Ryder Cup Captain's Picks

American Ryder Cup team captain is a nice guy who would love to win the Ryder Cup later this month at Medinah outside of Chicago. After all, Europe has dominated this event most of the last 20 years.

The issue is David Love III may not know what it takes to win. His method of taking his four wild card selections in misguided at best.

The selection of Jim Furyk is a perfect example. Love had indicated that Furyk was going to make the solely based on begin a Ryder Cup veteran.

Usually experience is a good thing. But when your career Ryder Cup record is a mere 8-15(Jim Furyk)aren't you better off looking elsewhere? In other words, is " Ryder Cup experience" a good thing when the experience is almost always a losing one?

Love and all future Team USA captains would be better off at selecting players that not only have experience- but winning experience. Even taking someone with no experience is a better choice than selecting perennial losers in this event.

Who is PGA Player of the Year?

Entering the second leg of The Fed Ex Cup Playoffs, either Rory Mcilroy and Tiger Woods are neck and neck for PGA Tour Player of the Year honors.

Tiger has three wins this year, but Rory has two wins including a major(The PGA Championship). It could very well come down to who wins this week at The Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston.

Through two rounds Mcilroy leads with Woods just two strokes back. Both have been wildly inconsistent all year, yet still remain the top two golfers on the planet- even if Tiger still chokes in the Majors.

Nothing Like a New York Golf Crowd

The first leg of the Fed Ex Playoffs on the PGA Tour was just played at Bethpage in Farmingdale, New York. it is within a half hour of NYC.

The crowd was more reminiscent of a Giants football game than a golf tournament, with more people screaming than I can ever remember.

For the most part the crowd was well behaved, but there were notable exceptions of people yelling and taking pictures during swings. Picture the 16th hole in Phoenix for 18 holes. The crowd was THAT boisterous.

Tiger Woods seemed to be affected by it the most( shocking) with an ugly 76 on Sunday, leading to a couple ugly stares towards the gallery.

We often wonder why it is fine to scream and yell while someone is trying to hit a 100 mph fastball but not while one is trying to hit a stationary golf ball. I mean, which is tougher to do?
Does anyone really think the latter requires more concentration than the former?

The reason, of course, is tradition. But let us not forget, this still somewhat elitist game once did not allow African Americans or women to play. Some places still have issues with that.

Thankfully though both of these awful traditions have gone away for the most part. Should the tradition of being quiet during this so called "gentlemen's game" be next?

Hank Haney

PGA Expo in Las Vegas shows promise

As noted instructor Hank Haney delivered the keynote address at the annual PGA Expo in Las Vegas, I was struck by the much larger crowds. In the past few few years attendance has not been nearly as strong as it was in the " go go " days of the late 1990s.

The fact that the show consists of PGA Club Professionals, buyers, apparel and equipment manufacturers I'd definitely encouraging. The question is whether this will translate into more golfers across America.

The game is definitely growing overseas. In fact, most of the new course construction is now in Asia- notably China.

Here in Michigan, new course construction has grinder to a halt. We do not have enough golfers to support the existing great courses we have.

This while the number of golfers in this country has been slowly falling since 2005.

Rory blows away PGA field but who is number one?.

He now has won two Major Championships by a total of 16 shots. Rory Mcilroy has also won his second major at an earlier age than Tiger Woods did.

His victory at The Ocean Course to win the PGA Championship once again begs the question - who is the number one golfer in the world?

Despite winning another major, one cannot overlook the four cuts that Mcilroy missed this year, nor can we overlook his pathetic performance at the other three majors this year. This performance at The PGA came out of nowhere.

The top golfer certainly is not Tiger Woods. Despite his tour leading three victories this year, he has choked on the weekend of Major Championships now for over four years. His last Major win as the U.S. Open in June of 2008. And with all kinds of demons dancing around in his head, he will not win another.


Luke Donald has been number one for a long time, yet always plays awful in the Majors. Both he and Lee Westwood- despite their high world rankings - have never won any.

Bottom line is there is not a number one right now in the world of golf.

TIGER MELTDOWN BEGINS

It has been more than a pattern. Tiger Woods can still win tournaments. After all, he has won three this year while no one else has more than own victory. But he still seems to meltdown the weekend of a Major Championship.

He wilted away the weekend at both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship, and has begun to do so at The PGA Championship.

Before the rain delay today, Tiger had completed seven holes in the third round and is now at minus one. That well off the lead that he shared after the second round.

Once again, the putts he was making in rounds one and two just have not been falling in round three.

The opinion here is that Tiger Woods has lost his confidence to perform in The Majors, and will never win another.

Look Out for Graeme McDowell at The PGA Championship

Graeme McDowell has won a major championship. He has also been in contention in the last three.

But what makes this Irishman the pick here to win the PGA Championship is the venue. No one thrives in windy and rainy conditions like McDowell does.

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island is as close to a "links" style golf course as we have in this country. With it's many seaside, windy holes, McDowell should right at home. He will think he is playing in his native Ireland,

Add to that his penchant for the dramatic and being very comfortable in his own skin at major championships, none of us should be surprised to see McDowell hoist the Wannemaker Trophy com Sunday.

This weekend on Lesson on Golf

Due to the highly unforeseen development of me being in the finals of my club championship, I am unable to do a live show this Saturday and will be running a tape of an earlier segment you have done.

In addition, if you are interested, I am offering you without cost, the opportunity for you to call in at the same designated time you have on Sunday. In effect, you would be getting double the air time this weekend.

Please let me know if this interests you.

Thank you,

Jeff Lesson

Sent from my iPad

Kiawah Is Tough!

The famed Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina is the home to this year's PGA Championship. It also is the most difficult golf course in the country.

This Pete Dye 1991 creation was designed for the 1991 Ryder Cup. American Ray Floyd then said it was " too difficult to play with a scorecard".

Having played it myself, I absolutely agree. Many of the hold are right on the ocan, bringing severe winds with it.

The bunkering is most interesting as the bunkers double as cart paths, and all play as waste bunkers. As such, you will see tour players taking practice swings and grounding their clubs in what appear to be green side bunkers.

It will lay up to 7800 yards. That means Tiger Woods will have to hit driver off the tee and likely struggle once again at a major.