Day: August 22, 2018

A coward move by a coward organizationA coward move by a coward organization

August 22, 2018August 22, 2018| 16:54

John and Randy McMichael discuss the Braves win over the Pirates and how moves to the roster are forthcoming. They talk about Dansby who had a 2 HR night and Randy thinks he recieved a lot of criticism, but he deserves it. They talk about the Nats who have pretty much waved the white flag on the Season and how this is great news for the Braves. They talk about Suzuki who was hit by a pitch and the good news is that his x-rays came out negative. John talks about what a great move getting Gausman was for the Braves and how he can help the younger pitchers. Is it time to start talking about the Braves without Julio in the rotation? Finally, John goes off on the Marlins and Urena who John thinks

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Quick look at THE NORTHERN TRUSTQuick look at THE NORTHERN TRUST

August 22, 2018August 22, 2018| 15:57

THE OVERVIEW PARAMUS, N.J. – Justin Thomas hoped to be asleep by 8:15 p.m. Wednesday night in advance of the start of THE NORTHERN TRUST at Ridgewood Country Club, which kicks off the PGA TOUR’s postseason. With an unprecedented second straight FedExCup title well within his grasp going into the TOUR’s four-tournament, five-week Playoffs, he won’t lack for something to dream about. Hint: It’s shiny, silver, and has two handles. “I understand how important these Playoffs are,â€� said Thomas, who is just 83 points behind FedExCup No. 1 Dustin Johnson and vying to become the first player to successfully defend the FedExCup since its 2007 inception. How important are they? Perhaps historically so, in his case. “It would be an honor,â€� he said of the prospect of going back-to-back. “And anytime you can do something that nobody else has done before, it’s huge. But there’s a lot of great players and a lot of players that are playing really well that have just as good a chance as I do. “I just need to worry about myself and try to get myself in position come Atlanta,â€� he added, “and from there we’ll see what we can do.â€� For Thomas and others, the Playoffs come down to keeping momentum and conserving energy. With high-pressure tournaments on tap in the New York area, Boston (Dell Technologies Championship), Philadelphia (BMW Championship) and Atlanta (TOUR Championship), which player comes out on top will depend on who positions himself to peak at just the right time. To that end, Thomas is all about early bedtimes and other energy-saving techniques. Last week he flew to Chicago to spend time with his girlfriend and go to a Cubs game, then went to New York and appeared on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He didn’t want to play golf, and so he didn’t touch the clubs until last Friday, when he played 27 holes.   “At this point in the year,â€� he said, “it’s so important to be rested.â€� When we last saw Thomas in competition, he was making a title defense of another sort at the PGA Championship in St. Louis. He ran out of magic on the back nine, bogeying two of his last five holes to finish T6. Since then, he has been marshalling his energy for a big Playoffs push, and he is well aware of how nicely the stars have aligned. First and most crucially, he’s hot. He won the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational on Aug. 5, his first TOUR win in the presence of his paternal grandparents, who had driven from nearby Columbus, Ohio. And he was one of four players (Thomas, Adam Scott, Tiger Woods, winner Brooks Koepka) who had a realistic shot at winning the PGA at Bellerive. This week brings some uncertainty, as THE NORTHERN TRUST moves back to Ridgewood for the first time since 2014, which was before Thomas had established himself on TOUR. He didn’t play; Hunter Mahan won. Now 25, Thomas is a draw on late-night TV and a legitimate threat to win anywhere. His first week of the 2018 FedExCup Playoffs began Monday with a golf day for a sponsor in which, Thomas said, “I hit 145-yard 9-irons for 24 groups.â€� He smiled. “Hopefully I’ll have that yardage dialed in this week.â€� He spent a lot of time on Ridgewood’s practice green and in the short-game area Tuesday, working with his father/coach, Mike, and coach Matt Killen. “It’s been low-key and just trying to get rest, more than anything,â€� Thomas said. The FedExCup top five consist of Dustin Johnson, for whom winning the whole thing is still on his to-do list; Thomas; Koepka; Justin Rose; and Bubba Watson. “Yeah, 83 points in the Playoffs is not a big lead,â€� Johnson said. And yeah, Thomas is taking it seriously. He said Wednesday that it still irks him that he didn’t win the PGA two weeks ago, that he barely missed out on advancing to the TOUR Championship at East Lake in 2015, and that he “totally choked the U.S. Kids when I was 8 years old.â€� Several people laughed; Thomas did not. “I’m dead serious,â€� he said. “I lost in a playoff.â€� Thomas, whose father, Mike, was caddying for him, even remembered the name of the kid who beat him that day at Jekyll Island (although he couldn’t pronounce it). It was a big moment. Unforgettable. So is this. The Playoffs are here, and for Thomas, especially, history hangs in the balance. THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER Dustin Johnson Just three of the 11 FedExCup champs entered the Playoffs ranked No. 1 – and Tiger did it twice (Spieth the other time). Brooks Koepka Lots of discussion on whether he’s already wrapped up Player of the Year honors. A FedExCup title would make it clear-cut. Tiger Woods Wasn’t sure if anybody noticed, but he’s making his first Playoffs appearance in five years. THE FLYOVER The par-3 15th is 155 yards, the shortest hole at Ridgewood and one of the shortest on the PGA TOUR. In fact, of the 188 par 3s previously played this season, just nine are of shortest distance. Four years ago, it played to a stroke average of 2.819, but it’s not necessarily a pushover. Bunkers surround almost all of the green, and players will be hard-pressed to scramble for par on the undulating putting surface. LANDING ZONE When Ridgewood last hosted a PGA TOUR event in 2014, this 291-yard drivable par 4 was on the front side (specifically, the fifth hole). But with the re-routing, it will now provide some fireworks on the back nine as the 12th hole, giving players another eagle opportunity down the stretch (along with the par-5 13th and 17th holes). It doesn’t sound like FedExCup points leader Dustin Johnson will try to drive the green, though. “Today I went for it but probably during the tournament I’m not going to,â€� he said after his Wednesday practice round. “There’s nowhere good to hit it except on the green. And it’s not very easy — that green’s not very big. So I’ll probably lay up most of the day.â€� In 2014, it played to a stroke average of 3.778, with five eagles and 133 birdies. Here’s a look at where all tee shots landed in 2014 when it was the fifth hole. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams: “Showers and thunderstorms will be likely Wednesday around daybreak before lifting north. A lull in the precipitation will be likely for several hours before additional showers and isolated t-storms redevelop just ahead of the cold front Wednesday afternoon. Finally, drier conditions return late in the day as the front moves away to the east. High pressure will provide dry and less humid conditions Friday and Saturday with before warmer temperatures return on the weekend.â€� For the latest weather news from Paramus, New Jersey, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I think the FedExCup has become a really big part of the PGA TOUR and it’s going to continue to just get bigger. It’s something that I really want to win. BY THE NUMBERS 2,000 – FedExCup points awarded to the winner of each Playoffs event. That’s four times more than the standard regular-season event. 22 – First-time participants in the FedExCup Playoffs this season. Tommy Fleetwood is the highest-ranked first-timer at No. 23 in FedExCup points. 8 – Rookies who made the FedExCup Playoffs this season – Aaron Wise, Austin Cook, Keith Mitchell, Satoshi Kodaira, Peter Uihlein, Brandon Harkins, Tyler Duncan and Sam Ryder. 529 – The projected number of FedExCup points needed to advance to next week’s Dell Technologies Championship. Currently, 93 players are above that total, with the top 100 in points advancing to TPC Boston. Click here for this week’s Scenarios. SCATTERSHOTS The average age of the FedExCup field is significantly younger than when the Playoffs format first started in 2007. That year, the average age of the participants was 34.67. This year, the average age is 32.22, with 47 of the 125 qualifiers in their 20s (61 are in their 30s; 17 are in their 40s). Ten players have qualified for the Playoffs in each of the first 12 seasons: Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker, Charles Howell III, Zach Johnson, Ryan Moore, Matt Kuchar, Adam Scott and Charley Hoffman. Rose is the highest-ranked player among the 10, currently residing at No. 4 in FedExCup points. Dustin Johnson has been the FedExCup points leader for the last 10 weeks. Since the start of the 2016-17 season, he has led for a total of 28 weeks, most of any player. Justin Thomas ranks second with 23 weeks at the top – including, of course, the final week of last season when he won the FedExCup. Justin Rose is the only player on the PGA TOUR who has made more than 80 percent of his attempted putts from 4-8 feet (109 of 136 for 80.15 percent). This season, Rose ranks sixth in Strokes Gained: Putting after ranking 123rd in that category last season. Bubba Watson has played 38 career rounds in THE NORTHERN TRUST, and 33 of those rounds have been at par or better. All 12 of his rounds at Ridgewood Country Club have been at par or better. Watson, who has won three times this season, is looking for his first tournament win in the FedExCup Playoffs. WHERE TO PLAY For those visiting the area, must-play courses include Pelham Bay GC (Bronx, N.Y.), The Golf Club at Mansion Ridge (Monroe, N.Y.) and Galloping Hill GC (Kenilworth, N.J.). Book your reservations via www.teeoff.com. United Airlines’ shared purpose is to help unite the world by connecting people to moments that matter most. The company’s partnership with Special Olympics helps corporate partners connect people with intellectual disabilities to the broader communities they serve. For more information, click here.

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FedExCup Insider: Analyzing how players accrued their FedExCup pointsFedExCup Insider: Analyzing how players accrued their FedExCup points

August 22, 2018August 22, 2018| 15:20

It took 377 points to qualify for this year’s FedExCup Playoffs. The top 125 in the standings all have the same destination, the PGA TOUR’s postseason, but they arrived there in myriad ways. Some players did it with consistency. Their presence on the weekend was all but guaranteed as they steadily accrued points on a weekly basis. Others rode a few hot weeks into the top 125 in the FedExCup standings. Some players did the bulk of their work almost a year ago, during the fall portion of the 2017-18 season. Others, like a college student cramming for a physics test, waited until the 11th hour to earn their points. Here’s a closer look at the different ways in which players qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs: MOST POINTS PER START First, let’s look at average points earned per start. It should be no surprise that the top players in the FedExCup standings also top this list. Prize distribution is always top-heavy, and it’s no different with FedExCup points. A win is worth 500 points at most events, while a 10th-place finish is worth 75. Point values drop quickly at the top of the leaderboard. Each stroke is so important when a player is in contention. The top players also tend to compete in fewer events than the players in the middle of the pack. That helps them have a higher average. For reference, a third-place finish in most events is worth 190 points. A fourth-place finish is worth 135. Each player’s FedExCup ranking is listed next to their name. It should be no surprise that Dustin Johnson tops this list. He has finished in the top 3 in seven of his 16 starts this season (three wins, two runners-up and two third-place finishes). He has 10 top-10s and has finished outside the top 25 just three times. Brooks Koepka’s two major wins are worth 600 points apiece, and he’s played just 13 times after sitting out with a wrist injury. His propensity to play well in big events helps, too. THE PLAYERS and World Golf Championships also offer extra points. He finished 11th at THE PLAYERS and had two top-fives in WGCs (T2, HSBC Champions; T5, Bridgestone Invitational). Johnson and Justin Rose are the only players to have top-10s in more than half their starts. Rose has eight top-10s, including two wins, in 14 starts. It’s worth noting that Tiger Woods is the highest-ranked player without a win. Those 500-plus points earned for a win can skew a player’s average earnings. PERCENTAGE EARNED IN ONE START Sometimes it takes just one good finish to crack the top 125, especially if that is a win. Along with the 500 (or more) points that a victory brings, there also is a two-year exemption and a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship, Sentry Tournament of Champions, PGA Champions and possible starts in some World Golf Championships. Five players earned more than half their points in a single start, led by RBC Heritage champion Satoshi Kodaira. His only other top-25 in 16 starts was a T20 at the Fort Worth Invitational. Like Kodaira, Michael Kim and Ted Potter Jr. had just one top-10 this season. It was a win. Sean O’Hair and James Hahn both had a runner-up as their only top-10. Kim has qualified for the Playoffs in three consecutive seasons with just two career top-10s. He didn’t have a top-10 in his rookie season but finished 118th in the FedExCup. He started the 2017 season with a T3 at the Safeway Open. It was his only top-10 of the season. He went on to finish 100th in the standings. This year, his Deere win is his only top-10 of the season. On the opposite end of the spectrum, 30 players qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs while earning less than one-fifth of their points in a single start. Charley Hoffman is the only player to qualify for the Playoffs without a top-10 finish. The others on this list displayed impressive consistency, even if they didn’t contend often. Zach Johnson, for example, finished in the top 25 in 14 of 22 starts but had just two top-10s. Ryan Moore had 10 top-25s in 20 starts, including five top-10s. His highest finish was a T5 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. PERCENTAGE EARNED IN TOP THREE STARTS The conventional wisdom has long stated that a player needed three to four good weeks to keep his TOUR card or, in this case, qualify for the Playoffs. That still seems to hold true for most players. There were eight players, though, who failed to qualify for the Playoffs despite posting multiple top-10s. Sergio Garcia finished 128th in the FedExCup despite having three top-10s, while Martin Piller, Chad Campbell, Tom Lovelady, Ben Silverman, David Hearn, Jim Furyk and Cameron Percy had two apiece. All of Garcia’s top-10s came in consecutive starts (T7, WGC-Mexico; 4th, Valspar; T9, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play). Those three starts accounted for 81.5 percent of his points this season. Piller has had two top-10s in each of his past two seasons but has missed the Playoffs both times. Sixteen of the players who made the FedExCup Playoffs earned more than three-quarters of their points in their top three finishes. Eighty-seven of the 125 Playoffs qualifiers players earned more than half their points in their top three starts. Here’s a look at the players who earned the highest percentage of their points in their three highest finishes: Bubba Watson, who’s fifth in the FedExCup standings, and Patton Kizzire, who’s 15th, are the highest-ranked players to accumulate the bulk of their points in a trio of events. Watson earned 1,550 for his three wins this season; he earned 329 points in his other 17 starts. His victories accounted for half of his top-25s this season. Five of his six top-25s were top-10s. He also finished T5 at the Masters and T9 at the WGC-Mexico Championship. Kizzire won his first two PGA TOUR titles this season and had a T4 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He has not had a top-25 since his 12th-place finish in the WGC-Mexico Championship, though. He earned 87.5% of his FedExCup points by the Sony Open in Hawaii, site of this season’s second victory. Sung Kang’s only top-10s were a pair of third-places, at the CIMB Classic and Quicken Loans National. Those two events alone accounted for 73.5 percent of his FedExCup points. Andrew Landry won the Valero Texas Open, was runner-up to Jon Rahm in a playoff at the CareerBuilder Challenge and had a fourth-place finish at The RSM Classic, which was won by former Arkansas teammate Austin Cook. The Valero and CareerBuilder alone accounted for 71.6 percent of his FedExCup points. PERCENTAGE EARNED IN BACK-TO-BACK STARTS Professional golf can be a frustrating pursuit because your best play often comes in a brief burst. After that short taste of your potential, the rest of the year can feel like a struggle.  Here’s a look at the players who earned the highest percentage of their points in back-to-back starts (Note: I left off players whose lone top-10 was a win off of this list): Twenty-one of the Playoffs qualifiers earned more than half their points in back-to-back starts. It was interesting to find a player like Jon Rahm on this list. He’s known for his consistency, and for good reason. He has 20 top-10s in 51 career TOUR starts. He started 2018 with a solo 2nd at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and win at the CareerBuilder Challenge, a run that lifted him to 2nd in the FedExCup standings. Aaron Wise burst onto the scene in May with his runner-up to Jason Day at Wells Fargo, which preceded his victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Those two starts accounted for nearly 70 percent of his points. The Rookie of the Year Candidate also finished T6 at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational but he has missed more than half his cuts this season. J.B. Holmes finished fourth in his third start of the season, the Farmers Insurance Open, but he struggled in the spring and fell outside the top 125 in the FedExCup. Then he finished third at the FedEx St. Jude and T2 at the Travelers in consecutive June starts to clinch his Playoffs berth. Phil Mickelson also was among the players who earned a bulk of his points in one spectacular stretch. He had four consecutive top-6 finishes in February and March, including his win at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship and runner-up to Potter at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He earned 922 points in those four starts. That’s 59.6 percent of his season earnings. In fact, Mickelson earned 74.3 percent of his FedExCup points by March 4, when he won in Mexico. He has just one top-10, at T5 at Wells Fargo, since. PERCENTAGE EARNED IN FALL Alex Cejka appears on the above list because of his runner-up at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and T9 at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Those are his only top-10s of the season. He has just one other top-25 finish. He leads the list of players who earned the highest percentage of their points in the fall portion of the season. Eight players earned more than half their points in the eight events played last fall. PERCENTAGE EARNED AFTER JULY 1 Other players saved their best play for last. Several were players who were outside the top 125 before getting hot in the summer. They withstood the pressure of an approaching deadline and played their way into the postseason with a strong finishing kick. Here are the players who earned the largest percentage of their points after July 1. It should be no surprise that Francesco Molinari and Michael Kim lead this list. Kim won the John Deere, while Molinari had two wins (Quicken Loans National, The Open) and a runner-up to Kim at the Deere in three July starts. He also finished T6 at the PGA Championship, as well. Brandt Snedeker, who missed the second half of last season with a sternum injury, ranked outside the top 125 as late as June. He didn’t have a top-10 until June, then finished with four of them in his final eight starts of the regular season. Three of his top-10s came after July. He finished T3 at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier and T8 at the RBC Canadian Open before his win at the Wyndham. Molinari, Joel Dahmen, Bronson Burgoon and Sam Ryder all shared second at the John Deere. They were eight shots behind Kim, who won with the TOUR’s best Strokes Gained: Putting performance of the season. Burgoon, Dahmen and Ryder were all outside the top 125 when July began, but they all had multiple top-10s in that month. Dahmen had four top-15s in July. Burgoon earned 67.7 percent of his points in three consecutive July starts, finishing T6-T30-T2 in three consecutive weeks. Dahmen earned 62.1 percent of his points in July. Ryder earned 52.9 percent of his points in back-to-back starts, the T2 at Deere and T7 at Barbasol. He also finished fifth in Houston. Those three starts accounted for 77.8 percent of his points this season. NOTES * Two players — Trey Mullinax and J.T. Poston — qualified for the Playoffs while playing exclusively with the conditional status that comes from finishing between Nos. 126-150 in last year’s FedExCup. Mullinax finished 95th in this season’s standings after finishing 137th last season. A runner-up at the Valero Texas Open, where he shot a third-round 62, accounted for 46 percent of his points. Poston finished 110th in this season’s standings after finishing 132nd last season. Both of his top-10s this season were top-five finishes, accounting for 40 percent of his points. * Richy Werenski and Scott Brown both played 31 times in the regular season, the most among Playoffs participants. Brooks Koepka and Tyrrell Hatton made the fewest starts among Playoffs qualifiers. They played 13 times. * As stated above, Charley Hoffman was the only player to qualify for the Playoffs without a top-10 this season. Nine players quallified with just one top-10.  Daniel Berger’s lone top-10 was a T6 at the U.S. Open, where he played in the final group. C.T. Pan had his two best finishes of the season in his final two starts, finishing T11 at Barracuda and T2 at the Wyndham. Here’s a look at the full list, in order of FedExCup ranking: 60. Ted Potter Jr., 1* 63. C.T. Pan, 1 66. Michael Kim, 1* 77. Satoshi Kodaira, 1* 79. James Hahn, 1 89. Daniel Berger, 1 97. Rory Sabbatini, 1 102. Nick Watney, 1 123. Jhonattan Vegas, 1 * – lone top-10 was a win

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The Problem with NBA Owners Wanting the Mental Health History of PlayersThe Problem with NBA Owners Wanting the Mental Health History of Players

August 22, 2018August 22, 2018| 15:15

While the NBA has been at the forefront of the national conversation about mental health, this week, some league owners were privately lobbying for mental health history to be included in medical records. This past weekend, desultory big man Jahlil Okafor announced via Instagram that he struggles with

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Picks: Who will win the 2018 FedExCup?Picks: Who will win the 2018 FedExCup?

August 22, 2018August 22, 2018| 14:30

With the FedExCup Playoffs starting this week, we asked our PGATOUR.COM experts to weigh in with their predictions on who’ll take home the biggest prize in golf. Here’s how they see it unfolding – their five players who will enter the TOUR Championship each in control of their own destiny (names are in alphabetical order), plus the eventual FedExCup winner. Check back in five weeks to see if any of us are right.

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