I know it's only January but for
those of you saying it's too early to start thinking about Golf
tell that to Dustin Johnson who already has $1.14 million in his
bank account. Not to mention last week there was some crazy weather
in Hawaii that was fun for a while. Oh and Tiger Woods will be back
in our lives the next two weekends. You sold yet?
Before we get into this years
schedule I just wanted to mention how insane the weather was last
week. I watched guys on the 18 hole waiting several minutes to take
their shot because the wind and rain was so crazy. Meanwhile on the
first hole it was still windy but sunny as hell and the course was
beyond beautiful. And of
course I must mention Dustin Johnson won the wild week by chipping
in for eagle after a double bogey to hold on and win by four
strokes.
2013
Schedule
Farmers Insurance Open at
Torrey Pines Jan 24-27
Like I said
earlier Tiger will debut next week in Abu Dhabi, but this will be
his first PGA start. He has won here seven times including five
straight from 05-08. This will be a good measuring stick for what
kind of Tiger Woods we should be getting this year.
The Masters at Augusta National Apr 11-14
Bubba Watson is the reigning champ, after one of the more special
moments of 2012. That shot he hit out of the woods was shades of
Phil Mickelson. The Masters is without the doubt the best
tournament of the year and will be again this year.
The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass May
9-12
One of the more fun tournaments of the year. The
dreaded island green on 17 will either make or break the leaders on
Sunday.
The US Open at Congressional Country Club June
13-16
The US Open is annually the toughest tournament of them all.
Anything under par could be good enough to win. Deep thick roughs,
fast tricky greens. It always brings out the question, is it good
for them to play in such tough conditions? Yes it is hit the ball
straight and your fine assholes.
The Open Championship at Muirfield Golf Links in Scotland
Jul 18-21
Crazy pot bunkers galore and high winds make The Open Championship
what it is. It's tough but if you are accurate and strong enough to
take advantage of some shorter par 4s you can go low. But few do.
The Open Championship can make for some of the biggest blowouts and
some of the closest most fun/crazy finishes. Just look at Jean Van
De Velde's 18th hole.
He needed a six on the final hole
to win the tournament, seven to go to a playoff. He blew a three
shot lead on 18 in famous fashion. Then a few weeks later he filmed
a commercial, re-playing the 18th hole at Carnoustie, this time
with only his putter... he scored a six.
PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club Aug
8-11
The final chance to add a major notch to the belt in 2013.
The Barclays at Liberty National Facility Aug
22-25
This is the first tournament in the Fedex Cup playoffs. The field
will rapidly dwindle from here on out, so anything can happen.
Anyone can get hot and go on a run. It should be a fun ride and it
all starts here.
The Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club Sept
19-22
And it ends here. The final PGA event of the year. The title of
Tour Champion, Fedex Cup Champion and the $10M prize that goes with
it will be on the line. So many story lines to follow here it's
spectacular. Also following this tournament the PGA has a new
schedule. One in which will not allow for an off season. I don't
know if the players will like it. But the fans certainly should.
The wraparound schedule will mean the 2014 season will start
following this tournament.
The Presidents Cup at Muirfield Village Golf Club Oct
4-6
Similar to the Ryder Cup but it consists of the USA vs the World
(not including Europe). Captains this year are Fred Couples and
Nick Price.
Questions for the 2013 season
Can Tiger win a Major?
Like I said earlier, the next two weeks will tell us a lot,
especially at Torrey Pines. We will be able to see how well
together his game is after the offseason. Personally I think he is
going to get at least one if not more. The field has obviously
caught up to him, but he's still almost always in the mix. He just
needs to get a good feel with the short stick on Sunday to finish
these tournaments off. He hasn't done it the past couple years,
2013 will be back to normal for Tiger. In this guys opinion
anyway.
Can Brandt Snedeker match his 2012?
The short answer no. The long answer is a bit more complicated.
Snedeker was one of the best on the greens last year riding it to a
Fedex Cup championship and a spot on the Ryder Cup team. After all
that success his mind has to turn to winning a major. It should be
interesting to see if he can play at the same level this year as
last. It's not going to be easy, but he could win himself a major
championship this year.
Will Rory live up to #1 status?
Absolutely he will. He is the favorite in any tournament he is in
at this point. He struggled to start 2012 losing the worlds number
1 spot but quickly regained that and tore off a crazy run of strong
play to finish out last year. He's the closest thing to dominant
the sport has right now. He could be slated for a monster year,
with multiple major victories.
Who will break out in 2013?
I believe we have only scratched the surface of Rickie Fowler. If
we can only get him to grow a big thick mustache now and we can
start calling him Rick Fowler. It just sounds funnier. But this kid
is one hell of a golfer. He can do it all and has been around late
in tournaments. He just couldn't really get over the hump. He did
get one victory last year, but this year he's going to be mentioned
a lot, watch out.
mlz
Saturday, January 12,
2013
