2021/2022 Season
One of my absolute favorite things about golf is there is no downtime. As soon as one season ends, the next season almost immediately starts back up. However, before we get to the new season there are a few newsworthy stories that need attention. For starters hats off to Patrick Cantlay for claiming the FedEx Cup and the PGA Tour Player Of The Year award. Cantlay’s story throughout professional is nothing short of incredible. From dealing with the death of his former caddy and friend, too crippling back injuries that left him sidelined for years. He faced every type of hardship life could throw at him and still chose to rise up and etch his name in history forever. Huge shoutout to Patrick Cantlay and his team on a sensational season.
It’s no surprise that Brooks and Bryson have found themselves in the media yet again, Brooks however stole the show with his questionable Ryder Cup comments and more recently his comments on major championships and Tiger Woods. For starters Brooks explained how he does not like the Ryder Cup because there is very little downtime, so he’s unable to nap and watch T.V. Instead he has to wake up early to go to the gym or for an early tee time. He also explained how he is not a fan of the team aspect, since golf is an individual sport it’s tough to play as a team. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say get this guy off the team. Put somebody in his place who wants to win and wants to be there. This way it’s a win-win, Brooks can nap and watch T.V. and somebody else who wants to play and win will be there. As if that wasn’t enough Brooks has now come out and said that he can beat Tiger and Jack’s major records, explaining that he can win a major every year for the next 14 years. Now I understand he has 4 but winning one major a year as he claimed he can do is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. What makes this even more laughable is that he currently has 4 at 31, when Tiger was 31 he had 10. I love confidence, I think it’s so important and necessary in golf but there are some things that just need to be kept to ourselves. Now as we move from Brook’s egotistical comments we move on to Bryson, who is now spending time in the woods of the Carolinas to further speed train in preparation for The Long Drive Championship.
Bryson will forever confuse me, for a guy that has so much talent in professional golf he spends his time focusing on something that really doesn’t matter. Bryson has the ability to dominate on tour, yet instead of focusing on playing well for the Ryder Cup and bringing the cup back to the USA, he’s focusing on The Long Drive Championship. On top of all of that, he is such an underdog that he will probably not make it very far anyway.
Aside from these two players not putting their focus on the Ryder Cup, the rest of Team USA is gearing up for a tough week. Look for big weeks out of Spieth and Tony. These guys are ready to play, especially Jordan and how in the past two years he went from losing his game to back on the Ryder Cup Team. Tony is coming off his second victory and a big one at the Northern Trust. His confidence is at an all-time high. On another note, it should be interesting who would replace Brooks if he decides to WD from the Ryder Cup due to his wrist injury. If I had to pick anybody to replace him it’d be Billy Horschel. He is coming fresh off a win at the European BMW Championship. He is one of two Americans to win that event. Steve Stricker would be making an awesome decision in adding him to the team if Brooks WD. On the flip side, Team Europe is not to be taken lightly this year. Rahm, Hovland, Hatton, and the rest of Team Europe are ready to go and will bring the heat. I personally hope Team USA gets over their drama so they can actually play well together but who knows what’s going to happen considering the team they have. Nevertheless here’s to another great PGA Tour season!!! (Mike)
Last weekend, Billy Horschel became just the second American to win the European BMW Championship. What really impressed me was the way that he did it. He caught some attention for some comments he made about course design on the PGA Tour in America and I could not agree more. The courses that they play on the European Tour, like Wentworth, are so much more interesting and demanding than the courses we see often in America. I thought it was impressive he was able to back his strong opinions up with some unbelievable play. He again caught some attention for saying American captain, Steve Stricker did not give him a call to let him know he would not be making the team. I think Billy Horschel has his downfalls. He can run a little hot out on the course with his temper, but if Brooks is not able to play due to injury at the Ryder Cup you have to think Horschel made that choice much harder for Stricker. My top three right now to replace Brooks would be Patrick Reed, Billy Horschel, and Kevin Na. In that order.
Speaking of Brooks, he has been making it sound like he does not care about the Ryder Cup or at least the team aspect of the event. When he was asked about it this week he went into great detail how the Ryder Cup is the exact opposite of how he prepares every other week and how it’s hard for him to be a team player and shift that mindset away from thinking just about individual play. It is interesting to hear him say that and hopefully, other American players do not think like that because I think the lack of team chemistry is something that has always hurt America. I could not imagine anyone saying what Brooks said and perhaps that is a reason why the Europeans have had recent success against The United States.
I, like many people, was somewhat surprised to find out John Rahm did not win Player of The Year for the 2020/21 season. I thought he was going to win for sure. If it were not his ridiculous WD from The Memorial I think he would have won it very easily, but that’s not how it happened. Patrick Cantlay had a career year and he is such an easy guy to root for so I am certainly not upset with how it turned out, but certainly surprised.
It is hard to believe that the new tour season is already beginning. There was just one off week in between seasons. Every year I am always amazed at how fast the turnaround is and how grueling their grind can be. The field for this week is decent, but certainly nothing special. Since the field lacks a lot of big names I will just pick a winner for the week. My pick to win this week is Webb Simpson. I think he will take advantage of a weaker field on his way to winning this week for the first event of the year. (Tyler)