Rare week in golf with no PGA, Web.com Tour event
It is the rarest of weeks in professional golf.
The LPGA is conducting an event in Indianapolis. The Champions Tour has gone to the Far East, Japan to be specific, for its first-ever event in that part of the world.
The Walker Cup, the biennial amateur championship between the United States and Great Britain and Ireland began yesterday and continues today at Los Angeles Country Club, a venue said to be exceptional, but rarely seen by non-members.
But there’s no event on the PGA Tour or the Web.com Tour, something that happens about as often as the pros not complaining about one aspect or another about the course they’re playing at the time.
This week happens to be the one built into the FedEx Cup playoff schedule so there is a break in those four FedEx Cup playoffs. The players had the PGA Championship, the Wyndham Championship and then the playoffs, followed the next week by the Presidents Cup.
After a run over 40 consecutive weeks, the powers that be have determined the boys need a rest.
n n n
Golf Digest magazine came out with its biennial rankings of the 100 best golf courses in the United States and our area is well-represented on that list.
Oakmont Country Club (No. 5), Pikewood National in Morgantown, West Virginia, (40), Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, West Virginia, (60) and Laurel Valley Golf Club (95) made the list.
It’s great to have those courses on the list, but I have a real problem understanding how a world-class course like Laurel Valley trails Pikewood and the Pete Dye Club by as significant number of spots as it does. Laurel Valley far outdistances those two by any measurement.
n n n
You’ve no doubt heard of the Folds of Honor Foundation that benefits from the nationwide Patriot Golf Day promotion.
Staffers at a Pittsburgh-area club, the Field Club, have become deeply involved in that effort and following this year’s effort, they’ve raised over $60,000 in six years.
Assistant professionals Al Hromulak and Sean Knaus and caddy master Matt Sullivan,
They played 93, 101 and 101 holes, respectively, walking and carrying their bags. They teed off at dawn and finished after dark with the final green being lit by cellphones.
There were also bonus pledges for the guys playing the same ball and how many chocolate milks Sullivan would drink. Field Club golf professional David Martin says Sullivan has an “irrational love” of chocolate milk and that proved to be the case as he drank over a gallon that day.
Well done, boys.
n n n
Being named to the Presidents Cup extends Phil Mickelson’s streak of making team competition events to 24. Good for him, but he has made the last two as a captain’s pick, having not earned a spot on the team through the points system.
On the surface, he probably nailed down a spot on the team by finishing T6 last week in the FedEx Cup playoff event in Boston. But U.S. captain Steve Stricker probably had made up his mind about making Mickelson and Charlie Hoffman his two picks even before Mickelson had a good week.
This pick was more about experience and presence among the team than anything else. Nobody else on that team has the experience of personality that Mickelson has and even if Mickelson doesn’t play well and doesn’t see the course all that much, he might make an even bigger contribution off the course.
n n n
If you have an interesting story about your club or course or an individual who has done something special, let me know. Send your story ideas to mike.dudurich@gmail.com.
n n n
Mike Dudurich is a freelance golf writer and hosts The Golf Show on 93.7 The Fan, Saturday mornings from 7-8 during golf season. Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeDudurich