WGC-HSBC Champions Preview: The Weird Art of Winning, Part 1

The last global tournament of the stroke play season will see an unprecedented number of newcomers rewarded for their wins with a place at the WGC-HSBC Champions. There’s also a good chance that, for the first time in golf history, the season will end with all the Major titles and WGC trophies in the hands of first-time winners. Tim Maitland reports.

As the world’s best golfers descend on Shanghai for the WGC-HSBC Champions, the world of golf has never been so wide open.

photo credit: GolfCentralDaily.com

 

At the moment all of the big trophies have pride of place in their winner’s display cabinets, because none have won at such lofty levels before. The PGA Championship and US Open Championship belong to relative youngsters in 25-year-old Keegan Bradley and 22-year-old Rory McIlroy. The Masters belongs to Charl Schwartzel, 27, making first-time Open Champion Darren Clarke look like a grizzled veteran at 43. 

This year’s WGCs belong to a group of thirty-somethings – England’s world number one Luke Donald (WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship), American Nick Watney (WGC-Cadillac Championship) and Australia’s Adam Scott (WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) – while 28-year-old Italian Francesco Molinari returns to Shanghai to defend the WGC-HSBC Champions.

Thirteen different players have won the last thirteen Majors and only three of them (Mickelson, Cabrera and Harrington) have won Majors before. The last nine World Golf Championships events have also been won by nine different winners; a spell unprecedented since the stable of elite tournaments was introduced in 1999.

There have been six different winners of the last six European Tour Orders of Merit (more recently the Race to Dubai). Compare that to the period between 2005 and 1993 when Colin Montgomerie (eight times), Ernie Els (twice), Retief Goosen (twice), and Lee Westwood (once) shared thirteen titles.

It’s the same on the PGA Tour, where democracy reigns after the duopoly of Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh who were the only players to lead the PGA Tour money list at season’s end or record the most wins between 2009 and 1999. The PGA Player of the Year award and the Jack Nicklaus Trophy (The PGA Tour Player of the Year), with the exception of Padraig Harrington claiming both in 2008, also belonged to Woods or Singh.

This season there have been twelve first-time winners during PGA Tour regular season and an almost unprecedented parade of rookie winners. Compared to the stability of previous years, even the FedEx Cup and Tour Championship winner Bill Haas – a two-time PGA Tour winner in 2010 – could be described as coming from relative obscurity.

The reason would seem to be obvious: the decline of Tiger Woods. Arguably the greatest golfer ever (although some will deny him that claim unless he rebounds and overtakes Jack Nicklaus’s record of eighteen Major triumphs), Woods was so dominant that through to the end of 2009 he’d won almost thirty per cent of his starts on the PGA Tour.

If you combine his two hottest periods, from 1999 to 2002 and from 2005 to 2008, he claimed thirteen of the twenty-seven Majors he played.  Up until the end of 2009, he triumphed in sixteen of the twenty-nine WGC events in which he competed.

What we’re seeing now, with Tiger so far down the rankings and so far removed from his last big victory that he hasn’t qualified to play in China, is not just young talent, but several generations of golfers figuring out how to win.

 

Part two in Tim Maitland's article coming soon: Why should learning to win matter?

 

 

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Bud Light Battle of the Sexes Skins Game pits Sorenstam against Faxon

A baseball versus golf challenge has switch-hitted into a Champions Tour, LPGA Hall-of-Fame battle as Brad Faxon picks up the sticks against Annika Sorenstam next week.

Brad Faxon, a twenty-eight-year veteran of the PGA TOUR and now a Champions Tour star, will fill in for Ken Griffey Jr. at the Forsgate Foundation Charity Golf Classic, Oct. 3-4, at Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township, New Jersey. Griffey is unable to participate due to a minor injury so  Faxon will join fellow headliner, LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, and will mingle with participants and fans to raise money for the ANNIKA Foundation and New Jersey-based charities.

Faxon and Sorenstam will participate in The Charity Classic’s VIP Reception and Live/Silent Auction on Monday, Oct. 3, participate in a Skills Exhibition on Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. and later at 3 p.m., wage a friendly “battle of the sexes” over nine holes of golf at Forsgate’s renowned Banks Course in the Bud Light Skins Game. 

Faxon was born in Oceanport, N.J., and raised in Rhode Island. An eight-time winner on the PGA Tour and two-time Ryder Cup team selection, Faxon has amassed over seventeen million dollars in career earnings. In August 2011, Faxon “graduated” to the Champions Tour with his debut at the 3M Championship,and he already boasts one Top 25 finish (T16 at Boeing Classic). 

In addition to being known as one of the best putters on the tour, Faxon is also known as one of the most philanthropic. Over the past 20 years, he has raised millions for children’s charities through a non-profit organization he co-founded with PGA Tour Pro Billy Andrade.  

“We are thrilled that Brad Faxon was able to step in and assist us on short notice,” said Forsgate Country Club General Manager Det Williams.  “From his multiple successes on the golf course to his tireless work for children’s charities, Faxon is a wonderful choice to join Annika and help The Charity Classic reach its fundraising goals.”

Gallery Tickets are only $15 and include admission to all of the Oct. 4 afternoon events.  Tickets are available by calling (732) 656-8911 and may also be purchased on-site.

  

Since 2003, The Forsgate Foundation Charity Classic has raised over $250,000 for worthwhile causes.  This year, the primary beneficiary of the event will be The ANNIKA Foundation, a not-for-profit organization founded by Sorenstam in 2007. The ANNIKA Foundation teaches children the importance of maintaining good health through fitness and nutrition as well as providing aspiring junior golfers opportunities to pursue their dreams.

The Forsgate Foundation will also support local New Jersey charities with any further proceeds from the event.

For the third consecutive year, The Charity Classic will raffle off a new Mercedes (E350 4-matic), courtesy of Mercedes-Benz of Princeton.  The $100 raffle ticket includes admission into the Oct. 3 Live/Silent Auction. For more information, please call (732) 656-8911, visit Forsgate on Facebook, or watch their YouTube video .

Here's a great golf tip from Forsgate PGA Professional on consistency in the golf swing.

Who will win the Battle of the Sexes? My bet is with Faxon because  he's a regular on the Champions Tour. Sorenstam doesn't play in as many competitive golf tournaments as she used to so, although her skills may be up to par, her mindset may not...

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Posted via email from stacysolomon's posterous

Tiger Woods-Joe LaCava: Golf's new power couple?

Tiger Woods has officially united with Dustin Johnson's (and Fred Couples') former caddie, Joe La Cava and water coolers around the country as well as the Twitterverse have something to say about the new match made in heaven.

Words ranging from "replacement" for Steve Williams to how Woods "stole" LaCava have been circulating as quickly as the Twitter stream will load.  Tiger, on the other hand, maintains that he has known Joe for many years.

"Mark [Steinberg] and I were approached by a lot of people, including Joe, who expressed an interest in becoming my caddie," Tiger Woods maintained. "This was an important decision, and I wanted to think about it carefully. Also, out of deference for the FedExCup Playoffs, I decided to wait until they were concluding to have substantive talks. We then spoke to Joe and came to an agreement."

Back in the Twitter sphere, Yahoo! Sports claimed Tiger "hijacked DJ's caddie and Tim Rosaforte said, "After Barclays win, Joe LaCava would have been crazy to leave Dustin Johnson for Tiger Woods. 10 less weeks on road was determining factor."

According to Woods, LaCava contacted Tiger...no highjacking or arm-twisting needed.

Although @Kathleennewsie had an interesting take that she was "hoping to see Snooki on the bag", it was Butch Harmon (Johnson's swing coach) who officially broke the news on Sky Sports after speaking with Johnson, adding that he was "shocked" by the move.

"I'm a little disappointed with the way Tiger handled it. But I'm not surprised," added Harmon, believing Woods should have asked DJ before beginning negotiations with LaCava and possibly showing that he knows Woods' character better than most (Tiger gets what Tiger wants?)

Who reached out first? According to Lawrence Donegan of The Guardian UK, LaCava was "telling friends ...he (LaCava) had quickly become disillusioned with life in the fairways with Johnson." Could Couples have also had something to do with the pairing as he put together the current President's Cup team......?

With history possibly in the making, does it really matter at this point?

More importantly, is this good or bad for the new team of Tiger Woods and Joey LaCava?


"It's a "win-win," tweeted Paul Azinger. "TW trying to pass Jack. Joe can be a part of history … no brainer for Joey! It's not like he won't still get paid."

"And he's Tiger Woods," added Zinger.

Enough said.
 
Watch for the new dynamic duo October 6-9th performing live at the Frys.com Open.


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