Meeting the Commish
FARMINGTON – A round hasn’t been played in the second 84 Lumber Classic, and Joe Hardy is already planning his next move. Hardy met PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem for breakfast before Finchem left Nemacolin Woodlands Spa & Resort Wednesday.
Finchem arrived Tuesday evening and was given a tour of Falling Rock, along with being shown the new practice range.
“He was star-struck,” Hardy said. “He’s a little square, but when he saw this place …”‘
Upon completion of play in the 84 Lumber Classic, Hardy plans on taking a trip to Florida to talk to Finchem.
Hosting a Tour event is nice, but Hardy wants bigger and better things, in particular hosting a major.
“Before I do, they will have seen the crowds,” Hardy said, referring to the thousands expected to converge on Mystic Rock for the 84 Lumber Classic.
Hardy is eager to see how his course tests a field that includes the world’s No. 1 player in Vijay Singh, and 17 other golfers in the top-30 of the money list.
“That score is everything,” Hardy said. “And it’s how we’re perceived in the golf world.”
Ryder Cup blues
David Toms comes into this 84 Lumber Classic off the disappointment of being on the losing United States Ryder Cup team, which was handily defeated by Europe last weekend.
He admits it’s not easy to put such a big event behind him and concentrate on conquering Mystic Rock.
“I think physically you’re OK, but mentally you’ve got to be able to get back into hitting each shot,” said Toms, who won the 2001 PGA Championship. “The Ryder Cup takes so much out of you. It’s a long week. You have a lot of activities early in the week, a lot of practice, a lot of people out there, and then the matches themselves.
“If you play all the matches, that’s five rounds of golf in three days and it’s all pressure packed. So it’s tough to be able to come back and to refocus. It’s a difficult task.
“But I’m glad I’m here. I’m glad I’m playing. I look forward to a good week.”
Toms doesn’t have the greatest of memories when thinking back to last week.
“What comes to mind is the fact that we got beat so bad,” said Toms, who posted a 1-2 record in the Ryder Cup. “It’s a great honor for all of us, and you feel proud to be there, and you enjoy the week until you start to get beat. You try to figure out what we can do right to get back in it.
“It was tough for us. Every day we were kind of second-guessing ourselves. When you are getting beat so bad, it’s hard to sleep at night.”
Toms scoffs at those who question the team’s desire to win as compared to the Europeans.
“If they let a reporter cover the inside look at what takes place, and the speeches that are made, and the guts that are spilled, until somebody can document that, I think that’s unfair … until someone is able to experience it, and put on one of our team uniforms, and to be with us the entire week.
“It’s such a different event. You’ve got teammates that you never played with before sometimes. You’ve got an alternate shot format. You have so many things that are so different than what a normal Tour event. It’s such a different event that you have to approach it as it stands alone.”
Toms agreed with Phil Mickelson’s assessment that the United States should be considered the underdog at the next Ryder Cup.
“When you’ve gotten beat as bad as we have the last couple times, why in the world would you be considered the favorite?” Toms said.