Stop The Madness! Golf’s Top Golfer

September 2, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

It never ceases to amaze me on how quickly the media changes it spots. The golfing world is a buzz about the recent play of Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy! The Barclay’s seems to have turn the golfing world upside down, at least to the media, and the number one player in the world is, well, playing second fiddle.

Personally, I do not pay much attention to the world golfing rankings because I believe it is a flawed system that allows player’s past performance from two years ago to weather months of bad play and remain at the top of the golfing world. But, the recent musings of the media have prompted my current article because it is utter madness!

Jason Day’s play of late has been spectacular. Anytime a player wins back to back is something to be lauded. He is a force to be contended with and I wish him continued success. However, a four weeks of outstanding play does not really vault him to the top of the golfing world! If he continues to perform at his current level, discussions about being the best might be warranted, but it is way to soon to tell.

The flip-flop as the world’s number one ranked golfer between Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth is definitely spot on. Before I go on, I do not support Jordan Spieth losing his number one status when McIlroy did not play in the Barclay’s…I am just saying. Anyway, back on track. At this time, Rory and Jordan are the two best golfers in the world. They continue to share the spotlight and will likely jockey back and forth as the best for quite some time.

However, I want to be clear that I believe Jordan Spieth is the best golfer in the world right now. In 2015, he has two wins, a 2nd and a 4th place finishes in the Majors. He record this year is 4 wins, 4 second, 1 third and 14 top ten finishes in 22 events. Because he missed the cut at the Barclay’s does not mean he is any less a player!

Rory McIlroy and Jason Day had comparable seasons, but the 2 Majors are just to hard to discount! Many might disagree with my assessment, but Spieth is just too dominant.

This weekend should be interesting. All three giants are in the field and it will be interesting to see how they react. With Day, Spieth and Watson in the same pairing, this group will garner most of the attention for the first two days. This might work well in McIlroy’s favour, but only time will tell.

Well that is my diatribe on the media hype over the past week. What do you think? Am I crazy?

The Deutsche Bank Championship

September 1, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

The second leg of the FEDEXCUP Playoffs starts in a couple of days. Here are my picks:

Finishing fourth – Zach Johnson

Finishing tied for 2^nd – Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson

Winner – Jordan Spieth

Dark Horse – Tony Finau

To read my article in full, check out PunditArena.com. Let me know what you think!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

The Fed Ex Cup Playoffs

August 26, 2015August 26, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 7 Comments

The FedEx Cup Playoffs start tomorrow at the Barclay’s. This modified elimination style competition will see one player raise the FedEx Cup over their head in four weeks. The real prize is the 10 million dollars that the 2015 FedEx Champion will pocket for just playing golf!

The FedEx Cup is an interesting golf competition because of the “play well before – play well now – move on” format. At the Barclay’s, all 125 players will start, but only 100 players will move on to the next event at the Deutsche Bank Championship. The third week at the BMW championship will only have 70 players competing; then at the TOUR Championship, 30 players will be left to vie for the 10 million dollar grand prize.

I have discussed the merits of changing the FedEx Cup format to make it more exciting and I believe that a modified NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship format would be fun. Here is what I am thinking:

All points are finished. Everyone plays straight up.
Create 2 pools of 64 players (top 128 from the FedEx Standings).
At the Barclay’s only 40 from each pool move on to the Deutsche Bank Championship (80 players).
At the Deutsche on the top 25 from each pool make it to the BMW Championships. (50 players).
Combine the pools and the top 50 players make it to the Tour Championship.
Winner of the Tour Championship is the crown FedEx Cup Playoff Champion and wins the 10 million dollars!

This may seem like a strange system, but in the playoffs of any sport, all accumulated scores from previous matches are removed and everyone starts on a level playing field. Why not golf?

I enjoy watching the Fed Ex Cup playoffs. There is always exciting golf to be seen, however over the years past (like when Vijay Singh won the playoffs before the Tour Championship), the drama of players slugging it out to the bitter end was just not there. This year should be interesting with all the young lions in the field, but if Jordan Spieth wins The Barclay’s, the sprint for 10 million dollars could be over early.

What do you think? Should the FedEx Cup Playoffs change their format?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links?

Picking a Winner at the PGA Championship

August 11, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 11 Comments

Below is an excerpt of the article I wrote for Pundit Arena. Click here to read all the details.

The difficulty in picking a PGA Champion in 2015 is the field. With so many first-time winners in 2015, any streaking player could knock of the heavy favourites while they trade punches up and down the fairway. The variables are astounding and even the slightest hitch could derail any players dream of winning the PGA Championship.

Dark-Horse – Phil Mickelson.
Finishing third – Dustin Johnson.
Finishing Second – Jordan Spieth.
The PGA Championship winner – Rickie Fowler.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the article.

Who is your pick for this weekend?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

The Grand Slam of Golf

June 25, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 7 Comments

(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)

Does Jordan Spieth have the game to win a grand slam of golf? He is well on his way and as predicted after day three of the US Open, the golfing pundits are starting to pose the question. Given he is half way there, it might be a fair question.

A grand slam in golf consists of one person winning all four Majors (The Masters, US Open, The Open, and PGA Championship) in the same year. To date, only Bobby Jones has completed a Grand Slam of Golf. In the modern era, no man has ever achieved a Grand Slam. Although it is important to note that Tiger Woods won all four Majors consecutively, but over two calendar years.

The other milestone in golf is the Career Grand Slam. This consists of winning all four Majors at different times in a career. In the modern era only five golfers have a Career Grand Slam: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. A special acknowledgment goes to Woods and Nicklaus because they have won each of the four majors at least three times in their career. We are still waiting for Phil Mickelson to join this élite group, but as each year passes, it becomes tougher and tougher.

Back to the original question: Does Jordan Spieth have the game to win a grand slam of golf?

I consider Spieth as the best golfer in the world at this moment. His three wins, three 2^nd place finishes and one 3^rd place finish out of 18 events, is very typical of Tiger Woods in his prime. The fact that he is first in the FED Ex Cup standings and is 1.75 points behind Rory McIlroy in the world rankings, only adds fuel to speculation of a grand slam in 2015.

Jordan Spieth is a great golfer, and at 21 years of age appears to have the golfing world in his hand. However, let us not forget Rory McIlroy. At 26 years of age, he is not to be taken lightly. He easily has the game to match Spieth and at any given time will rise to snatch victory from this young upstart! McIlroy has plenty of game and while he respectfully gives Spieth his due, is not quite ready to hand Spieth the keys to the mansion.

The rest of the top 10 in the world are no slouches either. At any time, players like Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose or Jason Day could knock off either Spieth or McIlroy. The current field in golf is the strongest ever and on any given day, anyone can win. Additionally, let’s not forget players like Louis Oosthuizen, who shot the best final three rounds in US Open history! There are many players who have the game to compete against Spieth and McIlroy; professional golf is extremely competitive at this moment.

Is it possible for Jordan Spieth to win the grand slam of golf? The short answer is yes; however, it is not very probable. With The Open just three weeks away, Spieth will have to finish his US Open congratulatory media events, play golf, and then mentally prepare to compete at The Old Course in St Andrews. That seems a bit to ask from a professional golfer, but I am sure Spieth will give it his best shot.

Regardless of which side of the fence you are on, watching Jordan Spieth try for the grand slam of golf will be very entertaining. The road ahead is challenging, but given he is playing better golf than anyone in the world, anything is possible. It would be exciting to see his name in the history books beside the immortal Bobby Jones, but to achieve such greatness; he must first go through Rory McIlroy and the rest of the golfing world.