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By Scott MacLeod, via www.flagstick.com, on July 28th, 2010
 An American Classic welcomes back the PGA Tour this week and plenty of the world’s best players are looking forward to competing on a storied venue.
The Greenbrier Classic plays out on The Old Course at the famed Greenbrier Resort – the pride of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It is a place of not only historical importance in American society but within the history of golf itself. Sam Snead was the resort’s golf pro for some 29 years and served as Golf Professional Emeritus from 1993 until his death in 2002. Tom Watson became The Greenbrier's second Golf Professional Emeritus in 2005.
The resort is a National Historic Landmark that has been welcoming guests since 1778 and golf has been a rich part of its legacy. There are three layouts on the property and the most famous of them, the 7031-yard, par 70 Old White will serve up the test for the PGA tour this week as the players clamor to win the $1,080,000 up for grabs for the winner.
Originally crafted almost a century ago by Charles Blair MacDonald, the Old White received a renovation at the hands of Jack Nicklaus in 1977 prior to the hosting of the Ryder Cup in 1979. It was recently given a restoration back to the original design by Lester George.
In addition to the Ryder Cup the Resort has hosted the Solheim Cup (1994), and a Champions Tour events from 1985-1987.
The field is plenty strong this week, even though with a World Championships event set right on its heels. There are least 10 players who have 7 or more wins on the PGA Tour and six of this year’s winners. That includes Jim Furyk and last week’s winner of the RBC Canadian Open, Carl Pettersson.
The latter name is important as players will face a similar test this week as they did in Canada during Pettersson’s win. The classic, old style design with tremendous bunkering and tight lines of play should favor players who were also contenders at the Canadian Open.
I’ll put enough weight into that to put the trio of Pettersson, Matt Kuchar and Trevor Immelman as my picks of the week. All three accorded themselves nicely amongst the thick rough and thin fairways at St. George’s and that type of play will go a long way on Old White.
Although Kenny Perry is not on my fave list for The Greenbrier Classic, I am hoping he plays well for other reasons. Perry has dedicated this week to the 29 families involved in the mining disaster that took place in West Virginia in April. He has pledged $2,000 for every birdie he makes during the tournament. Greenbrier owner James Justice will match Perry’s donation during the week. Funds raised through The Greenbrier Classic will be donated to the families through the West Virginia Council of Churches.
Let’s hope Perry can play all four rounds and go real low.
As usual The Golf Channel will have early coverage this week and CBS is set to take up where they left off in Canada by providing great visual shots of a classic golf course and hopefully conveying the rich history of The Greenbrier during their broadcast.
With this being a new PGA Tour event it should be one worth watching.
This report was provided to GolfWRX.com by Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)
PGA Tour Wrapups and Previews by Flagstick will be on a break for the next week and will return with the preview of the PGA Championship.
By Scott MacLeod, via www.flagstick.com, on July 20th, 2010
 Nothing attracts a PGA Tour player to a tournament more than the venue itself. Resort golf courses like those played in events like the Bob Hope Classic simply make players yawn while courses like the venerable St. George’s G&CC, the host club for this week’s RBC Canadian Open really get their attention.
Although one of the best fields in some time is here in the heart of Toronto this week, there is no mistaking that the golf course is the star. Perennially rated as one of the best two courses in a nation ripe with quality layouts the Stanley Thompson design is a gem that is the subject of a lot of chatter.
The tumbling layout that is a refuge in a burgeoning metropolitan area last hosted the Canadian Open in 1968 and as Greg Holden, President of the Canadian Golf Superintendent Association stated this morning, “It’s especially an honor to be here now.”
Most notable on the 7079, par 70 layout (which will show brilliantly on television given its elevation changes and flashed up bunkers) will be the green and the rough.
“It’s got a few greens that are a little severe but they all have to play them,” Michael Connell’s caddy mentioned to me as they completed their initial loop around the course.
Just minutes later I got a good feel for the rough at the course as Connell played his approach from the gnarly stuff from down the left side of the closer. A full swing from about 170 yards resulted in a shot that advanced about…..8 feet.
Canadian Matt Hill, the 2009 NCAA Champion now taking on life as a touring professional, addressed the rough almost immediately in his remarks about the course Tuesday. “Today is my second time playing it, and I feel like the rough’s pretty tough this week, so you definitely gotta hit fairways.”
Being a national championship the PGA Tour has allowed it to be generously more than the tour standard 4 inches this week and it shows. In watching 2010 Sony Open winner Ryan Palmer attempt to extract himself from a patch of healthy growth on the back left of the par 3, 16th green it took every bit of skill he had to stop a ball close to a pin placement at the front of the putting surface.
Due to the slopes of the greens (most notable on holes like #3 and #18, the surfaces will roll out about 11 on the Stimpmeter this week to avoid any crazy incidents. An expected but of rain later in the week should help keep them under control.
This is setting up to be a shotmaker's course. Shaft guru Kim Braly of KBS, who has been witness to many PGA Tour events during his career, called it a U.S. Open-like layout with more reasonable greens and many agree. Fairways are narrows, greens are small, and players will need to plod their way around the course in order to succeed.
With that being the case the talent pool that have a possibility of winning gets pared down greatly when you assess both their skills and the current state of their game. 2001 Canadian Open Champion, who took down his title at Royal Montreal, could just be the veteran type player who can excel here. His lack of length may hurt him and require some longer approaches into these small and tilted greens but his patience and putting could keep him in play.
You can also look to Verplank’s Thursday/Friday pairing for some other possible winners. Hunter Mahan and Tim Clark join him for the initial forays at St. George’s and their group might one to bet on if you are looking for a contender. Mahan seems to be gauging his yardages well with his approach shots for the times I observed him during Tuesday’s practice round and that could add up to a National Championship for him here in Toronto.
This report provided to GolfWRX.com but Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)
By Scott MacLeod, via www.flagstick.com, on July 18th, 2010
 When your best prior major championship finish is a 73rd placing in one and nothing but missed cuts in others people don’t really expect much from you when you show up to play the 139th Open Championship. Throw in a back injury within the last few weeks and a name nobody can pronounce and you easily make the “rest of the field” category of any UK bookie.
But at least a few people knew exactly what Louis Oosthuizen was capable of and the whole world woke up to that as well as he pounced on the Claret Jug two days before it was set to be awarded and didn’t let go until he could rightfully claim it as his own.
The 27 year-old looked every bit a champion on the opening days of the Championship as he stormed to the top of the leaderboard with rounds of 65 and 67 as others faltered in the trying conditions. To most he looked to be the typical major championship anomaly that climbs the charts in the initial stages only to fade away. But Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen of Mossel Bay, South Africa did anything but. The dimming hopes were left to his challengers, among them some of the best players in the world including two Englishmen among the top ten ranked players in the world, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood.
But no man would lead on the Old Course this week other than the eventual champion after the 7th hole of round two. It was from that point the man with the lone European Tour win to his credit would set the scoring standard.
By the time Saturday was complete Oosthuizen has added a 69 to his tally for the week and reached 15 under par, four clear of Casey.
Even with that lead the very modest leader was wise enough to know that anything could happen on Sunday and that he would have to be in control of himself. He used a glance to a red dot marked on his golf glove as a point of focus all day and at all times kept himself aware of the scoring situation, not letting himself think ahead to a certain victory.
It was not until early into the back nine Sunday, when most spectators and media had awarded him the victory (an eager fan had by then altered the Wikipedia entry to show him as the winner) that he began to sense that a victory could be his.
“Like I said again, I felt it was very tight,” said Oosthuizen when asked about when he knew it might be his day. “Three shots was nothing playing the back nine. But the minute Paul hit it in the bush on 12 and making that 7 and me making that putt for birdie was a huge thing.
You know, at that stage I had a lot of confidence in the holes that were coming up. I knew 13 and 14, to me, I don't know, I like those holes. I felt I can make two birdies, really. 14, I hit a good putt on 14, just missed. And 15 and 16, I was always playing away from the right side. That was my play the whole week. The toughest challenge then was 17, and I had eight shots leading 17. You don't really think about it; you just hit your drive.”
Of course the Road Hole is not just any hole and the 2010 Open Champion knew he still had work to do. “That's one thing I learned in this game, you're certain when the last putt goes in. You know, I didn't want to make 6 or 7 on 17. My play was front edge, take a three-putt and walk to the next. When my tee shot was down on 18, I felt that was it. I'm definitely not going to 10-putt around there. I just hit the first putt way to the right and then didn't really matter from there, and I was too excited, really.”
His wise play was rewarded with a 16 under par total and a clear victory on the 150th anniversary of the championship.
Casey eventually posted a 75 for the day and Westwood would capture the Silver Salver for 2nd place at 9 under par, 7 back of Oosthuizen.
And it was Casey who had the best seat in the house on the final day to watch Oosthuizen’s virtuoso performance and sum it up nicely. “That was four days of tremendous golf. He didn't flinch today. I mean, his rhythm looked superb, he drove the ball beautifully; he was very calm. I've played with him many a time, but that was a world-class performance.”
World-class. Simple as that.
And as was said this week, with his ability most people wonder where Louis Oosthuizen has been up until now. Now that he has a major championship on his resume – one captured in dominant fashion, we eagerly wait to see where he can go from here.
This report provided to GolfWRX.com by Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)
By Apryl DeLancey, on July 18th, 2010
And By Matt DeLancey
Senior Writer, GolfWRXcom
TaylorMade has extended the family of their popular R9 series to include new irons and woods aimed at the advanced player looking to play something that is more along the lines of what the PGA professionals play. The demand made by the consumer on online golf forums for this type of club continues to grow and the major equipment companies have started to listen to these demands.
The R9 SuperDeep is a gorgeous all black 460cc low spin, mid launch driver designed for the aggressive high launch and high spin golfer. Like the rest of the R9 family it includes moveable weight technology (MWT) via two weight ports and flight control technology (FCT) to allow for 448 launch condition combos.
At address the first thing I noticed was how traditional and compact the club looks for a 460cc driver. The face of the SuperDeep has been stretched to lower spin and maximize performance by sacrificing some MOI and forgiveness, but improving shot shaping. This is truly a throwback driver and for those TaylorMade loyalists it is hard not to feel some familiarity to some of the all time greats such as the 300 Tour, R510TP, and R7 425 TP.
Right off the shelf the R9 SuperDeep comes stock with a 70 gram S and X flex, 60 gram in regular flex, Aldila R.I.P. shaft with the Reverse Interlaminar Placement technology that provides low torque for increased tip stability. The weights are positioned 16 in the toe and 1 in the heel to promote a slight fade bias, but reversing the weight to the heel aids in clubhead rotation promoting a draw and reducing a slice. What becomes evident on hitting the sweet spot is the tremendous amount of trampoline effect created by the ultra thin wall technology.
Click to Read More >>> TaylorMade SuperDeep TP
By Scott MacLeod, via www.flagstick.com, on July 13th, 2010
 Week to week on the PGA Tour or European Tour trying to pin down who might be the next winner is usually not a needle in a haystack situation. It can be fairly easy to see who is playing well and has both the confidence and ability to secure their next victory.
Majors though, they are another ball game altogether. The on-the-edge circumstances of course setup, major championship pressure and the spotlight of the world glaring down on you means just about anything can happen, and it usually does.
The 150th Anniversary of The Open Championship again presents those tumultuous circumstances. The return the Old Course at St. Andrews always makes for a particularly special week and given the past winners of Opens at the site, Tiger Woods having won the last two, it sets the table of expectations for another monumental finish.
Part of those expectations is because of the course itself. Unlike some courses that place high demand on certain parts of a players game The Old Course nourishes and respects a golfer’s ability to manage their way around its links in any number of fashions. The weather often dictates the order of play and with wet weather expected early on in the week and heavy winds for the latter it could be a chaotic championship. As always your tee time draw may protect or you or simply kill your chances of stealing away the Claret Jug from the possession of 2009 Champion Golfer of The Year Stewart Cink.
It has been said by many but Tiger Woods assertion that, “to win at St. Andrews is the ultimate” does not fall on deaf ears. Golfers ‘round the world want to win The Open Championship and to do that at The Old Course makes your mark on the history of golf a permanent win.
Click to Read More >>> Open Season – The 139th Open Championship Is Upon Us
By Scott MacLeod, via www.flagstick.com, on July 12th, 2010
 Prior to the start of this year’s John Deere Classic Steve Stricker made the obligatory visits to the media room to talk about defending the championship he won in 2009. As always, the Stricker was his humble self, deferring any thought that a repeat win would be anywhere close to automatic.
“Yeah, it's always exciting to come back to a place where you've had some success, and just driving in the gates and remembering some of the shots that happened down the stretch and the way the whole week played out last year is always fun to look back at and reflect on a little bit,” he said on Wednesday. But truly Stricker did not take much time for reflection; instead he got on with the business at hand right out of the gates.
The Wisconsin native might be modest when describing his skills, but those abilities take on a life of their own when he hits the first tee. It showed again this week as he dramatically took down the 2010 John Deere Classic in spectacular fashion.
Already having a very creditable year with a win at the Northern Trust Open and not having missed the cut in 11th 2010 PGA Tour appearances before this week, time off for a shoulder injury reduced Stricker to being a sleeper pick this week and he delivered in a less than slumbering style.
On Thursday, while he shot 60, he had to step aside as the attention fell on Paul Goydos, and his score of 59. As proud as Goydos was of his accomplishment he had the right perspective when asked what he thought of 12 under par score on day one. “I shoot 59 and I woke up and I was three back,” he said after his follow up round of 68 on Thursday.
Click to Read More >>> Repeat, With Distinction
By Scott MacLeod, via www.flagstick.com, on July 6th, 2010
 Set on what used to be the home to Friendship Farms, where champion Arabian horses were bred and groomed to perfection, a different kind of thoroughbred will be on display this week at the TPC Deere Run.
With a charter flight made available to whisk them off of to next week’s Open Championship once the trophy has been awarded Sunday, a strong contingent of players has committed to the 40th playing of the John Deere Classic (JDC). The highest John Deere finisher not already qualified will also get a surprise seat on that plane. It provides the basis for what could be another incredible week in the Quad Cities area.
In 2009 Wisconsin native Steve Stricker took down the trophy at the John Deere and he returns to defend and lead a quality field that includes the likes of Rickie Fowler, K.J. Choi, recent Travelers Champion winner Bubba Watson and two quality former N.C. State WolfPack players – Tim Clark and Carl Pettersson. Pettersson is coming off a 6th place finish at the AT&T National.
Finishing just behind Stricker last year, in a tie for second, was Zach Johnson who warmed up for the tournament this week by playing in his nearby hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa with some friends and family. Johnson, the 2007 Masters Champion, has almost become the unofficial face of the tournament with his local ties. “There is not anything I don’t like about this golf tournament,” said Johnson on Tuesday. He also mentions that often finds himself recruiting players to play in the John Deere Classic. “I brag it up all the time,” he commented on the subject while citing the ease for players to transition from the John Deere to the Open Championship with the courtesy jet on hand and the hosting job done by John Deere and the community. “It’s become a family oriented event. It’s not a hard place for a family to come during the week of the golf tournament.”
Click to Read More >>> Celebrating 40 Years – The John Deere Classic
By Scott MacLeod, via www.flagstick.com, on July 5th, 2010
 The critics of the PGA Tour have wanted for some time and now they have it – a player BESIDES Tiger Woods showing signs of domination on the world’s top professional golf tour. Everybody knew it COULD happen but if it did would anyone have thought Justin Rose would be THE guy?
Likely not, but that is the case as Sunday he swept to victory at the AT&T National courtesy of brilliant shot making and leaning hard on a white putter that is becoming legendary. No, it is no equal to Jack Nicklaus’ White Fang putter but it seems to be rolling the ball just as well.
Rose had a few stumbles Sunday at Aronimink but, unlike at the Travelers Championship, he did not falter to an excessive degree, and finished just far enough ahead to secure his 2nd PGA Tour title in three starts on Tour.
After winning at Memorial and holding the 54-hole lead at The Travelers, Rose had a lot of recent experience to draw on as he played the final round of the AT&T and ultimately it helped him close out the championship one stroke ahead of a surging Ryan Moore. Moore fired an impressive 65 on Sunday, almost enough to catch Rose who posted even par for his last trip around the storied layout. And helping Rose to get the job done was utilizing the experience in Hartford where a final round 75 gave away the tournament.
“I knew having not closed out last week it was important for me just for myself to do it today, but to do it in a way — I felt like I really did put into play the lessons I learned at Hartford. I played much slower and I really felt calm. I didn't feel like the nerves got the better of me at all the whole weekend, so was much better at that,” said Rose.
“Still never easy to close these things out, I'll tell you. Had it going nicely on the front nine today and probably got a little bit closer than I should have with two slack three-putts 10 and 11. But I knew today around level par would get the job done today. I was probably — maybe even by a couple but obviously Ryan put a great round together, birdieing 17 I think he did, so he was definitely putting the heat on,” he added.
The tricky greens had many players shaking their heads. High speeds and severe slopes tested the field with three to six foot second putts that not everyone handled well. Rose was able to convert almost all of them and that made the difference in the end. “Every two-putt felt like hard work coming in, I've got to tell you. It was good fun,” Rose stated. “I felt very much in control of my emotions and it's been a long week, but I'm very glad we've got to this point with a win.
With the win Rose not only moved to 2nd in the FedEx points list but he achieved another important goal – he won the top spot on the “mini money list” that qualifies him for the Open Championship in a couple weeks. After not playing in the United States Open he is very geared up to play the 150th Open Championship. His record of late and the fact he won the St. Andrew’s Links Trophy as an amateur at St. Andrews will make him a betting favorite.
This report provided to GolfWRX.com by Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)
By Scott MacLeod, via www.flagstick.com, on June 30th, 2010
 It’s been seven years since the Champions Tour has ventured north of the border but they are back and in a big way.
The Champions Tour Montreal Championship officially kicks off tournament rounds on Friday at Club de Golf Le Fountainebleau in Blainville, Quebec and golf fans couldn’t ask for better circumstances. On top of being hosted by a quality Darrell Huxham/Graham Cooke design, the field for the inaugural Montreal Championship is nothing short of spectacular.
With the exception of Tom Watson, just about every significant Champions Tour player has made the trek to Canada. That includes 23 of the top 30 players from the current Charles Schwab Cup points’ standings. Among the recognizable names are Fred Couples, Tom Kite, Craig Stadler, Mark Calcavecchia, Peter Jacobsen, Corey Pavin, Tom Lehman, Wayne Levi and last week’s Dicks Sporting Goods Open winner, Loren Roberts.
“I’m excited to be here,” Roberts told Flagstick Wednesday morning. “It’s a little cooler right now than I am used to but I hear it is warming up which should be good,” he mentioned as the temperatures hovered just over 55 degrees and the wind was up. A warm front is expected to push temperatures over the 90 mark by the time the tournament concludes on Sunday.
It’s safe to say that some of the best senior-aged players are in Canada this week and the local golf fans plan to embrace them in a big way. While many of their eyes will be on fan favourite Fred Couples, who has already won three Champions Tour events in 2010, a lot of attention will also be given to Corey Pavin, especially after his playoff loss on the PGA Tour last week.
“It’s great to be back in Canada; to be back in Montreal,” Pavin said Wednesday. “It’s always nice to have a new event and in a new place. Montreal is great city; it’s a beautiful city. People seem to be excited to have us and we’re excited to be here.”
The Montreal Championship is one of three new events on the Champions Tour this year. It joins the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, won earlier this year by David Eger, and the tour’s first official event to be played in Asia, the New Songdo City Championship set for early September in South Korea.
While this event is new, the PGA Tour has a long history in the province of Quebec. The Canadian Open has been played in the Montreal area 19 times, most recently in 2001 at Royal Montreal GC. At the same club a team from the United States defeated the European squad in the 2007 Presidents Cup matches. The Champions Tour’s only other visit to the province occurred in 1999 for what was then the AT&T Senior Open Championship. It was hosted by the Richelieu Valley Golf Club in Sainte-Julie, Quebec.
The purse this week is $1,800,000 with the winner earning $270,000. The Golf Channel will be providing tape-delayed coverage.
This report provided to GolfWRX.com by Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)
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An American Classic welcomes back the PGA Tour this week and plenty of the world’s best players are looking forward to competing on a storied venue.
