Random Thoughts Friday

Since I haven't really posted much in the past year, I need a little therapy time to clear out all of the thoughts clamoring around in my brain.  So this may be a little random, but hang in there with me!

I still miss Q-school...I mean the REAL Q-school, where players could earn their way directly to the PGA Tour by going through possibly 4 stages to try to make the top 25.  I loved following so many dreamers as they attempted to make it past one stage, only to find themselves in even tougher competition and less change to advance.  If you followed my past blogs over at Tees2Greens, you know I had a special place in my heart for the Minnesota dreamers, but there were all kinds of great stories of both triumph and heart break.  I've read all the arguments and logic behind having Q-school feed into the Web.com Tour and that players will have more success coming though the Web vs. going directly to the big tour...and it does make sense.  But that doesn't stop my heart from missing that fall ritual where a club pro or satellite tour guy earns a shot at the big dance through Q-school.

Not a fan of the wrap around Tour Season...here, too, I get the logic, and I think it does give the formally Fall Finish tournaments a chance to get some more top players, but it's like the PGA Tour season never ends, and you're just not sure where you are.  And with more players pondering "abbreviated schedules", are we really seeing more top fields or less?  I'm sure I'll get used to it, like I got used to the FedEx Cup, but I wish a season was all in the same calendar year. 

I miss the Money List...In the back of my mind, I've wondered if the PGA Tour moved away from the Money List because guys make so much money now that they don't want to focus on it.  We see the FedEx Cup standings and honestly, it never really means anything to me.  I've always liked to see how much money guys made based on the number of events played and how 1 win can shoot a guy right up the list.  It's almost buried in the stat section of www.pgatour.com, so it like it's a lost focus...but not for me!  (you can find a link to the current money list on the home page here!)

Speaking of the FedEx Cup...since I didn't follow much PGA Tour golf in 2014 I can't say I was intrigued by the points race, but I still find the calculations and final playoffs to be a bit odd.  But I suppose that's because I'm trying to make the FedEx Cup be something that it isn't, to determine the best player of that season. Billy Horschel, the 2014 FedEx Cup winner, and Coca-Cola Tour Championship winner, was having a pretty marginal season up until September.  After missing the cut at The Barclays, Horschel went T2 at the Deutsche Bank, won the BMW Championship, and backed it up with a win at the TOC, so for a 3 week stretch he really was the best golfer on Tour...but calling it a season long race still doesn't seem to fit.  Even with his end of season successes, Horschel finished 7th on the 2014 money list playing in 27 events (and missing 7 cuts).  Sergio Garcia finished 5th on the money list with no wins and only 16 events (only 1 missed cut)...and of those 16 events he had 10 top 10's. 

So I guess the bigger question is...what determines the "best player"?  The number of wins, the amount of earnings, or just getting hot at the right time?  

And then there was the Ryder Cup...I debated even bringing it up here.  I'm still a little amazed at how things played out after a seemingly successful Friday morning fourball...I know we probably all know what it's like to feel the wheels starting to fall off (especially on the golf course!), but what transpired both on and off the golf course was like a train wreck for viewers...it was painful to see, but at the same time you couldn't look away.  And then there was "the interview"...I didn't watch it until a couple of days after it all happened, but I'm not sure I get all the hype about what Phil said (and maybe that's because I like Phil)...I will admit that the whole thing did change my feelings a little about Tom Watson...and I feel bad about that.  Maybe we'll see some magic formula emerge for the next team now that a special committee was created...who knows...all I know is that the next Ryder Cup will be in Minnesota and it should be AWESOME!

Well, I think I've gotten most of my golf thoughts out of my brain so I can make room for 2015 Fantasy Golf and all the fun news the PGA Tour will bring this year.  Thanks for letting me clean house!