Ernie Els doesn't deserve a free ride to The Masters

Masters week, the most exciting week of the PGA Tour season, is finally upon us. Just about everyone who is anyone in the world of golf is in Augusta, Georgia putting the finishing touches on their game in anticipation for the first major of the year.

Poor Ernie

There is, however, one notable exception. Ernie Els is not playing in the 2012 Masters. It's the first one he'll miss since first competing in 1994. The casual golf fan might wonder why Els has been left out of this year's field. For year's he was one of the game's best players. A more avid fan is aware that Ernie's game has dropped off significantly in the last few season, largely because of bad putting. In short, his poor play (and that he isn't a Masters Champion) has kept him out of the 2012 tournament.

There are 19 different ways one can qualify to play in the Masters. Five of those criteria are reserved for amateur players. That leaves 14 different routes for a professional golfer to get into the field. I won't list them all, but in short outside of being a past Champion at Augusta, or having won any other major in the last 5 years, you have to be one of the best players in the world. Many players that qualify for Augusta, qualify in more than one category. For example, a player that has won a PGA Tour event in the last year might also ranked in the top 50 players on the Official World Golf Ranking. Both of those characteristics get you an invite to the Masters.

Ernie Els, failed to achieve any status in all 14 of those categories. It sounds surprising. It almost seems unfair. But Ernie is on the outside looking in, while there are some less accomplished players competing this week. In fact, it could be argued that there are some players that aren't as good as Els playing this week. Harrison Frazar sits at 90th in the world, but is in the field as a 2011 PGA Tour winner. Ryan Palmer, who finished in the top 16 at last year's Masters is in as well. Palmer ranks 88th in the world. Els is 58th.

There was a movement in the golf world over the last few weeks to get Ernie Els into the Masters. Fans hoped that Augusta National would extend a special invite to Els (as they did this year to Ryo Ishikawa, who wouldn't have otherwise qualified). However, it never happened.

Ernie Els is one of my all-time favourite players. He's a Hall of Famer, a 3-time Major Champion and arguably one of the greatest 20 golfers of all time. But, I agree that he should not be given an special exemption into the Masters. For the record, I don't think Ishikawa should have received one either.

The qualifications for the Masters are clear and fair. Ernie simply didn't play well enough to make the cut. He had the same opportunity as everyone else in professional golf. The argument for extending Els an invite mostly boiled down to cries of "Come on, it's Ernie." Unfortunately, being well-liked isn't one of Augusta's criteria. It's true that Els has a very strong track record at Augusta finishing in the top 6, 5 years in a row. But only champions are invited back every year. There are other players with similar careers and track records as Els that aren't in this year's field. Fellow South African Retief Goosen is a two time US Open Champion and has finished 2nd, T2 and T3 twice at Augusta, and is also not invited this year. Goosen is actually 4 spots closer than Ernie, at #54 in the world.

Part of what makes The Masters special is that it's the barometer for golf. If you get invited to the Masters you're part of golf's landscape at this moment. Anyone who gets an invite has earned it in one way or another. The Masters has a fairly limited field and getting in genuinely means something to those players. There were a number of moments in the 2011 season when a first time PGA Tour winner commented in his post-victory interview that he was excited to finally win on tour because it guaranteed them a spot in the Masters the following year.

The field is primarily comprised of the game's current crop of truly elite talent. The amateurs in the field represent the game's future and the former champions are the tournament's past. There isn't any room for handouts.

-A.

(A note on Ishikawa. It is widely believed he was given an invite as a business move by Augusta National. The 20 year old Ishikawa is obviously a big star in Japan. Adding him to the field should create additional interest in that part of the world. I don't agree with this free invitation, either, but at least Augusta National, and probably golf as a whole, stand to gain from it. For what it's worth, Ishikawa is 53rd in the world.)

The Future of the Presidents Cup is bright?

The Presidents Cup wrapped up this weekend with Team USA beating its International counterparts 19-15. The event was played at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia, one of the world's most spectacular golf courses. Despite a terrific venue, a little pre-tournament controversy in the captain's picks and two teams made up by some of the world's best players, the event fell flat. That isn't to say that the Presidents Cup wasn't exciting, it was. It is just missing that spark that other big golf events have. It is not "must-see" golf.

Ever since its inception in 1994, the President's Cup has been the poor man's Ryder Cup. The organic rivalry and patriotism of the Ryder Cup is contrived at the Presidents Cup. There isn't a rallying cry for a team made up of South Africans, Fijians, South Americans, Australians, Japanese, South Koreans and Mike Weir. Even the captaincies of legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player from 2003 to 2007 did little to further the event.

Europe vs. USA is a rivalry that predates the Ryder Cup. The same cannot be said for what little animosity there might be between the Americans and the countries that make up the International team. Even quantifying the International Team is awkward. When your non-golfing uncle asks "what is the Presidents Cup?" Your answer goes something like this, "Well it's the Americans against the rest of the world, minus Europe." That sounds ridiculous.

The Europe-America rivalry is old-world golf vs. the new world. It's the PGA of America against the European Tour. One style of golf against another. On the ground vs. through the air. Two super-powers competing for golf supremacy. European players feel a sense of camaraderie. It's that team unity that has often made the whole team stronger than its individual players. The International Presidents Cup team doesn't have this same bond. The Ryder Cup is nerve-racking, competitive, historic and intense. The Presidents Cup is not. The Ryder Cup had "the War on the Shore" in 1991. The Presidents Cup ended in a tie in 2003.

But for one victory in 1998, The International Team has often been waxed by the Americans. However, there is hope for the future of the Presidents Cup, and more specifically the International Team. "The rest of the world minus Europe" includes South Korea, Japan and China; golf's emerging market. This year's international team included four players from Asian countries. K.J. Choi, K.T. Kim, Ryo Ishikawa, and Y.E. Yang. In 2009, there were two. In 2005, zero. It is likely that as golf continues to grow in Japan, South Korea and even China that there will be more Asian players making up the International side.

The benefit for the Presidents Cup, of course, is that the event could become one of golf's dominant nations against the emerging super-power of Asian countries. This would create a much stronger rivalry between the two teams. The Americans looking to hold their position on the world stage against an International team with a number of Asian players looking to put themselves on golf's map. An International side made up of players from only a few countries would certainly help strengthen their team unity.

The Presidents Cup will never be the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup is steeped in tradition and history dating back to the first matches in 1927. However, the Presidents Cup does have an opportunity to carve its own identity. An identity where the US isn't the younger, newer version of the game, but rather the team trying to hold on to their ranking in the world of golf.

What Does Bill Haas' Victory Mean?

It took a three-hole playoff to determine the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta on Sunday. Bill Haas defeated Hunter Mahan not only win the Tour Championship but the FedEx Cup as well. Haas' victory included a dramatic up and down from the water on the second playoff hole. With his ball partially submerged in the water behind the 17th green Haas hit the shot of the tournament to a couple feet and made his par putt. Talk about performing under pressure, right?

Well, maybe not.

Any PGA Tour event is going to get a player's heart racing. Playing for the $11+ million of the FedEx Cup is sure to add to the pressure, especially for a relative up-and-comer like Bill Haas. The problem is, Haas had no idea that the winner of the playoff would also take home the FedEx Cup and all the prize money.

After winning the playoff, Haas was on his way to the trophy presentation when he noticed that the FedEx Cup trophy was next to the Tour Championship trophy. He asked his wife, "Did I win the FedEx Cup?" Not exactly the ringing endorsement that the Tour and FedEx are looking for. 

Haas' bewilderment says more about the problem with the FedEx Cup than the millions of words that have been written about it. The players just don't care about it. The perks of winning? Sure, those are great. The money, the 5 year exemption and the contrived career boost are welcomed. Get rid of the $10 million bonus (and all the money doled out to the rest of the playoff participants) and the attendance would decrease sharply.

The Tour Championship is a little more than a Made-For-TV exhibition. The Players Championship and the PGA Championship like to boast about the depth of their fields. The Tour Championship's field (30) is the shallowest.

To get to East Lake Bill Haas had to play solid and consistent golf against strong fields. Capping that off with a victory is quite an accomplishment. But this win is not a career-defining moment. The FedEx Cup is no major championship. There are four tournaments a year that if the prize money was reduced to zero, their fields would still be strong.

Bill Haas is a great player who had a very good run of golf at the right time. But he had to deal with manufactured pressure (actually he didn't know all that was on the line). Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Keegan Bradley were all playing to become a part of history, to realize life-long dreams, to prove something to themselves and to everyone else.

On Tuesday Fred Couples will likely select Bill Haas as the final member of the 2011 Presidents Cup team and Haas will probably be a good team member. Unfortunately that will leave rookie Keegan Bradley off the team even though he's likely still the front-runner for PGA Tour Player of the Year. Bradley won twice this year at full field PGA Tour events. One of those events just happened to be one with real history, prestige and pressure. 

Bill Haas didn't know what he was playing for in his playoff against Hunter Mahan. Keegan Bradley certainly knew what he was playing for at the PGA Championship.

What's at stake this week?

It's finally here. The week you've been told that you've all been waiting for. You've been hearing about it since the second week of January. That's right, the FedEx Cup Finals are this week!

I wrote at the beginning of these playoffs that the FedEx Cup is a success. And it is. It has taken meaningless golf and made it meaningful, which was the goal. However, lately the media has been rubbing the $10 million payoff in our faces a bit too much. Before the FedEx Cup I never heard anyone say, "You know golf is okay, but it would be a lot better if those guys just made way more money."

The truth is, fans don't care about the prize money. The reason Major Championships matter has nothing to do with the amount on the first place cheque. It's about the history and the prestige of the event. The FedEx Cup has neither history nor prestige, so it is relying on prize money to build the hype.

Playoff events do have are strong fields, which makes winning one of these events more important, of course. The current top five in the FedEx Cup will win that $10 million if they win this week's Tour Championship. Those players, in order, are Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Luke Donald and Matt Kuchar.

There is more on the line this week than just the Tour Championship and $10 million. If one of the players currently in the top 5 wins the tournament, they will at least be in the running for PGA Tour Player of the Year (it would clinch it for Simpson). A win this week would make it 2 for Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson and Luke Donald. It would be Kuchar's first in 2011.

And there's the problem with the FedEx Cup Finale. Kuchar and Rose have had consistent, but underwhelming seasons. Dustin Johnson's has been similar, with some minor heartbreak at the British Open. In fact, before the playoffs started Johnson and Rose were both without a win and their seasons were shaping up to be disappointments. Now with one more hot week each of them could turn their seasons around completely.

However, even if he wins on Sunday is Justin Rose really player of the year? Other than his win last week, Rose has a 3rd place finish and a handful of top 10s. His finishes in the majors were T11, MC, T44, MC. Dustin Johnson's results are not much better. A good couple of weeks at the right time does not a player of the year make.

Presidents Cup
Also on the line this week are the Presidents Cup captain's picks. After the Tour Championship both captains have to make their selections. Since he picked Tiger Woods in the middle of the summer, Fred Couples only has one pick remaining. Couples has said that the his pick will most likely be one of Brandt Snedeker, Keegan Bradley or Bill Haas. All three are great choices. Haas' father Jay is an assistant captain, Snedeker is one of the game's best putters and Keegan Bradley is a major champion. To me, he has to take Bradley. His resume is just much more impressive than the other two players. Snedeker and Haas are both playing better lately, but the Presidents Cup isn't until November so there is no logic to picking "the hot player."

Greg Norman hasn't publicly narrowed down his possible selections, but the rumour is that the leading candidates are Vijay Singh, Aaron Baddeley and Louis Oosthuizen. Some are saying that Vijay Singh is a lock because of his experience, an attribute the International side could use. Given that the tournament is in Australia, I'd give the edge to Baddeley for the last spot.

Norman and Couples make their selections on Tuesday September 27th. The matches get under way November 17th at Royal Melbourne.

-A.

Is Parity Killing the PGA Tour?

Last Monday night was the men's US Open Tennis Championship final at Arthur Ashe stadium and it was an absolute classic. Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in four sets, but it was hardly a blow out.

What the hell, man? I thought this was a golf blog!


It is, just bear with me.

I consider myself a passive tennis fan. I don't really follow it throughout the year, but I will watch the finals and maybe the semi-finals of the grand slam events. Truthfully, there isn't much better in sports than a great tennis match.

Here's the golf connection.

Golf and tennis are both at a disadvantage because they are individual sports. Sports fans like teams. Being a fan of a team can be passed down to your son (ok fine, or your daughter). Cheering for a team makes you part of a community. There is hope that the team can make a change and improve next season. Teams have an automatic connection to a city. If you live in Green Bay, you are born a Packer fan. The dynamic of teams makes creating hype and obsessive fandom much easier. Golf and tennis don't have this advantage.

Tennis, however, does have definitive superstars. Even better, these superstars face each other all the time. The men's final is often the 1st and 2nd ranked players in the world. This year's US Open semi-final also included the 3rd and 4th ranked players in the world. This creates instant rivalries. Tennis, of course, lends itself to these kind of match ups. To reach the finals, the top players only need to win maybe two difficult matches. The first few matches for a player like Novak Djokovic are basically just a warmup. All this means we normally get Grand Slam finals that are can't miss events. 26 of the last 27 Men's Grand Slam Championships have been won by either Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic. Each of those three players have been the most dominant player in the sport.

Over the last few years golf hasn't been so fortunate.

For 11 or 12 years, the dominant player was Tiger Woods. However, he did have some minor rivals. Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Reteif Goosen all had some success during the Tiger era. But, there was rarely a head to head showdown between Tiger and one of golf's other major stars.

Tiger and Phil traded the green jacket back
and forth in 2004, 2005 and 2006

Count me as one of those that wished for more parity during Tiger's run. Fans hoped that "someone other than Tiger" would win. Some got sick of Tiger. Now anyone is capable of winning a tournament, or even a major. It's not that golf needs Tiger Woods, or even a single dominant player. However, parity is making the game's big events less exciting, or at least, less memorable.

At this year's Masters Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes to win by two shots over a couple of the game's rising stars, Adam Scott and Jason Day. No player before Schwartzel had ever birdied the final four holes at Augusta to win on Sunday. It was incredible theatre. Four months later, Keegan Bradley made a triple bogey on the 15th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship. He was seemingly out of contention. Bradley stepped up, birdied the next two holes and made par at the last. He then won a thrilling three hole playoff against Jason Dufner.

Both the Masters and the PGA Championship were exciting events, but because of the players involved, they weren't that memorable. Perhaps Charl Schwartzel and Keegan Bradley are the game's next superstars. But until they won their first major, the casual fan likely didn't know their names.

When any player on tour can win any given week it is difficult to develop a following. In the second week of the PGA Tour Playoffs the final round featured a host of great players. Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Jason Day and Luke Donald were all in contention heading into the last round. What emerged was a playoff between Webb Simpson and Chez Reavie. Both Simpson and Reavie are fine players who, at the time, both had one PGA Tour victory to their names.

Pop quiz: Who is this?
(hint he's won twice this year)

The problem is, both players are not very well known. Simpson is a newcomer (and possible rising star). Reavie's one victory came at the 2008 Canadian Open. When two players like this face-off there isn't any history for fans to feel connected to. They don't have any kind of vested interest in the outcome. They don't know who to cheer for; they might not even care who wins. This means, no matter how exciting the playoff, it isn't a "can't miss event."

The most memorable Major Championships in the last ten years all featured at least one superstar player. Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els duelled down the back nine at the 2004 Masters. Tiger Woods and Chris DiMarco had a memorable showdown the following year at Augusta. In 2006 Geoff Ogilvy finished strong and took advantage of Phil Mickelson's 18th hole melt down at the US Open. Tiger Woods on one-leg against Rocco Mediate at the 2008 US Open. In 2009, YE Yang came from behind to beat Tiger at the PGA Championship.

Those events felt important, even historic. Webb Simpson against Chez Reavie doesn't have the same atmosphere.

Amidst all this parity the PGA Tour was able to negotiate a long and lucrative television contract with NBC, CBS and The Golf Channel this year. Perhaps the lack of superstars isn't killing the PGA Tour. And in the big picture, this is a fairly short stretch without any significant superstars. However, in every era of golf on TV there have been superstars for fans to connect with and rally around. Palmer, Player and Nicklaus in the 60s. Nicklaus, Player, Watson and Trevino in the 70s. Seve, Watson, Nicklaus, Faldo and Norman in the 80s. Faldo and Norman into the 90s. And then, of course, Tiger Woods.

The casual fan wants to turn on the final round of a big golf tournament and see players they recognize and know something about. All this parity means that when the casual tunes in they're just as likely to see D.A. Points as Luke Donald at the top of the leader board.

The game doesn't need Tiger Woods. It doesn't even need an individual player to dominate. However, it could use some consistency at the Majors. When a player like Bob May or Rocco Mediate gets hot at the right time, it's much more exciting to see them try to take down the game's best than to see them take on each other.

-A.