Philadelphia, PA (Best E Casino) - No frills. No dog and pony show. Just what the people want - Five Up, Five Down (PGA Championship edition).
FIVE UP
1.) Vijay Singh - This guy struck me as a good choice before he won last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. When Singh drives well, the Fijian is still tough. He hadn't won all year, but he took care of that and drove long and in the fairway. Singh missed a few too many short putts at Firestone, but everyone will miss short putts at Oakland Hills. (More on that later.)
2.) Lee Westwood - The last two big events at Oakland Hills prior to this week were the 1996 U.S. Open and the 2004 Ryder Cup. At the Ryder Cup, Westwood went 4-0-1, but more importantly, Westwood has been great in the summer. He missed the Woods/Mediate playoff by a shot at the U.S. Open, then put together a great week at the WGC event. What's really to like is how Westwood has seemingly reinvented himself. The doughboy routine could get you some European Tour wins, but slimming down to be competitive on Sunday afternoons is what can really make a difference. You just get the feeling Westwood is closing in on that first major.
3.) Making the Ryder Cup team - The PGA Championship is always the last chance at getting on whatever American team is on the docket that year. This PGA is no different and gentlemen like Hunter Mahan, D.J. Trahan, Zach Johnson, Rocco Mediate and Sean O'Hair could make the team with a big championship. Paul Azinger has four picks to make, so never fear, although that won't be until September 2nd, so you do have a month to make your case if you aren't one of the top eight. (Actually, it's nine since No. 1 Tiger Woods has 14 things wrong with his leg and won't play.) Since points are doubled for the major, someone very low on the standings could make the team with a win. Basically, anything can still happen with the Ryder Cup team.
4.) Kenny Perry - I will always question the decisions he's made this summer about skipping qualifying for the U.S. Open and passing on the British Open to play in Milwaukee. That will never change. However, it's impossible not to like Perry's chances this week. He played in the '04 Ryder Cup (0-2) and '96 U.S. Open (T50) at Oakland Hills, but the course sets up well for him. Perry hits it long and straight. Is he ready for this? With three wins and his 50th birthday two years from Sunday, Perry better be.
5.) Oakland Hills tee to green - At the 2004 Ryder Cup, I thought Oakland Hills might have been the toughest course I'd seen. Rees Jones lengthened the brute two years later, so really short hitters need not apply this week. Traditionally, the short hitters find the fairways the most, but the PGA will show off one of the toughest tracks in the country.
FIVE DOWN
1.) Phil Mickelson - Lefty, as always, felt no problems with the way he played on Sunday at the Bridgestone Invitational. The rest of us in the real world knew he bogeyed three of his last four to take away any pesky chance of victory. Mickelson's driver will haunt him because those crazy punch shots he hit from the trees at Firestone, won't play at Oakland Hills. Also, when Mickelson last played the course competitively, he was dreadful in the '04 Ryder Cup. (He changed equipment, then lost twice spectacularly with Tiger Woods.)
2.) Padraig Harrington - When Paddy won his second straight British Open Championship last month, he had zero expectations. We didn't even know if he'd tee it up Thursday morning because his wrist was in that bad of shape. He let it all out, though, and won another claret jug. Harrington's healthy and won't have 53-year-old Greg Norman to beat.
3.) Oakland Hills' greens - If you make a putt on 18 from longer than 10 feet, you get a free round. Some call them challenging, to me, they are gimmicky. They are huge and undulating, so creativity will be required, which will be fun to see. However, these putting surfaces border on the ridiculous. The greens will be the talk of the week and the guys will have an awful time with them.
4.) The FedEx Cup Playoffs - Anyone know the Playoffs begin in two weeks? With the PGA Championship this week and coming off a WGC event last week, the FedEx Cup Playoffs aren't getting much talk. Tiger Woods' absence plays a part, but so too do the PGA, WGC and Ryder Cup. That's probably not what Commissioner Finchem wanted in year two.
5.) Scheduling - Aside from all of the problems listed above with the schedule, the PGA just seems to be at the wrong time. Wasn't the British Open three weeks ago? Aren't the Olympics about to start? This does not give the PGA much of a mainstream chance, especially without Tiger.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
- It's not always the case in Five Up, Five Down to like the No. 1 player on the Five Up list to win the title, but I do pick Singh.
- On to Michelle Wie. She could've gotten her own column this week, but with a major she sidesteps my wrath a bit. All that has to be said is Wie, someone with an inordinate amount of talent, has become a joke. She stands no chance of making a cut on the PGA Tour. None. If this is too hard to swallow, Mr. Wie, think about what it does to your daughter. She had a nine on Friday at the Reno Tahoe Open and missed the weekend by miles. Mr. Wie has made this kid a punch line and an irrelevant one at that. By skipping out on trying to qualify for the Women's British Open, and generally disrespecting the LPGA Tour, Michelle alienates her future peers. On every level, Michelle Wie's career has become a sad embarrassment.
- It doesn't matter where your golf course is located, if black bears are wandering around, it's not good. That happened at the U.S. Senior Open at the Broadmoor last week. Seriously, play should've been stopped. You don't get briefed on how to react if a black bear comes "bear"-ing down on you. I'm terrified of snakes and alligators, but I can pretty much avoid them since they don't move at you a whole lot. A bear has a little more say in how fast you move to get away.
- Laura Diaz complained this week about what Dottie Pepper ("choking, freaking dogs") said about the U.S. Solheim Cup team...A YEAR AGO. I get that you guys were friends and that hurt, but come on, Laura. Enough time has passed and Pepper said she has reached out to Diaz. Get over it, Laura.
- Keep an eye on Chad Campbell this week at Oakland Hills. I think Campbell (19th), Mahan (10th) and O'Hair (13th) stand the best chance of making the U.S. Ryder Cup team automatically.
- Non-golf thought - I know I'm in the minority, but the Summer Olympics do absolutely nothing for me. Don't care about swimming, diving or gymnastics and barely care about track and tennis. Basketball will have me watching, but that's all.
