Tiger Woods' second FedExCup title didn't come as easily this time around -- a half-dozen players were in the title hunt as play began at East Lake on Sunday.
Sep. 28, 2009
Welcome to PGATOUR.COM's newest feature. Each Monday, the Backspin will provide insight and analysis on the latest results, happenings and news on the PGA TOUR. We welcome your feedback; click here to let us know what you think!
What are our writers thinking about after THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola? Tiger Woods' second FedExCup title, Phil Mickelson's improved putting, Tiger's rivals and the continued improvement from Sean O'Hair.
WHY THE SYSTEM WORKS: Sunday was one of those odd occasions when second place doesn't stink, even for Tiger Woods, who is all about winning. His celebration after the final putt fell at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola was subdued, but the world's No. 1 player takes a lot of comfort in the fact that, if nothing else, his second FedExCup in three years was a validation of remarkably consistent play. Even if he didn't win a major. Even if he heard all the various criticisms along the way.
|
For a video version of Monday Backspin, click here.  |
|
The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup has its critics, but Woods was better than anyone else this year and the FedExCup showed that. In the 17 events he played, nine times he finished first or second. Of those, he won six, including the BMW Championship.
Here's the bigger point, though: On a late September morning in Jacksonville, Fla., which is a college football hotbed, a group of middle-aged men were sitting in Starbucks talking sports from the weekend -- Tim Tebow's injury, the Yankees clinching another division title, a full slate of NFL games ... and Phill Mickelson's victory and Tiger Woods' march to the title.
Now, that may be the best validation of the FedExCup yet. -- Brian Wacker
GETTING YOUR PHIL: After he won THE TOUR Championship on Sunday, Phil Mickelson said he was looking forward to some down time. He'll play in The Presidents Cup next week, as well as several events in Asia, but much-anticipated family vacations and some dates with his wife, Amy, are in the offing.
Watching Mickelson play at East Lake Sunday, though, you selfishly couldn't help but wish there was more competition on the horizon for him. Mickelson was clearly enjoying himself and now that his erratic putter appears to have caught up with his ball-striking, the possibilities are intriguing.
Dave Stockton has convinced Mickelson to putt like he did as a kid -- hands forward with a wider stance -- and the proof was immediate at East Lake, where he ranked second in putting and third in distance of putts made. Mickelson was already comfortable with the swing changes he and Butch Harmon have made and now he says he has a clear direction for his entire game.
He's really looking forward to 2010, and something tells me we should be, too. --- Helen Ross
TIGER VS. PHIL: Looking at his career, Tiger Woods points to three players who have consistently challenged him: Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson. Of those three, the 39-year-old Mickelson is closest in age to Woods, who turns 34 in December.
No player has beaten Woods more often than Mickelson. His win at THE TOUR Championship was his 13th against a field that has included Woods.
Due to Woods' season-ending injury last year and Mickelson's family issues this summer, there have been fewer head-to-head opportunities. But Woods welcomes future battles with Mickelson. "Why wouldn't you?" he said. "... Certainly I would love to go at it again with him."
It was unique to see golf's biggest rivals celebrating side by side at East Lake. But no doubt, each one would rather celebrate alone with both trophies next year. -- Mike McAllister
HUGE YEAR FOR O'HAIR: If Sean O'Hair ever becomes a better-than-average putter on the PGA TOUR, he's got a real shot at becoming a top-five player in the world.
O'Hair finished fifth in the FedExCup after shooting a collective 23 under over the final three Playoffs events. The man swings like Hogan -- a quick, flat slash that is ridiculously on plane -- but his putting holds him back.
O'Hair putted well at East Lake all week, and he was never out of the tournament until the closing holes Sunday. O'Hair is always one of the best drivers on TOUR, but his tee shots were off line on Sunday, yet he still found a way to get around East Lake with only a single bogey.
His development has accelerated faster than anyone on TOUR in 2009. Already a fine player at the start of the year, O'Hair racked up nine top-10s in only 23 events. At this rate, he'll crack the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking next year. If his short game continues to improve, this under-30 player will be a FedExCup mainstay well into his 40s. -- Ryan Smithson
|
| Stock up |
Sean O'Hair: Imagine if O'Hair wasn't 116th in putting average, 174th on putts inside 10 feet or 164th on putts from 15 to 20 feet. If he ever figures out the flat stick, he's going to win. A lot. As it is, O'Hair picked up a third straight top-10 with a third-place finish at East Lake.
FedExCup rank: 5 (9 last week) |
Padraig Harrington: He knew what he was doing when he changed his swing after winning two majors last year. One step back, two steps forward and the results were six straight top-10s to end the year, including two runner-up finishes.
FedExCup rank: 7 (4 last week) |
Steve Stricker: The bye week certainly helped Mr. September, who kept his remarkable run through the Playoffs going with a solo sixth at East Lake. It was his third career top-10 in the event, but first since 1998. That makes three top-10s in four Playoffs events this year.
FedExCup rank: 3 (2 last week) |
|
|
| Stock down |
Kenny Perry: It was another final-round meltdown for Perry and unfortunately it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. His 74 on Sunday included four bogeys and a double bogey as Perry hit just eight greens in regulation. He could get to 20 career wins on TOUR, but won't like this.
FedExCup rank: 9 (9 last week) |
Jim Furyk: His final-round 67 at East Lake gave him his 10th top-10 of the season, but therein lies a dubious distinction for Furyk, who hasn't won since 2007. More troubling: His precipitous fall in greens in regulation the last two years -- 84th and 48th on TOUR, compared to sixth and fourth in '07 and '06.
FedExCup rank: 4 (5 last week) |
Geoff Ogilvy: Until that third-round 64, Ogilvy had spent much of the past few months on the side of a milk carton. Since his victory at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, he's had just three top-10s, just one of which came in the Playoffs.
FedExCup rank: 13 (33 last week) |
|
| A Quick 18 |
| Front Nine | Back Nine |
| It might end up getting overlooked, but Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were that much more remarkable this year when you take into consideration the fact that one was coming off major reconstructive knee surgery and the other was dealing with major medical concerns with his wife and mother. | Stat of the Week: Until this past weekend at East Lake, Tiger Woods had never lost a 36-hole lead when he shot under par in the third round. It took Kenny Perry's spectacular 6-under 64 on Saturday to end that streak. |
| With his victory Sunday at East Lake, Mickelson became just the second player to win THE TOUR Championship multiple times (he also won it in 2000). Guess who the other is? Yep, it's Woods, who won in 1999 and 2007. | Stat of the Week II: David Toms entered THE TOUR Championship as the TOUR leader in driving accuracy. In the second round, though, he missed 10 of 14 fairways. He didn't fare much better the rest of the week, either, finishing near the bottom (T24) in driving accuracy for the week. |
| What do Phil Mickelson and Michelle Wie have in common? They both recently worked with Dave Stockton on their putting. Mickelson says the time he and Stockton spent together last week has given him direction, which was to go back to the way he putted as kid. | Jim Furyk doesn't like to play golf when there's nothing at stake. Even as a kid, he enjoyed playing golf when there was a dollar on the line, or maybe just a cold drink. That would be a lot of George Washingtons and a lot of sodas lost based on how he's played the last two years. |
| Speaking of putting, Sean O'Hair got a tip from Tiger Woods last Wednesday, which paid immediate dividends in a first-round 66. "I tend to deloft the putter and take it a little too square going back, so he just was kind of trying to get me to almost add loft to the putter so I can release it through," O'Hair said.
| Tweet of the Week: "Sounds like 50 Cink is out and Ocho-Cink-O is in. I think I prefer 50 over Ocho. For the record." -- Stewart Cink (@stewartcink) after making a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 10th hole Friday. That derailed an otherwise good round with Cink shooting a 2-over 72.
|
| Kenny Perry's pursuit of 20 wins certainly took a hit with his loss at THE TOUR Championship, and the Masters earlier this year. It might only get tougher with Perry talking about scaling back his 2010 schedule due to the illness of his mother. Plus, he'll play some Champions Tour events.
| Padraig Harrington has a suggestion for college basketball fans: Instead of distracting opposing fans while they're shooting free throws, just give him the silent treatment. "If everybody kept quiet," he said, "it would put the guy under a lot of pressure." Who knew Paddy was a hoops junkie? |
| Ernie Els is getting older, but he's not exactly slowing down, not with an Atlanta-Scotland-San Francisco stretch coming up. "I can't recover so good anymore," he said. "I'll give the Heinekens a week off. I've got a G5. It flies straight in. I don't have to stop anywhere, so I sleep."
| Steve Marino is sporting a new close-cropped do after getting rid of most of his long brown hair. "My hats don't fit me anymore," he said. "My hair was just too long. I figured I'd shave it all off and start from scratch."
|
| Adam Scott's selection to the International Presidents Cup team certainly raised a lot of eyebrows, including those of Els. "I think he's got a lot of pressure on him," Els said last week. "We will support him, but he's going to be under the spotlight a little bit." | A few years ago, Zach Johnson tried to wean himself away from keeping his own yardage books. But it didn't take. Johnson needs the yardage book in his back pocket. "I feel naked without it," he said. |
| After bouncing around a bit, THE TOUR Championship has found a venerable host site in East Lake, its permanent home since 2004. And while the Bermudagrass greens that were installed in 2007 are tough to read, Stewart Cink considered them a necessary change, adding East Lake is "among the best courses in America."
| The final vote for the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games takes place Friday. A week later, the vote to decide whether to include golf (and rugby) takes place. Ty Votaw, who heads up golf's Olympics bid, said the selection of the host city should have no bearing on whether golf gets in. |
| Just two players have played in every round of the three years of the Playoffs: Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk. That's 48 rounds apiece. But while Stricker has won two of the 12 Playoffs events, Furyk has been shut out. |
That vote that decides golf's fate, by the way, will take place Friday morning prior to that day's Presidents Cup competition. Make that early Friday morning, say 3 or 4 a.m. "Any of you who aren't doing anything, stop by my room," PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem joked, "and we'll have a cup of tea and wait for the votes to come in."
|
|
|
| The Forward Spin |
With the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup now over, the attention turns to the Fall Series, where players hope to either secure their TOUR card for next season, end the year with some positive momentum or both.
The story at this week's Turning Stone Resort Championship is two-fold: Adam Scott is one of those players trying to build said momentum, albeit for The Presidents Cup, and Michael Sim will make his much-anticipated PGA TOUR debut as a full-fledged member of the PGA TOUR.
Sim earned a battlefield promotion to the TOUR after winning his third Nationwide Tour event of the season right as the Playoffs were beginning. He played so well on that tour that some thought he would be a Captains Pick by Greg Norman. Instead, that honor went to Scott. Now we'll see what he does with it and what Sim can do on this level. |
|
PGATOUR.COM'S Brian Wacker wrote the Quick 18, Stock up/Stock Down and Forward Spin.
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network