The New FedEx Cup Leader...

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headshot-96x109.jpg...is John Rollins.

Thanks to reader Charlie for noticing, because I forgot to check. 

And for those of you media members searching for a "storyline" on this?

If the FedEx Cup playoffs started today, Matt Hendrix and Stephen Leaney would just miss out on being eligible for the 144-man field at Westchester. Ponder the ramifications.

Tiger at Riviera?

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My interest in Tiger Woods playing at Riviera is purely selfish (it's pretty boring without him!).

Over at ESPN.com, the boys are debating their usual FACT or FICTION topics and they all say he's going to play.

Obviously, they don't remember that Tiger got caught in two hours of about the most hideous Friday afternoon traffic I've ever seen while battling the flu and Stevie's brilliant decision to leave the umbrella in the locker with a slim rain chance.

But in this suck up piece, Tim Rosaforte starts laying out all of the excuses for why Tiger's not playing, most of which the scribblers in San Diego were fed last week in the pre-planning for a likely no-show at Riviera.

Right now Tiger's playing with a three-club wind at his back -- but to quote Bob Seger, it's all about deadlines and commitments. After the Desert Classic, he's hanging around to check out his $25 million golf course project, and then jetting back to a short week in California after flying back through 12 time zones. What to leave in, what to leave out?

Hmmm, I don't know, the ones that don't pay big appearance fees?

Of course, while we're doing the whole Seger Against the Wind metaphor...

And I found myself alone
Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
Found myself further and further from my home and I
Guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was livin to run and runnin to live
Never worried about payin or even how much I owe

Okay, well maybe not the part about how much he owes.

More Points In Panama

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Doug Ferguson points out another wacky world ranking thingy in this week's notes column:

In the PGA Tour's attempt to validate the Nationwide Tour as something more than a minor league, consider the disbursement of world ranking points Sunday. Miguel Carballo won the Nationwide event in Panama and received more ranking points than Andrew Buckle received for his tie for fourth at the Buick Invitational.

I'd try to figure this out, but I lost interest in the world ranking years ago. 

Howell Takes FedEx Cup Lead; Media Wanted To Ask About It...

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...but forgot? Ran out of time? Simply didn't care?

Nice going guys! It's okay, we don't care either.

But, if you have absolutely nothing to do, here are the standings.

And yes I'll say what needs to be said. It's tough to address these things, but someone has to do it.

If the FedEx Cup playoffs started today, Todd Hamilton would not be in them.

But just think of the storylines! 

Not So Pat Question and Pat-hetic Answer

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Kudos to Peter Kostis for slipping in the "where will we see you next" question of Tiger in his post-final round Buick interview. Word has been quietly filtering out that he's likely not going to play at Riviera, and this was seemingly confirmed by Tiger's absurd answer about the long trip to Dubai and needing time to rest (though it did set up a nice zinger from Faldo about the trevails of traveling on a G5!).

Look Tiger, whether it's the traffic, the lousy weather, the poa greens, the lousy threadcount on the sheets at the Malibu beach house you rented, it doesn't matter. But don't claim fatigue with a week off after Dubai. You are more creative than that! 

But it also seems one of the writers (who!?) was pretty skeptical of Tiger's reasoning for likely skipping Riviera, and judging by the answer he received, the question hit a little too close to home...

 Q. If you don't play Nissan for whatever reason, if you're not ready or what-have-you, there will probably be some speculation like at East Lake where you're now at a point where you're trying to protect your streak, especially at a place like Riviera where you've never come close to winning; what would your answer be to that?

TIGER WOODS: People can say whatever they want. That's their opinion. They are entitled to it.

Pat Questions and Pat Answers

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Besides Nick Faldo's debut, CBS introduced new graphics and going to one commercial, Jim Nantz plugged everything imaginable, and some cool Killers music reminiscent of an ABC telecast briefly appeared (but lots of tired Yanni for the most part).

The only highlight was the pairing of those two lovebirds, Tiger Woods and Peter Kostis. I'm not sure what exactly gave the love-hate away. The lack of eye contact? The distance between the two, or the general feel of a dentist office conversation?

Well as promised, Kostis delivered pat questions.

Your thoughts on today's round?

How did you feel in terms of your competitive spirit with three rounds under your belt this year?

How do you feel about the overall state of your swing and game?

Thoughts about tomorrow?

Credit for Kostis for not asking any pending fatherhood questions. Those are getting really old. And we have 6 months to go! 

"I sure hope there never comes a day where a kid says, 'I have this putt to win the FedExCup.'"

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There's another donation for charity!

From Rich Beem's post second round press conference at Torrey Pines, courtesy of reader Scott:

 Q. Do you think kids will be wanting to win the FedExCup as much as the Masters or U.S. Open?

RICH BEEM: To be honest with you, this is an honest answer, I sure hope not. Because I think that that would be demeaning towards the majors and what everybody grows up -- I mean when I'm out practicing, when you see kids out there practicing, you know, seven-, eight-, nine-year-olds, even 15-, 16-year-olds, "I've got this putt to win the U.S. Open. I've got this putt to win The Masters."
I sure hope there never comes a day where a kid says, "I have this putt to win the FedExCup." I hate to say that because it sound like I'm bashing on the TOUR and the FedExCup and I'm not. I really hope that the kids are dreaming about winning a major championship and winning a title instead of winning something else. I just sure hope not.

JOE CHEMCYZ: Thanks, Rich.

RICH BEEM: Wow.

 

"I don't get the GOLF CHANNEL so I didn't see any of it."

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Thanks to reader Scott for noticing this fun exchange between Brandt Snedeker and the scribblers. He's talking about how excited his parents were at his play and that they were watching it on The Golf Channel GOLF CHANNEL (thanks ASAP for reminding me it goes in caps). Snedeker is staying at the Hampton Inn where, well, he couldn't watch with them.

 Q. You keep on talking about your dad; is he here?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: He's not. He's at home watching on TV probably more nervous than I will ever be. He's sweating it out at home.

Q. Did you talk to him? What did he say?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: I talked to him last night. He's giddy as a school girl on cloud nine, could not be happier, just loving every minute of it. He and my mom are watching it on TV, they were watching the replay last night and I don't get the GOLF CHANNEL so I didn't see any of it. They said, give me play-by-play, and it's like, I was out there -- (laughter).
It was a good experience. They are excited and it's great to see them that fired up.

Q. What are their names?
BRANDT SNEDEKER: Larry and Candy. Staying at Hampton Inn. I'm not going to be Will MacKenzie and give you the room number. (Laughter.)

 

North Course Watch

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Reader Marty notes that there were only four rounds over par during round 1 play at Torrey Pines's North Course.
 
Bryce Molder, Jerry Kelly, J. P. Hayes shot 73 and David Podas shot 76. Everybody else (74 players) matched or beat par.

Naturally, this will lead to the inevitable calls that the course is too easy and needs a renovation. Even though the North functions beautifully 51 weeks a year, someone is bound to declare that it has become outdated by today's "better athletes."
 
Let's see if anyone writes a North Course obit, or at least laments that Rees Jones didn't get to flick his magic wand on this outdated gem. 

"If you are not moving forward, you are moving backwards."

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Larry Bohannan nabs a rare sit down with Commissioner Tim Finchem to talk about the demise of the once great event known as the Bob Hope Classic, and it's nice to know that the MBAspeak isn't confined to press conferences.

On the move to The Classic Club:

"If you are not moving forward, you are moving backwards. This tournament for a long time sort of set the bar in a lot of ways toward charitable giving, going back to the 1970s," Finchem said. "They need facilities that they can use to effectively market the tournament in today's world.

"You see all the other sports building new facilities. These facilities allow us to give the customer, the fan, a better experience."

Yeah it really looked like it the last two years!

And regarding the pro-am...

"I'm not so sure that the experience for the amateurs here can't be even more effectively marketed. It has been effectively marketed through the years."

Today's key phrase, effective marketing. As opposed to mere marketing. This man makes $7 million a year!

On the Nationwide Tour caliber field...

"From a field standpoint, you always have in a multi-day pro-am, whether it is here or Pebble Beach, you've got some players who like that format and some players who don't," Finchem said. "That is always going to continue."

But Finchem said it's important to look at the field as a legitimate PGA Tour field even if some stars are absent or avoid the event.

"The tour as a whole continues to get stronger and stronger. The fan base is getting bigger. We've got more stars. Here you've got some international players sprinkled in, I'm glad to see Phil make his debut after five months off this week."

Yep, stronger and stronger, that's why there were more world ranking points available in the Persian Gulf than Palm Springs. Fan base bigger? More stars? Uh huh.

On The Golf Channel GOLF CHANNEL and the new TV deal:

"We are going to learn more after the first couple of years of this new schedule.

First couple of years? More like first couple of months. 

We see good underlying trends with the Golf Channel. We like their presentation. We think it is getting better."

One key to the new deal is the potential for growth for Golf Channel, which currently reaches about 75 million homes.

"We like the way their distribution is going. We think we are on track for them to be in 90 million homes by '09," Finchem said. "By that time, all of the fan base of the sport will understand where the Golf Channel is. And that creates a really good base for us."

It's all about the base!

"Only four of the top 20"

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Brian Hiro in the North County Times points out that the Buick Invitational features "only four of the top 20 players in the world rankings: Woods (No. 1), Mickelson (No. 4), Vijay Singh (No. 6) and Jose Maria Olazabal (No. 19)."

Now, if I'm not mistaken, this is the final year before the 2008 U.S. Open when the South will be played three of four days. Isn't the North supposed to be the weekend course next year? Or did that idea fizzle out?

Do the players hate it that much, or are they just not that interested in understand local knowledge anymore?