Posted by Jason Sobel
If you came to ESPN.com looking for an in-progress PGA Tour leaderboard on Thursday … surprise! You're one day early.
The Deutsche Bank Championship is the only Friday-Monday tournament on the annual schedule, concluding each year on Labor Day afternoon.
I was out at TPC-Boston doing some interviews on Wednesday and since there won't be a Live Blog from the second round of the FedEx Cup playoffs (sorry, folks), it occurred to me that I might as well empty the notebook here or forever let some interesting notes rest in pieces.
Onward with a few things I learned on the driving range, practice green, interview room and even the player parking lot this week …
• Watch out for
Anthony Kim. Prior to conducting a Hot Seat interview with him (look for it in advance of the Ryder Cup), we chatted for a few minutes about the state of his game. "I can't wait to play," he told me.
Turns out that Kim began dipping his right shoulder during impact while at Royal Birkdale last month in an effort to keep the ball lower and under the wind. The result? Four subsequent tournaments in which he "couldn't hit a fairway," yet still finished T-8 (Canadian Open), T-36 (WGC-Bridgestone Invitational), T-56 (PGA Championship) and T-12 (The Barclays). Kim finally figured out the problem during a practice session at TPC-Boston and revealed he's hitting the ball straighter than he has all summer.
He stopped short of picking himself to win this week, but let's just say the two-time PGA Tour champ feels very confident in his game right now.
• My three-question walk-and-talk with
Jim Furyk from the practice green to the range extended into a 10-minute conversation in the player parking lot, during which we discussed an eclectic mix of everything from why the U.S. can't win the Ryder Cup to what makes a great athlete. Let's just say Jim was more talkative when it came to the latter of those topics. When I asked him who the best athlete on the PGA Tour is, other than
Tiger Woods, he chastised me for automatically eliminating the top-ranked player from the conversation.
"I think Tiger is a good athlete, but why does he always get that tag?" Furyk asked in return. "I've always said I'd back his [butt] down on a basketball court, no problem. I have no problem with that. And I always tease him about it."
As for perhaps the most well-known ongoing athletic competition in pro golf, Furyk told me that he once won the team pingpong tournament at the Ryder Cup, but has been "schooled" in recent years. He told me he was probably the No. 8 seed on last year's Presidents Cup team; when I suggested he start working on his game for Valhalla, he simply said, "Nah, I don't care anymore."
• As I wrote in my Weekly 18 column this week, The Barclays will move from this year's site, critically acclaimed Ridgewood CC, to Liberty National for 2009. The tourney is contractually obligated to return to Westchester CC -- site of the first 41 editions of the event -- at least once before 2012, but other than that, it's up for grabs, with a long-term decision likely coming down in mid-October.
So, what's going to happen? I heard from a few sources on the range Wednesday that Ridgewood wasn't in the original plans, but the venue was such an overwhelming success that it's now firmly in the discussion. In fact, as one North Jersey-based reporter told me after the tournament, only one player in the entire field (
Steve Flesch) showed any disdain for the course at all.
You heard it here first: Don't be surprised if The Barclays moves to a four-course rotation, with the fourth course TBD, though each venue would most certainly keep the tournament in the greater New York area.
• Speaking of future Barclays venues, I was afforded the opportunity to tee it up at Liberty National on Monday morning. The course is very good, but far from great; players who are used to grousing about conditions will find plenty to dislike next year, especially since it comes hot on the heels of Ridgewood's success.
Of course, while the players may not totally enjoy the venue, TV will absolutely fall in love with it. With the New York City skyline providing a backdrop for the scene, the course is as aesthetically pleasing as anything east of Pebble Beach. I'll set the over/under of Statue of Liberty scenic shots at every two minutes; her highness presides over 13 of the course's 18 holes. And rumor has it that players will be expected to stay in Manhattan during the week, then shuttled to the course on private ferries.
• After a quick Ryder Cup discussion with potential European captain's pick
Paul Casey, I informed him that the exact same Nike golf shirt he was wearing had also been seen on the pasty frames of a few scribes in the media center. He told me that based on such news, he'd find the proper trash receptacle for the garment later in the evening. Funny thing is, I don't think he was kidding.
• There isn't much that can be done on a golf course to faze most of these pros, but when Jason Zuback and a few of the other long-drive champions began launching shots into orbit as part of a clinic on the range, every single player stopped to watch. Same goes for the caddies. And I overheard at least a few of 'em make this predictable yet effective joke to their bosses: "I don't think I can work this week. I just hurt my back watching those guys swing!"
•
Padraig Harrington isn't just a world-class talent on the course; he's also thoughtful, genial and downright humorous in the interview room. Even though he's an English-speaking player on the PGA Tour and doesn't have much personal insight into the LPGA's new rule that will require all players to speak the language, the reigning British Open and PGA Championship winner spewed forth a few gems on the issue:
On the LPGA Tour's new rule: "Somebody was reading the paper and brought it to my attention, as in when they read it, they were so amazed by this that they actually had to bring it to my attention. It is an amazing statement. The person that brought it to my attention did ask, 'Does that mean if you're mute you can't play golf on the LPGA Tour?'"
On why the rule isn't a good idea: "Who draws the line about how many words you've got to know in English?
Obviously some people are natural talkers and some people aren't. What if you have a person who genuinely struggles with learning new language; they have a learning disability? That's tough to ask somebody with a learning disability who might have found golf as the saving grace in their life, to ask them to learn a different language or else you can't play. There are people out there who don't naturally pick up second languages. They could make an effort, but it would be difficult."
On whether speaking English is always an advantage: "I've seen people who speak plenty of English who can't give a speech at a trophy presentation, so that definitely solves that problem. I've heard people who could speak English and I don't want to listen to them, too."
On what it was like when he won the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan: "The starter of the Dunlop Phoenix went to the same school I went to in Dublin, so speaking Japanese with an Irish accent -- now that's funny. You know, you can travel the world -- I have traveled the world playing and never have an issue. As I say, you do try and go to each country and learn 'Hello,' 'Thank you,' 'Please,' in the local language, and that carries you a long way if you make that little bit of an effort. If that doesn't work, just point: 'I'll have that.' "
On how he learned to speak a very limited second language: "I learn my Spanish from "Dora the Explorer" on TV, and Diego. That's who my son watches on TV."
Jason Sobel covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.
