Video: Top 10 PGA Tour Moments Of 2013

Like the rest of the viewing public, it's great to see that PGA Tour Entertainment ignored the wrap-around schedule flop and chose to use the traditional end the season to put together the top 10 moments of the 2013 season.

Not surprisingly, the forgettable "calendar year" events didn't make the list because there were just too many great moments from the real calendary year to savor.

Henrik Stenson's FedExCup win didn't really fit into this group, but people do need to keep their jobs and I get that. But pretty much everything else here from Sergio's tree climbing to Patrick Reed's win to Tiger's umpteenth win at Firestone to Phil and Adam's unforgettable major triumphs, it's all here in a nice tight package:

Video: Aces Are Wild! Stuart Manley Follows One With An 11

From an unbylined BBC report on Stuart Manley's third hole ace Saturday in the World Cup, which he followed by making 11 on the 4th.

And then there was the Mercedes behind the tee which the Welshman thought was his:

"I thought the car was mine, and with the crowd, all the hype, I was just buzzing. The adrenaline was pumping so much, I could have flown to the green.

"Then I found out about the car and go and have an 11. I kept asking my caddie: 'How many shots is that now?' I actually thought it was a 10 but I was not going to argue because my head was pretty fried.

"I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that point, but you've just got to pick yourself up and get on with it."

Even with the 11 on his card, Manley posted a 72 and sits at 2-under, seven back of Jason Day.

The video courtesy of PGA Tour Entertainment:

Video: Discussing Royal Melbourne On Morning Drive

I know most of you have taped this segment, relived it over and over again and bookmarked it, but just in case here is Morning Drive from November 21 with Gary Williams and Paige Mackenzie talking about the first, third and eleventh of the Royal Melbourne composite course in use for the World Cup this week.

Not: This Week's World Cup As Olympic Golf Preview

Dennis Pasa says this week's World Cup at Royal Melbourne offers a "glimpse of what to expect when golf returns to the Olympics at Rio de Janeiro in 2016." Until it doesn't. Which Pasa points out.

First, there is the Britain/Ireland mess in 2016 that the PGA Tour's common sense deals with. Take note IOC and friends.

At the Olympics, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compete as Britain. But at the World Cup, England, Scotland and Wales will compete as separate countries. To muddy the waters a bit more at the World Cup, the tradition is for Ireland and Northern Ireland to compete as Ireland. McIlroy is not competing at Royal Melbourne this week, and is confident he still retains the selection choice for the Olympics.

As for the format...it's almost Olympic-like.

Players in the top 15 on the Official World Golf Ranking gain access to the World Cup, with the exception that there will be no more than four players for any country.

After the top 15, up to two players are allowed per country until the field of about 60 is filled.

It's still largely an individual event even though the old World Cup was more about the team. I say, we'll live. We get another week of great players at Royal Melbourne and the Olympic format is a lost cause anyway! 

You can follow the action online here at the PGA Tour's World Cup page. In the USA, coverage starts Wednesday night on Golf Channel at 9 pm ET.

Tour Championship Ratings: 1.6 Overnight, Down 27%

From SportsMediaWatch (thanks reader Irwin):

Final round coverage of The Tour Championship, the final event in the PGA Tour FedEx Cup, earned a 1.6 overnight rating on NBC Sunday afternoon — down 27% from last year (2.2), but up 14% from 2011 (1.4).

The 1.6 overnight is the third-lowest for final round coverage of the event since the FedEx Cup began in 2007.

In addition, the 1.6 is the third-lowest for any FedEx Cup telecast on broadcast this year (eight telecasts). Only Saturday’s third round (1.4) and last week’s Sunday rainout coverage of the BMW Championship (0.9) earned lower overnights.

Speaking of Saturday’s third round, the 1.4 overnight marked a 36% decline from last year (2.2) and a 27% increase from 2011 (1.1).

For some context, the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, which probably cost the sponsor 1/4th of what the Tour Championship costs Coca Cola, delivered a 1.3 on a Sunday morning in July!

At least they aren't Houston Astro numbers.

A New Low: The FedExCup Rap

The word pathetic comes to mind annually when watching the PGA Tour attempt to make FedEx feel like they are getting their $50 million or so dollars for sponsoring the lamest "playoff" in sports, but rarely are the attempts in any way awkward, brutally annoying or disturbing in the amount of man hours so clearly devoted to the cause.

Until now.

Alex Myers posted the video of the agonizing "FedExCup Rap" put together by the PGA Tour, perhaps in conjunction with NBC because I do think I remember waking from one of my Tour Championship naps to the frightening image of Charl Schwartzel attempting to be cool, then turning the channel.

If you want to feel the agony of the entire sad spectacle, Ryan Ballengee has transcribed the lyrics.

FedEx this baby down to Guantanmo. Priority Overnight!

Tour Championship Win: Henrik Stenson's Amazing Resurgence

There's a lot about to admire in Henrik Stenson's Tour Championship and ResetCup wins, but mostly it's his resurgence that Doug Ferguson highlights in his game story from Atlanta.

Including this:

Stenson, who two years ago was outside the top 200, moved to No. 4 in the world.

Bob Harig noted this about Stenson's summer and early fall.

Starting with the Scottish Open in July, Stenson's results read as follows: T-3, 2, T-2, 3, T-43, 1, T-33, 1. That's six top-three finishes, including two victories, in eight events. Stenson was runner-up at the Open Championship and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, third at the PGA Championship, then won two of the four playoff events.

And while there is a sweet justice in Stenson replenishing bank accounts wiped out by fraudster and former PGA Tour sponsor Allen Stanford's Ponzi Scheme, John Strege puts that in perspective:

To what degree money became an issue after his losses in the Stanford Financial scandal are not known. What we do know is that he kept his pants on this week, its pockets are now flush with cash, and he again ranks with the best players in the world.

"Life is ups and downs -- stock market, golf," he said recently. "Everything kind of goes in cycles. I think when you're not getting what you want and you have to work hard for it and then you get the reward, it's going to feel better than if you get it all the time, I guess. But it's life in general. It's going to be highs, it's going to be lows, and we move on."

The highlights:

2013 Tour Championship Final Round Open Comment Thread

The final day of the Tour Championship is mercifully upon us. The points reset has done its job, preventing season-long points leader Tiger from winning the FedExCup after a lousy few days at East...wait, what?

Breaking: Steve Sands reports a scenario in which Tiger could still win if Henrik Stenson were to break all of the clubs in his bag and have to finish with his putter, posting something in the 80s. The tension is killing me already.

Good news: sources say the algorithms are well rested, so let the code do it's job and enjoy the final official PGA Tour event of 2013...until they start again in a little over two weeks.