Sunday, August 14, 2011

PGA Results - 2011 Results

With a star-studded field heading into this week, no one would have predicted the top of the final leaderboard.  I'm sure that wasn't the ideal scenario the suits at CBS hoped for but it turned out to be pretty compelling in the end.  It looked like mini Ray Floyd was going to have a walk in the park after Bradley tripled 16 but when Dufner's tee shot on 15 found the water, the unravelling began.  For the second straight year, the PGA Championship was decided in a playoff and Keegan Bradley prevailed to become the 2011 PGA champion.  You think Dufner is going to have trouble sleeping tonight?  It just goes to show that there will always be those "no-names" sprinkled in the top 10 of any major (take note for next year).

Duke Le was the only player that had Bradley.  This was the only player of his that made the cut but it was enough to give him the win for the weekend by pocketing $1,445,000.  Congrats Duke!

And now the moment we've all been waiting for.  Surpisingly, no one made a charge at the top 7 so everyone heading into this event in the money, stayed in the money.
Final Rankings:
1st place: Hill Shands - $1,217
2nd place: Christina Cung - $845
3rd place: Randal Oudt - $507
4th place: Marshall Cowden - $304
5th place: Gavin Wallace - $237
6th place: Bradley McBride - $169
7th place: Blake Bergstrom - $101

Congrats to the winners.  Please send me your PayPal or mailing address so I can get you your money.
The award for dead last place in the pool goes to David Ahmad.  No need to worry about your entry fee into next year's pool as it is on the house for your achievement.

Please double-check your earnings to make sure they are accurate:
PGA Earnings

Again, thanks to everyone for playing this year.  I had a good time running it and I hope you had fun playing.  We'll do it again next year.

Steve

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

PGA Championship - Players Posted

It's do or die week for some participants trying to work their way into to the top 7 to cash.

This week's overwhelming favorite is Rickie Fowler, who almost had twice as many picks (42) as the second most popular player Jason Day (24).  Surprisingly, Tiger is the third most popular pick coming off of a dissappointing debut in more ways than one.  The graph of the player breakdown can be found at the bottom of the PGA Championship link.  As always, please check your players to ensure they are accurate.

Once again, the top 7 will pay out as follows:
1st Place - $1,217
2nd Place - $845
3rd Place - $507
4th Place - $304
5th Place - $237
6th Place - $169
7th Place - $101

Also remember that the person that finishes dead last place that submitted for all 5 events will be exempt from next year's contest.  Since Matt Johnson did not submit for this tournament, David Ahmad has a stronghold on this dubious honor.  Good luck Dave.

As always, the scoring leaderboard will updated throughout the tournament so check the back to see where you stand.

Good luck.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Tiger at the PGA

My most recent email regardning the PGA Championship stated that Tiger would still be eligible for those that chose him for the Players.  That was a typo.  The rules clearly state that if a golfer begins his round, they are automatically ineligible.  The 9 players that had him for the Players have been notified that he will not be eligible for use for the last major.  Apologies for the confusion.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

British Open Results

The first 9 of the Open's final round was setting up for a dramatic finish with Mickelson sharing the lead at one point shooting a 5 under 30.  But with 4 bogeys on the back side, he was quickly out of contention.  Dustin Johnson also made a charge but an inexcusable double on 14 kept his Sunday jinx at the majors alive.  He just needs to falter on a Sunday at Augusta for the Grand Slump.  Costly for Quan Vuong, Mark Williams and Patrick Woods, the only three that had Johnson but they will still pocket $689,617 each for Johnson.

In back-to-back Opens, a dark horse emerges as the Champion becoming the third player from Northern Ireland to win a major in the last 4.  Darren Clarke looked like he was going to have to stave off competition early in the round but he ends up cruising to victory.  What a brilliant outing as he is the only player without a round over par this week.  I guarantee he'll be drinking Guiness out of the Claret jug tonight.  Congrats to Darren.

Luckily for those trying to catch up, no one in the pool had Clarke.  Results have been posted and rankings have been updated.  There was very little shake-up in the rankings since most of everyone's golfers hacked it up this week.  Patrick Woods is this week's winner with total earnings of $967,960 (Johnson, Garcia, McIlroy,Day) which bumps him up from 46 position to 28th overall.  Congrats Patrick.  Please send me your payment info so I can get your entry fee back to you.

The new overall leader is Christina Cung who moved up one spot to take a slim lead over the former #1 Hill Shands by a only $75k.  As always, double-check your totals.  Final earnings can be found here Contact me if there are any discrepancies.

Our last major is 4 weeks from now at the Atlanta Athletic CC beginning on August 11th.  Some of us will be trying to hold the lead while others are trying to catch up.  The dark horse strategy could be in play for many of us trying to make a last ditch effort to place.  Again, the top 7 finishers at the end of the season will be in the money:

1st Place - $1,217
2nd Place - $845
3rd Place - $507
4th Place - $304
5th Place - $237
6th Place - $169
7th Place - $101

Remember that the player in dead last place at the end of the season will be exempt form next year's pool (you must submit for each 5 tournaments to qualify).  Matt Johnson has commanding control of this dubious honor at the moment.

Look for a message the week prior to the PGA Championship.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Round 3 Results Posted

The weather was dreadful for the early groups and the scores definitely reflect the brutal conditions.

The scoring leaderboard and the British Open links have been updated with round 3 scores.  You won't find too many red numbers on the British Open link.  I don't expect this week to be a huge earnings week compared to the last two tournament.  Watch out for Dustin Johnson tomorrow.  3 players in our pool have Mr. Johnson and will be hoping he shakes off his Sunday jinx.

Friday, July 15, 2011

British Open through Round 2

We're through 36 holes and it's shaping up to be an exciting weekend.  There are 70 players playing this weekend that are within 8 shots of the lead.  It is still anyone's tournament, especially if the winds kick up.  The conditions thus far have been somewhat benign compared to usual Open conditions, which is reflected in the scores.

No one in our pool chose leader Darren Clarke and only David May has Lucas Glover.  I will personally be rooting for the most interesting man in the golf world his weekend.

The top of the leaderboard as it relates to our pool are as follows:

Pos Player                Score     # of people that picked them
T1   Lucas Glover        -4         (David May)
T3   Miguel Jimenez    -3         (Steve Cung)
T3   Martin Kaymer     -3         (27)
T7   Davis Love III        -2         (Jacob Conklin, John Osborne)
T7   Charl Schwartzel  -2         (14)

If you don't have any of these players, I would suggest you root against Kaymer.  I'm tired of doling out $1.4 million to 20+ players.

There are also a few participants that are currently ranked in the top 10 that may have trouble cracking $250k this weekend.  My little sis is not one of these people.  Currently sitting at the 2 spot, she's looking to have a nice weekend as all four of her squad look to contend for the Claret jug (Kaymer, Schwartzel, Stricker and Garcia).  Good news for her, bad news for the rest of us.  Nice picks Tina!

There are some big names that will not be teeing it up tomorrow.  Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell will watching on their tele along with the world's #1 Luke Donald.  Highly disappointing Open for those guys.

The leaderboard and British Open links have been updated with results through round 2.  To reiterate, scoring will not be indicative of how final tournament earnings will play out.  For instance, if you have a player win at -7 but your other players are +7 combined, the scoring leaderboard will show you at even par although you'll pocket $1.4 milllion in earnings.  The leaderboard is there just to get a feel on how your guys are stacking up against the field.

Check back tomorrow for leaderboard updates throughout round 3.

Good luck.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

British Open Picks Posted

Picks for this week's Open Championship have been posted to both the 'Player Selections' link and the 'British Open' link.

The 2011 U.S. Open Champion Rory McIlroy is the favorite this week despite the fact that he hasn't played since Congressional and he has a high ball flight.  44 players chose Rory this week.  McDowell, Garcia, Westwood and Day round out the top 5 favorites for this week's event.  The graph showing player popularity is at the very bottom of the British Open link.

As always, please check your picks to make sure they are accurate.  Corrections need to be made tonight since the first group tees off in 3 hours.

I will update the scoring leaderboard at least once a day so check back to see where you stand during the tournament.

Good luck.

Steve