Wednesday Preview - Wyndham Championship

We enter the home stretch as this week marks the final regular season tournament on the PGA Tour. After this, we have four playoff events that will conclude with the Tour Championship in Atlanta. Some players have already punched their ticket into next week, and for other, the playoffs start now, as a weak finish this week could mark the end of someone's season.

Course: Sedgefield Country Club, a 7,100 yard track that is one of the shortest on Tour and has provided an assortment of different kinds of championship. A lot of short hitters have played well on this course. Double digits under par has won every year since 1994, so the winner will have to make a bunch of birdies.

Strength Of Field: D-. Almost everybody who already has a tee time booked for next week is off this week. Patrick Reed is the highest rated player in the FedEx Cup race, and Hideki Matsuyama is the highest rated OWGR player. A far cry from the stretch of strong, deep fields the past several weeks.

Extra Tidbits: Greensboro remains the land of Snead, as World Golf Hall of Famer Sam Snead won 8 editions of this event, including the first one in 1938. His last victory in 1965 set the record for the oldest winner on Tour, a record that has yet to be broken. Snead was almost 53 when he won...Only 18 players have ever jumped from outside the top 125 and made it into the playoffs following a strong finish at the Wyndham. Heath Slocum is the only player in two years to do so...Rocco Mediate returns to the PGA Tour this week, making his 23rd start in Greensboro. Mediate won this event in 1993...Stephen Gallacher got a sponsor's exemption into the field. Gallacher is on the bubble for the European Ryder Cup team.

Fantasy Four:

Hideki Matsuyama - Made the cut in 8 straight starts, which includes two majors on top of his win at Memorial. Highest rated golfer in the field. Countryman Shigeki Maruyama won this event in 2003. May be the only highly ranked player in the field that is playing really well right now.

Ernie Els - Roller coaster season, but is coming off a top 10 at the PGA Championship following an incredibly strong final round 65. He is already locked into the playoffs, but would love to capitalize on his success in the final major of the year. His 2012 Open Championship remains his most recent victory.

Joe Durant - Sleeper Pick. Made the cut in his last four events, with three of them being top 25 finishes. His goals for next year are unclear, as he is qualified for the Champions Tour, but is also inside the top 200, which exempts him into the Web.com Tour Finals. Another high finish may push him towards going for his card next season.

Chad Campbell - Is currently 147th in the FedEx Cup race, so he likely needs a top 10 finish to make it into the field next week. His T7 at the Travelers Championship remains his only top 10 of the season. I have a feeling, however, that he does just enough to make it and secure his card for next season.

All Rory, All The Time

- Prior to this week, Rory McIlroy had three majors victories, all by considerable margins which made him look like the most dominate golfer on the planet. So why do I think his most recent, one shot victory at the PGA Championship is the most impressive win of his career? It's because Rory had to prove something on Sunday. He didn't have a large lead that he could run and hide from the field. He fell behind to several high class players and needed to fight his way back in sloppy conditions while his competitors continued to high high quality shots. One of the knocks against Tiger Woods is that he has never won a major coming from behind. He put a stranglehold on the field and never looked back. Rory needed to fight and claw his way for a win, which not only shows his physical talents, but his mental toughness, as well. When Rory made two bogies early, a lot of players in the field could have just collapsed and became an afterthought. Rory, instead, hits an incredible shot on a par 5 to set up an eagle. This is the kind of talent we're going to get used to seeing from the Northern Irishman.

- Hey guys, remember Phil Mickelson? Remember the 44 year old that hasn't recorded a top 10 in 2014? Yeah, that man almost won another major championship. Phil said last week that if he were to contend for the PGA Championship, it would "come out of nowhere." Well, out of nowhere it came, as Phil showed his old self once again. If it weren't for a few missed putts, Phil would have won his second PGA Championship. I'm sure Captain Tom Watson is feeling a lot better today, knowing that Phil is getting his game turned around, but how is Lefty feeling? He knows he doesn't have many majors left in him, and any that slip away have to feel like a lost opportunity, but at the same time, the fact that he was able to make a run at it when his game was primarily in shambles should make him encouraged going forward.

- Speaking of missed opportunities, how about elder statesmen Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, and Steve Stricker all notching top 10's in the PGA Championship. For Stricker, his time for winning a major is likely over, as he is quietly entering retirement. It would be a complete shock if someone only plays a few times a year suddenly wins a major. For Furyk and Els, however, they have to be both A) encouraged that they still have the game to compete in majors, and B) upset that they let an opportunity slip away. Els has not had a great season this year, so I'm sure the result is fine for him, but for Furyk, who has 8 top 10's this season without a victory, this had to seem like a bit of a waste. Opportunities aren't going to keep popping up for Furyk, so I'm sure top 10's aren't his goal. He wants trophies.

- Victor Dubuisson has decided to start peaking at the right moment. Dubuisson was a lock for the European Ryder Cup team after his runner up finish at the match play, but he then went on a stretch of golf where he did not play well. He took quite a few tournaments off in the summer, and was fairly quiet on both the PGA and European Tours. The US had to feel some confidence knowing that, perhaps, Dubuisson was a weak link for the Euros. Two straight top 10 finishes in majors ended that speculation, and now Dubuisson enters the Ryder Cup with a ton of confidence.

- Henrik Stenson will win a major in 2015. Check back on this blog post next year.

- Rickie Fowler's four top 5 finishes in majors this year was incredibly impressive, but to me, it means nothing unless he's able to cash in that confidence with a win in the playoffs. Yes, it is important to peak at the biggest events of the year, but what Fowler has really shown this year is that he is way too talented to only have one win out Tour. He is someone that can create buzz and get people excited about golf, but he needs some more trophies. If he leaves 2014 without a victory, then in the grand scheme of things, it will just be remembered as another really good season, not a great one.

- I wonder if Mikko Ilonen gave Paul McGinley something to think about this week. Ilonen currently sits at 47 on the World Golf Rankings and followed up his victory at the Irish Open in June with a top 10 in the PGA Championship. In the end, I'm afraid McGinley will end up going with someone like Ian Poulter, who has had an incredibly disappointing season, if only for the experience he brings to the table. Still, Ilonen would make a great story, and I would love to see McGinley take the risk.

- If you thought Mo Martin's victory was out of the blue, then you're going to be absolutely stunned by this week's winner on the LPGA Tour. Mirim Lee is a rookie on the LPGA this season, and was in a back and forth battle with Danish golfer Line Vedel for the right to beaten by Lydia Ko in the Rookie Of The Year race. Lee finished second at the Founders Cup, but had done nothing else this season until a 12th place finish a few weeks ago in Ohio. The fact that Mirim was not only able to handle the pressure of being in the final pairing, but also was able to stare down and beat some of the biggest names in women's golf is nothing to scoff at. This may be a flash in the pan like some other surprise winners we have seen on Tour, or it could be the start of a really good career for Mirim. How she handles her success will be the true test. It's hard to win, but it's even harder to sustain great play. Let's see how Mirim plays in the LPGA Championship.

- If I was a betting man, I would have bet my house on Sunday that Inbee Park was going to win the Meijer Classic. Some players just have it on certain days, and some don't. While Mirim Lee was playing the best golf she's ever played, Inbee struggled. I wonder if she wasn't still slightly worn out by the pressure of the International Crown two weeks ago. Several other big name golfers looked like they weren't playing at their highest potential, either. It's a shame, because a win would have been Inbee's second of the season, and would make everyone remember who Queen Bee was. Still, don't discount her for the season's fourth major. If Inbee gets motivated, she may be the player to beat.

Captain Watson Rightfully Concerned About US Team

Entering 2014, the United States was feeling incredibly confident in their chances to retake the Ryder Cup in Wales this September. Tiger Woods was coming off five victories last season, Phil Mickelson won the Open Champion and looked to be a Player Of The Year candidate, Jimmy Walker took a commanding lead in the FedEx Cup standings with three wins early, and Patrick Reed was on his way to being a top 5 player in the world. Meanwhile, the European Team was struggling and was finding ways to blow leads and get themselves out of contention.

Since then, however, fortune has not been on the American's side. Tiger Woods had back surgery in April and has not been healthy since. Phil Mickelson has struggled all season and hasn't posted a single top 10. Patrick Reed now has more missed cuts in the last 10 weeks then he does made cuts, and Ryder Cup veteran Zach Johnson couldn't buy a putt.

Over the past two weeks, life has gotten even worse for the Americans. Dustin Johnson was suspended from the PGA Tour and will not be playing in the matches. This week, both Jason Dufner and Matt Kuchar, who both looked like they were going to make the team, withdrew from the PGA Championship with back injuries. Kuchar insists that he is fine and will be ready to go once September hits, but Dufner has had a bulging disk in his neck for a while and it seems to have gotten worse, to the point where he doesn't know if he'll be back at all this season. If you consider him a scratch for the matches, that's another Ryder Cup veteran down for the Americans, who are now desperately lacking depth and experience.

To make matters even worse for the Americans, the Europeans have started playing great golf as of late. Martin Kaymer, who was off the team entering the year, won the Players Championship and US Open to secure a spot on the team. Sergio Garcia has got himself into position to win several times this year, as has rookie Victor Dubuisson and veteran Thomas Bjorn. Oh, and there is this guy named Rory that has dominated the past two months and now looks like he has a stranglehold on the world rankings. Suddenly, players like Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell, who are usually reliable players for the Euros, look like they might not make the team because of how well everyone else is playing. What a great problem to have for Captain Paul McGinley.

Right now, on paper, the Americans don't just look like underdogs. They look completely outmatched. From top to bottom, the Europeans have the superior team, as well as home field advantage, and they are the defending champions. The US hasn't won the Ryder Cup since 2008, and hasn't won in Europe since 1993.

While things may look dire for the Americans, it could actually provide them with some motivation. The Americans have nothing to lose. There is no pressure on them. They are SUPPOSED to lose the Ryder Cup in September, so if they walk in with that attitude and just decide to play loose, they may shock the world...I wouldn't bet money on that, though.

On a side note, Tom Watson named Steve Stricker as assistant captain for Team USA. As of this writing, Stricker is four shots back of McIlroy at the PGA Championship. With the way the US team is dropping, Watson may actually need him to pitch hit.

Poorly Predicting The 2014 PGA Championship

It is that time again - time to pretend like I know what I'm talking about and break down the field for the final major of the 2014 PGA Tour season. Ah, it seems like just yesterday I was wrongfully predicting the Masters, and here we are four short months and three not-so-good majors later, and we're almost at the end of the season. I'm getting a little teary eyed.

My process for predicting this one is simple - the first three majors were won by players who already won a major championship. Therefore, I predict that it will be a perfect 4-for-4 and the trend continues. Also, each of those majors were won by someone in their 20's, but I was not ready to break the field down that much, so I just went with players younger than 40.

Players To Watch (That Don't Fit That Category): 
Sergio Garcia - Two runner up finishes in two weeks in a season where Sergio has played incredibly well. I really like his chances to win this week, but I have to stick with my formula. Nevertheless, this may be his best opportunity to finally win a major.

Rickie Fowler - I honestly can't imagine a player posting four top 5 finishes in four majors during a PGA Tour season without winning one of them, and since I don't think Fowler is going to win, then I don't think he's going to repeat his success. It would be a heck of a story if he did, though.

Hideki Matsuyama - Been quiet since his win at the Memorial, but that doesn't mean he's been bad. Made the cut in both the US and Open Championships, and finished a shot out of a top 10 in Ohio last week. The PGA Championship produces plenty of champions that perhaps fly under the radar, and Matsuyama would fit that category. Played in his first PGA Championship last year, where he finished T19.

Tom Watson - The last time a golf tournament was played at Valhalla, it was won by Tom Watson (2011 Senior PGA). Last time the PGA Championship was played here, in 2000, Watson finished in the top 10 at the age of 49. This is most likely Captain Watson's final PGA Championship, the one that prevented him from completing the career grand slam, and while I don't expect him to win, I do expect he puts on one last show.

Contenders:

5) Adam Scott - I don't think Adam Scott is happy just letting his number one ranking slip by the wayside. If anything, I expect Rory McIlroy's recent dominance to motivate Scott to get better. He is a man, I feel, truly enjoyed being the best in the world, and it's not like Scott handed Rory the crown - Rory took it from him. Would be be a shock to see Scott winning the PGA Championship and taking his top ranking back?

4) Geoff Ogilvy - It would be a heck of a shock if Ogilvy were to walk out as the PGA Champion, but shocks tend to be produced at this major. Ogilvy returned to the winner's circle last week at the alternate field event in Reno, and sometimes those are the types of things that motivate someone to return to the form they once had. At 37, Ogilvy is far from done, and could use the PGA Championship to show that.

3) Bubba Watson - Has not looked comfortable on the golf course since his Master's win, but Bubba was never the kind of guy who could play well at the US Open or Open Championships - he loves to bomb it and take a bunch of risks. That's exactly the kind of strategy that could pay off at the PGA Championship. Valhalla will yield plenty of birdies, and that plays into Bubba's wheelhouse.

2) Rory McIlroy - Rory is the prohibitive favorite, and it's dumb to bet against him, but no one has won the Open Championship and the PGA Championship back to back since Tiger did it in 2006. If Rory truly is the "next Tiger Woods", then this would be the perfect way to prove that, but I just think it's too much pressure for anyone. If you predict Rory to win, then that means you're predicting historical level stuff, and I just can't do that.

Winner:
Justin Rose - It's like we forgot about him. Two wins leading up to the Open Championship, and a T4 finish last week in Ohio. Rose has had a pretty phenomenal season considering he started it coming off an injury, but his season has been overshadowed by Rory, Sergio, Rickie, and the struggles of Tiger and Phil. Not a lot of people are going to be betting on Rose this week, which makes it the perfect opportunity for him to grab major number 2.


Champion: Justin Rose
Winning Score: -12
Winning Margin: 2 strokes

Wednesday Preview - Meijer LPGA Classic

It seems like forever since we've had a stroke play event on the LPGA Tour, but here we are, heading to Michigan, for the John Meijer LPGA Classic (Say what you need to say!).

Course: Blythefield Country Club. Measures at 6,400 yards. I know nothing about this course, as it will be the first time the LPGA will be playing in Michigan since 2000.

Strength Of Field: B-. 9 of the world's top 10 are playing, with 17 players from the International Crown teeing it up, but that does not include So Yeon Ryu, Na Yeon Choi, Yani Tseng, or Carlota Ciganda.

Extra Tidbits: Michelle Wie is looking to rebound this week after missing two straight cuts on the LPGA Tour. Prior to the Women's British Open, Wie didn't miss a single cut this season...Michigan State's Lindsey McPherson and University of Michigan's Grace Choi are the sponsor exemption this week. The Monday qualifiers are Carling Nolan and Paula Hurtado...For the first time in a long time, the number one ranking is not up for grabs. Stacy Lewis has a large enough lead over Lydia Ko that Ko can not pass Lewis, no matter the outcome of this week.

Fantasy Four:

ShanShan Feng - Is one great round away from closing the deal on career victory number 4. Has played some high quality golf this season. New course for everyone in the field could be an equalizer. If she's going to win, now may be the best opportunity to do so.

Azahara Munoz

Beatriz Recari

Belen Mozo - On the heels of their victory at the International Crown, I feel as if it is only fitting to give these three a spot in my team this week. Their Solheim Cup victory last year didn't give the European players a huge lift, but perhaps the national pride will jolt the Spanish players towards more success. 

Rory McIlroy Begins (Another) New Era

- With his come from behind victory Sunday at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Rory McIlroy took over the number one spot in the world. People were quick to crown Rory as the next dominate golfer (I.E. Tiger Woods) and declare that we are currently in for an "Era Of Rory", as evidenced by his back to back victories in Liverpool and Akron.

Indeed, Rory's victories have brought in a lot of light in an otherwise bleak PGA Tour season, as big names continue to struggle to return to form. Rory returning to the top of the world seemed inevitable, as no one is as flashy and has as much talent in the men's game as Rory does. When Rory wins, he does so in style, and when he is playing at his best, there isn't a single part of his game that causes concern. He is the best in the world at everything, and could easily win multiple majors in a season.

That, however, also happens to be the problem with the McIlroy Era hype. While McIlroy is the most talented man in golf, he is also one of the streakiest, and sometimes finds times to disappear while at the peak of his game. After Rory's other two major victories where he absolutely dominated the field people were already making the Tiger Woods comparison, only for Rory to be hampered by a lack of form soon after those impressive victories. In fact, after each of his previous majors, Rory did not record another top 10 in a major championship for a full calender year.

What I am saying is, yes, Rory is no doubt the best in the world, but we need to see more before we start comparing him to some of the best to have ever played the game. Right now, he needs to focus on the PGA Championship. If he can somehow win two majors in a row, all bets are off. Of course, the entire golf world will also be looking ahead to the Masters, where Rory will try to complete the Career Grand Slam at the age of 25.

- You really have to feel for Sergio Garcia...well, at least I do. When Sergio got his start in the game, he ran right against the Tiger Woods Era of dominance. Sergio soared up the rankings and was on everyone's watch list, but he could never take down Tiger. Now Tiger has fallen and it looks like it can become Sergio's time to shine, but Rory McIlroy comes on the scene to take his place at the top, and now Sergio can't beat him, either. I still like Sergio's chances this week at Valhalla, but you have to wonder if back to back runner up finishes will end up doing him more harm than good.

- While the entire world was watching the Rory-Sergio duel, Geoff Ogilvy won his first PGA Tour event in four years. Ogilvy, most remembered for being one of the many men to be there on Sunday when Phil Mickelson couldn't win a US Open, had fallen hard, as injuries and a loss of form sent him all the way to 216th in the World Golf Rankings. In fact, had he not won, it looked like Ogilvy was on track to lost his PGA Tour card. Now he has status for another two years, and will play in the PGA Championship this week. Not bad for a man who almost didn't show up in Reno.

Dustin Johnson Suspended For Cocaine Use...Maybe...

Earlier this week, we heard that Dustin Johnson would be taking an indefinite leave of absence in order to fix some things in his personal life and to "get the help he needs." He was incredibly vague throughout the statement, and refused to elaborate, only to say that he would be gone and he needed help with personal issues. This opened the door for massive speculation that Johnson may have been suspended by the PGA Tour, seeing as the Tour never publicly discloses suspensions.

The next day, an anonymous source told Golf.com (which I just now found out is a real site) that Dustin Johnson had, in fact, been suspended by the PGA Tour - six months, in fact, for cocaine use. It is Johnson's third failed drug test - one for marijuana use, and his second for cocaine. The marijuana test did not warrant a suspension, but the first cocaine test came with a two month suspension back in 2012. The PGA Tour was quick to deny the suspension, saying that Johnson is taking a leave of absence on his own accord.

Of course, the speculation wouldn't occur if the PGA Tour wasn't notorious for never publicly releasing suspension information. I understand that there is a level of privacy involved, but the PGA Tour remains the only major sports league to not publicly announce suspensions. Most people (including myself) are taking the PGA Tour's denial of the suspension with a grain of salt.

I will say, though, that the suspension is not that surprising to me. What is actually surprising is the fact that there aren't more young, successful golfers that get nailed with this kind of thing. I can't believe for a second that Dustin Johnson is the only man on Tour who has struggled with substance abuse problems. He just may be the only one who has been busted multiple times.

All that being said, I hope Johnson uses this time to get the help he needs and recover from this. He is too young and too talented to let something like cocaine slow down his career. In the words of Rick James "Cocaine is a hell of a drug." I also hope that we will soon see an end to this dumb policy by the PGA Tour. If Dustin Johnson's problem would have remained private, who knows if anyone would have stepped up to help him.