Magic Johnson, Jeanie Buss address Lakers fans on front office, Luke Walton and more
What makes an organization rank as one of the top farm systems in baseball? Simply put, it’s a combination of quality and quantity. The MLBPipeline.com staff ranked the Top 10 systems in the game by considering which organizations have an abundance of elite-level prospect talent as well as depth, in terms of future big leaguers up and down the system.
Since Club de Golf Chapultepec is new to all but Mexico’s own Roberto Diaz at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, the usual approach in this column is on hiatus until next week. In its place are groupings of ranks and results from related events that can be used to connect various levels of comfort. As referenced in the Power Rankings, the 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills, the Barracuda Championship and the European Masters were and are conducted at altitudes not visited often on major golf tours. Chapultepec is about 7,500 feet above sea level, so there is correlation between its elevation and what quite a few in the field have already experienced elsewhere. When understanding the influence of thinner air on ball flight, there are two basic factors. First, balls travel longer. A baseline bump this week will be about 10 percent. Second, it’s harder to draw and fade even well-struck shots. Chapultepec is tree-lined, so precision off the tee will be of value. That all but eliminates the notion that it’s a second-shot track despite it setting up as a scorer’s paradise. However, because its relative overall distance will range from 6,600-6,700 yards (translated to sea level), the best talents in the game can take less than driver often, aim at specific targets on fairways with precision clubs, and then attack greens at will. Confident ball-strikers should lead the charge. This is compounded by the fact that the undulating greens are unfamiliar. FINISHES OF THOSE IN THIS WEEK’S FIELD AT THE 2014 BMW CHAMPIONSHIP Sorted by finish 2nd: Bubba Watson T4: Rickie Fowler; Jim Furyk; Sergio Garcia T8: Rory McIlroy; Adam Scott; Jordan Spieth T12: J.B. Holmes; Charl Schwartzel T16: Kevin Chappell; Bill Haas; Martin Kaymer T20: Hideki Matsuyama; Jimmy Walker T23: Russell Knox; Henrik Stenson; Gary Woodland 35th: Justin Rose T43: Zach Johnson T46: Matt Kuchar; Kevin Na T50: Ryan Moore T53: Patrick Reed 65th: William McGirt NOTABLE RECORDS AT THE BARRACUDA CHAMPIONSHIP Sorted alphabetically, Golfer: Cuts Made/Starts; Best Finish(es) Kevin Chappell: 2/2; T14 (2012) J.B. Holmes: 1/1; T12 (2012) Russell Knox: 2/2; T16 (2013) Kevin Na: 5/6 (all top 25s); T5 (2009) Pat Perez: 3/6; 2nd (2011) Scott Piercy: 3/4; Win (2011) Brendan Steele: 5/5 (4 top 10s); 4th (2013) Gary Woodland: 2/2; Win (2013), 2nd (2016) NOTABLE RECORDS AT THE EUROPEAN MASTERS Sorted alphabetically Golfer: Cuts Made/Starts; Best Finish(es) (Year) Rafa Cabrera Bello: 2/3; T15 (2010) Paul Casey: 6/7 (4 top 15s); 3rd (2005) Ross Fisher: 3/7; T5 (2013) Matthew Fitzpatrick: 2/3; 2nd (2015) Tommy Fleetwood: 4/5 (3 top 20s); T5 (2014) Marcus Fraser: 8/13; T2 (2012) Sergio Garcia: 5/5 (4 top 6s); Win (2005) Emiliano Grillo: 1/2; T25 (2014) Tyrrell Hatton: 2/3; T3 (2014), 3rd (2015) Scott Hend: 3/7; P2 (2016) Martin Kaymer: 1/2; 2nd (2011) Brooks Koepka: 2/2; T7 (2013), T3 (2014) Pablo Larrazábal: 2/8; T7 (2016) David Lipsky: 4/5; Win (2014) Joost Luiten: 3/5; 15th (2011) Rory McIlroy: 3/3 (all top 7s); P2 (2008) Francesco Molinari: 6/7 (4 top 20s); T2 (2006) Alexander Noren: 5/7; Wins (2009, 2016) Patrick Reed: 1/1; T16 (2015) Charl Schwartzel: 6/6; T5 (2010) Richard Sterne: 5/7; T13 (2013) Lee Westwood: 10/11 (5 top 10s); Win (1999) Bernd Wiesberger: 4/5; T6 (2012) Danny Willett: 8/8 (4 top 15s); Win (2015) Chris Wood: 3/7; T15 (2010) Beyond the experience of understanding how to adapt to altitude, there’s the matter of competing against the quality of the competition. Below are snapshots of top performances in stroke-play WGCs throughout the careers of the golfers in the field. While the groupings dedicated to aggregates are populated by usual suspects, the complements segregated into percentages reveal useful fantasy options. MOST TOP 5s Number Golfer [*-at least one win] 8 Rory McIlroy* 8 Phil Mickelson* 8 Jim Furyk 7 Justin Rose* 7 Sergio Garcia 6 Dustin Johnson* 6 Bubba Watson* 5 Adam Scott* 4 Charl Schwartzel 4 Henrik Stenson 4 Lee Westwood HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF TOP 5s Percentage Golfer [*-at least one win] (Top 5s/Starts) 50.00% Kevin Chappell (1/2) 40.00% Rory McIlroy* (8/20) 33.33% Bubba Watson* (6/18) 31.58% Dustin Johnson* (6/19) 26.92% Justin Rose* (7/26) 25.00% Jim Furyk (8/32) 25.00% Danny Willett (2/8) 25.00% Daniel Berger (1/4) 25.00% Russell Knox* (1/4) 22.22% Phil Mickelson* (8/36) 22.22% Patrick Reed (2/9) 22.22% Scott Piercy (2/9) MOST TOP 10s 14 Rory McIlroy* 13 Jim Furyk 12 Adam Scott* 11 Sergio Garcia 10 Phil Mickelson* 9 Justin Rose* 9 Lee Westwood 8 Paul Casey 8 Rickie Fowler 7 Martin Kaymer* 7 Bubba Watson* 7 Zach Johnson HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF TOP 10s Percentage Golfer [*-at least one win] (Top 10s/Starts) 100.00% William McGirt (1/1) 70.00% Rory McIlroy* (14/20) 50.00% Russell Knox* (2/4) 50.00% Kevin Chappell (1/2) 44.44% Rickie Fowler (8/18) 40.63% Jim Furyk (13/32) 38.89% Bubba Watson* (7/18) 35.71% Jason Dufner (5/14) 35.29% Matt Kuchar (6/17) 34.62% Justin Rose* (6/17) 34.29% Adam Scott* (12/35) MOST TOP 25s 23 Sergio Garcia 21 Jim Furyk 21 Lee Westwood 19 Phil Mickelson* 19 Adam Scott* 19 Paul Casey 17 Rory McIlroy* 15 Justin Rose* 15 Zach Johnson 14 Henrik Stenson HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF TOP 25s Percentage Golfer [*-at least one win] (Top 25s/Starts) 100.00% Thomas Pieters (2/2) 100.00% William McGirt (1/1) 85.00% Rory McIlroy* (17/20) 76.47% Matt Kuchar (13/17) 66.67% Bubba Watson* (12/18) 66.67% Rickie Fowler (12/18) 66.67% Patrick Reed* (6/9) 66.67% Scott Piercy (6/9) 66.67% Jordan Spieth (6/9) 66.67% Scott Hend (4/6) 66.67% Matthew Fitzpatrick (2/3) 66.67% Pat Perez (2/3) 65.63% Jim Furyk (21/32) 65.52% Paul Casey (19/29) 63.89% Sergio Garcia (23/36)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman David Parry has been arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, on suspicion of assaulting the driver of a motorized cart and then stealing and crashing the vehicle.
Bob Huggins is still living, breathing, kicking and screaming
Champ Week: NCAA tournament bids up for grabs
Championship Week: NCAA tournament bids up for grabs
Why you don’t need to be afraid of Joey Votto anymore
Mets third baseman David Wright is questionable for Opening Day due to an impingement in his right shoulder, according to general manager Sandy Alderson.
As combine begins, Tony Romo’s future should come into focus
