Solheim Cup and BMW Championship: Recap
It's disappointing that fall golf plays in the shadow of the NFL and college football, because for golf fans, this was a great (not good, great) golfing weekend. It was wall to wall golf with implications for the ladies game and the men's.
The drama on Sunday morning (in the US) was incredible and hopefully you weren't too busy tuning into one of the 916 NFL pregame shows to be able to watch. The victory had to be especially satisfying for Paula Creamer, who was a captain's pick after a shaky 2015 team. Creamer was the anchor match and closed out Germany's own Sandra Gal to win the cup.
As for the continuing FedEx Cup playoffs, it was another win for Jason Day. Day captured the BMW Championship in convincing fashion at Conway Farms outside of Chicago. It was Day's fifth PGA Tour win of the year (to go along with his PGA Championship). Day's victory also catapulted him to No. 1 in the OWGR.
The field of 30 players is set for the Tour Championship at East Lake this week. If any player in the top-5 wins the Tour Championship, that player wins the FedEx Cup. The top-5 players are:
Jason Day
Jordan Spieth
Rickie Fowler
Henrik Stenson
Bubba Watson
In keeping with tradition, Day and Spieth will be paired together on Thursday as the No. 1 and No. 2 players. Fitting as this undeniably been their year.
There is also a lot of chatter over the Player of the Year award. A month ago, it was a foregone conclusion that Spieth would win the award. However, many writers with a vote are making noises that a Day victory in the FedEx Cup would give him the award.
Since majors are still the gold standard in the sport, the Player of the Year is still Jordan Spieth. Jason Day is the best player in the world right now, but Spieth should earn the honor based on his play in the four (4) majors this year.
Let's start with the Solheim Cup. Friday and Saturday were dominated, largely, by the Europeans - but the tournament didn't really start until the 17th hole on Sunday morning. Briefly: Alisonn Lee picked up her putt, which she thought was conceded (and seemed to be supported by the notion that both Charley Hull and Suzanne Pettersen walked off of the green). Pettersen then announced that the putt was not conceded, and the United States lost the hole. At that point, the match had been all square which could have meant a 9.5 to 6.5 lead for Europe heading into the singles. Instead, it was a 10-6 lead for the Europeans.
That single incident of a strict interpretation of the rules but a poor display of sportsmanship lit a spark for the United States team who annihilated the European team in singles play. The US overcame the largest deficit in Solheim Cup history (akin to Brookline or Medinah) and won the event for the first time since 2009.
This is how you comeback from a 4 point deficit on the last day. #SolheimCup pic.twitter.com/JqOtjSJ7hi
— Bogeys & Blue (@BogeysandBlue) September 20, 2015
As far as the controversy over Pettersen and the concession, you can arague the rules all you want (and trust me, based on my mentions, the Euros did), but this was a poor display of sportsmanship. While these types of antics are commonplace in football and other team sports, they are not the norm in golf. Pettersen, who foolishly defended her actions, issued an apology overnight. The drama on Sunday morning (in the US) was incredible and hopefully you weren't too busy tuning into one of the 916 NFL pregame shows to be able to watch. The victory had to be especially satisfying for Paula Creamer, who was a captain's pick after a shaky 2015 team. Creamer was the anchor match and closed out Germany's own Sandra Gal to win the cup.
As for the continuing FedEx Cup playoffs, it was another win for Jason Day. Day captured the BMW Championship in convincing fashion at Conway Farms outside of Chicago. It was Day's fifth PGA Tour win of the year (to go along with his PGA Championship). Day's victory also catapulted him to No. 1 in the OWGR.
The field of 30 players is set for the Tour Championship at East Lake this week. If any player in the top-5 wins the Tour Championship, that player wins the FedEx Cup. The top-5 players are:
Jason Day
Jordan Spieth
Rickie Fowler
Henrik Stenson
Bubba Watson
In keeping with tradition, Day and Spieth will be paired together on Thursday as the No. 1 and No. 2 players. Fitting as this undeniably been their year.
There is also a lot of chatter over the Player of the Year award. A month ago, it was a foregone conclusion that Spieth would win the award. However, many writers with a vote are making noises that a Day victory in the FedEx Cup would give him the award.
Since majors are still the gold standard in the sport, the Player of the Year is still Jordan Spieth. Jason Day is the best player in the world right now, but Spieth should earn the honor based on his play in the four (4) majors this year.
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