Masters Memories: Tom Watson and Rory McIlory

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, March 31st, 2016
Categories: PGA TourPro GolfRory McIloryThe Masters
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Rory McIloryOnce you’ve been to the Masters Tournament, even the practice rounds, you have memories for a lifetime. Here’s one that I vividly remember.

A couple of years ago I was at a Masters practice round and had the opportunity to follow around a very interesting grouping, Rory McIlory and Tom Watson. It was fun to watch the interaction between the two. Watson was helping McIlory out with tips on the golf course, and likely on life. He’s just that way.

Since it was a practice round, the players would often hit a few shots or several putts from one location. Most players know most of the pin placements so on their approaches they might hit a couple of shots to where they imagine the pins will be. On the greens they’ll putt to those same imaginary places, like lower right on the par-5 2nd (can you say Louis Oosthuizen?).

On the par-4 9th I got a fantastic vantage point to watch Tom and Rory approach the green. See the picture in this post of Rory. For those who have not been to Augusta in person, you have no idea how much elevation change there is. The 9th green is incredibly slanted from back to front. So much so, I think I’d fall down if I tried to walk down it. Watch the players during the tournament hit their approaches. The second they hit it they might get mad because they know they put it in the wrong place and the slope of the green will cause the ball to go to a very bad position.

One such bad position would be a shot which goes long. Chipping from the back of the 9th green would be a nightmare. I’d bet wads of cash that an amateur golfer could not chip a ball onto the 9th from above the green, and keep his chip on the green. It’s THAT steep.

During their practice round McIlroy walked right up in front of me and dropped about 8-10 golf balls off the back of the green. I watched in absolute amazement as he clipped those balls so crisply that they would land on the back fringe and actually check, before slowly moving to a tightly dispersed spacing. Imagine chipping from a downslope onto a downslope on greens that are probably running a 14+ on the stimpmeter. I could have sat there with 50 balls and never hit one that perfectly. I’d probably be hitting gap wedge back up to the surface for my next shot.

Tom Watson took notice too. He stopped his chipping practice and just watched. Rory didn’t know Tom was watching.

When Rory moved to another place to practice some chips or putts, Tom grabbed his caddie and pointed him to the back of the 9th green, right where Rory had been hitting those little crisp chips. He threw down about 8-10 balls. Tom Watson is one of the best around the greens in the history of the game. He wanted to see if he could replicate what Rory had been doing.

He couldn’t.

I watched Tom hit ball after ball. Some ended up in the middle of the green and some off the front and down the hill. The dispersion was massive. None of the balls ended up at the top of the green like Rory’s. Tom looked at the green, the balls, Rory… he then shrugged his shoulders and moved on.


Top 100 World Golf Ranking List – Rory McIlory Takes #1 Ranking From Adam Scott

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, August 4th, 2014
Categories: European TourPGA TourPro GolfRory McIloryTiger Woods
Tags:

There is no doubt who the #1 golfer in the world is right now, Rory McIlory. Below is the most recent official world golf ranking top 100 list. Most notably Rory McIlory moved to #1 after this past weekend’s WGC Bridgestone Invitational victory. Adam Scott dropped to #2 while surging Sergio Garcia moved up to #3.

Puzzlingly, Tiger Woods stayed at #10 after the WD at the Bridgestone. Woods is not playing top 10 or even top 100 golf right now.  Also interesting to note that Tiger Woods is tied for the lowest number of competitive rounds counted for this ranking (40).  What does that mean?  That meaning is up for debate.  For reference, McIlory’s ranking is computed based on 50 events.

This Week Last week Name Avg Points Total Points Points Lost Points Gained
1 2 Rory McIlroy 9.4077 470.38 -211.48 363.42
2 1 Adam Scott 9.2368 378.71 -188.00 173.28
3 5 Sergio Garcia 7.7803 381.23 -135.79 251.73
4 3 Henrik Stenson 7.6685 398.76 -190.20 111.47
5 4 Justin Rose 7.4602 380.47 -192.00 199.97
6 6 Matt Kuchar 6.7706 352.07 -165.55 197.77
7 7 Bubba Watson 6.6678 313.38 -115.32 266.39
8 8 Jim Furyk 6.4772 297.95 -117.67 197.43
9 9 Jason Day 6.1919 247.68 -109.84 124.86
10 10 Tiger Woods 5.9077 236.31 -249.75 6.57
11 11 Jordan Spieth 5.6858 272.92 -77.69 184.55
12 12 Martin Kaymer 5.3785 279.68 -72.14 210.93
13 13 Phil Mickelson 5.1451 246.96 -174.27 75.31
14 14 Zach Johnson 5.0157 260.82 -144.13 121.73
15 17 Graeme McDowell 4.9048 240.33 -140.36 120.38
16 15 Hideki Matsuyama 4.8810 209.88 -67.47 122.32
17 16 Dustin Johnson 4.8328 241.64 -126.15 137.25
18 18 Rickie Fowler 4.7877 248.96 -77.88 193.71
19 22 Charl Schwartzel 4.1714 216.92 -123.14 89.85
20 19 Jimmy Walker 4.1548 216.05 -78.03 164.97
21 23 Keegan Bradley 4.1462 215.60 -131.05 120.25
22 21 Victor Dubuisson 3.8801 170.72 -57.23 95.75
23 20 Steve Stricker 3.8790 155.16 -116.35 42.57
24 26 Thomas Bjorn 3.8414 195.91 -77.32 81.29
25 29 Patrick Reed 3.7627 191.90 -48.12 164.63
26 25 Luke Donald 3.7408 190.78 -137.85 95.15
27 24 Jason Dufner 3.7255 193.73 -141.39 76.29
28 27 Miguel A Jimenez 3.4786 160.02 -61.94 91.00
29 28 Ian Poulter 3.4601 169.54 -127.76 40.63
30 30 Webb Simpson 3.4043 177.02 -117.92 75.84
31 31 Stephen Gallacher 3.3499 174.19 -60.99 136.07
32 32 Jamie Donaldson 3.3319 173.26 -88.96 82.89
33 33 Thongchai Jaidee 3.2370 168.32 -68.07 104.19
34 34 Lee Westwood 3.1970 166.25 -112.35 87.01
35 36 Brandt Snedeker 3.1779 165.25 -149.98 61.34
36 38 Kevin Na 3.1517 126.07 -29.78 123.21
37 39 Ryan Moore 3.0938 154.69 -81.37 75.10
38 37 Bill Haas 3.0850 160.42 -90.71 77.21
39 51 Marc Leishman 3.0598 159.11 -57.61 122.10
40 35 Graham Delaet 3.0415 155.12 -72.28 78.76
41 40 Brendon Todd 2.9901 146.51 -22.95 121.03
42 41 Kevin Streelman 2.9174 151.71 -66.31 83.32
43 42 Francesco Molinari 2.8516 148.28 -81.24 84.19
44 43 Chris Kirk 2.7513 143.07 -58.13 93.82
45 44 Hunter Mahan 2.7322 142.07 -94.97 68.51
46 45 Jonas Blixt 2.6236 136.43 -68.42 72.32
47 46 Joost Luiten 2.5943 132.31 -56.66 68.88
48 47 Gary Woodland 2.5741 133.85 -47.92 68.51
49 49 Harris English 2.5669 133.48 -58.06 73.31
50 48 Matt Every 2.5567 132.95 -43.26 109.05
51 53 Matt Jones 2.5047 130.25 -37.86 88.97
52 54 Kevin Stadler 2.5042 130.22 -49.21 105.98
53 52 Angel Cabrera 2.4718 121.12 -44.04 70.42
54 50 Mikko Ilonen 2.4295 111.76 -40.64 78.30
55 57 John Senden 2.3938 124.48 -50.93 97.26
56 54 Louis Oosthuizen 2.3696 120.85 -116.89 83.67
57 56 Billy Horschel 2.3340 121.37 -65.69 50.40
58 58 Shane Lowry 2.2586 112.93 -48.83 72.11
59 59 Russell Henley 2.2441 116.69 -54.12 88.77
60 62 Ernie Els 2.2034 114.58 -115.69 46.31
61 65 J.B. Holmes 2.1722 86.89 -14.69 88.41
62 60 Koumei Oda 2.1691 108.46 -41.37 51.39
63 61 Ryan Palmer 2.1583 103.60 -45.94 84.64
64 63 Pablo Larrazabal 2.1294 110.73 -50.05 82.39
65 64 Gonzalo Fdez-Castano 2.1065 109.54 -73.49 32.76
66 66 Brian Harman 2.0450 106.34 -32.85 86.34
67 67 Matteo Manassero 2.0306 105.59 -74.78 45.21
68 68 Charley Hoffman 2.0212 101.06 -43.45 65.92
69 69 George Coetzee 1.9876 99.38 -54.23 75.51
70 71 Bernd Wiesberger 1.9622 102.03 -61.71 44.87
71 70 Richard Sterne 1.9446 85.56 -58.98 27.59
72 72 K.J. Choi 1.9082 97.32 -40.81 72.14
73 73 Rafael Cabrera Bello 1.8619 96.82 -44.80 74.03
74 74 Erik Compton 1.8336 95.35 -16.03 86.24
75 77 Brooks Koepka 1.8194 87.33 -31.78 54.42
76 75 Tim Clark 1.8164 89.00 -48.17 52.67
77 76 Ben Martin 1.7965 93.42 -24.95 62.96
78 80 Nick Watney 1.7909 93.13 -100.53 25.16
79 83 Fredrik Jacobson 1.7677 77.78 -36.61 50.43
80 78 Charles Howell-III 1.7617 91.61 -48.65 48.77
81 79 Ryo Ishikawa 1.7516 91.08 -47.88 50.33
82 82 George McNeill 1.7396 81.76 -20.43 70.11
83 85 Brendon de Jonge 1.7348 90.21 -57.46 43.71
84 81 Chris Stroud 1.7311 90.02 -39.27 39.55
85 84 Paul Casey 1.7059 88.71 -37.07 45.74
86 86 Boo Weekley 1.6746 87.08 -53.93 23.65
87 87 Anirban Lahiri 1.6587 69.67 -27.48 34.76
88 88 Chesson Hadley 1.6488 79.14 -26.49 45.27
89 89 Scott Stallings 1.6446 85.52 -50.97 60.19
90 90 Chris Wood 1.5639 75.07 -49.47 34.43
91 98 Branden Grace 1.5589 81.06 -76.57 39.38
92 91 Kim Hyung-sung 1.5395 80.05 -48.95 24.54
93 100 Fabrizio Zanotti 1.5377 78.42 -11.50 75.12
94 93 David Hearn 1.5246 79.28 -33.49 47.91
95 92 Tommy Fleetwood 1.5230 79.20 -32.54 40.18
96 94 Ross Fisher 1.5110 78.57 -47.16 30.99
97 96 Edoardo Molinari 1.5070 61.79 -15.44 52.24
98 95 Thorbjorn Olesen 1.5016 78.08 -67.59 41.35
99 102 Danny Willett 1.4990 70.45 -41.22 43.87
100 97 Daniel Summerhays 1.4967 77.83 -34.96 47.05

This Week on Tour – PGA, LPGA, Champions, European Tours – Mickelson & McIlory in Action

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, May 1st, 2014
Categories: Champions TourEuropean TourLPGA TourPGA TourPro GolfRory McIlory
Tags:

PGA Tour LogoPGA TOUR
Wells Fargo Championship
Dates: May 1-4
Venue: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.

Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 3-7 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 3-7 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)

In the field: Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Zach Johnson, Justin Rose, Jimmy Walker, Rickie Fowler, Lee Westwood, Webb Simpson, Jonas Blixt and Derek Ernst.

LPGA TourLPGA TOUR
North Texas LPGA Shootout presented by JTBC
Dates: May 1-4
Venue: Las Colinas Country Club, Irving, Texas

Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 12:30-2:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 12:30-2:30 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 3-6 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 3-6 p.m. (Live)

In the field: Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen, Michelle Wie, Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Na Yeon Choi, Cristie Kerr, Jessica Korda and Angela Stanford.

championstour-fCHAMPIONS TOUR
Insperity Championship
Dates: May 2-4
Venue: The Woodlands Country Club (Tournament Course), The Woodlands, Texas

Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Friday 7:30-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Saturday 6:30-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Sunday 7-9:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)

In the field: Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Nick Price, Kenny Perry, Mark O’Meara, Rocco Mediate, Mark Calcavecchia, Jay Haas, Fred Funk and Colin Montgomerie.

European Tour Logo - GolfEUROPEAN TOUR
The Championship at Laguna National
Dates: May 1-4
Venue: Laguna National Golf and Country Club (Masters Course), Changi, Singapore

Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Friday 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Saturday 6:30-10:30 a.m. (Tape Delay)
Sunday 6:30-10:30 a.m. (Tape Delay)

In the field: Peter Uihlein, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Ross Fisher, Chris Wood, Simon Dyson, Thomas Levet, Bernd Wiesberger and Brett Rumford.


2013 FedEx Cup Final Money List

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, September 23rd, 2013
Categories: FedEx CupPGA TourPro GolfRory McIloryTiger Woods
Tags:
Rank Player Name Winnings
1 Henrik Stenson 10,000,000
2 Tiger Woods 3,000,000
3 Steve Stricker 2,000,000
4 Adam Scott 1,500,000
5 Zach Johnson 1,000,000
6 Matt Kuchar 800,000
7 Jordan Spieth 700,000
8 Graham DeLaet 600,000
9 Phil Mickelson 550,000
10 Justin Rose 500,000
11 Webb Simpson 300,000
12 Brandt Snedeker 290,000
13 Dustin Johnson 280,000
14 Jim Furyk 270,000
15 Nick Watney 250,000
16 Billy Horschel 245,000
17 Jason Day 240,000
18 Keegan Bradley 235,000
19 Jason Dufner 230,000
20 Hunter Mahan 225,000
21 Roberto Castro 220,000
22 Sergio Garcia 215,000
23 Gary Woodland 210,000
24 Bill Haas 205,000
25 Kevin Streelman 200,000
26 Brendon de Jonge 195,000
27 Charl Schwartzel 190,000
28 Luke Donald 185,000
29 Boo Weekley 180,000
30 D.A. Points 175,000
31 Harris English 165,000
32 Matt Jones 155,000
33 Kevin Stadler 150,000
34 Chris Kirk 145,000
35 Charles Howell III 142,000
36 Jimmy Walker 140,000
37 Bubba Watson 138,000
38 Rickie Fowler 137,000
39 John Merrick 136,000
40 Daniel Summerhays 135,000
41 Lee Westwood 134,000
42 John Huh 133,000
43 Chris Stroud 132,000
44 Russell Henley 131,000
45 Kevin Chappell 130,000
46 Rory Sabbatini 129,000
47 Brian Davis 128,000
48 David Lynn 127,000
49 Scott Piercy 126,000
50 Rory McIlroy 125,000
51 Ryan Moore 120,000
52 Jonas Blixt 115,000
53 Ian Poulter 114,000
54 Patrick Reed 113,000
55 Graeme McDowell 110,000
56 David Hearn 110,000
57 Brian Gay 110,000
58 Matt Every 110,000
59 Marc Leishman 110,000
60 Nicholas Thompson 110,000
61 Charley Hoffman 110,000
62 Jason Kokrak 110,000
63 Scott Stallings 110,000
64 Bryce Molder 110,000
65 Angel Cabrera 110,000
66 Michael Thompson 110,000
67 Ken Duke 110,000
68 Ernie Els 110,000
69 Sang-Moon Bae 110,000
70 Brendan Steele 110,000
71 Ryan Palmer 80,000
72 Freddie Jacobson 80,000
73 K.J. Choi 80,000
74 Martin Laird 80,000
75 David Lingmerth 80,000
76 Stewart Cink 80,000
77 Kyle Stanley 80,000
78 Josh Teater 80,000
79 Cameron Tringale 80,000
80 Tim Clark 80,000
81 John Rollins 75,000
82 Camilo Villegas 75,000
83 Bob Estes 75,000
84 Martin Kaymer 75,000
85 Jerry Kelly 75,000
86 Justin Leonard 75,000
87 Martin Flores 75,000
88 Scott Brown 75,000
89 Bo Van Pelt 75,000
90 Luke Guthrie 75,000
91 Robert Garrigus 75,000
92 Brian Stuard 75,000
93 Derek Ernst 75,000
94 Brian Harman 75,000
95 Stuart Appleby 75,000
96 Richard Lee 75,000
97 Greg Chalmers 75,000
98 Pat Perez 75,000
99 Erik Compton 75,000
100 William McGirt 75,000
101 Aaron Baddeley 70,000
102 George McNeill 70,000
103 James Driscoll 70,000
104 Geoff Ogilvy 70,000
105 Ted Potter, Jr. 70,000
106 J.J. Henry 70,000
107 Carl Pettersson 70,000
108 Jeff Overton 70,000
109 John Senden 70,000
110 James Hahn 70,000
111 Mark Wilson 70,000
112 Charlie Beljan 70,000
113 Jason Bohn 70,000
114 Lucas Glover 70,000
115 Jeff Maggert 70,000
116 Justin Hicks 70,000
117 Morgan Hoffmann 70,000
118 Chez Reavie 70,000
119 D.H. Lee 70,000
120 Andres Romero 70,000
121 Johnson Wagner 70,000
122 Scott Langley 70,000
123 Charlie Wi 70,000
124 Steven Bowditch 70,000
125 Ben Crane 70,000
126 Robert Streb 32,000
127 Peter Hanson 32,000
128 Nicolas Colsaerts 32,000
129 Brad Fritsch 32,000
130 Padraig Harrington 32,000
131 Bud Cauley 32,000
132 Ricky Barnes 32,000
133 Fabian Gomez 32,000
134 Greg Owen 32,000
135 Shawn Stefani 32,000
136 Chad Campbell 32,000
137 Woody Austin 32,000
138 David Toms 32,000
139 Jim Herman 32,000
140 Tommy Gainey 32,000
141 Ryo Ishikawa 32,000
142 Tag Ridings 32,000
143 Trevor Immelman 32,000
144 Dicky Pride 32,000
145 Brendon Todd 32,000
146 Vijay Singh 32,000
147 Doug LaBelle II 32,000
148 Ben Kohles 32,000
149 Brandt Jobe 32,000
150 Justin Bolli 32,000

2013 PGA Tour Championship Field

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, September 17th, 2013
Categories: FedEx CupPGA TourPro GolfRory McIloryTiger Woods
Tags:

PGA Tour LogoThe 2013 Tour Championship field is set. The top 30 players listed below make it to the Tour Championship at East Lake this week. Despite the penalty controversy, Tiger Woods managed to overtake Henrik Stenson and comes in with the lead. Notably absent from this list is Rory McIlory.

The table below shows the current FedEx Cup standings on the left, player name in the middle and current points on the right.

1 Tiger Woods 2500
2 Henrik Stenson 2250
3 Adam Scott 2000
4 Zach Johnson 1800
5 Matt Kuchar 1600
6 Steve Stricker 1400
7 Graham DeLaet 1200
8 Phil Mickelson 1000
9 Justin Rose 800
10 Brandt Snedeker 600
11 Jim Furyk 480
12 Nick Watney 460
13 Jordan Spieth 440
14 Jason Day 420
15 Hunter Mahan 400
16 Keegan Bradley 380
17 Gary Woodland 360
18 Bill Haas 340
19 Kevin Streelman 320
20 Jason Dufner 310
21 Webb Simpson 300
22 Billy Horschel 290
23 Charl Schwartzel 280
24 Roberto Castro 270
25 Sergio Garcia 260
26 Boo Weekley 250
27 Brendon de Jonge 240
28 D.A. Points 230
29 Luke Donald 220
30 Dustin Johnson 210

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