Weekend Wrap

I hope our time apart wasn't as hard on you as it was on me....But some good golf was played, as well as a bit of that less desirable kind....

Barclays Boogaloo - It was a cringe-worthy finish, one of those where the protagonists stagger to the finish line:

Patrick Reed picked up two victories in one day. He won The Barclays to assure himself

a clear shot at the $10 million bonus in the FedEx Cup, and he easily secured a spot on his second straight U.S. Ryder Cup team. 

Rickie Fowler, with a surprising meltdown, walked away empty from Bethpage Black.

Reed overcame an early two-shot deficit and built a big enough lead on the back nine that some nervous shots and sloppy play didn't keep him from winning for the first time since the 2015 opener at Kapalua. A bogey on the final hole gave him a 1-under 70 and a one-shot victory over Sean O'Hair and Emiliano Grillo. 

"It's just been great to finally be able to close one off," Reed said.

I'm guessing that the Golf.com style book requires the mention of the "F-word", whereas it's the latter that provided what little drama was to be found.  Well, that and the over served patrons....

Today's "Orange is the New Black" moment is brought to you by the man from Oklahoma State, whose porn 'stache seemed to be paying dividends....until it didn't:

Thanks to a back-nine collapse by 54-hole leader Rickie Fowler, the top eight Americans in the Ryder Cup standings entering this week are the eight players who will automatically earn spots on this year's U.S. squad. Fowler, who needed a top-three finish at Bethpage to jump into the top eight and join the team next month, seemed halfway to Hazeltine when he made the turn on Sunday still with a share of the lead. Then disaster struck. 

After making just one bogey over his first 64 holes of the tournament, Fowler made three bogeys and a double bogey over the final eight holes. The tough finish means he'll have to rely on being one of Davis Love III's four captain's picks if he's to play in a third career Ryder Cup. 

See what I mean?  The CBS gamely tried to hype the event, but the best they could do was to tie it to that other event....

And here's one more guy generating buzz for Commissioner Ratched's  illegitimate child via an unrelated event:

Time to move on, Justin....

Ryder Ruminations - As noted above, as of close of business Sunday your Great Eight is set:

Draw a bold line under Zach Johnson's name and north of that latitude is two-thirds of your U.S. Ryder Cup team.  

Here's the schedule for captain's picks:

Traditionally, Ryder Cup USA Captains have announced all their Picks at once. Things are different this time around in an effort to include the hottest players not already qualified. 

That means there are two key dates in the coming weeks. The first is Monday, Sept. 12, the day after the third leg of the PGA Tour Playoffs, the BMW Championship. On that morning at 10 a.m. ET, Love will hold a press conference at Hazeltine National to announce three of his four Captain's Picks. 

Thirteen days later on Sept. 25 -- the same day that the Tour Championship ends -- Love reveals his fourth and final Captain's Pick. 

The matches will tee off just five days later.

Shack characterizes the current state of play as five guys playing for four spots, though I have to guess at who's his fifth....  I assume it's Alas Poor Furyk, Mr. 58, but I'd speculate that a win by Bill Haas or even Scott Piercy could complicate things.....

You know what else complicates thing?  Pods....  Do you have a white trash pod for J.B?  How about a metrosexual pod for Rickie?  DJ is your leading qualifier, but who fills out his coke-head pod?

The complications are endless....Makes a fellow long for the good old days when we just picked the best players and allowed them to, you know, play...

The Plot Thickens - Darren Clarke's decision tree has sprouted more complications than perhaps even Bayes could accommodate (and on what other golf blog would you find such an arcane reference?):

Thomas Pieters improved his chances of earning a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup by

winning the Made in Denmark tournament on Sunday to claim his third European title.

The 24-year-old Belgian, who was fourth in the Olympics, finished with three birdies for a 6-under par 65 on the day and a 17-under total of 267 to beat Bradley Dredge by one stroke. The Welshman finished in style with a 30-foot birdie putt for 67.

 As we've discussed previously, the issue is that the Euro squad already has five rookies, and the conventional wisdom is that Clarke will need to add experience to his team.  But Pieters is a strong player and has just demonstrated that he's on form, so I think those of us that lean towards the Yanks should hope to see Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer picked.

The lad that may end up disappointed is Russell Knox,.  Euro Ryder Cup standings can be found here.  You can ignore the Euro points list as the top five on the international points list have qualified,  

 As for rookies, an interested observer has some firm opinions:

Regarding the matter to which he doesn’t have any say, he is equally adamant. Casey said Russell Knox should get the first nod to be one of Darren Clarke’s captain’s picks.

“Let’s face it, he would have been qualified had he been a member when he won the HSBC (Champions in China),” said Casey. 

And to suggestions that adding Knox, who has never played in the Ryder Cup, to a European side that already had five rookies earn automatic berths, Casey brushed it aside. 

“I don’t see Russell as a rookie,” Casey said of the 31-year-old Scotsman who has had a breakout season. “He’s been out here long enough and besides, rookies aren’t scared anymore. Rookies aren’t what they used to be.”

Nothing is... But I agree with his two basic points.  Experience is sometimes an asset, but it's dwarfed by ability.

But this triggered five seconds of amusement:

When he took himself out of the Ryder Cup picture by forgoing his European Tour membership, Casey, 39, caught some flak in the press. But he lives permanently in the United States, plays the PGA Tour and said his priority was to spend as much time as possible with wife Pollyanna and their son, Lex. It’s worked out well, Casey said, “but even (without playing the European Tour) it’s still not enough time with them.”

So, when he accuses his wife of being a Pollyanna...Oh, never mind.

Lastly on the Euro Beat, that Danish event seems to have carved out a nice little niche according to Shack:

If you've been watching any of the European Tour's Made in Denmark event Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, you know the par-3 16th hole is quickly becoming of golf's iconic tournament scenes. It's TPC Scottsdale 16 meets Riviera's 18th green, with a Masters-classy gallery and American college football card stunts. 

The course was redesigned by golf course architect Philip Spogárd and has some great looking bunkers along with a special setting. It's the “Himmerland Hill” that is hard to take your eyes off of, especially when the card stunts are rolled out. 

Last year, the fans displayed 500 cards for Soren Kjeldsen's 500th European Tour start.

This year they took things up a notch with a show of support for Darren Clarke, European Ryder Cup captain.

Here's what it looks like, but Shack has some video of those card stunts that are worth a moment of your time:

It seems to a casual observer that there's far more energy and fun to be found on the Euro Tour.  Now I get that it's at least partially driven by necessity, but still...

The Lady Rocks - You know where I'm going.... Best known for her epic meltdown at Mission Hills, Ariya Jutanagran absorbed her painful lesson with uncommon grace and simply will not stop kicking butt:

Ariya Jutanugarn ran away with the Canadian Pacific Women's Open on Sunday at chilly Priddis Greens for her LPGA Tour-leading fifth victory of the year. 

Nine days after withdrawing from the Rio Olympics because of a left knee injury, the 20-year-old Thai player made a 12-birdie putt on the final hole for a 6-under 66 and a four-stroke victory. 

"I felt like I wanted to have fun and be happy on the course," Jutanugarn said. "No matter what's going to happen, I can handle it. ... I feel really happy with myself right now."

Well, it's not much fun for the other girls.... But she features a unique combination of power and touch, and she's hardly peaked.  Her only challenge seems to be staying healthy...

It Was Twenty Years Ago Today.... Not that silly boy band, but Hello, World!

Twenty years ago, Tiger Woods uttered those famed words announcing his professional

debut at the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open. 

"I guess, hello, world," Woods, then 20, said to flashing cameras. 

2015-16 has been a time of celebrating a myriad of Tiger-related anniversaries -- Woods' 40th birthday, his claret jug wins at St. Andrews, his third consecutive U.S. Amateur Championship rally against Steve Scott -- but none are so succinctly summed up as Woods' Milwaukee press conference to kick off his illustrious and infamous professional career. 

''If I had shot 88, I'm not sure I would have turned pro," Woods said, indicating how seriously he thought about his decision to wait until after the U.S. Amateur. "That wasn't the case. I finished medalist, which was awfully good, I think."

Feeling old?

I maintain that those six straight match play wins might be the most remarkable achievement of Tiger's career.

Jordan At His Best -  Shack tees up this feel-good video:

Great work by AT&T and others to get Jairam Hathwar to The Barclay's as promised to meet his favorite athlete, and to set up a very enjoyable mini-spelling bee with Jordan Spieth. 

Besides having a very nice putting stroke, Jairam reminds us it was no fluke that led to his epic showdown with Nihar Janga.

Logorrhea is officially our word of the day and, yes, the shoe fits.

Photo Of The Day - Evian is using this photo in their current advertising campaign and on their water bottles:

Still tormenting me with those glasses....

There's  more, but I'll let you get on with your day.  Same time tomorrow?