The second Wild Card spot in the American League has pretty much been a merry-go-round for most of the past couple of months. That’s what happens when so many teams with records a shade above or just below .500 have yet to either pull away from the pack, or just get buried.
The ESPN 100 is as wide-open as it has ever been
They could only share a laugh while looking over their creation and realizing how far it had come. Hosting one of the PGA TOUR’s top events was not the goal when they started the renovation of Long Island’s Glen Oaks Club. But there they were, standing on the scaffolding behind the 17th green, mere weeks before the club would host THE NORTHERN TRUST — the first event of the 2017 FedExCup Playoffs. “Craig turned to me and said, ‘Never in my wildest imagination would I ever think we’d be getting ready for a TOUR event,’â€� said course designer Joel Weiman. Craig Currier is Glen Oaks’ superintendent. He has some experience preparing courses for prestigious events. He was hired at Bethpage Black for the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Opens. Currier came to Glen Oaks a year after the second Open, lured to the private club to lead a dramatic renovation of a tired, tree-lined course. Some golf enthusiasts refer to Glen Oaks as “the Augusta National of the northâ€� because its wide fairways flow into each other, the deep hues of green dotted by bright white bunkers. Of course, the Alister Mackenzie design down in Georgia holds an incomparable place in the sport. Weiman insists that they weren’t trying to copy one of golf’s most famous courses, but Glen Oaks’ crisp, clean look is the inspiration for the comparisons. Stewart Hagestad has played both Glen Oaks and Augusta National. He was the low amateur at this year’s Masters (T36) and played Glen Oaks in the 2016 Metropolitan Open, finishing 11th with a 54-hole score of 7-over 217. He called Glen Oaks’ conditioning “pretty elite.â€� “They really nailed the aesthetics,â€� said Hagestad, winner of the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur. BK Sweeney’s Parkside Tavern is a watering hole just outside the grounds of Bethpage State Park that advertises “family-friendly dining and delicious, hearty foodsâ€� on its website. It’s where Howard Smith went to meet the man he wanted to lead Glen Oaks’ transformation. Smith, a longtime Glen Oaks member, was the club’s president. Currier’s reputation, as the man who prepared a municipal course for two U.S. Opens, preceded him. They had never met, but Smith was able to procure his phone number and arrange a meeting. “I had heard, ‘If you want to hire the best, hire Craig,’â€� Smith said. “Based on that, I told myself that I had to give it a try. It was a process. I was doing a lot of selling on Glen Oaks and trying to convince him that going from a public course to a private course … would be a great next step. I guess I was appealing.â€� Currier grew up on a dairy farm in upstate New York, which gave him an appreciation for hard labor and long hours. A small private club, The Cedar Lake Club, was adjacent to the family farm. He started working on the course as a teenager. “I think my dad almost pushed me away from farming, told me I should do something else,â€� Currier said. “After growing up on a dairy farm, almost any job you do seems easy.â€� He worked at several clubs, including two winters at Augusta National, before becoming the superintendent at Bethpage in June 1997, months after the U.S. Golf Association announced it was taking its biggest tournament to the course. The $2 million Rees Jones renovation to toughen up the Black Course started two months later. It was a dramatic renovation that transformed a run-down municipal course into a worthy host of a major championship. “Craig had a reputation as being one of the best, certainly in the Met Section, but also the nation, based on what he had done with Bethpage,â€� Smith said. “I just saw the passion. I saw how dedicated he was. I saw his love for what he does.â€� Smith saw that dedication first-hand while he was playing Glen Oaks on a dreary Sunday. He spotted Currier, who had yet to accept the job, scouting the property. “He came somewhat unannounced, but he walked all 27 holes by himself, envisioning what he could do on each hole,â€� Smith said. What did Currier see during that visit? “It was like walking through a forest,â€� said Currier, who became Glen Oaks’ superintendent in 2010. “I’m not going to tell you I loved it. I liked the greens. Every hole looked the same to me. It was really tight. Literally, if you hit it off the fairway, you were punching out sideways. “They were looking to turn over a new leaf so to speak and re-do the whole place. It looked like a great challenge.â€� Long Island is home to some of the best courses in the United States, including Shinnecock Hills, the site of next year’s U.S. Open and the National Golf Links of America. Even the local courses that aren’t built on links land use fescue to create a rugged look. Glen Oaks wanted to do something to differentiate itself. “A lot of the courses in the area have a lot of native fescue, like Bethpage Black, a big, rugged golf course,â€� Currier said. “We were certainly trying to separate ourselves a little bit with a real clean, elegant, sharp, manicured look.â€� Said Weiman, “We couldn’t do Shinnecock better than Shinnecock, or National Golf Links better than NGLA, so we went 180 degrees in the opposite direction.â€� Weiman called the course’s metamorphosis a “bold transition.â€� Mother Nature helped the process. Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy a year later removed approximately 1,000 trees from the property. “The golf course was very tight, narrow and nondescript,â€� Weiman said. “It didn’t have a lot of memorable holes. It wasn’t very strategic by any stretch. We opened it up, created angles and options and gave each hole its own identity.â€� Weiman estimates that 30 percent of the property’s bunkers were removed, but the ones that remain were strategically placed to make players take risks to open up the best angles for playing the hole. The wide fairways encourage players to be aggressive and hit driver. Weiman uses the fifth hole, a dogleg-left par-4, as an example. Before the renovation, players had to nearly snap-hook their tee shot to keep it in the fairway. With the trees gone, fairway bunkers were built on the inside corner of the dogleg. Now players can take a risk by trying to carry those traps, or they can play safely to the right of them, leaving a longer approach. There is no rough between the fairway and bunkers. Short grass leads directly into the sand traps, and connects green complexes to the next hole. It’s a look that is reminiscent of that famous course down in Georgia, and shows how dramatically Glen Oaks has changed. Although Currier provided input with the strategic design elements, his main contribution, according to Weiman, was “to always push the envelope. In each instance, his first thought was grounded in the impact to the overall golf experience – not the impact to the future maintenance program.â€� Currier was dedicated to creating a truly unique facility in Long Island. Now Glen Oaks gets its opportunity this week to shine. “We were running with a bold vision,â€� Weiman said. “He never said, ‘That’s too much, that’s over the top.’ He was always willing to take the challenge, and that’s why it’s so spectacular now. That was the attitude, that the sky’s the limit.â€�
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Follow PGA Tour Live’s third-round featured holes coverage from Old Westbury, N.Y.
Follow PGA Tour Live’s second-round featured holes coverage from Old Westbury, N.Y.
Follow PGA Tour Live’s featured holes coverage of the first round from Old Westbury, N.Y.
TOUR extends partnership through 2022 for the worldwide leader in private aviation. Columbus, OH – August 21, 2017 – NetJets® Inc., the worldwide leader in private aviation, has extended its contract as the Official Private Jet Provider of the PGA TOUR® and PGA TOUR® Champions. The agreement solidifies a partnership between NetJets Inc. and the TOUR through 2022, providing flights, marketing support and charitable contributions to assist the PGA TOUR, tournaments and players around the world. “We launched our initial partnership with the PGA TOUR in 2014 and it has been a mutually beneficial arrangement that delivers incredible exposure to our brand and value to the audiences we serve,â€� said Pat Gallagher, NetJets Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Currently, more than 30 top-ranked PGA TOUR players rely on NetJets to give them a competitive advantage by maximizing their time. We are excited to work together with the PGA TOUR on tournament activations and media opportunities, as well as extending valuable opportunities to our Owners.â€� Since 2014, when NetJets became the Official Private Jet Provider of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions, the company has had the privilege of flying nine of the last 10 FedExCup winners and seven of the Top 10 world-ranked golfers. “My time is valuable and I try to maximize every second I can get on the course and with my family. For more than 16 years, NetJets has made it possible for me to do both,â€� said Jim Furyk, NetJets Owner. “They do everything possible to get me to tournaments on time, making my schedule, my safety, and my comfort their priority. I truly can’t imagine traveling any other way.â€� “The PGA TOUR continuously seeks quality partnerships that support our members and the TOUR on a global scale,â€� said Brian Oliver, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President, Sponsorship & Partnership. “NetJets is the recognized leader in the private aviation industry with an outstanding reputation for service, safety and comfort. In addition to our joint marketing efforts throughout the year, NetJets has direct relationships with a number of our players who regularly utilize their service for their private travel needs week to week. We are extremely pleased to extend our valuable relationship with NetJets for the next six years.â€� NetJets, Inc., the global leader in fractional ownership of private aircraft, has more than 700 aircraft in its fleet, making it the fifth largest airline in the world. Featuring 14 aircraft types, including the Challenger 350, Global 5000 and 6000 as well as the Phenom 300, only NetJets can serve the wide-ranging needs of PGA TOUR players. All of its jets feature plush interiors, the latest avionics, state-of-the-art entertainment systems, mood lighting and more. Larger cabin aircraft, which are designed for longerrange flights, feature a spacious divan and seating that can be adjusted to lay flat for a restful sleep experience. Learn more about the NetJets experience from NetJets Owner and PGA TOUR player Dustin Johnson. ABOUT NETJETS NetJets Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the worldwide leader in private aviation with the largest and most diverse private jet fleet in the world. NetJets celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2014, having been established in 1964 as the world’s first private jet charter and management company. In 1986, NetJets pioneered the concept of fractional aircraft ownership—offering individuals and businesses all the benefits of whole aircraft ownership and more, at a fraction of the cost. Today, NetJets offers a full range of private aviation solutions, including fractional ownership, leasing, and jet cards through businesses bearing the NetJets®, Executive Jet Management®, and Marquis Jet Card® service brands in North America and Europe. For more information on NetJets customer programs and services, please visit netjets.com. Twitter: @NetJets Instagram: NetJets ABOUT PGA TOUR The PGA TOUR is the leading global platform in professional golf, showcasing the highest expression of excellence, both on and off the course. The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, grow and protect the game of golf and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players. The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR China. Its members represent the world’s best players, hailing from 24 countries (89 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1.1 billion households in 227 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2016, tournaments across all Tours generated a record of more than $166 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.46 billion. The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
NOTE: For the first three events of the FedExCup Playoffs, Rob will focus only on golfers outside the bubble to advance. In this first edition, all five included below open the Playoffs outside the top 100 in points. Jimmy Walker … The effect of Lyme Disease on his performance is evident, but at 101st in the FedExCup points, he has the shortest road to advance. The last two times he’s fallen outside the top 100, he climbed back in thanks to a T18 at The Greenbrier Classic and a T28 at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. His physical challenge hasn’t negatively influenced his trademark putting, either. If anything, he’s found strength and confidence in it. His overall putting average of 1.502 strokes per hole played is a five-year low among all golfers on the PGA TOUR. Steve Stricker … When you turn 50, your Official World Golf Ranking is supposed to plummet, not rise as his has. Currently 77th in the OWGR and 110th in FedExCup points on the strength of two top 10s and a trio of top 20s. Also 18th on the PGA TOUR Champions money list in just six starts, but it’s his vintage work on the junior circuit that’s kept him floating for a sprint in the Playoffs. He’s second in fairways hit, T33 in proximity, 10th in strokes gained: putting and 23rd in adjusted scoring. A titillating sidebar to his prospects is that the Presidents Cup captain just might play alongside eventual charges who are eager to impress. David Lingmerth … Given his spot at 103rd in points and that a top-40 finish in the first tournament of the Playoffs historically has been enough to lock up a tee time at TPC Boston the following week, the Swede is as smart a projection as it gets among the 24 outside the top 100 and present at Glen Oaks. In his last 10 PGA TOUR starts, he rung up seven top 30s and didn’t miss cut. If that seems like the bar has been lowered to view him as a threat, consider that he recorded only one top 30 and missed the cut in half of his first 10 TOUR starts this season. Slots 11th in strokes gained: putting. Rory Sabbatini … As one of the four who snuck inside the top 125 of the FedExCup standings at the Wyndham Championship, it’s all gravy now for the 41-year-old. It’s the payoff of the battle back via the Web.com Tour graduate reshuffle category, a necessity secured in advance when he failed to meet the terms of a Minor Medical Extension to start 2016-17. At 122nd in the FedExCup standings at THE NORTHERN TRUST, he could use a T4 like he posted at the Wyndham Championship (but a top 25 should do). He’s well aware of how his uptick in putting is behind the sudden surge of five top 25s in his last six starts. Case in point, he enters having recorded positive strokes gained: putting totals in four consecutive measured tournaments for the first time in over two years. Richy Werenski … Talk about comin’ in hot! The 25-year-old rookie was 160th in the FedExCup standings after an 0-for-5 rut through The Greenbrier Classic. All he’s done since is go 5-for-5 with 16 red numbers in as many stroke-play rounds to complement a playoff loss at the Barracuda Championship. Now 108th in points, just like with Sabbatini, Werenski’s timely turnaround is directly attributable to markedly stronger putting. During this stretch, he’s jumped 59 spots to 119th in strokes gained: putting by shedding 1.66 strokes per start on average.
