Posts Tagged ‘fedexcup’
PGA’s New Champion: Brandt Snedeker

Tennessean Brandt Snedeker holds both the 2012 PGA TOUR Championship trophy, along with the 2012 FedExCup, after he held off the world’s best golfers the past four days at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Snedeker’s personal triumph comes just a week before he represents the U.S. in the Ryder Cup at Medinah in Chicago. Snedeker made 61 out of 62 putts inside 10 feet for the week, demonstrating once again he’s got one of the PGA Tour’s hottest putters.
Well, it was a wild and wooly weekend at the PGA TOUR Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia, and also the culmination of the 2012 U.S. PGA golf season with the awarding of the FedExCup.
In the end, it was Brandt Snedeker’s opportunity to seize the moment, and seize it he did.
Starting with Jim Furyk’s 17th hole meltdown on Saturday with a drive into the water left, the field slowly but surely began to peel away like an onion, leaving Snedeker on the victor’s podium with his amazingly consistent putting stroke and nearly as consistent driving accuracy. (By way of proof, Snedeker made 61 out of 62 putts from inside ten feet!)
The long hitters ended up being eaten away by East Lake, with players like Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, and even to some degree Tiger Woods, unable to match the needed pinpoint accuracy to stay on East Lake’s tight fairways and greens.
Snedeker also demonstrated an emotional maturity beyond his years, playing the last round like it was just another day on the links, and his double-bogey at six that included a watery tee shot?…well, that was just a minor setback (As he would later learn, both Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy also found their way to agua on number six in the final round).
By the time he reached 17, Snedeker’s confidence seemed quite assured, and the chip-in from the off the green just solidified that confidence.
Even a missed tee shot into the back left grandstand on the final hole didn’t shake him up — he just laughed it off, chipped on to the green, and two putted for bogey to walk away with both the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup, and a payout of over $11 million.
Is Snedeker’s victory a prelude to the U.S.’ likely opportunity to reclaim the Ryder Cup from the Europeans next week in Medinah?
Not so fast. Rory McIlroy still continues to pace the golf world, and is backed by some other exemplary European players, including Justin Rose, who stayed close on Snedeker’s heels yesterday, and Sergio Garcia, a Ryder Cup veteran. Europe also has Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell, both of whom seem to wallow in Ryder Cup pressure, while the American side has a number of Ryder Cup newbies (including Snedeker).
I’m not about to try and call this one in advance. I’ll just say it’s generally expected to be very close, and I’ll be watching every minute before my pro golf withdrawal and depression sets in.
As for the entirety of the 2012 PGA season, it’s likely to prove to be one that golf fans won’t soon forget.
The Tiger Roars Again
The first round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake was a doozy.
Tiger and Rory paired together…well, it’s something special to watch. Reminds me of those transcendent rounds with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus playing together.
Two of the best golfers in the world bringing out the best in one another, which mostly they did, and in the game of golf. Pure magic.
Tiger finished at four under, his putting improving but also hitting some gorgeous drives and approach shots.
Rory? Well, it’s his first time at East Lake, so now that he’s had a few runs around the course, watch out. He puts a few more closer to the pin and turns that putter on, and though he may not intimidate Tiger, he’ll certainly catch his attention.
Rory’s been the strong weekend finisher this year, and the real question about Tiger is can he take that momentum from Thursday into today and the weekend?
Phil Mickelson…well, I called it. Can he keep it on the fairway? Mostly not. His drives were all over the place. And STILL he was able to recuperate from hill and dale and still pull off a round of one under 69.
Just imagine what he could do hitting fairways once in a while!
Justin Rose was a surprise leader, but not that big a surprise. Scott Piercy, for me, was out of nowhere.
You’ve also got the likes of Steve Striker, Hunter Mahan, Adam Scott, Brant Snedeker and Zach Johnson also hovering there around two under, and there’s still a lot of golf to be played.
Today’s notable tee times: Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, 12:45 EST. Tiger Woods and Justin Rose, 2:05 PM EST. Jim Furyk and Bubba Watson, 1:05 PM EST. And Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, 11:55 AM EST.
The Turbo TOUR Championship Preview
I haven’t written about golf in upwards of a week, so as we approach the start of the TOUR Championship (sponsored by my favorite soft drink of all time, Coca-Cola) at Atlanta East Lake, I thought I’d share my thoughts in advance of the first tee time.
The first thing I’ll say is Rory McIlroy. The guy’s just been a golf phenom this year, and yes, he’s had his ups and downs. But he’s had more ups than downs of late, taking the last two tournaments and breaking from the field for the PGA Championship at Kiawah.
Can he win three PGA Tour victories in a row? If all facets of his game are on when he tees it up tomorrow, absolutely. But if Uninvincible Rory doesn’t show up, it breaks the field wide open.
To wit, enter Tiger Woods. He comes into Eastlake ranked # 2 behind Rory, but if Tiger can turn his putter back on, and stay consistent with the rest of his game, there’s no reason he couldn’t walk away from this golf feast with another FedExCup.
Tiger and Rory play together in tomorrow’s round.
Beyond that, we can’t forget Phil Mickelson.
He, too, was struggling with his putting this year, but the claw grip seems to be mostly working for him on the comeback. If anything, Phil will have to have some discipline off the tees and not always be consumed with distance. East Lake is lined with tall pretty trees that you never want to see your golf ball get behind, so accuracy counts. That includes for you, too, Phil.
But I’m also keeping my eye on Brent Snedeker. Never mind, the guy hits the ball faster than any golfer on tour. “No Yips Snedeker,” he should be called.
I want to take his putting and bottle it up and sell it at public courses everywhere, and with East Lake’s smooth Bermuda greens, and his cavalier hybrid play, Snedeker can not only attack the pins — he can sink the putts where he gets close.
If Snedeker gets an early lead, he’s going to have to buckle down and not allow bad course management (or fear) get in his way.
And then there’s also the looming South African, Louis Oosthuizen. Louis still has one of the most beautiful swings in golf, and his calm demeanor will be an advantage with the stakes being so high.
He’s had three top fives in his last five starts, so it’s not unimaginable for his consistent play to sneak up the leaderboard to win the TOUR Championship.
Of course, that’s just five of an excellent field of 30 pro golfers from around the world who will be playing in the TOUR Championship at East Lake — playing to win, and rehearsing for what I consider to be the real main event, next week’s Ryder Cup!