The Year of The Rookie

Hello Folks. This week’s PGA Tour event exhibited an exciting finish with yet another rookie winning their first PGA Tour title. This year’s Greenbrier Classic champion is Scott Stallings, Tennessee Tech alumni. With this victory Stallings jumped to 26th in FedEx Points Race, revealing that a win can have a dramatic change in the standings. Stallings certainly provided a roller coaster ride for the viewers, shooting a front nine 4-over 38, but Stallings soon reached the highest peak of his round, firing a back nine 5-under 31. Stallings bogeyed the 2nd to last hole, forcing the rookie to birdie the final hole. That was no problem for the up and coming star, striking a beautiful iron within feet of the pin, resulting in a birdie and a spot in a three way playoff which included Bill Haas and Bob Estes. The trio headed to the par 3 #18, in search of a much needed win. All three would hit the green in regulation, but Stallings was the only one who was able to convert and birdie the 18th hole, disclosing that tournaments are won with the short stick. The biggest disappointment this week was Anthony Kim’s performance during the final, after producing a errorless round on Saturday. Kim fired a 4-over 74, taking the young star out of contention. Hopefully Kim’s play is a sign of good to come since this guy is too talented, not to be winning multiple tournaments every year. On a side note it was great seeing Andres Romero back in contention, one of my favorite golfers. This week my fellow blogger JJ came out victorious since his pick was able to out play my pick. The current score is Bernardo (me) 11, JJ 10. 

Round 4 Recap:

Greenbrier Classic Pick of Week

Jeff Overton at the British Open

Its Wednesday and its time for the Pick of the Week. This week the PGA Tour heads to West Virginia for the Greenbrier Classic, played on the Old White TPC course. Stuart Appleby was able to shoot a rare 59, to win by one stroke over Jeff Overton last year. Old White TPC is ranked among the easiest courses on tour, causing the tournament directors to make some changes to the course layout. Hopefully hindering  pin seekers from destroying the course and taking its popularity among top players with it. Since this might not attract the class of players they need in order to boost T.V. Ratings. Lacking the challenging course conditions, isn’t stopping some big names like Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, and Tom Watson from adding this event to their schedule. My pick of the week is Jeff Overton, last year’s runner up at the Greenbrier. Overton has had a slow season, recently exhibiting some great play at the AT&T National finishing in a tie for third. So far this year Overton has played 18 events, making the cut in 16 of those events which reveal he is a worthy pick and most importantly reliable. Many critics are pulling for Overton to win since he is a tremendous talent, who should be able to produce a win per year.
 

Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are-  Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Luke Donald, Rory Mcllroy, Stewart Cink, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, David Toms, Lee Westwood, Webb Simpson, Ryan Moore, Steve Stricker, Ian Poulter, and Charl Schwartzel.

Pick of the Week: The Greenbrier Classic

Hellloooooo everyone, and welcome to this week's edition of Pick of the Week, brought to you by.... US! This week the TOUR heads to play the 2nd annual Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia. The course that they'll be playing at is Old White TPC, which has had some changes from the previous year. This field also attracts a notable amount of big names. Ryder Cup stars like Jeff Overton and Phil Mickelson are here. The never aging Tom Watson is here. Mr. 59 himself, Stuart Appleby, will be trying to defend his title here. And, Spanish star Sergio Garcia will also be playing. All of them are primed to have a good week, and hopefully most of them will be in contention by Sunday afternoon. But, alas, none of them are my pick for this week. This week, I'm going to go with a relatively quiet American. I'm going with Charles Howell III, or "chucky 3 sticks". Howell has had a super solid yet super quiet season so far, posting 5 top 10s this year and staying 24th in the FedEx cup race. This one famed "next big thing" hasn't really panned out the way many had hoped, but he is still very young (early 30s), and has many more solid years to come. And if he can win here- who knows, it might just be a springboard for something bigger.

Here is a video of the Greenbrier, courtesy of PGATOUR.com:

Already used- Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Rickie Fowler, Aaron Baddeley, Hunter Mahan, Ricky Barnes, Luke Donald, Justin Rose, Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Steve Stricker, Lee Westwood, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Nick Watney, Jonathan Byrd, Martin Kaymer, Ryan Moore.

Comeback Kid

Another post-major week, another thrilling tournament. This time, an extremely talented American that was in one of the worst slumps of his career has made himself relevant again (and nope, not Tiger Woods). Sean O'Hair, now 29, came out on top this weekend, winning the RBC Canadian Open in a playoff over Kris Blanks. O'Hair, a now 4 time winner on the TOUR, had been having such a bad year that the only thing that he hasn't changed so far is his family. He changed coaches, swings, mentalities, and his mojo. His last win came in 2009, and when he won then in Quail Hollow over a quality field, I was very impressed and wouldn't have been surprised if he could take down a major or two by now. But oh, how this game can be sometimes. At least one week can change your fortunes again. Sean is one of the nice guys on tour, and it was good to see him win in the end, even though many were also rooting for Kris to win in the playoff. Sean got so teared up at the end; it was a sight to see him that emotional. It showed what he's been through this year and how bad he wanted to win again. It was something quite special to see and hopefully it gets his confidence up, because he is one heck of a player when he gets his game in shape. He won on an impressive golf course too, pretty much the toughest all year in relation to par so far. His ball striking was solid, and his putting was pretty clutch. Hopefully this sets him back on the right track again to start winning more and fulfill the unlimited potential that he has in his grasp.

Pick of the Week: RBC Canadian Open

Hellloooo everyone, and welcome to this week's edition of pick of the week, brought to you by Bernardo and JJ. This week the tour makes a stop out of the country and to our neighboring country of the north- Canada. A surprising load of British Open participants will be playing here, regardless of jet lag or not. That includes Luke Donald, Rickie Fowler, and Matt Kuchar, to name a few that will be teeing it up. It will be interesting to see how they do here after an 8 hour time zone difference. My pick this week also played in the British Open, and also had a respectable finish. I'm going with Ryan Moore, who finished in 28th place at Royal St. Georges last week. Washington born, Moore has finished runner up here in 2005, so he does have the experience needed. He also has had a runner up finish this year at the Travelers, so he hasn't had a terrible season either. The former UNLV star should be a formidable choice this week, and I hope that the man that dresses with class can give me a classy win to tie this year long race.

RBC Canadian Open

Charl Schwartzel at the Masters

Its that time of the week for Hack Till We Die: pick of the week blog. This week the PGA Tour heads to our neighboring country, Canada, for RBC Canadian Open which is held at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club. My pick of the week is Charl Schwartzel, the South African and this year’s Masters Champion. Coming off a top 20 finish at the British Open Champion, Schwartzel seems to be on a hot streak of great golf after his triumph at Augusta National. Schwartzel has 10 starts this year and has made the cut for every event. This year has been the highlight of Schwartzel career on the PGA Tour with his best scoring average at 69.73. My decision on picking Schwartzel is based on his consistent play and ability to go low. In other new Steve Williams will no longer caddie for Tiger Woods. 

Recap of some top shots at the Canadian Open: 

Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are-  Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Luke Donald, Rory Mcllroy,Stewart Cink, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, David Toms, Lee Westwood, Webb Simpson, Ryan Moore, Steve Stricker, and Ian Poulter.   

Kirk the Viking

Chris Kirk 2011 Viking Classic Champ 

Everyone tends to shove the Viking Classic to the side since it is played during the same week of the British Open. This low profile event rarely has any of the popular names, but allows rookies and veterans a chance to win a tournament. The Viking classic is held at Annandale Golf club in Madison, MS. The course layout allows players to score well, the only factor can be the hot weather which can be hard on the players. This year’s champion was Chris Kirk which is rookie on tour. Kirk is the fifth rookie on tour to win a tournament this season. Surprisingly Kirk made his professional debut at the Viking Classic in 2007, but missed the cut, a different story this week. Kirk fired four rounds under-par, leading the field in number of birdies, with 23. Not to mention Kirk is sponsored by Travis Mathew, an up and coming clothing brand. Tom Pernice, Jr currently playing full time on the Champions Tour, had a hot week finishing one shot short of Kirk. Stay tune for our pick of the week blogs for the RBC Canadian Open, tend then have a good week folks. 

Round 4 Recap:

A True People's Champ

Whew, what an Open. What a major, in general. The second major this year that has brought a lot of drama on the final day. First, let's set the stage for this day. Darren Clarke, a forty-something Ulsterman, is in contention in a major for the first time in 10 years. Dustin Johnson, who experienced major heartbreak TWICE last year, is a few shots back. Phil Mickelson, the guy who NEVER contends in the British Open, is still in the mix. All of this set up for a very, very interesting final day.

The final round started off with some charges. The first real man to lead a charge was Sergio Garcia, who started the day at +4, but came out on fire. The spaniard birdied 4 out of his first 7 holes to get to E in windy conditions, but then proceeded to double the 8th hole to finally finish at +2 for the day. This resulted in a top 10 finish, his second one in a major this year. After Garcia tried to make a surge, another big name American made a memorable front 9 run. Except this time it wasn't Tiger Woods, and it wasn't Augusta National. It was Phil Mickelson here at Royal St. Georges, shooting an astonishing front nine 30 that had him tied for the lead for a brief moment, but a back nine 38 crushed his chances for a victory. The final contender on this wild and windy day was Dustin Johnson, the 27 year old man from South Carolina. He claimed to have learned from his meltdown at Pebble last year and the controversial ruling at Whistling Straights last August. All was going well for him until the 14th, where he tried to lay up close to the green with a 2 iron draw. But, the wind took control of it and carried past the white OB stakes, which doomed him. With all of this occurring, Clarke never faltered. Sure he made a few bogeys on the back nine, but he was able to because he was steady all week and didn't make any huge errors. He was the last man standing after this tough test, and with his ball striking most likely better than anyone else's all tournament long, he was very worthy of the Claret Jug. Now he's going to "be very, very hungover" for the night, but still be also very, very happy.

Recap vid is here, brought to you by ESPN:

British Open

This week the PGA Tour heads across the pond for this year’s third major, The British Open Championship. This year the Open will be held in England at Royal St. George Golf course.  My pick of the week is Ian Poulter, the englishmen. One of the biggest factors at this major is weather, revealing who ever can go low will be able to manage out a decent score in almost unplayable weather. I believe Poulter will be able to have a great week, because of his european background. These guys are used to playing in such conditions of a Open championship, but will be a challenge to everyone. Poulter also seems to be under the radar, allowing him to play pressure free. His best finish at the Open was in 2008, finishing in second place. Hopefully Poulter will be able to strike it big this week, allowing me to receive a point and extend my lead. The current score for the pick of week points race or as my fellow blogger calls it “pick thing”, is Bernardo 10 and JJ 8. 

Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are-  Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Luke Donald, Rory Mcllroy,Stewart Cink, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, David Toms, Lee Westwood, Webb Simpson, Ryan Moore and Steve Stricker  

Pick of the Week: British Open

Helllooooo everyone, and welcome to Pick of the Week: Major Edition #3. This week the Open Championship is upon us, and minus T. Woods, it should make for another wild tournament, in terms of the "favorites". Sandwich, England is where the boys' will be playing these 4 days, and Royal St. Georges is the course. This place is known to be one of the tougher in the British Open rota, so expect lower scoring than usual. Especially with the wind, which may cause some of the playing tees to be bumped up just so the course could be considered playable. This tournament may in fact be tougher than this years U.S. Open, not that really means much this year, but hey, usually it woud.... ANYWAYS, onto my pick for this week. I'm going with a former world number one. This guy is a grinder, hits it far enough and can just be a machine at times. Heck, his nickname IS the "Germanator". In case those hints didn't give it away, I'm going with 2010 PGA Champ. Martin Kaymer. The Taylormade staffed tour pro is an ultimate grinder and stays cool under pressure. And although he hasn't had the greatest of seasons, I still like him here at the British. So much so that he might just win the darn thing, regardless of his past records. Hopefully he can do well and snatch me a point, as I am falling behind Bernardo again on this pick thing...

Already used- Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Rickie Fowler, Aaron Baddeley, Hunter Mahan, Ricky Barnes, Luke Donald, Justin Rose, Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Steve Stricker, Lee Westwood, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Nick Watney, Jonathan Byrd.

Preview of this week's big time event:

Feels Like Home

He's been picked by me and Bernardo, and he's won both times  for us when we picked him. He's a putting machine. He's a perfect example of consistency and cool. He's one of the best American golfers in the game. Yes, he's Mr. Steve Stricker, and he just won his 3rd straight John Deere Classic. Say what you want about this tournament, whether it be lack of "star power" or it being the "tune up" for the British Open, but winning any event is hard enough, regardless of winning it 3 straight years. Strick's 3 peat turns him into "Tiger" level at this tournament. He held off a charging Kyle Stanley on Sunday to accomplish this feat. With this victory, he moves to No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings, right behind last week's winner, Nick Watney. Obviously this makes Stricker a big favorite for next week's major, so we'll see how he can do there. Hopefully and Sandwich he can represent our country well and maybe even bag his first major victory, which would be awesome. Until then, we will see you HTWD fans laterrrrr. Peace!

Final round highlights:

Pick of the Week: John Deere Classic

Helllooooo everyone, and welcome to yet another edition of Pick of the Week, presented to you by the bloggers from Hack Till We Die. Last week, my pick of Nick Watney served me very well, as he went on to win Tiger's event, the AT&T National, at Aronimik Country Club. That win gets me closer and closer to Bernardo G. in our year long race. For this week, I'm going with fellow American Jonathan Byrd. The veteran has a win this year already, has had some other top 10s, and is overall very consistent. The gloveless player has actually won this event in 2007 and, in 7 starts year, has 24 of his 28 rounds under par. So the guy loves this event, and I really like him as my pick this week. Based on his form this year and his form at this event, expect him to contend on the leaderboard on Sunday, and get me on par with Bernardo.

Already used- Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Rickie Fowler, Aaron Baddeley, Hunter Mahan, Ricky Barnes, Luke Donald, Justin Rose, Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Steve Stricker, Lee Westwood, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Nick Watney

John Deere Classic

Hello everyone. This week the PGA Tour visits TPC Deere Run for the John Deere Classic. My pick of the week is Steve Stricker, two time defending champion. TPC Deere Run is known to give up a lot of birdies, for example Paul Goydos was able to shoot a 59 during the first round in 2010, joining the exclusive 59 club. My decision on picking Stricker is strictly based on his great play the past two years. Many players play this event as a prep for next week’s British Open at Royal St. George Golf Club. Surprisingly, the defending champion of the British Open, Louis Oosthuizen, is playing this week, revealing this guy is all business. My lead in the pick of week points race has been cut to one after my fellow blogger picked the champion, Nick Watney. 

Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are-  Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Luke Donald, Rory Mcllroy,Stewart Cink, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, David Toms, Lee Westwood, Webb Simpson and Ryan Moore. 

In Nick of Time

Nick Watney 

Hello everyone. What an exciting week for sports, with Djokovic defeating Nadal at the Wimbledon Championship, Le Tour de France kicking off, and AT&T National. Though there is teams in these sports more or less, they are played individually. This year the AT&T National hosted by Mr.Woods, was held at Aronimink Golf club, which hosted the 44th PGA Championship in 1962, won by Gary Player. Nick Watney came out a champ this week with rounds of 70,69,62,66 = 267 (-13) defeating nearest competitor K.J. Choi at 11-under. Choi was in the mix but after a double bogey on the par 4 #15, it would become difficult to catch up to Watney. He followed it with a birdie, but was not enough to erase his misfortunes. Many believed this might be Rickie Fowler’s week to capture his first PGA Tour victory, but a final round 74, greatly stopped any hopes of winning this week. Other big names in the mix were Adam Scott, Jeff Overton, and Charles Howell III. It always great to see this generation of golfers break through. This victory allowed Watney to jump to the #1 position in the 2011 FedEx Cup Points race. Tiger Woods also mentioned that he is not sure if he will return to golf at the British Open, commenting that he is taking it day by day, hoping he reaches a full healthy recovery. 

My fellow  blogger JJ, comes within one point of my lead in the pick of the week points race, after picking this week’s champion. The current score is: Bernardo 9,  JJ 8 

Round 4 Recap: