Golf Empire

Golf’s officially recognized “final” tournament of the year came to a close this Sunday as Phil Mickelson ran past Tiger to secure the victory in the tournament. However Tiger did not leave empty handed. Despite finishing second and three strokes behind Phil, Woods was still able to amass the most FedEx Cup points and win the year long struggle outright. His reward: a cool $10 million and a reaffirmation of his top ranking in the world. Despite winning the grand prize, Woods was disappointed about losing at East Lake, being the competitor that he is. Tiger said after the round that, “Winning takes care of everything. But when you’re in the moment out there, I’m trying to win a golf tournament. I’m trying to beat Phil, he’s trying to beat me … we’re all there, and it was just a great leaderboard.”

Phil was able to win the $1 million purse and his first victory after a turbulent summer where both his wife and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer. Phil shot a five under 65 to cap the weekend and finish at nine under for the tournament. Even though Tiger would’ve had to finish in 8th place or worse for Phil to win it all, it was a good day for Mickelson and a good way to cap the year. He capitalized on a poor putting performance from Tiger and made some impressive putts of his own. What was most significant was how he was able to pull away down the stretch, something the rest of the field struggled with. Day 1 leader Sean O’Hair stayed in the hunt with Phil until a bogey on 17 dropped him out of contention. Another leader, Kenny Perry, played poorly after leading going into Sunday and fell way off the pace with a four over 74. Steve Stricker, who was second place in the FedEx Cup standings after Tiger, only needed to beat Woods and was unable to do so after choking on 16 and 17 with consecutive bogeys.

All in all, this was a good ego boost for the world’s two most popular golfers as one won the tournament and the other won the title. There is still plenty of golf to be played in the coming weeks, but as of now the 2009 PGA tour season is done and everyone is already looking to next year and what 2010 may bring.

Vijay Singh. The name is synonymous with golf. However, for the first time in fifteen years the Tour Championship will be without Vijay. And this is the year after he won the FedEx Cup and it’s $10 million prize. Last year, all Vijay had to do was finish the tournament and the check was his. After winning the 2008 Barclays (which I attended) and the Deutsche Bank Championship, Vijay seemed to be at the top of his game. This year is a big change from the guy everyone is used to seeing walking triumphantly down the fairway. At 46, Singh is also recovering from surgery (in his knee) and has not won a tournament all year. In an interview with Golfweek Vijay was quoted as saying, “A lot of mishaps along the way, and it ended up being a real crappy season.” No kidding.

As for the future, Singh looks to play in some of the tournaments in the fall following the Tour Championship. These events are recognized by the PGA but are not counted toward the rankings and money list that ends with the tournament at East Lake. Hopefully this tour favorite can right his ship and return to playing golf at the best of his abilities.

Hello folks and sorry for the long delay between posts. Anyway, let’s get right back into the action. This weekend Tiger reclaimed the top spot on the FedEx Cup standings with an impressive win at Cog Hill Country Club. Tiger shot a course record 62 on Saturday to hold a seven shot lead going into the final round. After that, nobody else had a chance, as Tiger cruised to an easy eight shot victory with a cool three under 68 on Sunday. Despite his great play these last few weeks, Tiger has struggled to win as he lost a heartbreaker last week at the Barclays and fell apart in the PGA Championship a few weeks before. Last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, winner Steve Stricker took the top spot from Tiger and showed the world his deserved number two ranking in the world. This weekend, Tiger said no as he won his 71st tournament and moved two back of Jack Nicklaus for the all time record.

All this drama will be concluded in the Tour Championship which place starting September 24 at East Lake in Atlanta. This is the final event of the FedEx Cup and will ultimately determine the winner of the $10 million grand prize. Tour veteran Jim Furyk was able to secure the third spot with a runner up finish this weekend and places himself in a good spot to take the victory if he wins. Stricker fell to second, but is absolutely still in the hunt.

To clarify a confusing topic, the winner of The Tour Championship is not necessarily the winner of the FedEx Cup. For example, last year Camilo Villegas won the event, but Vijay Singh won the Cup. This means that although the 30 man field is exclusive, it does not mean that all have a shot at the Cup. I will elaborate on this tournament in the coming days, as I am still a little fuzzy on the details regarding points and whatnot, myself.