Pick of Week: Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

(Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

The Fall series begins in Sunny Las Vegas at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Now that the the regular season is over, many players will fight to keep their PGA Tour card. The regular season starts from the first tournament in Hawaii till the Tour Championship. The Fall series consists of four events: Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Frys.com Open,The McGladrey Classic, and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic. 

My pick of the week is Spencer Levin. This guy has consistently flirted with the leader board for a decent portion of events he has participated in. Levin also finished 47th on FedEx Cup points race, clearly a great season for most PGA Tour players. With a scoring average of 70.25 and a season earnings of over two million dollars, a good finish this week would most certainly be the cherry on his year long sundae. 

Previous Selections-  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, Charl Schwartzel, Jeff Overton, Bo Van Pelt, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, Charles Howell lll, Camilo Villegas, Y.E. Yang and Geoff Ogilvy.

Pick of the Week: JT Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (J.J.)

Overton at the 2010 Ryder Cup (Chicago News)

What's up everyone!! Welcome all to this week's edition of Pick of the Week. For this session, we're heading over to Sin City, aka Las Vegas, Nevada! Now that the Fed Ex Cup is over (congrats, Bill Haas) it is time for the Fall Series. This series is very important for many golfers, especially the ones that are close the number 125. This number is critical because if you are higher than that number on the money list, then you do not get guaranteed full time status on the PGA Tour next year. So a lot of guys will be playing many of these events to make sure their spot is safe. These events will also attract a few big names here and there (Nick Watney this week, Tiger Woods next week).

Now, onto my pick for this event, the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, hosted by none other than the musical talent/actor JT himself (he is a pretty good golfer himself, by the way). I'm going with Jeff Overton. Why? Well for a few reasons. One, he was a Ryder Cupper last year, and was one of my favorite players on the team. And two, I'm running out of picks and need to catch up to Bernardo before he smokes me in this race. Jeff hasn't had an "amazing" year, but it's been solid. He finished 3rd in the AT&T National this year, and has 3 other top-25 finishes this year. So it's not incredible, but it's solid. And I expect him to be solid this week here at TPC Summerlin, too.

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, Charles Howell III, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson.

Champion of Champions

TOUR and Fed Ex Cup Champ. Bill Haas (via ESPN)

Wow. Just... wow. What a day for golf fans and for the golf world. In case you missed any of what happened today, don't worry, we are here to help recap what went on.

Today marked the final day of not only the Solheim Cup, but also the Fed Ex Cup race. And while we'll eventually talk about both, right now we'll talk about what went down at the Tour Championship.

So on this Sunday, the leaderboard was set for a HUGE number of scenarios for many people to win the Fed Ex Cup. This all was able to happen because number one seed Webb Simpson wasn't playing well at all this week. He was dead last in ball striking, which is something very surprising for a player of his caliber in this 30 man field. All Webb needed to do was to finish at least in 15th place and make sure none of the other top 5 seeds win the event and he would be golden; except that, he didn't. Instead, he had to settle for 22nd place, which made this event wide open.

Hunter Mahan (ranked 21st in the Cup going into this week), Bill Haas (25th), and Aaron Baddeley (27th) all started off as very low seeds but were playing great coming into this Sunday, and all had a chance to win this Cup outright given Simpson's struggles. But, Badds struggled to a 2 over 72, and finished at 7 under with a late rally. Bill Haas had a 3 shot lead after 14 holes, but faltered a bit down the stretch to post 8 under. This meant it all came down to Hunter Mahan on the 72nd hole. It also meant that the winner of this Tour Championship would also become the winner of the Fed Ex Cup. Sooo, not only would they get the 1.4 million dollars for winning this event, but also would take home a cool 10 million dollars from the Fed Ex Cup. (Pretty sweet, I know)

Mahan ended up a little bit long on his tee shot on the long par-3 18th hole, and was faced with a chip. This reminded everyone of the Ryder Cup last year, where he unfortunately flubbed a chip that cost the USA team a shot at victory. Chipping is clearly the weakness in his game, but he hit a beautiful chip that was about 4 feet away from the cup, and drilled the par put to force a playoff for 11.4 million dollars. After a brief period to sign his card and notify Bill Haas, off to 18 they went...
 

Both men tied at 8-under headed to the 18th tee for a sudden hole playoff. Mahan hits a 3 iron with fade spin but ends up short, in the green side bunker. Haas would respond with a mishit that travelled deep and right, nearly hitting the grand stands. Both would make clutch up and downs and continue. Haas played the 17th hole a bit risky, driver off the tee, which would leave him in the a fairway bunker. With not such a great lie in the bunker, Haas would produce a poor shot that would leave him in the green side water hazard. Hahan played the hole a bit safer and would find himself putting for birdie. But surprisingly Haas was able to play from the lake, setting up as if it were a bunker shot, Haas would  play what I call an “unbelievable” shot. Haas would end up just feet from the cup and once again another clutch up and down. Hahan would fall to the pressure of making a putt worth over 11 million dollars, resulting in a par. Both men would head to 18th tee for the 3rd playoff hole. Mahan would find the green side bunker once again and Haas the back of the green. Mahan would not be able to convert for par from the bunker, leaving Haas just  two putts to win it all.

2011 Payne Stewart Award

David Toms has been named the 2011 winner of the Payne Stewart Award. The Payne Stewart award is given to those who give back to the community, becoming a role model for others. Toms clearly reflects the different aspects of a golfer that were once exhibited by golf’s ambassador, Payne Stewart. Besides a great golf career, Toms now has achieved golf’s highest honor. To be acknowledged as a winner, both on and off the golf course.

Pick of the Week: Tour Championship

(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

Its time for the show down in East Lake, mathematically everyone  has a chance to be  crowned FedEx Cup champion. So don’t be quick to pick favors but, some of us are a bit more realistic than others. 

Only the top 30 in the FedEx Points Race made the field. Its difficult to say that these are the top 30 best players on tour since there is so much talent walking the fairways every week on the PGA Tour. Either way these guys are here for a reason and thats to play golf at its highest level.

My pick of the week is Geoff Ogilvy. Ogilvy is coming off a good start at the BMW Champion, finishing in 3rd place. Besides a great finish, the Aussie exhibited some hunger for the game by securing a spot on the International’s team for the President’s Cup. So look out for Ogilvy to be poking around the leader board because a little confidence can go a long ways in golf. 

Previous Selections-  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, Charl Schwartzel, Jeff Overton, Bo Van Pelt, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, Charles Howell lll,Camilo Villegas, and Y.E. Yang.   

Pick of the Week: Tour Championship (J.J.)

Webb Simpson (via swingbyte)

Helllooooo everyone, and welcome to this Tour Championship edition of Pick of the Week. It has finally boiled down to the last week of the Fed Ex Cup playoffs, where everyone makes the one true last final push for that cool 10 million dollars.

The good news? It's only a 30 person field and everyone has a theoretical chance of winning. The bad news? The only people that can win this Fed Ex Cup with just a win here in East Lake and nothing else, is the top 5 seeds. This top 5 includes: Webb Simpson (Ranked 1st), Dustin Johnson (2), Justin Rose (3), Luke Donald (4), and Matt Kuchar (5). Just a win for these fab five would secure their riches in this Fed Ex Cup. Everyone else seeded 6-30 will need a win AND some other help. That is where it slightly gets complicated, but we won't worry about that. That's what computers are for.

Now onto my pick of the week. I'm sooooo lucky I haven't taken Webb Simpson yet, because I sure as heck am taking him now!! The number one seed is definitely playing his best golf as of late (duh! that's why he's the number one seed!), so that should bode well for me. After this, Bernardo and I only have the Fall Series to make up ground in our year long picks race, so I better make up ground pick. And hopefully  Mr. Simpson helps me make up ground quick by maintaining his stellar play.

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, Charles Howell III, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, Brandt Snedeker.

Floyd Mayweather Post Fight Interview

This guy can really express himself (maybe a little too much) but, hey he still is undefeated. Mayweather also commented on a future fight with Manny Pacquiao, all I have to say is lets make this happen.

Generation... Now?

Ms. Thompson with her trophy (via al.com)

As you may or may not have heard, something HUGE in the golf world happened on Sunday. Young 16 year-old Alexis "Lexi" Thompson dominated an LPGA field at the Navistar LPGA Classic by 5 shots. She finished at a total of 17 under-par, with rounds of 66, 68, 67, 70. She was extremely consistent and obviously didn't falter during crunch time on Sunday when she easily could have.

Lexi showed poise on the final day, not being too agressive and making the other women be agressive and come after her. With the lead she had, she shot exactly just what she needed to stay comfortable all day. That takes maturity, and the only other person that I know that has the ability to execute a game plan like that with a lead on Sundays is Tiger Woods. In fact, this win could have come SOONER. She was in the hunt in a LPGA event back in May, and stumbled a bit down the stretch to come up a bit short. But she clearly learned from that situation and used it to win this event.

The scary thing about this is, the girl is only 16!!! Not any girls my age that I know (and I'm 19, by the way) would seem to have this amount of composure at this young of an age. Her poise and guts are well beyond her true age. It's amazing to be honest. Her talent is limitless, and she's so young its astonishing. This can only help LPGA golf in a huge way, as it will draw huge crowds for the tournaments she plays in. The LPGA also better give her a full time TOUR card for this win, because the rumors of only allowing her to go to Q-School next year will not sit well  with many people. With a talent as rare and as special as she is, we could see a big time leap in ratings for the women's tour in the years to come. She's already become one of my favorite female players ( Unfortunately for Lexi, Paula Creamer will always be my favorite <3). But, I'll certainly be watching now more than ever because of her. Will you be?

Rose Bowl

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Justin Rose is this year’s BMW Champion, after four straight rounds in the 60s. The hard work with golf instructor Sean Foley seems to be paying off. Now we just need Foley’s magic to rub onto Tiger Woods. 

This week was very exciting with players once again trying to make the cut within the FedEx points race to play next week at the Tour  Championship. We saw leaps like John Senden went from 59 to 9 in the FedEx points list, securing a spot next week. Other notables that missed the top 30 cut, included Jim Furyk, the defending FedEx Cup champion, and Camilo Villegas who had a great playoff streak but, came up three spots short of making it into next week’s event. 

Besides a great win for  Justin Rose, the golf community is preparing for this year’s President’s Cup which will be held in Australia. So get the barbies grilling and get ready to watch some talented USA /International golfers compete. The top 10 players for both sides were determined after the conclusion of the BMW Championship. Below is a list of the players who qualified. 

The United States' final 10:                         The International team's final 10: 

Matt Kuchar                                                 Jason Day

Steve Stricker                                               Adam Scott

Dustin Johnson                                             Charl Schwartzel

Webb Simpson                                             K.J. Choi

Nick Watney                                                Kyung-tae Kim

Phil Mickelson                                             Retief Goosen

Bubba Watson                                             Geoff Ogilvy

David Toms                                                 Ernie Els

Hunter Mahan                                              Y.E. Yang

Jim Furyk                                                     Ryo Ishikawa

Mayweather vs. Ortiz

Hello folks and welcome to a HTWD sports blog. Last night Floyd Mayweather took on the defending WBC Welterweight title  champ Victor Ortiz . Both gentlemen have a history of rough upbringings and being able to achieve their position of greatness is one to admire but, with fame some personalities can take a turn and I believe many would agree with me. The tensions coming into this fight were nothing new, when it involves  “Money” Mayweather which as evident must have the final word.  

An interesting interview before the fight


The first 3 rounds seemed to be dominated by Mayweather but, as many excepted Ortiz came out shooting, becoming anxious whether Mayweather might actually receive his first lost tonight. The fight ended during the 4th round after a head butt by Ortiz, the Referee Joe Cortez soon separated the fighters after the penalty. Confused over the weak signal made by the referee to resume the fight,  Mayweather took advantage and unleashed two power punches, while Ortiz’s hands were down, resulting in a knockout. Many believe this knockout is questionable whether it was fair or not.


Questionable knockout , I love you Larry!

The highlight of the night was the interview between Larry Merchant and Mayweather. They both traded some offensive words, my personal favorite by Larry,  "I wish I was 50 years younger, and I'd kick your ass,".

Current Record:

Floyd Mayweather 42-0

Victor Ortiz 34-3-2

Final Push

As the 3rd round of the BMW Championship is coming to a full close, here is an updated list on the projected Fed Ex Cup standings if the tournament were to end right now. With a spot in the TOUR Championship and (for some) spots in the President's Cup on the line, tomorrow will be a very critical day for a lot of players. Some need high finishes, for example- Sergio Garcia needs at least a T-5 to move on (currently T-7) and Australian Geoff Ogilvy needs a 3rd place finish to advance as well (currently T-3). It will be a GREAT day of golf as all of these pros will feel the heat as if they were in contention in the final day of a major.

               

(Photos via: Go Away images and Armchair golf blog)

Is Justin Rose wearing sneakers?

Mr. Style right here (Getty Images)

After watching some Fed Ex Cup golf today and yesterday, I started to wonder about one little thing about Justin Rose- Is the guy wearing sneakers? From the naked eye, it certainly looks like it, as his current shoes do not look like any of the newer golf shoes that most Adidas-endorsed players wear. But, with closer examination, it may in fact be a prototype of a shoe that Adidas may be releasing to the public soon, as subtle soft spikes can be seen on them. It sure does seem like this "comfy, yet casual" style shoe is really catching on to many manufactures these days. This shoe may also just be one that not a lot of us have heard about, and should check out soon enough.

To me, it's a really cool shoe. It's got style and has a very casual look to it, which is awesome. And heck, it may even help your performance a bit, since Justin is one of the leaders midway into this second round at the BMW Championship.

Check out the pictures below, and let us know what you think about these cool new sneaks:

Hmm... (Getty Images)

Fashion Sense

A couple of days ago, Bernardo found this video courtesy of pgatour.com about fashion amongst the PGA Tour pros. After I watched it myself, I wanna know what you guys think about the questions in posed in this video. Mainly- who wears what best? Check it out:


   

Let us know by leaving comments below!

Pick of the Week: BMW Championship

Y.E. Yang; Getty Images 

Howdy and welcome to HTWD, a blog for golfers, by golfers. This week the PGA Tour is  at Cog Hill for the BMW Championship, the last event before the Tour Championship. The top 70 are in the field, with many striving for a sensational week to reach the top 30, allowing them to play next week. 

My pick of the week is Y.E. Yang. The South Korean is known to create breathe taking and pin seeking fades. Probably one of the best fade based players on Tour. Yang’s use  of technology should be an example of how to make the game easier. He plays multiple hybrid clubs which is rare for PGA Tour players, since most players prefer having a 3 or 4 iron in the bag. Besides his choice of tools, the guy is talented his best finishes this year are 3rd at the U.S. Open and 2nd at the Honda Classic. And don’t forget his win in 09 against Tiger Woods at the PGA. 

Previous Selections-  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, Charl Schwartzel, Jeff Overton, Bo Van Pelt, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, Charles Howell lll, and Camilo Villegas.  

Pick of the Week: BMW Championship

Snedeker

Helloooooo everyone, and welcome to this week's edition of Pick of the Week. After a one week break by the PGA Tour, everyone that is still in the hunt in the Fed Ex Cup playoffs is back to the grind. In case any of you forgot, the top 70 players still remain for this week's tourney, the BMW Championship. After this tournament is over, the top 30 will go into the final week for the final push- The TOUR Championship.

For my pick this week, I'm going to go with Brandt Snedeker. I'm starting to run a little low on quality picks, but thankfully enough I found this little gem. I like Brandt; he has a good short game, dresses well, and plays golf fast. I enjoy watching tour players who play quickly because I can relate, and I am not a big fan of slow play. Brandt also has some good history here at good ol' Cog Hill (which is based in Illinois). He has three top-20 finishes in the last 4 years here, and is currently No. 5 in the Fed Ex Cup standings, which means a few things: He'll play well because he has no real pressure to make it in the top-30 heading into Atlanta, AND he has a good track record here. That should bode really well for me, as I am falling very behind of Bernardo in our year long picks race. Till the next blog, bye bye and HTWD!!

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, Charles Howell III, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia.

Strike a Pose

JJ

BG

Just a normal day of a avid, slightly addicted golfer. -HTWD

Going to the Bank

There is no doubt about it; Webb Simpson is ON FIRE right now. He has two wins in his last 3 starts, and a multitude of top 5 finishes in the PGA TOUR this year alone. It pretty much goes to show that once he got the first win, the next ones would start to pile up.

And it's not like this guy is having a fluke year or anything. I remember watching him back a few years ago at the AT&T National when he was paired up with Peyton Manning and he impressed. Even Peyton mentioned how good his game was at that time. So, its not like I was the only one that knew he was more than just a regular TOUR player.

With this playoff win over Chez Reavie at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Webb Vaults into the number one position in the Fed Ex Cup, which is a great sign as the playoffs reach the halfway mark. He is in prime position to earn the cool 10 million buck prize.

He is also in the running for the Player of the Year (POY) award for his stellar play throughout the year. This is only a sign of bigger things to come for him, and who knows- this may just be the breakout American we all have been waiting for.

HTWD Range Session

Edited by JJ Sanchez

Pick of the Week: Deutsche Bank Championship

Camilo at the PGA

The PGA Tour heads to TPC Boston for round 2 of the playoffs, the Deutsche Bank Championship. The top 100 in the FedEx points are in the field, but many will have to leap within the top 70 to move on to the third stage of the playoffs. 

My pick of the week is Camilo Villegas. The Columbian stars seems to have found his game at the right time, revealing the hidden talent the spider man has within. The guy can putt and hit it a long way, I wouldn’t be surprised if he could fly. He currently is ranked 51 in the FedEx, compared to 109 last week. Stay tune for another great week, even though he already has a secure spot for next’s weeks BMW Championship. Camilo is  TM staffed which is a plus one on my list. 

The defending champion, Charley Hoffman, comes in this week with some great momentum after top-10 finish at the Barclays.

Mr. Villegas

Previous Selections-  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, Charl Schwartzel, Jeff Overton, Bo Van Pelt, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim and Charles Howell lll

Pick of the Week: Deutsche Bank Championship

Hellloooo everyone, and welcome to this week's edition of our selections. The second leg of the Fed Ex Cup playoffs is upon us, and it is a very interesting week. In case you hadn't noticed already, this blog is coming out on a THURSDAY, not a Wednesday. Why? Well that is because this tournament honors labor day, and has a Monday finish on it. Therefore, it has a Friday start. It always tends to throw people off. But this is what makes the tournament very unique and special. Also, the top 100 of the Fed Ex Cup players are here only, which is a smaller field than usual. After this, the top 70 will only be allowed to advance next week. So this once again raises the stakes that were begun 2 weeks ago at the Wyndham.

Now, off to my pick this week. I'm going with El Nino, Sergio Garcia. The 31 year old Spaniard sits at 53rd in the Fed Ex Cup currently, which as of right now means he's safe for next week. But since he eventually will want to be in the top-30 for the Tour Championship in a few weeks, now is time for him to get moving a little quicker. Sergio has had a superb year following a terrible 2010. He has only one missed cut, and is one of the few to have made all the cuts in the majors and have 2 top 10s in them. He has a new putting routine which makes it feel rejuvenated, the love for the game is back, and he is at peace outside of the golf course now too. He is due for a win this year, and hopefully he can notch one this week.

Here is a video of Sergio talking to Michael Collins last week about a multitude of things, courtesy of ESPN:

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, Charles Howell III, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, David Toms, Jim Furyk