Revamped golf schedule coming together for next year | National Post
Alex Noren of Sweden watches his drive on the eighth hole during round six at the Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament, Sunday, March 25, 2018, in Austin, Texas.Eric Gay / AP
Then it’s off to Texas for the Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, which replaces Houston as the pre-Masters stop.
There’s one other potential wrinkle to the end. The FedEx Cup playoffs will be three tournaments instead of four, and while this is the final year of the playoff event at the TPC Boston (previously Deutsche Bank, currently Dell Technologies Championship), it might not be the end of Boston.
TIGER MOMENTS: Tiger Woods still hasn’t hit a 6-iron over the water and at the pin with the tournament of the line. He hasn’t holed out a wedge from the fairway to rally from seven behind with seven to play.
Those were moments that led his father to say in 2000, “In every tournament, he’ll hit shots that people will be talking about for 30 years.”
“He hit a couple of really impressive 3-woods into 9 at the Bahamas,” said Justin Thomas, who watched from the group behind as Woods hit a cut from 265 yards into the wind to about 25 feet for eagle.
He’s not winning yet. But he already has them talking.
EVERY SHOT MATTERS: Five of the matches to end group play at the Dell Technologies Match Play had no bearing, which is not to suggest they were meaningless. Gary Woodland’s 1-up victory over Pat Perez was the difference of 21 FedEx Cup points. Patton Kizzire and Luke List each were eliminated by losing the opening two matches, and Kizzire beating him was the difference of 10 points.
That doesn’t sound like much except that one point separated Louis Oosthuizen last year and Rickie Fowler in 2016 from getting to the Tour Championship.
And then there’s Paul Casey, who had his own memory of getting something when it looked as though nothing was at stake.
“I remember one year in Switzerland, I went out first, one guy in front of us. I shot 64,” Casey recalled. “The wind picked up, I finished top 10. I won a watch for low round of the week, and I got a kiss from Cindy Crawford because she presented it. It was a great Sunday. See, there’s always something to come out of a Sunday.”
DIVOTS: Julian Suri led the four Monday qualifiers for the Houston Open with a 64. This was three days after he took Bubba Watson to the 18th hole in Match Play, missing an 8-foot putt on the 17th hole to win the match that would have forced a sudden-death playoff. … Only 18 players in the 144-man field at the Houston already are eligible for the Masters. … Ten players have won the last 10 majors on the LPGA Tour going into the ANA Inspiration. …
FINAL WORD: “If I was the man, I’d be in the fairway.” — Bubba Watson, preparing to hit from the rough to a fan who called out to him, “You’re the man!”
Revamped golf schedule coming together for next year | National Post
Alex Noren of Sweden watches his drive on the eighth hole during round six at the Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament, Sunday, March 25, 2018, in Austin, Texas.Eric Gay / AP
Then it’s off to Texas for the Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, which replaces Houston as the pre-Masters stop.
There’s one other potential wrinkle to the end. The FedEx Cup playoffs will be three tournaments instead of four, and while this is the final year of the playoff event at the TPC Boston (previously Deutsche Bank, currently Dell Technologies Championship), it might not be the end of Boston.
TIGER MOMENTS: Tiger Woods still hasn’t hit a 6-iron over the water and at the pin with the tournament of the line. He hasn’t holed out a wedge from the fairway to rally from seven behind with seven to play.
Those were moments that led his father to say in 2000, “In every tournament, he’ll hit shots that people will be talking about for 30 years.”
“He hit a couple of really impressive 3-woods into 9 at the Bahamas,” said Justin Thomas, who watched from the group behind as Woods hit a cut from 265 yards into the wind to about 25 feet for eagle.
He’s not winning yet. But he already has them talking.
EVERY SHOT MATTERS: Five of the matches to end group play at the Dell Technologies Match Play had no bearing, which is not to suggest they wer
e meaningless. Gary Woodland’s 1-up victory over Pat Perez was the difference of 21 FedEx Cup points. Patton Kizzire and Luke List each were eliminated by losing the opening two matches, and Kizzire beating him was the difference of 10 points.
That doesn’t sound like much except that one point separated Louis Oosthuizen last year and Rickie Fowler in 2016 from getting to the Tour Championship.
And then there’s Paul Casey, who had his own memory of getting something when it looked as though nothing was at stake.
“I remember one year in Switzerland, I went out first, one guy in front of us. I shot 64,” Casey recalled. “The wind picked up, I finished top 10. I won a watch for low round of the week, and I got a kiss from Cindy Crawford because she presented it. It was a great Sunday. See, there’s always something to come out of a Sunday.”
DIVOTS: Julian Suri led the four Monday qualifiers for the Houston Open with a 64. This was three days after he took Bubba Watson to the 18th hole in Match Play, missing an 8-foot putt on the 17th hole to win the match that would have forced a sudden-death playoff. … Only 18 players in the 144-man field at the Houston already are eligible for the Masters. … Ten players have won the last 10 majors on the LPGA Tour going into the ANA Inspiration. …
FINAL WORD: “If I was the man, I’d be in the fairway.” — Bubba Watson, preparing to hit from the rough to a fan who called out to him, “You’re the man!”