, Pavin passed over, among others, Anthony Kim, Bo Van Pelt, J.B. Holmes, Sean O'Hair, Nick Watney, Lucas Glover, Ryan Palmer, Ben Crane and Ricky Barnes. Pavin didn't have too many candidates, he had too few standouts.

Monty's problem was too many standouts. With his three captain's picks, Monty chose Padraig Harrington, Edoardo Molinari and Luke Donald, bypassing Paul Casey, Justin Rose, Robert Karlsson and Carl Pettersson, among others.

Which leads to our poll:

Pavin Picks Tiger, Zach, Cink, Fowler for US Ryder Cup Team originally appeared on About.com Golf on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 10:40:04.

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Who Are Your Picks for USA Ryder Cup Team?

Corey Pavin will finalize the rosters for the 2010 Ryder Cup at 10:30 a.m. (ET) on Tuesday when he names his four captain's picks for Team USA. But we don't have to wait that long to make our own picks.

I believe there's no way Pavin won't take Tiger Woods. It's a guaranteed lock, so I'll pick Tiger, too. I'll also take Zach Johnson, who's had some good showings recently and was No. 11 in the Ryder Cup points list entering the Deutsche Bank Championship (the PGA of America, at Pavin's request, kept calculating points even after the eight automatic qualifiers were named).

After that, everything's a toss-up. There are no great picks and no bad picks among the players all the way down to No. 22 on the points list. So I'll look at possible partnerships and go with J.B. Holmes and Rickie Fowler as my other two choices. Holmes can partner Dustin Johnson and they can pound the golf ball into submission. Fowler can partner his good buddy Bubba Watson.

And even though Fowler is a rookie who has yet to win on the PGA Tour, he's a dynamic, exciting, buzz-worthy player. When (in my opinion) no players stand out from the pack, then I'll go with the guy who brings something fresh and exciting to the team.

So if I were captain, my four picks would be Tiger Woods, Zach Johnson, J.B. Holmes and Rickie Fowler.

Charley Hoffman? He won the Deutsche Bank by shooting 62 in the final round, and that's a very good argument in his favor. But if Hoffman - who failed to qualify for any of the four majors in 2010, and who's never finished a year ranked inside the Top 100 - is one of the 12 best golfers Pavin can gather, then Team Europe should start planning its victory party now.

Who are your choices for the four captain's picks?

Who Are Your Picks for USA Ryder Cup Team? originally appeared on About.com Golf on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 18:14:52.

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Asian Tour Golfers Getting Experience of Blind Golf

Golf is a difficult game even when you can see what you're doing. How hard is it to play golf if you can't see? Three golfers from the Asian Tour will find out this week in a prelude to the Handa Singapore Classic.

Three Asian Tour members will play - blindfolded - in a 3-hole scramble, partnering three blind golfers who are members of the International Blind Golf Association.

The IBGA is the governing body of blind golf, which is played by thousands around the world who have no or low vision. The International Blind Golf Championships take place every other year.

Blind golfers play with a "coach," also known as a guide or a caddie, who is sighted and who describes the coming shot, the terrain and yardages. The coach lines up the golfer, who executes the shot. All the normal rules of golf apply to blind golfers, except that grounding the club in a hazard is allowed. (Many coaches are spouses, some are friends, some really are golf coaches.)

How good are the best blind golfers? At the 2009 national championship of the United States Blind Golf Association, Bob Andrews won the B1 Division - which means totally blind, without light perception - shooting rounds of 103 and 104. Could you shoot 103 blindfolded? Mr. Andrews could beat most recreational golfers, because a majority of sighted golfers never break 100.

But it's not about the competition for most blind golfers. Like with most golfers, playing the sport is about spending time with friends at an activity you enjoy.

The IBGA is the official charity of the Handa Singapore Classic, which begins on Thursday.

Dr. Haruhisa Handa, chairman of the International Sports Promotion Society and title sponsor of the tournament, is quoted by the Asian Tour thusly:

"ISPS wants to encourage more juniors, seniors and people with disabilities to get involved with golf. We have a very strong relationship with the blind golf community and it has been a passion of mine to help foster the development of this format of the sport across the world. It is really important that everyone can enjoy the sport regardless of their age or ability."

Will Woods Finally Fall from No. 1 Today?

What was the last tournament at which Tiger Woods lost the No. 1 world ranking? The Deutsche Bank Championship in 2004, where Vijay Singh won to knock Woods off the top of the rankings.

Could the Deutsche Bank Championship again be the place where Woods loses the No. 1 ranking? Nine times previously this season, Phil Mickelson has entered a tournament with the chance to take over the top spot.

The 2010 Deutsche Bank is chance No. 10 for Mickelson, and he's in the best position so far to actually make it happen. To become No. 1 today, Mickelson must have one of these scenarios play out:

• Win and it doesn't matter where Woods finishes
• Finish second, so long as Woods finishes fourth or lower
• Finish third, so long as Woods finishes 10th or lower
• Finish fourth, so long as Woods finishes 25th or lower and Steve Stricker doesn't win

This is Mickelson's best chance because he doesn't have to win, he's playing well, and it's Day 4 and he's tied for sixth place entering the final round.

(Stricker also has a shot at No. 1: He must win the Deutsche Bank while Woods finishes lower than third and Mickelson finishes outside the Top 9.)

Mickelson has taken some grief for not getting it done already, and he'll take more grief if he fails to seize No. 1 today. But he doesn't deserve the grief. Going 10 tournaments without winning is nothing unusual in golf - it's the norm. Failing to win a tournament when you badly want to win it is nothing unusual - it's the norm.

Mickelson has won 38 times in his career, more than anyone of his generation except Woods, more than only 11 other guys in the history of the sport. But in his career, Mickelson has had two seasons where he failed to win a tournament, and two other years where he finished with just one victory (as he has now). It won't be a lack of heart or a lack of nerve if Mickelson doesn't take over No. 1 today (or ever). Failing is the nature of golf, even for the greats of the game.

Will Woods Finally Fall from No. 1 Today? originally appeared on About.com Golf on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 12:01:10.

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LaCrosse, Song Lead Futures Tour's 2010 Grads

The Duramed Futures Tour wrapped up its 2010 season on Sunday with the Price Chopper Tour Championship, which Cindy LaCrosse won by beating Jennifer Song in a playoff.

And those are the same two players who ended the year ranked first and second on the tour's money list. The Top 10 on that money list earn their LPGA Tour membership for 2011. Those players are:

1. Cindy LaCrosse
2. Jennifer Song
3. Christine Song
4. Jenny Shin
5. Gerina Mendoza
6. Angela Oh
7. Ryann O'Toole
8. Tiffany Joh
9. Hannah Jun
10. Pornanong Phatlum

Being in the Top 5 is what really matters; those from 6-10 receive a lower level of LPGA status. They do get to go straight to LPGA Q-School finals, and they'll need to take advantage of that and upgrade their status if they hope to play much on the LPGA in 2011. As an example, the Nos. 3 and 4 players from 2009, Misun Cho and Samantha Richdale, have each played 11 LPGA events so far in 2010. But the Nos. 6 and 8 players from the 2009 DFT list - Whitney Wade and Christine Song (yes, the same Christine Song who is No. 3 this year) - have each gotten into only one LPGA event in 2010. Read more...

LaCrosse, Song Lead Futures Tour's 2010 Grads originally appeared on About.com Golf on Sunday, September 5th, 2010 at 19:43:29.

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Jimenez Win Overshadows Youthful Challenge - and Mixed Message for Monty

Miguel Angel Jimenez, the 46-year-old bon vivant, won the European Masters on Sunday. As someone said on Twitter a couple days ago, golfers the world over are abandoning the fitness center and heading out to buy cigars and champagne.

Colin Montgomerie might be popping a cork today, too, given that the Top 2 in Switzerland this week are on his European Ryder Cup team. Jimenez earned the seventh of nine automatic qualifying spots. Edoardo Molinari finished second, a week after winning the Johnnie Walker Championship and earning one of Monty's three captains selections.

Monty's two other captain's picks? Luke Donald starts the third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship in fifth place. But Padraig Harrington, perhaps Monty's most controversial choice given his terrible record in the past two Ryder Cups and his general lack of form lately, missed the cut in Boston.

But five of the players on Monty's team have now posted victories since the start of August. For Jimenez, it was his third European Tour victory of 2010 and 18th of his career.

Jimenez's win at the European Masters overshadowed the play of two young - very young - golfers who will most likely play large roles in the sport over the next couple decades.

Seventeen-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero finished solo third, and 19-year-old Korean Seung-yul Noh finished solo fourth.

Combined with his earnings in five previous European Tour starts since turning pro, Manassero earned enough today to gain fully exempt status for 2011. No going to Q-School for this kid. Earlier this year - when he was just a wee lad of 16 - Manassero set set a record as the youngest ever to make the cut in The Masters.

And what was Noh doing when he was 17? Winning on the Asian Tour and earning that circuit's Rookie of the Year award. Earlier this year, Noh earned his first European Tour victory, becoming the second-youngest winner in the tour's history.

Jimenez Win Overshadows Youthful Challenge - and Mixed Message for Monty originally appeared on About.com Golf on Sunday, September 5th, 2010 at 11:37:32.

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Another Unusual DQ on PGA Tour

Yes, another disqualification on the PGA Tour, and like Jim Furyk's DQ for missing his pro-am tee time at last week's Barclays, this one was administrative in nature.

Chad Campbell forgot to register for the Deutsche Bank Championship.

PGA Tour players don't just show up and play. They show up, register by signing in, then play the tournament. Campbell got the show up part and the play part - he shot a 72 in the first round - right. He just forgot the "register and sign in" part.

And, well, you can't finish a tournament that you haven't even registered for. So today, when the PGA Tour realized that Campbell never signed in for the Deutsche Bank, he was disqualified. What's odd about this one is that it took everyone until the second day of tournament play to notice.

Unfortunately for Campbell, this means his FedEx Cup run is over. He entered the Deutsche Bank at No. 83 in the point standings, and only the Top 70 advance to next week's BMW Championship. So Campbell is out.

Also unfortunately for Campbell, this isn't the first time he's done something like this. He told PGATour.com that he was once on a flight to Hawaii for the Sony Open when he realized that he had never committed to the tournament. He was flying to Hawaii for a tournament he wouldn't get to play.

Another Unusual DQ on PGA Tour originally appeared on About.com Golf on Saturday, September 4th, 2010 at 13:16:46.

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Woods Lives to Play Another Day

Tiger Woods kept his tournament - and his season - alive with a second-round 65 in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

After his first-round 72, Woods found himself near the bottom of the scoreboard. His 65 vaulted him well up the ranks, inside the Top 30 at the time he completed his morning round. He's not challenging the leaders, but he's well above the projected cutline.

Woods needs to finish somewhere around 57th or higher this week to earn enough FedEx Cup points to advance to next week's BMW Championship. So missing the cut wouldn't just have ended his tournament, but his season. That's not a danger after the 65.

Defending Deutsche Bank champion Phil Mickelson also had a great second round and, before the afternoon groups tee off, was threatening to crack the Top 10.

Deutsche Bank Championship leaderboard

Woods Lives to Play Another Day originally appeared on About.com Golf on Saturday, September 4th, 2010 at 12:22:49.

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Nationwide Tour Will Get New Name - in 2013

For the past eight seasons, the developmental tour of the PGA Tour - the Triple-A American golf tour to the PGA Tour's big leagues - has been called the Nationwide Tour. Because Nationwide Insurance is the tour's title sponsor.

The tour was originally called the Hogan Tour, and had two names after that before Nationwide came along. But it will have to get a fifth name now that Nationwide Insurance announced it won't renew its contract when its sponsorship deal expires after the 2012 season.

So in 2013, the Nationwide Tour will be called ... something else. That "something else" will almost certainly be the name of another title sponsor, so let's hope a company with a good name gets the deal. We don't want to see a Cialis Tour.

Names of the PGA Tour's Developmental Tour

• Ben Hogan Tour - 1990-93
• Nike Tour - 1993-99
• Buy.com Tour - 2000-2002
• Nationwide Tour - 2003-2012

Nationwide Insurance will continue to be involved in golf, however, as the "presenting sponsor" of Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament beginning in 2011.

Nationwide Tour Will Get New Name - in 2013 originally appeared on About.com Golf on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at 16:39:19.

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