Pond Scrum: Entrance exam includes Presidents, FedEx cups, Lexi
It usually happens in the final act of the play.
Except on the PGA Tour, where the not-so-harmonious convergence of points lists, tournament winners and seasonal pink slips created so many layers of tension and chaos, it was hard to track the final hours of the BMW Championship at Cog Hill without getting a biz dizzy.
This was only the third of four FedEx Cup events, designed to winnow down the field for this week's big-money finale, the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
Picture this: Sunday night, a slew of media member hunkered around the scoring trailer, watching a PGA Tour computer that had been positioned outside for our perusal, trying to fathom the evolving permutations of what was happening not only with the tournament leaderboard, but the FedEx Cup points list and two Presidents Cup teams.
With respect to the latter, Golf Channel producer Scott Rude was doing running points calculations with a pen and piece of paper, which sounds pretty simple, except that it was raining and the ink kept running. At one point, a nearby tent lost power, sending the PGA Tour's XM Radio broadcast off line, just as the serious numbers crunching was happening.
Tracking the trio of simultaneous competitions was like trying to juggle a bowling ball, chainsaw and ink pen at the same time, because some guys were getting knocked down, cut off at the knees or redlined and sent home.
In the midst of it all, eventual winner Justin Rose was all but blowing a four-shot lead before he made a clutch chip-in on the 71st hole to restore order.
"It's the playoffs," Martin Laird said with a smile. "It's supposed to be like this."
That was before he formally finished 31st in FedEx Cup points, missing his chance to play in Atlanta by one spot. Like 40 others Sunday, he was sent packing. With the various plot points swirling, it must have been great viewing for those with raging ADHD and big-screen HDTVs.
European correspondent John Huggan and CBSSports.com senior writer Steve Elling try to make some sense of it all in this week's particularly rollicking installment of Pond Scrum, while jointly eyeballing the other notable developments of the week, including a record-setting win on the LPGA by a 16-year-old.
Gents, we implore you, please begin sorting through the confusion, forthwith.
The automatic qualifiers for the two Presidents Cup teams have been finalized, and as it turned out, nothing happened last week in terms of a last-minute shakeup. What do you boys make of the teams and who gets the nod as the three remaining captain's picks?
Elling: Exactly right. Norman's picks are easy, now. Melbourne homeboys Baddeley (13th in points) and Allenby (14th) are completely defensible selections. Only Louis Oosthuizen at No. 11 would be passed over, and he's had a forgettable season. (Tim Clark at No. 12 is injured and cannot play.) Pencil 'em in now. It's all over but the fitting of the team shirts for Badds and Rob, who bring two different and potent skill sets to the shop. Badds makes every putt, and Allenby is a ball-striking whiz.
Elling: Who does U.S. captain Fred Couples pick with his last at-large selection? With this knucklehead, who knows? He said Sunday night that if Zach Johnson won in Atlanta, he would consider him for the team. Well, Zach didn't even make it to the Tour Championship this week. Fred Couples is like the kid in class that the teacher wouldn't trust to do anything more complicated than cleaning the chalkboard erasers.
Huggan: As for the American side, it actually looks pretty good on paper. Apart from the form of Tiger, of course. If I was Fred, I'd be asking the world No. 49 to play more than once before he gets to Oz. I mean, is that really much to ask? One more week?
Elling: Well, it'll be twice -- Tee Dub is set to play a Fall Series event in California next month and the Aussie event the week before the PrezCup. Who knows, though, he could miss the cut.
Elling: I told a fellow scribe this yesterday: If Couples does not pick Keegan Bradley, I will be inserting a rotisserie spit in his mouth and out a different orifice, lighting the coals and basting him over a hot fire until the event is over. Bradley was 20th in points despite only having one season to compile points. He's the only Yank to have won a major this year. Sorry, Rickie Fowler, Brandt Snedeker and other supposed candidates, but Bradley gets picked unless Snedeker wins in Atlanta. Otherwise, the New Englander goes Down Under.
Huggan: I'm sure Fred has a few voices whispering in his ear -- no point in calling him on the phone, remember -- and Johnson isn't a bad shout. I like good putters in match play and Zach is certainly that. Then again, as we are talking about an event that is nothing more than an exhibition, so maybe he will go for young Fowler.
Elling: It's got to be Bradley, if for no other reason than to make you cringe about the belly putter thing.
A 16-year-old won on the LPGA on Sunday, Lexi Thompson, who still does not have full tour status. Is there something we're missing here?
Elling: At the risk of sounding like a raving Scot, bloody hell, why does she still need to attend Q-school when she just beat a field of some of the best players in the game, including Yani Tseng? She still has to advance through two more stages of qualifying. I am all for protecting the sanctity of somebody's childhood, but she's been a part-time professional tour player for a year already. She is home-schooled. The training wheels are off. At some point, like right now, dispensation needs to happen.
Huggan: Eligibility should be performance-related, not tied to some subjective measure of age. There must always be leeway for the truly exceptional, once-in-a-generation superstar type. Thompson is that person, one who could resurrect a tour that is currently dying on its feet.
Huggan: It's a no-brainer. Of course, that is a pretty accurate description of those in charge if she is denied a tour card.
Elling: Careful. She might be that person. See: Michelle Wie, Aree Song, Morgan Pressel. But I get your point, for sure. And I ... agree. That hurt to write.
Elling: Thompson, a Florida phenom that everybody saw coming, has already won more events this year than, oh, Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie combined, yet she has to go prove herself against a bunch of second-tier wannabes? Ridiculous. Thompson, by the way, is the youngest winner in LPGA history by nearly 1.5 years. So, yeah, some special consideration might be prudent.
Huggan: Pressel, in my limited experience, is a spoiled wee madam. I reckon Thompson will be giving her 70 yards off the tee.
Huggan: And maybe three shots a side.
Elling: You forgot overrated. Two wins, one of them handed to her as Pressel stood on the practice tee awaiting a possible playoff. As for Lexi, is it too late to get her on the Solheim Cup side this week?
Huggan: Amazingly, Thompson is ineligible. Despite the fact that we will be treated to endless chants of USA! this week in Ireland, the side is not representing your proud nation. They are merely agents for the LPGA Tour, a very different thing. Of course, the same can be said of "Europe." Non-tour members need not apply. If it really were "USA," being American would be enough to be eligible. Thompson is American, yet she is not eligible. Like I said, laughable.
Elling: The LPGA is starved for American stars, whether they are the real deal or disposable novelties. Thompson looks to be the former. Her status needs to be revisited as soon as possible. Like a good airline -- if that's not a mutually exclusive term -- it needs to be upgraded to first class.
Hey, speaking of Americans who haven't won anything all year, isn't the Solheim Cup this week in Ireland? Rumor has it, Huggan will be attending and hoping for fireworks?
Elling: They must be running low on bullets.
Elling: John, you penned a colorful tale in the Sunday Scotsman about the rancor that has marked this event over the years. It's actually worse than the gamesmanship at the Ryder Cup. Someday, one of the Solheim players is going to have a nervous breakdown on the course and bust out in tears. It has been vicious at times.
Huggan: It has been disappointing over the years, with most of the nonsense emanating from the American side. Like their male counterparts, a lack of match play golf growing up does nothing for their knowledge of rules and etiquette later on.
Elling: Yeah, decorum has been spotty. Like when the U.S. made Annika Sorenstam replay a chip shot she holed, but played out of turn. She almost cried, and she's colder than Christmas in Stockholm generally.
Huggan: Dottie Pepper was the worst example with her scream of "Yes!" just after her opponent missed a short putt. But Meg Mallon wasn't far behind when she knowingly tramped all over Sorenstam's line. Ignorance isn't always bliss.
Elling: Meg Mallon? That had to leave some footprints.
Elling: I mean, anytime the Euro team is taking turns bashing Pepper with a stick -- in effigy -- that ought to tell you about the levels of rancor at times.
Huggan: And let's not even mention the dreadful Christina Kim, who made the team this year without scoring one qualifying point. That tells you everything you need to know about the lack of depth in the visiting side.
Elling: But she has team spirit. I think that is a song by Nirvana.
Elling: Who do you like? The 12 on the American team have combined to win three tournaments, two of them by long-hitting Brittany Lincicome. The U.S. roster is so thin, they took a rookie with virtually zero pro experience.
Huggan: The top half of the U.S. side is strong, but the bottom half is weak, so very, very weak. Reminds me a bit of European Ryder Cup sides back in the days of Faldo, Woosie, Seve, Sandy and Bernhard.
Elling: Maybe we shouldn't complain. The histrionics at least show that players seem to care. We have ripped their male counterparts over the years for going through the motions at the Ryder.
Elling: I hope the Irish fans keep those Americans in line. They have resorted to some eye-rolling high-school cheerleader theatrics at times. Team spirit is about more than face paint and red, white and blue fingernails. Geez, I am having Christina Kim flashbacks already. Not good. Use some decorum, girls, please.
Huggan: I do like one member of the U.S. side, though. Stacy Lewis -- who I watched in the Curtis Cup at St. Andrews a few years ago -- is a real player. The face painting, flag waving stuff is so lame.
Elling: Lewis is also a class act. And unlike the vast majority of her mates, she has won a tournament this year.
Huggan: Juli Inkster is a star performer, both on and off the course. Hard not to like her, even if this may be one match too far for her at age 51. As for the home side, the same can be said of Laura Davies. She is so far past her best, it's hard to recall what her best looked like.
Elling: They should make Laura the captain. She kills me. No political correctness there. Tee it high, let it fly, feet off the ground. Same as when she plays.
Huggan: Laura is, by all accounts, a complete pain in the you-know-what in a team environment. Successive captains have found her unplayable. She does whatever she wants, whenever she wants, the team be hanged.
Elling: In that case, can we make the maverick Davies the commissioner of the LPGA?
The FedEx Cup finale has been set. The "purty 30" are headed toward Atlanta, having survived a wet, wild Sunday at Cog Hill. What should we look for this week with all that money on the table?
Elling: I understand the sentiment. But in the face of a 45-tournament season, it adds some zest. There were guys gagging, to be sure.
Huggan: I was far more interested in the Prez Cup implications. It may be an exhibition, but at least it means a bit more than just another big payday.
Elling: Yeah, same here. Justin Rose won and was the third-best storyline. I mean, when guys are trying to make Atlanta so they can secure spots in the majors next year, like Baddeley and Senden, that's pressure too.
Elling: As for this week, the money is great and there surely will be some constriction of various body parts as the tension ratchets up, but to me, the bigger picture is at least as interesting. For the second straight year, the Player of the Year has not remotely been decided. Six guys have two wins apiece. Somebody needs to break the logjam or we're looking at ballot gridlock for the top-player award. It could go to Keegan Bradley, a rookie with two wins, including a major. To me, that's as big as the money on the table.
Huggan: Luke Donald is the player of the year, worldwide.
Elling: Interestingly, the players I have talked to have often mentioned Luke as POY, even though he only has one U.S. win. He's so ridiculously consistent, he deserves consideration for sure.
Elling: I know it's easy to laugh at the FedEx formula, because nobody has had more fun with it that I have over the years, but if you had watched Camilo Villegas walk straight to the computer after he finished Sunday, seen that he had finished one spot too low on the leaderboard to advance to Atlanta, then slam his hand down on the table, it's pretty obvious that it means plenty to these guys. Of course, making a guaranteed $120,000 for finishing dead last is a big incentive to get there.
Huggan: It should mean something. They are professionals and professionals play for money. Well, the ones who don't play for history, anyway.
We talked about the Presidents Cup already. What about the European version of the same? Teams from continental Europe and the U.K. played last week, and from reports received in the States, the Seve Trophy was a pretty compelling affair. Will it ever catch on with fans?
Elling: If every day was match play, Poulter might rule the world. Does the event have a future? Will it ever get all the eligible players to tee it up?
Huggan: They didn't all play, sadly. The likes of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy sat at home and watched, like I did. Disappointing that they did not see the need to pay an appropriate tribute to the great Seve.
Elling: A fair point. But as others have noted, Seve would have done was what singularly best for himself when put in the same position.
Huggan: It has struggled on almost from the outset and has never commanded what you might call a "full field."
Elling: It seems to have advanced a good bit since the early years, when the gallery could be counted on two hands. And no, that's not really an editorial exaggeration.
Huggan: I've been to a few of them. The one held in the middle of Ireland flopped badly when up against the World Ploughing Championship up the road. I kid you not.
Elling: Wow, the potential punch lines boggle the mind. Just the Monty one-liners alone. But we need to stay on point. For once.
Huggan: We do? A first.
Elling: We ought to just rename this space "Delusions and Digressions."
Huggan: Perhaps the biggest thing to emerge from this latest Seve Trophy was the likelihood of Paul McGinley being Ryder Cup captain in 2014. He is certainly the leader in the clubhouse.
Elling: McGinley seems to be a terrific, energetic guy. He would be almost completely unknown in the States, however, to the degree that it would matter.
Huggan: You don't recall young Paul holing the winning putt at the Belfry back in 2002? Then jumping fully clothed into the lake?
Elling: I have blocked out images from all past U.S. Ryder Cup losses. Which means my memory for about a 20-year span is gone.
Last one before we leave the Chicago area for two years. Were you guys taken aback at the Cog Hill criticism and did the players cross the line?
Elling: Well, unless you are running the LPGA.
Huggan: Much of what Phil has to say regarding Rees rings true to me. But doesn't Lefty have an ax to grind after what Jones did to his beloved Torrey Pines? That diminishes his argument a little.
Elling: Yep. It wasn't remotely surprising that Mickelson took Rees Jones to task for his redesign, since he has been taking shots at the guy for years. What really made the locals cringe was when mild-mannered sorts like world No. 1 Luke Donald and No. 5 Steve Stricker effectively backed Phil's play. Cog Hill has hosted the event for two decades. Now it's anybody's bet whether the PGA Tour will ever return.
Huggan: Indeed, when Stricker starts sounding off, you know there is a problem. Then again, he does like to go out and shoot defenseless animals, so no one is perfect.
Elling: Feral hogs are not defenseless. They can gore and seriously hurt a guy. Like Phil when he sees Rees Jones.
Huggan: Uh-huh, and these hogs are a real threat to civilization as we know it, right?
Elling: I am not sure how civilized the rural parts of Wisconsin really are. I think they still have bears, badgers, elk and stuff like that. What do I know? I spent half my life in Los Angeles, where the most dangerous denizens shoot back.
Elling: There was a semi-poignant moment Sunday night that made me grimace. Frank Jemsek, the mostly beloved old guy who owns Cog Hill, was standing near one of the exits after play had concluded, and was personally thanking fans and media for attending. I felt a bit guilty. I only reported what the players said, but boy, it was an awkward moment. Yeah, Huggan, I have a conscience. It's buried down pretty deep, somewhere.
Huggan: What do you look like when you are feeling sheepish? I'd like to see that one day. Not holding my breath, though.
Elling: I dredged up one of my most ironic notes ever last week. Of Mickelson's four best finishes over parts of two seasons, three were at venues where Rees Jones built or redesigned the course, including his win earlier this season at Houston. Sorry, but that is hilarious.
Elling: To your earlier question: A slew of readers have asked why Mickelson has Jones in his crosshairs. I think the answer is twofold. First, Mickelson practically owned his hometown Torrey Pines track before the Jones redesign in 2002, but hasn't won since. Second, Mickelson dabbles in course design, too, and he is competing for contracts in Asia and other locales against Jones, who gets plenty of work. So to me, it's not a zero-sum game here, is it? Let's not be naive. But when nearly every player gripes about Cog Hill, there's gotta be something amiss.
Huggan: True. If it had just been Phil, I'd have been casting aspersions. But this was damned close to unanimity. As you said, it is the owner I feel sorry for.
Elling: Interestingly, losing the tour could work in Cog Hill's favor as far as -- wait for it -- landing a U.S. Open. It could still happen, perhaps a decade down the road, because the USGA wants to play in the Chicago area and once access points are widened, Cog Hill has all the space the USGA could need. By then, the Jemseks might have saved up enough dinero to let Phil redesign the course again himself. An Open ain't completely out of the picture, people. Not having a PGA Tour event there works in Cog Hill's favor.
Elling: The next time I see Jemsek, I really hope he is smiling. He spent $5.2 million to have Jones fix up his course, and because of PGA Tour player complaints, the local public golfers have been scared off in droves. It's been incredibly hurtful.
Huggan: I can only imagine. Thank goodness Phil likes the Old Course.
Elling: Forget Davies, maybe Phil should be LPGA commissioner. I think that would fix every topic we've otherwise picked apart this week.
