G-Mac plays 'wrap-around' season and WINS!

Well, hat's off to Graeme McDowell for playing a tournament when he normally would not and winning. He's used stuff like this in the past to ramp up his standings. If I recall, didn't he barely get into the Tiger's tournament where someone else withdrew, he wins that, which got him into something else that allowed him to win the US Open?

I wish Phil would do some of these things....all he does is show up rusty and his productivity is getting worse and worse in tournaments. Nice he plays well in President's cup, but there your victories are measured against 1-2 competitors at a time.

Phil isn't going to be playing until west coast swing. I think it will be the old Humana ( BOB HOPE CLASSIC). What now worries me is his world ranking. Associated press reported he could be out of the top 50 by the time he plays. I bought a plane ticket to Doral WGC Cadillac (non refundable) in early March and his ranking is dropping like a stone and he may have to PLAY REALLY WELL or win one of his early tournaments to qualify for a tournament that used to never be an issue. Guess I was too optimistic I bought it at the end of last May.

Interesting on Morning Drive that Jaime Diaz said that he thinks Tiger is on board as an asst. Captain because he's probably envying Phil's mentoring and being a team leader at these events. Trying to emulate Phil. He also said that he thinks there's an understanding between Phil and Davis that Phil will be involved in the Ryder Cup if not as a player as an asst. Captain.

I heard the Diaz comments and agree on Tiger trying to emulate Phil. I always wondered if it bugged Tiger that Phil always got praise for helping out the young guys.Phil also got kudos for how he broke up with Butch and apparently Butch's break from Tiger wasn't too friendly.

On a scale of 1-10, ten being good, Tiger has little friendy personality about him. It's like he has a chip on his shoulder and ranks about a 0-1 IMO. His new course has a relaxed dress code and is striving to be family friendly. I don't think Tiger believes that his game will return to its old level, or he wouldn't be trying to stay in the limelight as a future Ryder Cup Captain at his age. He has many years for that. If they're grooming future captains, I still wonder exactly who decided that Steve Stricker was qualified and had earned the plum. I think he's a nice guy, but that doesn't take up much space on the resume' IMO. Stay tuned, I guess.

I totally agree about Stricker. Nice guy but REALLY there are far more better resume's on tour. They say he is a" real competitor" well most are.... I don't see him as a take charge guy ..too timid.

"You Snooze, You Lose" is taking grasp of the PGA Tour.

Just like I said in the story about my son's Junior golf series, where getting into the Tournament of Champions at the end of the season was based on points, and if you didn't play the 20 2-day weekend events, you found yourself possibly losing ground on the points list. So too, with the new, all-year-long PGA season, some of the previously 'elite players' are finding that out and trying to capture points themselves:

Fall no longer afterthought, even for Tour's big names

By Rex Hoggard,
November 21, 2015, 5:30 pm

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – As a rule in professional golf, the fall has not normally been a time when dreams come true.

The time after the Tour Championship has traditionally been the realm of newcomers or journeymen looking to start something special or salvage a season, respectively, but one word has changed all that – wraparound.

With the introduction of the wraparound schedule on the PGA Tour last season, these once competitive afterthoughts have become something greater than the sum of their parts.

The results speak for themselves.

Last week in Mexico, a former major winner and perennial Ryder Cup star turned what was his worst year on Tour into a reason to enjoy the holidays.

It’s an even more vivid example of the increased importance of the fall schedule that Graeme McDowell followed his victory on Monday in Mexico with a drive north to play this week’s RSM Classic, where he again finds himself in the hunt following a third-round 65 that left him alone in third place.

When the Tour set out on the wraparound experiment, the thinking went that the top players, your Graeme McDowells, would play the WGC-HSBC Champions and maybe the CIMB Classic, two no-cut stops in Asia, while the bottom half of the Tour marquee would fill out the full-field stops.

Each week, however, the tee sheets have surprised.

At the season-opening Frys.com Open it was Justin Rose and Charl Schwartzel, a week later in Las Vegas it was Angel Cabrera and Webb Simpson, while McDowell and Keegan Bradley highlighted the field last week at the OHL Classic.

Those are upper tier guys who hope to do well in a weak field.

But many did well, and climbed in world ranking points, FedEx pts, Ryder Cup points, etc....and playing well, even in a 'weak field' does wonders for one's confidence. I would rather Phil do something like that than simply drift lower and lower, out of RC contention, etc. At least it shows determination on McDowell's part; have to give him credit for that....and he did well the last week on the east coast.

gophil36 wrote:Those are upper tier guys who hope to do well in a weak field.

That's how Vijay got so many wins in his 40's. I think Phil has too many irons in the fire, and too much money to be so driven. He wants to win again, but I think it's the big tournaments he's after. I wish he'd play some of these tournaments, as it makes watching worthwhile. He's getting some heat after Rosaforte's report that Phil pushed for reduced or no Ryder Cup points for the fall tournaments that were added. I'm sure that it was because of the field's strength or lack of and also it's early. Remember Walker winning 3 times early on and when it came time to play in the Cup, he was searching for a game. These guys with early wins will be on the radar of the Captain if they continue to play well, IMO, for a pick.