5. JT on Reed’s remarks
Thomas told reporters at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia: “That (the pairing) was something obviously that had been talked about in advance, but all I was worried about was that I knew I was going to play with Jordan and we wanted to take care of our match.
- “So, you do your job, and Jordan’s and mine was to go out and get a point and that’s what we were fortunate enough to get at least three out of four.
- “But no, everybody has their own thoughts and feelings, but at the end of the day we just didn’t play well enough.”
6. More travel trouble for Vegas
Rough stuff. Via Golfweek’s Kevin Casey…”The Venezuelan took to Twitter on Tuesday to reveal that he won’t be playing in the CIMB Classic this week in Malaysia due to a passport issue.”
- “In July, it was realizing his visa to the United Kingdom had expired that put Vegas in jeopardy of missing the Open. It was hectic, but he did indeed make it.”
- “He explained Tuesday, though, that no such scenario will play out with the CIMB Classic….” Súper disappointed not going to@CIMBClassic this week in Malaysia due to my passport expiring in a 2 months. Unfortunately my country is having some horrible issues and renewing your passport is one of them. Thanks everyone@CIMBClassic for trying to make this happen.”
7. It’s not just JT…
…Brooks has goals too!
AP Report...”One was his annual list of goals that he writes every Jan. 1 during quiet time on the beach, some of them golf specific, some of them about life. He tacks the list in the middle of his closet so he can’t miss it when he’s getting dressed, packing for a trip or getting his watch and wallet.”
- “I’m definitely ahead of schedule on certain things,” Koepka said Tuesday….No doubt he was referring to winning two majors, which made him the obvious choice as PGA Tour player of the year. His second straight U.S. Open title made him the first back-to-back winner since Curtis Strange in 1988-89. His two-shot victory in the PGA Championship made him only the fifth player in 100 years to win in the same season the two U.S. majors held on different courses.”
- “And he missed on a few goals…One was to not miss a cut, which ended in Canada with a 77 in the opening round that led to a weekend off. Another was to finish in the top 10 in half of his events.”
- “And then there was one that made him laugh just to say it….”Stay healthy,” Koepka said.”
8. Players on the rise in 2019
Our resident stats guru, Rich Hunt, worked his magic to forecast the players who ought to be seeing better results in 2019 (and those who won’t).
Here’s how he does it…”At the end of each season, I compile data on every PGA Tour player and then analyze which players are on the rise and the decline for the upcoming season. There are a number of variables that are historically quality indicators of a golfer’s future performance such as age, club speed, adjusted scoring average, etc.
“I tend to focus on what I call The Cornerstones of the Game, however, and these Cornerstones include
* Driving Effectiveness
* Red Zone Play (approach shots from 175-225 yards)
* Short Game shots (from 10-20 yards)
* Putting (5-15 feet)
* Ball Speed
“All that is needed to execute the Cornerstones of the Game is for the player to be in the top-half on the PGA Tour in each metric. That’s the beauty of the concept; a player does not need to be dominant in each metric. He can simply be average at each metric and it increases his likelihood of not only having a great season, but recording a PGA Tour victory. I can then use the Cornerstones concept to more accurately project players on the rise for the following season.”
9. For your listening pleasure…
ICYMI: Our Andrew Tursky has expanded the GolfWRX podcast repertoire with “Monday’s Off.” Now a few episodes in, the pod features Tursky and club pro Steve Westphal.
- This week, the pair discuss whether PGA Tour swing coaches are underrated or overrated. Also, they discuss Koepka vs. DJ, Tiger’s best swing ever, and Westphal explains why coaching high-handicaps is more difficult than coaching good players.
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