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Humana not up to the challenge vs. the NFL

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 00:42:00 GMT

The golf on Sunday, in the event you missed it, and we're reasonably certain you did, was at least entertaining, notwithstanding its B-list cast.

The A-listers on which golf was depending to avoid indifference were Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, Nos. 1 and 2 in the World Ranking. They were around on the weekend, but only via an amusing Nike commercial. Each missed the cut in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, exposing the downside to a sponsor committing seven-figure appearance fees.

Meanwhile, back in the USA, the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation, or the Hope, as it was known in simpler days, had the misfortune of opposing a thrilling end to the 49ers-Falcons game and the start of the Ravens-Patriots game.

Colin Kaepernick and Tom Brady or Brian Gay and Charles Howell III (or Scott Stallings and David Lingmerth)? Football was a prohibitive favorite and you won your bet if you gave the points.

The Humana Challenge winner was Gay, who contributed to the entertainment factor with one of 10 rounds of 64 or better Sunday on the Palmer Private Course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. The kind of warm, sunny January day that explains the winter popularity of the Palm Springs area was the impetus for the kind of low scoring that typically amps up the drama.

Gay won on the second playoff hole, prevailing over Howell and Lingmerth, but it was less the story of the day than the collapse of Scott Stallings.

The Humana Challenge, admirably, is dedicated to the promotion of healthy living and was an advocate of taking 10,000 steps a day, or the equivalent of what a tour pro takes in the course of a day's work. Of course, doing so is no guarantee of good health. Stallings exceeded 12,000 steps, according to a Golf Channel graphic, yet he presumably felt sick afterward.

Stallings, twice a winner on the PGA Tour, began play on Sunday with a four-stroke lead, and increased it to five for a time, before his own indifferent performance opened the competition to all comers. Of the top nine finishers, Stallings was the only player to shoot higher than 65, a number he exceeded by five strokes. More to the point, he bogeyed two of his final three holes, including the last, when he yanked a 6-iron second shot to the par-5 18th, the ball bounding into the pond left of the green.

Dare we say that this native of Oak Ridge, Tenn., also known as Atomic City for its role in the development of the nuclear weapon that ended World War II, bombed on the back nine?

Stallings, 29, played the first 60 holes without a bogey and was bidding to become the first winner to play a tournament without a bogey since Lee Trevino in 1974. That ended when he carelessly missed a two-foot par putt on the seventh hole, the beginning of his demise.

Gay won for the fourth time with birdies on the two playoff holes, defeating Lingmerth, a Swede playing only his second PGA Tour event, and Howell, who finished second for the 14th time to remain stuck on two victories for nearly six years and counting.

Played opposite NFL football with Super Bowl berths at stake gives us a clearer understanding of the Challenge in the Humana.

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Compton in, Villegas out in last Q School

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 00:14:00 GMT

By John Strege

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- This was the last day of the last Q School, so maybe it was appropriate that Mac O'Grady was there to pay homage. A local resident, O'Grady was the standard bearer of Q School futility and an example the requisite perseverance.

None has persevered to the degree that Erik Compton has. Compton, 32, retained his PGA Tour exemption on Monday, even threatening the lead at one point, 4 1/2 years following his second heart transplant.

"Six rounds of tour school is hell week," said Compton, who played the PGA Tour this year, but finished 165th on the money list to precipitate a return to Q School, as the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament is called. "For me to be able to have a chance to win tour school, six rounds, four years after what I went through, you can't even dream a story like that. Maybe I made it look easy, but it's not."

Related: Tales from Q School

Compton shot 67 on the Stadium Course at PGA West in the last of six rounds and eventually finished tied for seventh, three strokes behind medalist Dong-hwan Lee. The top 25 and ties from a field of 172 earned PGA Tour exemptions for 2013.

Among them was Lee, one of three South Koreans to qualify, but not the most notable. That distinction goes to Si Woo Kim, 17, the youngest player in the field, who won't be eligible for PGA Tour membership until his 18th birthday, June 28, 2013.

Kim, who tied for 20th, can play as many as 12 tour events as a non-member (via sponsor exemptions or top 10s).

Si Woo Kim became the youngest Q School qualifier ever on Monday. Photo: Victor Decolongon/Getty

As is often the case, this Q School was at least as noteworthy for who failed to qualify as who succeeded. Included in the former group is three-time PGA Tour winner Camilo Villegas, who closed with a 69 on the Stadium Course, but came up two strokes short and tied for 32nd. He will have to rely on sponsor exemptions to play the tour in 2013.

"I still have conditional status, so hopefully I'll get in some tournaments next year," he said. "I've always tried to be very polite and good with sponsors, and if that's the case it'll be good. I'm going to need a little love from them. At the end of the day if you're good enough to be on the PGA Tour you'll be on the PGA Tour."

He called it a reality check, as it was as well for Patrick Cantlay, 20, once the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world. Cantlay tied for 95th here, which gives him conditional status on the Web.com Tour next year.

"It is disappointing," Cantlay said. "But it's just one week of golf. I just played badly."

England's Ross Fisher, meanwhile, tied for second, the difference a tee shot in the water at 18. Fisher is a four-time winner on the European Tour, who drew inspiration Monday from his playing partner, Compton.

"It's absolutely a privilege to play with such an inspirational player as Erik Compton," Fisher said. "When you think that times are hard or you're down you have to look at a guy like Erik."

To a lesser degree, one might want to draw as well on the example of O'Grady, who went to Q School 16 times before earning PGA Tour membership on his 17th attempt.

Heath Slocum, who has played the tour full time every year since 2002 and has won four times and more than $15 million, understands the equation, even if he failed to produce the correct answer here. He tied for 32nd, two strokes short.

"The best players find their way out there," he said pragmatically. "If I'm in that class, I'll be back out there soon."

The 26 players who earned exemptions:
Dong-hwon Lee
Ross Fisher
Steve LeBrun
Richard H. Lee
Billy Horschel
Kris Blanks
Erik Compton
Brad Fritsch
Jin Park
Fabian Gomez
Michael Letzig
Jeff Gove
Steve Bowditch
Matt Jones
Robert Karlsson
Eric Meierdierks
Scott Langley
Aaron Watkins
Derek Ernst
Si Woo Kim
Tad Ridings
Donald Constable
Bobby Gates
Patrick Reed
Henrik Norlander
Chez Reavie

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Q School: Villegas on verge of losing tour exemption

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:34:00 GMT

By John Strege

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- The PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, otherwise known as Q School, often generates more significant news for failures than successes, as might be the case in the final round on the Stadium and Nicklaus Tournament courses at PGA West Monday.

Camilo Villegas, once a rock star of sorts in golf, is on the outside looking in 11 holes into his final round on the Stadium Course. A three-time PGA Tour winner who once was No. 7 in the World Ranking, was tied for 39th. The top 25 plus ties at the end of play today will earn PGA Tour exemptions for 2013. Villegas stands at 13-under par. The cutoff number currently stands at 16-under par.

Photo by Getty Images

Meanwhile, Patrick Cantlay, once the most heralded amateur in the world, won't earn his PGA Tour membership. Cantlay, 20, the college player of the year in 2011 while at UCLA, is tied for 116th and will have only conditional status on the Web.com Tour in 2013. Cantlay holds the PGA Tour record for lowest round by an amateur, a 60 in the Travelers Championship in 2011.

Other notable players who won't earn PGA Tour exemptions are Shaun Micheel, who won the PGA Championship in 2003, and Todd Hamilton, the winner of the British Open in 2004.

There is a six-way tie for the lead at 22-under par: Billy Horschel, Steve LeBrun, Derek Ernst, Kris Blanks, Ross Fisher, Jin Park and Dong-hwan Lee.

Erik Compton, twice a heart transplant recipient, is tied for eighth in his bid to retain his PGA Tour exemption.

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Humana: Health, hope and a worthy winner

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:48:00 GMT

This was about Hope and change and an American president, though not about politics. The Humana Challenge, as this PGA Tour event is now called, is the Bob Hope Classic re-imagined in the interest of its own survival and of those contributing to an increasingly sedentary populace.

So, how did it do?

Mark Wilson walked away with a winner's check, but the headliner at the Humana was unquestionably President Bill Clinton. Photo by Getty Images

Artistically, it might have been better, though in the interest of the cause the tournament was advocating it was perhaps in its best interests that heavyweights Brendon de Jong or Jarrod Lyle did not win. There also was the big blow that was responsible for the third-round suspension and explains the thousands of windmills that decorate the San Gorgonio Pass on either side of Interstate 10 west of La Quinta, Calif.

Then also was the winner, who was not Palmer or Nicklaus or even Mickelson, all of them past champions who brought it prestige. Then again, the host of this tournament historically has been the star of this show, as was the case again.

PGA Tour: Fantasy Fix: Humana Challenge

Alex Myers — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

We discuss Johnson Wagner's frightening lack of pop culture knowledge, the thrilling NFL playoffs, and of course, this week's PGA Tour stop.

Players' Picks: The 10 Worst Courses On The PGA Tour

Geoff Shackelford — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Our survey of more than 80 tour pros reveals the 10 courses they least like playing each year.

America's 20 Toughest Golf Courses

Peter Finch — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Golf Digest course panelists comment on America's 20 toughest golf courses

Q School: The Class of 2011

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:40:00 GMT

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Brendon Todd, who played the PGA Tour in 2009, shot a second consecutive 68 on Monday to earn medalist honors and $50,000 at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament at PGA West here.

Among those who earned PGA Tour cards for 2012 were Seung-yul Noh, a 20-year-old from South Korea and former PGA Tour winners Bob Estes, Jeff Maggert and Vaughn Taylor. Among those who missed were Arnold Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders, who finished T109; David Duval (T72); Lee Janzen (T38) and Ty Tryon (158th).

Twenty-nine PGA Tour cards were issued. Here is the class of 2011:

BRENDON TODD: 26...Played the PGA Tour in 2009 and finished 186th on the money list...Won once on the Nationwide Tour...Was on an NCAA championship team at the University of Georgia.

STEPHEN GANGLUFF: 36...Member of the PGA Tour in 2002 and the Nationwide Tour in four of the ensuing nine years...Played at Ohio State.

BOBBY GATES: 25...Three-putted his final hole of 2011 tour season to finish 126th on the money list, forcing a return to Q School...A Texas A&M graduate.

SEUNG-YUL NOH: 20...from South Korea...Won the 2010 Maybank Malaysian Open at 18 years, 282 days to become the second youngest winner in European Tour history at the time(Danny Lee, 18 years, 212 days held the record that has since been broken by Matteo Manassero).

TOMMY BIERSHENK: 38...Will be a PGA Tour rookie in 2012...Played five years on the Nationwide Tour, most recently in 2011, when he finished 33rd on the money list.

VAUGHN TAYLOR: 35...A two-time winner on the PGA Tour (the Reno-Tahoe Open in 2004 and '05)...Has earned more than $10 million, but lost his card in 2011 after seven straight seasons of earning $1 million or more.

JARROD LYLE: 30...Native Australian...Has played the PGA Tour the last three years without retaining his card...Won twice on the Nationwide Tour in 2008.

BOB ESTES: 45...Joined the PGA Tour in 1989...Won four tournaments and nearly $20 million.

BRIAN HARMAN: 24...2003 U.S. Junior Amateur champion...Won two tournaments at the University of Georgia...Played on two U.S. Walker Cup teams.

MARCO DAWSON: 48...Has played 13 seasons on the PGA Tour, the first in 1991...Best finish was second in the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1995...Won once on the Nationwide Tour.

SONG-MOON BAE: 25...From South Korea...Won three times on the Japan Golf Tour in 2011...Has three Asian Tour victories.

KEVIN KISNER: 27...PGA Tour member in 2011 and finished 181st on the money list...Played on Georgia's NCAA championship team in 2005...Won the Mylan Classic on the Nationwide Tour in 2010.

Four Georgia Bulldogs in top 12

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:39:00 GMT

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Four former University of Georgia players, three of whom have not played the PGA Tour, are in the top 12 midway through the final round of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament at PGA West. The top 25 and ties earn tour exemptions for 2012.

Kevin Kisner, who played the tour this year, but was unable to retain his exemption, is tied for 12th. Brendan Todd and Brian Harman are tied for first (with Bobby Gates and Stephen Gangluff). Harris English is tied for ninth.

-- John Strege

Two more Koreans on verge of joining tour

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:19:00 GMT

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- South Korea is likely to send two more players to the PGA Tour next year, which would run its number of exports to four in two years.

Last year, Bio Kim and Sunghoon Kang finished in the top 25 in the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament to earn PGA Tour membership.

Now Seung-yul Noh and Sang-Moon Bae are tied for fourth and tied for seventh, respectively in the midst of their final rounds at PGA West. Neither appearing on the leaderboard is particularly surprising.

Last year, while still 18, Noh became the second youngest winner in European Tour history when he won the Maybank Malaysian Open. Bae is ranked 30th in the world.

-- John Strege