Bogey Bogey Start

 Thinking I'd let the news wash over everyone before writing this but my thoughts have not changed so here goes... Zach Johnson has never been a golfer that excited me. Yes, he won a Masters and an Open Championship. Were they thrilling or even interesting events, or were you watching and hoping someone else won those events?  Now let's carry that onto the Ryder Cup. Yikes! With his captain's picks this week Johnson chose Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Collin Marikowa, and Jordan Spieth. Obviously, the big shock is Justin Thomas who has struggled all summer with form and had to make a cut the last week of the regular season to seemingly even be considered.Yes, he "wanted" to play on the Ryder Cup team, but ya know who also wanted to play and finished ahead of Justin Thomas in the regular standings... Keegan Bradley. Bradley who won in Connecticut early this summer, has played in 2 Ryder Cups previously, and this is the closest he's bee...

  Viktor friggin Hovland! Regarding the previous post, here at Bogey Bogey Start we were correct in saying it would be a top-rated golfer who won the Tour Championship, but to my misfortune, I wrote Scheffler, Rahm, and McIlroy. Negating that Hovland was 3rd, and avoiding him altogether.  Scheffler seemingly won't allow himself to do well at East Lake.. evidenced by having a 7-shot lead going into the final round in 2022, to finish second, and this year with an opening round that saw him with a 5 shot clearance of the pack, relinquished over the rest of the first round, and all of the second round. He finished a disappointing T6. With his ball striking any year could be the year of Big Schef... if only the putting agrees. Rahm has lost whatever absolute magic he had early on in the season. He became less bulletproof off the tee and less potent with mid-range putts. Early in the season, Rahm was a fairway seeker.. it was almost boring to watch it was so good and reliable. A nat...

 Lets get the doom and gloom out of the way. Could heat eventually lead to a different annual calendar on the PGA Tour? This week in Atlanta the temperatures will feel well over 100 degrees. The same heat issues happened 2 weeks ago in Memphis. Harris English's caddie Eric Larson had to be replaced mid-round as Larson was suffering from heat exhaustion. Lucas Glover, after his swamp ass became an internet moment, said he wasn't as wet when he took a shower that morning. The heat in Memphis was bad and the heat this week in Atlanta will be just as bad, if not worse. With caddies carrying all that weight, and due to duties on course, probably, generally, poorly hydrating, it seems like something bad might happen sooner rather than later. I do not want that to happen, but the PGA seems to love their Southern golf late in the summer, and whatever your beliefs, the weather is changing...FACT.  As if golf is not hard enough, the heat will create an added wrinkle to the competition t...

 Man, I am just the worst. Last minute beach trip led to me missing the entire BMW Championship. I was busy livin while Hovland racked up an all important win on Sunday. Also, the US Amateur... missed that too. I love the Am... disappointing I know. I'm disappointed in myself. We persist though! More to come Thursday!

 Freakin Lucas Glover huh? He stood like 163rd in the FedExCup Standings 3 weeks ago. After consecutive wins at a very critical point in the season, he's 4th! Billy Horschel had a hot end-of-season run in 2014 and he won the FedExCup that year. Can Lucamania run wild!? *See Instagram post This week we're heading to the BMW Championship in Illinois with a newly thinned group of players. Only the top 50 make it to Olympia Fields Country Club. To be brutally honest, the players that fell outside the top 50 during last week's play are... mehhhh. With that, the Sleep Scale for the BMW Championship is a conk out (5 minutes). You know one of those naps where you wake up and think, or ask the nearest person "Was I sleeping?" With only the BMW left before the end of the season, I am getting pumped up about the Ryder Cup. It's inching closer and the choices Zach Johnson has to make are getting more interesting with Lucas Glover's performance lately, who might he be ...

 After taking the last couple of weeks away from his post as Commissioner Jay Monahan is back for this week's tournament, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Monahan stepped away for health reasons stemming from what has come from the PGA vs LIV saga. The resulting anxiety and stress I would argue has been self-inflicted by Mr. Monahan. How did it come to this? Despite Jay Monahan's early attempts to monetize value to the PGA in an attempt to curb players from leaving the Tour, as we all know now, LIV Golf took some top names, including all those players listed in part 2, including major champions, including former world number ones. With the backing of the PIF from Saudi Arabia, LIV seemingly has endless pockets and offered hundreds of millions in guaranteed dollars to golfers, and the PGA could not go toe to toe, soooo what did Monahan do? He circled the wagons. As is well documented elsewhere the PGA banned players who left, sued LIV Golf, and has made ongoing efforts to ensure...

 Phil has been courted to play in Saudi Arabia in February 2020 and right now, I am going to lean on, if you are here, you like golf and I'm going to tell you something.... The 2020 Saudi International tournament was won by Graeme Mcdowell, among other high finishers were Dustin Johnson, Phil, Thomas Pieters, Abraham Ancer, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Brooks Koepka, and Ian Poulter. Where are all of these guys now!? Playing for Saudi-backed LIV Golf.  Right under Jay Monahan's nose, there was a revolt bubbling up. As mentioned in Part 1, Phil also was playing in the PGA Tour Champions in 2021, and crushing. He played very well in the events he partook in. Through his experience in Saudi Arabia in 2020 and juxtaposing his success in the Tour Champions, I have to believe that he saw the competition as unfulfilling and the pay probably wasn't enough to even sniff his gambling debts. Meanwhile, in 2021, Jay Monahan was staving off attempts by groups outside the PGA to alter t...

 No recap is needed here... I'm sure you're tired of reading about who made the playoffs, and who missed the playoffs. Or maybe you're tired of golf period. While I can't help that you don't like golf, we can talk about something else.........how about the driving force behind the PGA Tour? "Is it the players?" you might ask. No, no, it is one man. Pull up a chair, grab a beer, and let's talk about Bernie Madoff... I mean, Gary Bettman.. no no, I mean Jay Monahan. Yes, yes PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.  Here's Jay in his basement Jay Monahan became the Commissioner of the PGA Tour on January 1st, 2017.  -sidebar: 2017 seems like it was yesterday, but holy crap it was 6 years ago- Monahan after college worked to establish what became the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, and followed that by working with the Fenway Group. More directly to his Commissionership, he became executive director of the Players Championship in 2008.  You may kn...

  Billy Horshel and Lucas Glover are both turning back the clock in what has become a fantastic finish to the end of the regular Tour schedule. Horschel carded his best round ever with a 62 on Friday and backed that up with a 63 on Saturday. That goes against the statistics on record that say when someone shoots low 60's the next round on average that person shoots in the 70's. For Horschel to go 62, 63 bodes well for his chances on Sunday. That is if he can hold back the resurgent Lucas Glover, who with his play has vaulted himself over 60 spots up from where he started his FedExCup standing to start Thursday. Glover has never putted as well since adopting the stroke and putter made famous by Adam Scott. Both Horshel and Glover have had fantastic tournaments and look to not only get into the top 70 but the top 50, which will guarantee play into the BMW Championship. Both players have the pedigree, Horschel former Tour Champion and Glover former Major Champion will look to capi...

  The Friday Cut: The bubble has burst for some hoping to make the FedExCup Playoffs, but mostly it has NOT burst for most players we know. Look at Billy Horschel!! -8 in the 2nd round!! Stone cold man! We have Lucas Glover coming out of nowhere trying to make the cut. It seems like he needs a win and some luck though to get into the playoffs. Russel Henley is looking to get into the 10 top. That would make him ALOT of extra money! Brendon Todd, Gary Woodman, Justin Thomas, Matt Wallace, Adam Scott, and Shane Lowry made the cut on Friday and are looking to make this weekend pretty wild.  Not everyone has been happy with Sedgefield Country Club this week. Matt Wallace finished on the leaderboard yesterday but had some very honest opinions about the course. When asked about his round Wallace said.. "I don't like this course" "...It's not fun to play" "Like, it's just not great" And that's a guy who had a good round! I personally love when gol...

 Well well well... haven't seen you in a few days! Welcome back, good to have you. This week we will introduce the Sleep Scale. The Sleep Scale is born from the many people who deem golf boring. I do not. But that is not to say that the last 2 tournaments before the FedExCup Playoffs start are not boring. I'm on record as saying they are nap worthy. With that, the Sleep Scale is born. It's Wyndham week and as I'm writing this the tournament has already begun. It will be raining all day Thursday and probably most of Friday (good for sleep). At 11:04 Eastern Standard, it has been raining for 4 hours already in Greensboro and the greens at Sedgefield Country Club show no signs of slowing down. Pretty nuts. The Bermuda rough at Sedgefield means that hitting fairways off the tee is imperative. I am thinking that whoever is on the leaderboard after day 1 should be around all weekend. At Sedgefield with the rain, you have to show up with some swagger to have a good tournament...