Regular readers of this column know that, although I try to stay at at least a competent level of punditry in most sports, two sports in particular capture my affinity: golf and college football.
College football season is just around the corner and, like last year, I will provide an in-depth preview for every BCS conference. While Thongchai Jaidee watch and other golf news will still occasionally appear, It is more or less time to say goodbye to golf in favor of college football. So consider this my goodbye-to-golf-for-now column ... that's right, nothing but wall-to-wall golf! Please try to contain your excitement.
But first, a small matter of business to take care of. A few columns back, I derided the new, generic logo of Syracuse University, or more specifically, SU's spokesman's claim that the logo implies speed and aggressiveness. I invited readers to explain how the logo demonstrates speed and aggressiveness, and the best response would appear in this space.
Well, I received three responses, one of which from a person I actually did not already know! Unfortunately, that one was the least funny and the most vulgar. My real life coworker, T.J. Lo ... wait, I never asked him if I could use his name, came up with this:
"In many metaphysical/religious circles (New Age, for instance), color holds a great deal of meaning and influence. To the best of my knowledge, orange is associated with a strong 'life force' and 'energy.' One source I found indicated an attribute of orange is 'electro-magnetic.' It further asserted its helpfulness in that it 'strengthens the will.'
One could argue that "life force" and "energy" are essential components of speed. One could further argue that "electromagnetism" is an aggressive force, and who would refute that "strong-willed" people often come across as aggressive?"
I enjoyed the mock studiousness T.J. put into his answer, which sharply contrasts the minimalist approach of my Sports Central colleague, Eric Poole, whose entry I also enjoyed. He stated simply, "It just moved! Didja see it? There, it just moved again!"
You're both winners, guys. Just like in life.
Lots of guys are winners on the PGA Tour, and it becomes increasingly difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff in the world of golf. There are five guys who could make a strong case for being No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). As there is no shortage of debate over the accuracy and validity of the college football polls, the OWGR is a constant subject of debate and controversy.
The methodology the OWGR uses is complicated and cryptic. I don't find the OWGR as fraudulent or as flawed as others do, but my main beef with it is that too much weight is given to a golfer's career accomplishments, or at least accomplishments going back several years. I'm more interested in what you've done for me lately.
In my own top-10, I don't ignore what a player has done over his career completely, but the vast majority of weight is given to a golfer's accomplishments in 2004.
The top four or five are virtually interchangeable; you could make a strong case for each of them to be number one. So who is my No. 1?
1. Ernie Els (South Africa): My bottom line: if you come up to me at gunpoint, and say, "Pick the winner of this week's tournament, or you will die." I'm going with Els. Quite simply, he never seems to phone it in. He doesn't seem flirt with the cut line often, like Tiger does, and his -8 at the Masters would win it more years than not.
I know he sputtered in the final round of the U.S. Open, but he's third on the PGA Tour money list ... and second on the European Tour money list! That's just sick (it is worth counterpointing that some events, like majors, count towards both tours). He takes as much time off as anyone, and he's still in the top-three of two different tours. Ernie Els is, by a hair, the best golfer on planet Earth right now, says I.
2. Tiger Woods (USA): It's hard not to allow Tiger's unbelievable run of seven major win in 11 tries a couple of years ago into consideration. Obviously, he hasn't matched that, and he hasn't won a major since 2002. Still, this has what he's done accomplished during his 2004 "slump:" 11 events, 7 top-10s, three top-threes, a win, and fourth on the money list.
When he says he is "close," it's because he is. If he can straighten out his swing, he's simply going to make the "who is number one?" argument as moot as it was a couple of years ago. I wouldn't bet against that happening.
3. Phil Mickelson (USA): First on the money list, and the best showing, by far, of anyone when you combine the two majors played thus far. By all rights, he should be No. 1. And yet, something in me resists Mickelson, perhaps doesn't give him enough credit. Since finishing tied for fifth at the Wachovia Championship in mid-May, he has played uninspiring golf with the exception of the U.S. Open.
It seems like when he plays in non-majors, it's more of an extended Masters victory parade (no one is loved the way Phil is loved) than golf. I sort of feel like he should play all tournaments with the intensity he does the majors, and I don't think he does. Hell, he missed the freaking cut at the Byron Nelson Classic. You have to go back to March to find the last time anyone else in my top-four missed a cut.
4. Vijay Singh (Fiji): Has one more times (three) than anyone else in the PGA Tour, and second on the money list. But what have you, Vijay, done for me lately? Here are his results since winning the HP Classic of New Orleans: T10, T59, T24, T3, T28, T17. Perhaps you can say he is in a mini-slump.
5. Retief Goosen (South Africa): Like Els, Goosen divides his time between the European and PGA Tours. After winning the U.S. Open over Mickelson, he takes a week off, plays in the European Open, and rips up the tournament, winning by five against a strong field. He is out-of-this-world-hot right now.
6. Stephen Ames (Trinidad/Tobago): The dropoff after Goosen is pretty steep, but Ames can make a claim that no one above him on the list can make: he has been in the top-10 in seven of his last eight tournaments. A lot of us golf nuts would see that he simply always seemed to be in contention, and we wondered, "When is he finally going to win?" Last week, he finally did, and until he cools off, he deserves a spot this high.
7. Adam Scott (Australia): If there is a fifth major, it is the Tournament Players Championship, which Scott won. Then he went into a prolonged slump, and the golf world wondered, "He's only 23. Can he really take the pressure of the PGA Tour?" He answered by cruising to a four-stroke victory -- the lead was seven at one point -- in the Booz Allen Classic. He's fifth on the PGA Tour money list, and I would be shocked if he isn't in the top-three by the time he reaches 30.
8. Sergio Garcia (Spain): The final 2004 U.S. Tour multiple-victor to make my top-10. Hasn't been quite as awe-inspiring as the seven in front of him, but those two wins plus an outstanding final round of the Masters earns him this spot.
9. Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain): What a crock that he's ranked 34th in the OWGR. He's far and away the best golfer who plays exclusively on the European PGA Tour, winning three times thus far this year. I'm not trying to say the European Tour is anywhere close to the U.S. Tour, but Els, Goosen, Padraig Harrington, and other heavies play more than an occasional tournament in Europe. Random trivia: Jimenez looks frighteningly like my dad. They are pretty much doubles, except for hair length and color.
10. Padraig Harrington (Ireland): He's said to be the hardest worker in golf, along with Vijay Singh. Doesn't have a whole lot to crow about this year, but always seems to find his way into contention in the semi-majors. I feel safe predicting he will win a major before he hangs 'em up.
So, how does the OWGR stack up the top-10?
1. Woods
2. Els
3. Singh
4. Mickelson (I ripped Mickelson in my top-10, yet I still apparently hold him in higher esteem than the OWGR.)
5. Davis Love III (This is the biggest travesty of the OWGR. Is there a human alive not related to Love that feels he is a better golfer right now than Retief Goosen? At least Jim Furyk and Mike Weir won majors last year ... or ever.)
6. Goosen
7. Mike Weir (Has been downright mediocre since winning the 2003 Masters.)
8. Harrington
9. Jim Furyk (He's played in two tournaments this year! This tells you all you need to know about the OWGR places way too much emphasis on the last few years.)
10. Garcia
Of the guys who made my top-10, but not that of the OWGR, Scott is 13th, Ames is 17th, and Jimenez, as stated before, is 34th.
Periodically, I will update my top-10 list in this space.
Thongchai Jaidee Watch: He's back! After a longish hiatus, Jaidee has come back roaring, posting his first top-10 (specifically, tied for tenth) in Europe proper at the European Open. He is also in action in this week's Scottish Open. His OWGR ranking? 79th. His ranking on the European Tour money list (aka the Volvo Order of Merit)? 25th.
One last word on the OWGR. I give it this much, it's very comprehensive. See, it's not a ranking of the world's best 100 players or even 500 players. It ranks players from 1 to 4,218! So who is 4,218th best golfer in the world, according to the OWGR? Chris Campbell of Australia (well, officially, he's in a huge tie for 1,210th, but for whatever reason, his name is listed last). Another gyp. He's easily in the top 1,100!
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