Topgolfgears Morning 9: Bryson! | Finau: “Tough not to pick me” for U.S. RC squad | A Tiger impersonator strikes

By Top Golf Gears On Sep 6, 2018

September 4, 2018

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans. Hope your Labor Day was free of labor and your white golf attire is appropriately mothballed…

1. Bryson, again

When the traditional post-win email announcing the winning staffer’s equipment and apparel from Cobra/Puma hit my inbox, it occurred to me that Bryson DeChambeau now has as many wins (4) as Cobra’s most recognizable staffer, Rickie Fowler. Chew on that.

AP Report…”For the second straight week in the richest part of the PGA Tour season, DeChambeau took down one of the strongest fields of the year by playing his best golf on the weekend to win the Dell Technologies Championship, becoming only the second player to capture the opening two playoff events in the FedEx Cup.”

“He closed with a 4-under 67 on Monday, making three straight birdies to close out the front nine and keeping his distance the rest of the way for a two-shot victory over on the TPC Boston.”

“I wouldn’t have written it any better, to be honest with you,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve been playing some great golf this whole year. And I knew it was a matter of time before something cool showed up.”

“DeChambeau, with his third victory this year, was assured of being the No. 1 seed when he gets to the Tour Championship, no matter what happens next week at the third playoff event outside Philadelphia.”

Here’s a bonus peek at the Golf Scientist’s victory calculations…”I would have given myself 20 percent [chance to win],” DeChambeau estimated through two rounds. “That’s just the odds of coming from seven back.”That began to change on Sunday when he birdied four of his first seven holes on his way to a third-round 63.

“As I played on Sunday, when I made that fourth and fifth birdie, it was like ‘OK, I have a good chance now,’” he said. “On 12 on Sunday when I made the putt, I figured I had a 70 percent chance to win.”

2. A star is born/acknowledged

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard puts Bryson DeChambeau in context (within the pantheon of golf stars, anyways)…”DeChambeau emerged on Monday as the hottest commodity in the game at the moment, becoming the first player this season on the PGA Tour to win back-to-back events with another commanding performance at TPC Boston.”

“A week ago he boat-raced the field at the playoff opener by four strokes, a signature moment for a player who – despite two victories in two seasons on Tour – was still very much an unknown commodity.”

“His play at the swansong Dell Technologies Championship may have been even better. Although the final line would suggest otherwise, DeChambeau’s performance was nothing short of groundbreaking considering that after 36 holes he was seven strokes off the lead and, incidentally, tied with Tiger Woods, who finished in a tie for 24th.”

“He became the ninth player – along with the likes of Woods and Jordan Spieth – to win his fourth Tour title before turning 25 in the last 30 years, and his two-stroke victory over Justin Rose proved there is a method to what some consider his madness.”

3. “Tough not to pick me”

Gotta admire the stones! Tony Finau, following his T-4 finish in Boston, thinks his a lock for captain Jim Furyk’s squad.

Golf Channel’s WIll Gray writes…”After finishing alone in second behind DeChambeau last week at The Northern Trust, Finau again played some stellar golf but couldn’t catch his fellow American. This time it was at the Dell Technologies Championship, where a final-round 68 at TPC Boston gave Finau a share of fourth place, four shots behind DeChambeau.”

“I’m trying to win every time I play,” Finau said. “I haven’t been able to do it, but I just feel the more I give myself opportunities, it’s going to happen. And my game feels as good as ever.”

“DeChambeau is assuredly a lock for one of U.S. Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk’s first three picks on Tuesday, expected to be announced alongside Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. But Finau’s continued consistent play has made him the perceived favorite to land the fourth and final pick which will come on Sept. 10 following the BMW Championship.”

“The more solid I play each week, I’m making it tough to not pick me, if I’m being honest,” Finau said. “I’m not the one that gets to pick, I’m the one that just gets to play. But I’ve played some nice golf these last couple weeks, and if that’s what it comes down to when (Furyk) makes his decision to pick a team for the Ryder Cup, and that’s what he’s waiting for for those picks, then I think I’m going to be a hard guy to look past.”

So, Bryson, Tony, Tiger, and Phil. What do you think, M9 readers?

4. Blahger Woods

For the first time this season, Tiger Woods declined to talk to the media following his round.

Golf Digest’s Brian Wacker writes…”Frustrated all weekend by a cold putter and even more so over the closing nine holes Monday at the Dell Technologies Championship, Woods politely but firmly told a PGA Tour media official that he would not be speaking.”

“A final-round even-par 71 that included playing the last five holes in 3 over par certainly didn’t help.”

“Woods ended up nine shots back of winner Bryson DeChambeau — and they were tied through 36 holes.”

“Woods again wasted what was a solid ball-striking round that saw him hit 15 greens in regulation.”

“And he also missed out on an opportunity to earn more FedEx Cup points, which would have made this week’s coming task at the BMW Championship less stressful as it relates to qualifying for the season-ending Tour Championship.”

5. On Seth Waugh’s radar

Golfweek’s Martin Kaufmann looks at what the new PGA of America CEO will be, well, looking at.

A few morsels…”I want to make their lives better. That would be the most fulfilling part for me,” Waugh said. “I got the job maybe because of my golf and business background. But I took the job so that I could make a difference in people’s lives.”

Waugh said he is concerned about the member “who’s 40-something years old, his kids are going off to (college) and he’s concerned about how to pay for tuition. There’s a real economic part of this that we have to get at.”

“I’ve had friends of my son go to (Professional Golf Management schools), go through their internships, and come back to me and say, ‘I don’t see a path, Mr. Waugh. I love what I’m doing, but I’m looking at 30-year-olds who are hoping the phone rings so they can get a bigger job,’ ” Waugh said. “So I’ve seen it in real time.”

“It’s great that the PGA has done as well as it has, but the pro somewhere in the middle of the country hasn’t seen the benefit from that,” Waugh said. “That’s a little bit of a reflection of the whole country, where the wealthy are getting wealthier and a lot of the country is being left behind.”

6. Johnny Miller’s replacement

Staying on the Golfweek front, The Forecaddie examines Johnny Miller’s potential retirement…and his potential replacement.

“Behind the scenes, a list to take over for Miller is sitting in some executive’s top desk drawer. But The Forecaddie is pretty sure that should Miller say sayonara early next year when he’s committed to work the Waste Management Open for NBC, there will be no single replacement.”

“The tighter 2019 PGA Tour schedule and return of The Players to March puts a heavier burden on the NBC crew. The network could move to a permanent model with no set A-Team. With Miller possibly sticking around for big-time events such as The Players and British Open, that leaves open spots to accommodate him while working in other voices who fit the model of a major-championship winner and top-flight analyst.”

“TMOF hears that David Duval and Justin Leonard are strong candidates to get more reps in the 18th-hole tower, but each has also shown equal or greater strength in studio settings. The race has also been joined by a few older war horses, with Mark O’Meara and Tom Lehman having made good impressions in limited duties.”

7. A Feinsteinian novel

The eminent sportswriter channels his inner Flaubert for a work of fiction. Young adult fiction, to be specific. The protagonist: 17-year-old golf prodigy Frank Baker.

Frank’s dad wants to cash in, and an agent is pressuring him to go pro. Frank, however, wants to spend a couple of years in college.

Interestingly, it seems Feinstein populates Baker’s universe with real figures from the golf world: journalists, PGA Tour pros, etc.

8. 3 families of men’s golf style

Writing for GolfWRX, Bryan Montgomery argues “East Coast prep,” “Midwest style,” and “West Coast” are the three umbrellas under which most golf wear (and menswear in general) sit.

for his full case and descriptions.

9. Is that you, Tiger?

Did you catch the Tiger Woods impersonator at the Dell Technologies Championship, Sunday? Hopefully he was treated better than the Donald Trump impersonator at the U.S. Open, who was unceremoniously tossed. Check him out below.