Fanatics
Showing posts with label PGA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PGA. Show all posts
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Deutsche Bank Championship
Another Labor Day Weekend in the 'burbs of Boston/Providence with the PGA Tour rolling through town. Gorgeous Autumnal day:
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
All We are Saying, Give Them a Chance
(This column, and many others, appear on my two sites ... DigitalSortsDesk.com and DigitalSportsDesk/SportBlog.com)
By TERRY LYONS
BOSTON - April 12, 2016 — Today is game No. 7 of the brand new 2016 baseball season, jammed with 162 games for the Boston Red Sox and their American League rivals. It’s time to hit the “Panic Button.” As I’m reading it today, the boo-birds are already flocking and the sky is falling over Fenway Park.
Sox ace David Price was mowing down Orioles early in his Fenway Park debut in a home team uniform on a day deemed so special that the two greatest players in NBA and NHL history, Bill Russell and Bobby Orr (apologies the The Great One) were on site to pay tribute to the Sox. Then, the roof seats caved in as Price was responsible for five runs, all earned, as he allowed more than three earned runs in a start at Fenway for the first time in his career.
While the ace faltered, the Red Sox offense rallied to tie the home opener at six apiece before newly acquired closer Craig Kimbrel came in to mop things up in the top of the ninth. The sequel? Hit the Panic Button II.
Kimbrel was making his first appearance at Fenway as a member of the Red Sox, of course, and allowed a three-run blast off the bat of Baltimore’s Chris Davis in the top of the ninth inning. It was the first time the million dollar arm reliever had ever surrendered a home run with multiple runners on base. The Sox lost their first hope game for only the sixth time in the last 24 seasons and only the second time in the last dozen years. Cue the boo-birds.
But, seriously.
One game does not a season make. The 3-3 Sox will face the undefeated Orioles again today and tomorrow. There’s a long way to go. However, in this “cheap shot via twitter” universe we live in, it’s so easy to take a swipe at those who suffer in the MACY*S window that is sports.
Build-up PGA phenom Jordan Spieth and prepare to crown him “the next great player, PGA Tour Player of the Year and “back-to-back” Masters champ and see what you get? An epic meltdown, yes, but a choke? No. Jordan Spieth has many a major ahead of him and he will stand in the winner’s trophy presentation spotlight more than his fair share of times. He is not a “choker” and will never be. He is a champion.
In these United States, we just love to build up our heroes, then we love to mock them as we tear them down. It is as American as political chicanery.
Which brings me to the boo-birds.
We read the snarky twitter comments and heard the boos come raining down on Pablo Sandoval as the Red Sox masterfully produced their opening day ceremonies and introductions. Pablo’s belt buckle quickly became a Giphy sensation, right alongside of the “cryin’ Michael Jordan” memes. A week into the season and fans who consider themselves loyal and knowledgable are all too quick to bury the Panda.
I’m not sitting here, like a cheerleader or team spinster. I’m just wondering why?
Is it the contract? Is it the weight? A weight he carries around on his Mack Truck frame or is it the far heavier weight of expectations and pressure he carries everyday as he drives to the park or stops in a store? At those times, he’s being adored and asked for autographs with smiles and a “you can do it” front.
Do fans snark and boo only when the fans, in vast obscurity with 31,159 others at the park, armed with Twitter and a gif-maker? Or is it the more dangerous fan in a more camouflaged setting in their living rooms, kickin’ it back in their PJs on the coach, who become the slayer of Panda?
All we are saying? It’s G7 of the 2016 baseball season. Give them a chance.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Furyk at the 15th - TPC Boston
These guys are - pretty damn good.
Jim Furyk on the 15th hole of the Deutsche Bank Championship for Eagle!
See http://www.digitalsportsdesk.com for coverage of the event this Labor Day weekend.
Jim Furyk on the 15th hole of the Deutsche Bank Championship for Eagle!
See http://www.digitalsportsdesk.com for coverage of the event this Labor Day weekend.
Friday, August 29, 2014
"Tee-Off" from the PGA Tour event in Boston
Notes and Quotes on the 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship:
By TERRY LYONS
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| Rory McIlroy at the DBC in Boston (Getty Images) |
NORTON, MA, August 29, 2014 -- The Deutsche Bank Championship - @DBChampionship - is the second of four events of the PGA Tour's FedExCup Playoffs. After the full PGA season, the top 125 players qualified for The Barclays tournament, held last week in northern New Jersey. The top 100 players after The Barclays qualified for this week's tournament in suburban Boston. Ninety-three players are teeing-off on Friday, a day later than usual first-round play as the DBC tournament wraps around the Labor Day holiday in the USA. Notable PGA Tour players, such as Tiger Woods (DNQ-injuries kept his FedEx Playoff points total down), Jason Dufner (neck), Dustin Johnson (leave from PGA Tour) are not playing while Graeme McDowell and Paul Casey are taking a week off with personal time to witness the birth of their children. Casey's decision will cost him the opportunity to advance to the third round of the FedEx Playoffs in Denver. Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose each took the week off but at 15th and 20th, respectively, on the PGA's FedEx Cup listing, he will advance and is expected to play the final two rounds. Tim Clark (elbow) withdrew from the tournament on Thursday.
Tourney Sites: The DBC Championship at the TPC in Boston (Norton, Mass) and the Tour Championship (East Lake CC in Atlanta) are the two constant sites for the PGA Tour playoff system. The BMW Championship, to be held next week in Denver, rotates through various courses in the Midwest and The Barclays, the first-round tourney, is staged at the premier courses in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, some of the best courses in the Continental USA.
Pay the Man: The Tiger Woods Foundation is the host charitable organization for the DBC within the PGA Tour's season-long commitment to local and national charitable efforts. Overall, the PGA Tour has donated more than $2 billion to charity with $133 million donated in calendar year 2013. Tiger Woods' foundation concentrates its efforts on youth and breaking cycles of poverty through college-access programs for children of low-income families. Significant efforts are made in the area of mentorship, professional development and providing four-year scholarships to many first generation scholars. ... On the player's side, a purse of $8 million is on the line at the DBC with $1,440,000 going to the winner and $864,000 for the runner-up. Overall, the FedExCup playoffs has a $10 million dollar bounty awaiting the season champion with the top five players at the Tour Championship being in the best position to gain the lofty prize.
Hunter, the hunted: Hunter Mahan vaulted to the top of the FedExCup points list with his win at The Barclays in Ridgewood, NJ last weekend, shooting 68 and 65 to close out the tournament. "Jumping to "No. 1" and securing my spot in Atlanta, it feels good having done that," said mahan when he met the media after the Thursday Pro-Am outing. "I want to be the FedEx Cup champion. I was close a few years ago (2011 when he finished 2nd). "Golf is all about winning. Top-5s are great, Top-10s are great, but if you don;t win, you're not making an impact in the game. Winning is the most important thing and it's heavily favored in this format. I think it's fun for our sport to have a "winner-take-home" (all) kind of mentality, since we don;t have that in golf, kind of a finale. I think it's pretty neat with so much on the line."
Defending Champ: Henrik Stenson, the 2013 DBC Champion, is teeing-off as No. 66 on the FedExCup list after serious moving-up exercises at the PGA Championship where he tied for third place and his T38 at The Barclays last week. In doing so, he moved from No. 92 to 66 and is now in place to possibly defend his title. Last year, Stenson overcame a two-stroke deficit to Sergio Garcia to card a 5-under 66 to outpace Steve Stricker on a rain-soaked Labor Day, The 38-year old Swede became the fourth international golfer to win the DBC, joining Adam Scott (Australia, 2003), Vijay Singh (Fiji, 2004, 2008) and Rory McIlroy (No. Ireland, 2012). Stenson recorded scores in the 60s in each of his four rounds, becoming only the seventh player to do so.
Said Henson when he met the media in Boston: "It's great to be back at a venue where you've done well in the past or won in the past," he said. "I need some sort of result this week to carry on to Denver (BMW Championship). I don;t need any miracles, but if I want to make it to Atlanta, I have to have a good showing this week or next week. I'd rather do it this week than to wait to the last minute. I'm trying to move on and it would be a shame not to make it to the Tour Championship and defend my title."
Be sure to follow @DigSportsDesk for up-to-the-minute coverage of the Deutsche Bank Championship and visit http://www.digitalsportsdesk.com
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Stenson Wins at DBC; Overtakes Tiger in PGA Playoffs
(The following column appeared on DigitalSportsDesk over Labor Day Weekend):
NORTON, Mass, September 2, 2013 - - The day of golf did not begin very well for Sweden's Henrik Stenson. With skies threatening and a morning drizzle lending its way to a steady rain, play was delayed from 8am to 9:30am due to the dangerous weather conditions and sporadic thunder and lightening. When the skies cleared and sun peeked through the overcast skies, Stenson set out at the TPC Boston for the fourth round of play at the Deutsche Bank Championship, trailing third round leader Sergio Garcia by two strokes. Stenson bogeyed No. 2 to drop a stroke as did Garcia, so the Swede caught a break from the Spaniard and felt quite comfortable heading onto No. 4 as the skies darkened.
The mental gamesmanship was off to a soggy start and some 20 golfers were within striking distance on a course where soggy greens lent their way to low scoring as the thunder rumbled. But like those cloudy skies, Henrik Stenson had seen the dark side of the game before, when he suffered through two major slumps - maybe even chasms - back in 2001-02 and again in 2011.
"The one I had back in '01-02, when I was really, really lost," he noted when asked to compare the two lapses in his pro career. "I was lost and confused with my game and with my swing and everything. It's the frustration of dealing with that, because I've had enough good results to know I can play this game at a very high level. Not to be able to be anywhere near that standard is, of course, frustrating."
There was a noticeable difference between the slumps, some 10 or 11 years ago and the smaller imbalance in his game from 2011-12. So, stepping up to the fourth, Stenson proceeded to birdie four of his next five holes before the skies threatened so much that the PGA Tour officials blew the siren, right after he putted for birdie on the par-3 eighth hole. When play resumed after a 1:51 delay, Stenson had a much-mental break to focus his game once more. He stepped out to warm-up at the range, then walked up to the ninth hole and ripped his 3-iron tee shot to finish 33 on the way out, grabbing a strangle hold of the DBC lead where he didn't look back until he faced another bout of adversity on the back nine.
Veteran Steve Stricker was applying pressure and was hovering closely behind on the leaderboard. At 17, Stenson, having found the bunker, sealed the tournament by holing out for a birdie to bring him to -22 on the tournament board, securing a comfortable lead as he walked to the 18th and final hole.
"I hit it left on 17 and I was going to hit a little nine-iron there and tugged it a bit left but got a good lie in the bunker," he said. "I thought I was going to look at a four, five or six-footer for the par, but you know how it turned out, so that made the walk to 18 a little bit easier."
Stricker would proceed to birdie his final two holes and card (66-68-63-67) for the tournament to rise up the FedEx Cup points standings to a lofty seventh place but it wasn't enough to unseat Stenson who took home honors at Boston, including a hefty $1.44 million, then paid the Beantown patrons back by donating a significant portion of his winnings to the One Fund, established to help the victims of the senseless bombing at the Boston Marathon this past March.
With the victory, Stenson jumped ahead of Tiger Woods amongst the FedEx Cup points standings. Stenson will advance to the BMW Championship in the 'burbs of Chicago where the Top 70 PGA Tour players compete for the challenge to rank amongst in the Top 30 FedEx Cup qualifiers. It's all for a chance to grab the $10 million first place prize at the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola, the final round of the complicated PGA Tour playoff system. Embedded in the system is an advantage for the Top 5 FedEx Cup points holders who can win the $10-mil automatically with a win at East Lake GC, the site of the Tour Championship, scheduled September 19-22.
For Stenson, it was his first win on the PGA tour since the 2009 Players Championship, and his first overall win since the South African championship in 2012. His TPC Boston round of (67-63-66-66) earned him a chance to win the top prize on the tour championship with only two weeks left on the season, but it came with some cause for reflection for the dismal days of 2011.
"My 2011 was a really poor season, by any standards," he said. "But, I started coming back at beginning of last year. At the end of the year, I won the South African open but then I didn't get it going early this year. Houston (Open) time, I got my ticket to Augusta, and from then on, it's been steady progress and a couple of fantastic months. This is icing on the cake. I was longing for a win and I got it."
Yes, he got it with the hole-out from the bunker which sealed his fate and the tournament much to the dismay of a charging veteran golfer in Stricker, a self-proclaimed scoreboard watcher, who heard the crowd reaction and saw the number change when Stenson sealed the tournament.
"I just kind of rolled my eyes and said to my caddie, that he's been knocking on the door for a couple months," said Stricker. "He's been playing some great golf. You don;t think it's going to happen to you (when you are defeated) when a guy holes out from a bunker. But, I was a couple of shots back at the time, so I don't think - unless he made bogey - it would've changed things. But, you play it out.
"I was trying to make eagle on the last because you just don't know if a guy is going to run into trouble on the last and you have to play 72 holes. Good for him. Great shot, and like I said, he's been knocking at the door for quite some time and he finally got his win."
"I'm just going to continue to play my best," said the FedEx Cup points leader when he was asked about the next two weeks on the tour. "That's gotten me a very long way. It's going to be no different going to Chicago. I'm going to try my best there and then in Atlanta. I've always been a pretty good front-runner. I always like to think that the 'other guy' is going to have to play better than I do, if I'm in the lead. So, that's always been the mindset and I won a lot of those tournaments," he added smiling at his family seated in the back of the media interview room, his son nodding off.
"Yeah, I'm going to try my hardest. We'll see what happens.
"Chicago ... CHI-CA-GO!"
"Yeah."
 |
| Henrik Stenson of Sweden was winner at TPC Boston (Getty Images) |
The mental gamesmanship was off to a soggy start and some 20 golfers were within striking distance on a course where soggy greens lent their way to low scoring as the thunder rumbled. But like those cloudy skies, Henrik Stenson had seen the dark side of the game before, when he suffered through two major slumps - maybe even chasms - back in 2001-02 and again in 2011.
"The one I had back in '01-02, when I was really, really lost," he noted when asked to compare the two lapses in his pro career. "I was lost and confused with my game and with my swing and everything. It's the frustration of dealing with that, because I've had enough good results to know I can play this game at a very high level. Not to be able to be anywhere near that standard is, of course, frustrating."
There was a noticeable difference between the slumps, some 10 or 11 years ago and the smaller imbalance in his game from 2011-12. So, stepping up to the fourth, Stenson proceeded to birdie four of his next five holes before the skies threatened so much that the PGA Tour officials blew the siren, right after he putted for birdie on the par-3 eighth hole. When play resumed after a 1:51 delay, Stenson had a much-mental break to focus his game once more. He stepped out to warm-up at the range, then walked up to the ninth hole and ripped his 3-iron tee shot to finish 33 on the way out, grabbing a strangle hold of the DBC lead where he didn't look back until he faced another bout of adversity on the back nine.
Veteran Steve Stricker was applying pressure and was hovering closely behind on the leaderboard. At 17, Stenson, having found the bunker, sealed the tournament by holing out for a birdie to bring him to -22 on the tournament board, securing a comfortable lead as he walked to the 18th and final hole.
"I hit it left on 17 and I was going to hit a little nine-iron there and tugged it a bit left but got a good lie in the bunker," he said. "I thought I was going to look at a four, five or six-footer for the par, but you know how it turned out, so that made the walk to 18 a little bit easier."
Stricker would proceed to birdie his final two holes and card (66-68-63-67) for the tournament to rise up the FedEx Cup points standings to a lofty seventh place but it wasn't enough to unseat Stenson who took home honors at Boston, including a hefty $1.44 million, then paid the Beantown patrons back by donating a significant portion of his winnings to the One Fund, established to help the victims of the senseless bombing at the Boston Marathon this past March.
With the victory, Stenson jumped ahead of Tiger Woods amongst the FedEx Cup points standings. Stenson will advance to the BMW Championship in the 'burbs of Chicago where the Top 70 PGA Tour players compete for the challenge to rank amongst in the Top 30 FedEx Cup qualifiers. It's all for a chance to grab the $10 million first place prize at the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola, the final round of the complicated PGA Tour playoff system. Embedded in the system is an advantage for the Top 5 FedEx Cup points holders who can win the $10-mil automatically with a win at East Lake GC, the site of the Tour Championship, scheduled September 19-22.
For Stenson, it was his first win on the PGA tour since the 2009 Players Championship, and his first overall win since the South African championship in 2012. His TPC Boston round of (67-63-66-66) earned him a chance to win the top prize on the tour championship with only two weeks left on the season, but it came with some cause for reflection for the dismal days of 2011.
"My 2011 was a really poor season, by any standards," he said. "But, I started coming back at beginning of last year. At the end of the year, I won the South African open but then I didn't get it going early this year. Houston (Open) time, I got my ticket to Augusta, and from then on, it's been steady progress and a couple of fantastic months. This is icing on the cake. I was longing for a win and I got it."
Yes, he got it with the hole-out from the bunker which sealed his fate and the tournament much to the dismay of a charging veteran golfer in Stricker, a self-proclaimed scoreboard watcher, who heard the crowd reaction and saw the number change when Stenson sealed the tournament.
"I just kind of rolled my eyes and said to my caddie, that he's been knocking on the door for a couple months," said Stricker. "He's been playing some great golf. You don;t think it's going to happen to you (when you are defeated) when a guy holes out from a bunker. But, I was a couple of shots back at the time, so I don't think - unless he made bogey - it would've changed things. But, you play it out.
"I was trying to make eagle on the last because you just don't know if a guy is going to run into trouble on the last and you have to play 72 holes. Good for him. Great shot, and like I said, he's been knocking at the door for quite some time and he finally got his win."
"I'm just going to continue to play my best," said the FedEx Cup points leader when he was asked about the next two weeks on the tour. "That's gotten me a very long way. It's going to be no different going to Chicago. I'm going to try my best there and then in Atlanta. I've always been a pretty good front-runner. I always like to think that the 'other guy' is going to have to play better than I do, if I'm in the lead. So, that's always been the mindset and I won a lot of those tournaments," he added smiling at his family seated in the back of the media interview room, his son nodding off.
"Yeah, I'm going to try my hardest. We'll see what happens.
"Chicago ... CHI-CA-GO!"
"Yeah."
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