Jul. 28, 2010
By PGATOUR.COM staff
News, notes and predictions as we get set for the first round of this week's Greenbrier Classic.
TICKET TO FIRESTONE: Players not yet eligible for next week's World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational can still qualify by winning the event or moving into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Notable players on the bubble: Jeff Overton (No. 55), Ricky Barnes (No. 58), Brian Gay (No. 61) and Davis Love III (No. 70).
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| TV/Radio (all times ET) |
| TV: GOLF CHANNEL (Thu.-Fri., 3 p.m.-6 p.m.; Sat-Sun; 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m.), CBS (Sat.-Sun., 3 p.m.-6 p.m.) |
| RADIO: SIRIUS 209, XM 146, PGATOUR.COM (Thu.-Sun., 12 p.m.-6 p.m.) |
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| Weather |
Scattered thunderstorms, temperatures in high-70s. Winds 8-12 mph from the northwest.
Updated weather info |
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CONSISTENT KUCHAR: Matt Kuchar is quietly putting together perhaps the most consistent season of any player on TOUR. Although winless this year, Kuchar sits seventh in the FedExCup standings (1,243 points) on the strength of a career-best seven top-10s. After collecting just 10 top-10s in his first 149 professional starts, Kuchar has 17 of them in his last 64 starts.
HISTORY ON ITS SIDE: During World War II, The Greenbrier was put to two quite different uses by the U.S. government. The State Department leased the hotel for seven months after the U.S. entry into the war and used it to intern German, Japanese and Italian diplomatic personnel, along with their families, until they could be exchanged for American diplomats stranded overseas.
In September 1942, the U.S. Army purchased The Greenbrier, converted it into a 2000-bed hospital and renamed it Ashford General Hospital. For four years the resort served as a surgical and rehabilitation center, and 24,148 soldiers were admitted and treated at the facility.
Then, in the late 1950s, the U.S. government approached The Greenbrier to construct an Emergency Relocation Center -- a bunker or bomb shelter -- for use by the U.S. Congress in case of war. Between 1959 and 1962, the classified underground facility was built in conjunction with an above ground addition to the hotel, the West Virginia Wing. For 30 years, the owners of The Greenbrier and the federal government agreed that in the case of an international crisis, the entire resort property would be conveyed to government use, specifically as the emergency location for the legislative branch of Congress. The final closing of the underground bunker was in 1995.
FEDEXCUP UPDATE: Currently No. 5 on the FedExCup points list, Jim Furyk could take over the top spot held by FedExCup standings leader Ernie Els at The Greenbrier Classic. Els currently holds a 272-point lead over Furyk and a 176-point lead over No. 2 Steve Stricker. Furyk, a 15-time PGA TOUR winner, is seeking to become the season's first three-time winner.
Last year, it took 354 points to make the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, so a win at The Greenbriar Classic (500 points) virtually assures a spot into The Barclays, the first event in the Playoffs.
Through 28 events, six different players have led the FedExCup standings.
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| Players in the field with seven or more wins during their PGA TOUR career: |
| Davis Love III |
20 wins |
| Jim Furyk |
15 wins |
| Kenny Perry |
14 wins |
| Justin Leonard |
12 wins |
| David Toms |
12 wins |
| Stuart Appleby |
8 wins |
| Brad Faxon |
8 wins |
| Lee Janzen |
8 wins |
| Sergio Garcia |
7 wins |
| John Huston |
7 wins |
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| Predictions: Columnists vs. Interns |
| PGATOUR.COM's interns are trying to outpredict our expert columnists this summer. We'll keep tabs and see how they rank at the end of the internships. Here are the picks for The Greenbrier Classic. |
| Columnists |
Pick |
Comment |
Stan
AWTREY |
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KEVIN NA: This week is going to require a guy who is capable of going low at least three times and Na has that ability. He played well last week (T13) in Canada and is in position to get his first career TOUR win. |
Craig
DOLCH |
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JEFF OVERTON: He's one more good week away from possibly locking down a Ryder Cup spot. |
Melanie
HAUSER |
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SERGIO GARCIA: On no one's radar, but getting better every week. Could he? Sure. The Ryder Cup is on the horizon. |
| Interns |
Pick |
Comment |
Chris
DUNHAM |
 |
MATT KUCHAR: Has three consecutive top-10s in North America and seven overall this season. He's bound to win sooner than later. |
Todd
HOSKINS |
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MATT KUCHAR: No Rickie Fowler. Okay. I pick Matt Kuchar because of his "Gee Whiz" smile and his "Aw shucks" persona. He's perfect for a tournament in West Virginia. |
Ryan
PIERCE |
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BEN CRANE: With the University of Oregon football team reports to training camp in less than a week, the former Duck and Portland native has what it takes to tackle The Greenbrier. |
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| Bolton's Yahoo! selections |
| Fantasy columnist Rob Bolton will provide his Yahoo! picks as a starting point for you every week. Use the advice and opinion from his Power Rankings and Fantasy Insider to assist in determining lineups changes throughout each tournament. |
| Group |
Starters |
Bench |
| Group A |
Charlie Wi |
Steve Marino |
| Group B |
Charley Hoffman, Jeff Overton |
Jim Furyk, J.B. Holmes |
| Group C |
Matt Kuchar |
Brendon de Jonge |
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| Did you know? |
| In 1938, renowned golf architect Robert Trent Jones created his ideal 18-hole course for "Town and Country Magazine." He included the No. 1 hole on The Old White Course and the No. 10 hole on the Greenbrier Course. |
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| What the winner gets |
| A victory this week at The Greenbrier Classic will earn the following benefits: |
| • Fully Exempt for the remainder of 2010 and all of 2011 and 2012 |
| • 500 FedExCup points. It took 354 points to qualify for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup in 2009 and 494 to reach the Deutsche Bank Championship. |
| • A spot in the following 2010 events in order of play: |
| - 2010 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational |
| - 2010 PGA Championship |
| • A spot in the following 2011 events in order of play: |
| - 2011 SBS Championship |
| - 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational |
| - 2011 Masters Tournament |
| - 2011 THE PLAYERS Championship |
| - 2011 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial |
| - 2011 The Memorial Tournament |
| - 2011 AT&T National |
| • If second PGA TOUR win since after the 2010 U.S. Open, entry into the 2011 U.S. Open. |
| • If a U.S. player, 1,090,000 points towards making the 2011 Presidents Cup team. |
| • If a U.S. player, 1,090,000 points towards making the 2010 Ryder Cup team. |
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