Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches 2024 (*** NO LIV DISCUSSIONS ***)

[iutodd]

Another 67 for Rickie.  

 

-8 is probably out of it because there are just too many dudes, including 14 at -8, but anyone at -8 has to be thinking they can get out there and post a number and just see what happens with the weather and the Bear Trap.  There will be a lot of groups between the first -8 guy to go out and the leader.

 

I'd enjoy seeing Eckroat or Min Woo Lee win I think.

[jimecherry]

13 minutes ago, MyShortGameSucks said:

From the middle of the fairway as well.  Way to take yourself out of the tournament Rory 🤬

Has anyone ever done a real analysis of what in Rory's swing causes those occasional big miss shots with scoring clubs?

 

its not the swing and he has big misses with the driver some times to

[m d g]

44 minutes ago, 80sFredriksson said:

Wow another Rory blow up hole, starting to become a tradition 

 

A tradition like no other. Hello, friends...

 

: )

[TiScape]

The mic on 18 tee perfectly captured the sound of Eckroat’s PING driver. 

 

😬🙉

[mosesgolf]

Ok.  I'm rooting for the ultimate underdog tomorrow.  David Skinns owgr 278, 42 years old, and career earnings under $300,000.  He is currently tied for the lead and this win would be a life changing moment obviously.

[bcjim]

David Skinns let's go. 

[PedronNiall]

1 hour ago, the bishop said:

For no rational reason I just don't like Cam Young and hope he never wins anything, anywhere, ever. 

The attitude he's reported to have is at least a bit reflected in his mannerisms and the wad under his lip. All the mentions of Rory & Knapp having a relatively good time out there with Kirk in the group went out the window today while they were playing with Young. Read into that what you will, but I don't think you're wrong about him not being the most likeable guy. 

[PlusGolferUk]

25 minutes ago, bcjim said:

David Skinns let's go. 

Someone gone hit it at him and shout Fore Skinns

[PlusGolferUk]

People moaning about Rory. He’s played awful and is still around. Clearly made some changes which he isn’t comfortable with that’s all.

[JD3]

Lowry looks slimmer

[bcjim]

59 minutes ago, PlusGolferUk said:

People moaning about Rory. He’s played awful and is still around. Clearly made some changes which he isn’t comfortable with that’s all.

He looks ok but mistakes on this course are subject to punishment. Its playing "easy" being a little soft and the rough is not as gnarly as it could be but its not a place to get careless. 

[seis]

I would love to see Rory win the Masters but the way he played today he will shoot himself out of it with one bad round, which is usually all it takes to eliminate yourself from contention at Augusta, and then Mr. Gooch won’t have to fret about his “asterisk”.

[geauxt]

Lowry in the lead and Min Woo Lee in striking distance? Should be a fun Sunday. 

[MyShortGameSucks]

1 hour ago, seis said:

I would love to see Rory win the Masters but the way he played today he will shoot himself out of it with one bad round, which is usually all it takes to eliminate yourself from contention at Augusta, and then Mr. Gooch won’t have to fret about his “asterisk”.

As a big Rory fan I hope this post comes back to haunt me but...if he cannot step up and take control of a mid tier tourney with a relatively weak field how do we expect him to win at Augusta or any other major.  At least get rid of your buddy caddy and get someone who is not a yes man and who can help you read greens.

[Justsomeguy]

15 minutes ago, MyShortGameSucks said:

As a big Rory fan I hope this post comes back to haunt me but...if he cannot step up and take control of a mid tier tourney with a relatively weak field how do we expect him to win at Augusta or any other major.  At least get rid of your buddy caddy and get someone who is not a yes man and who can help you read greens.

He's literally the most talented golfer on planet Earth, and his distance is an advantage over 99% of the pro ranks. Decent putter, definitely no Scheffler Achilles heel.

And yet for some reason he keeps having these inexplicable moments where he won't just make a bogey - he'll make a quad, or a couple doubles in a row, or some other enormous lapse that cancels out all of his advantages.

Does he have a fear of greater success?

Is his course management really that bad?

Is he trying to be too perfect and making big mistakes taking on bad margins of error (same as bad management)?

I cannot believe that he's a choker. He's won too much.

Some kind of golf PTSD like the guys who get the yips from too many reps affecting their nervous systems?

I don't get him.

[bscinstnct]

🤣
 

 

 

[jimecherry]

1 hour ago, MyShortGameSucks said:

As a big Rory fan I hope this post comes back to haunt me but...if he cannot step up and take control of a mid tier tourney with a relatively weak field how do we expect him to win at Augusta or any other major.  At least get rid of your buddy caddy and get someone who is not a yes man and who can help you read greens.

reading greens definitely would have helped him on 16 today ;}

[grm24]

1 hour ago, MyShortGameSucks said:

As a big Rory fan I hope this post comes back to haunt me but...if he cannot step up and take control of a mid tier tourney with a relatively weak field 

19 of the OWGR top 50 and 43 of the OWGR top 100 that started this event is considered relatively weak? Still a pretty good strength of field for an event heading into a signature event and the TPC the next two weeks.

[iBanesto]

1 hour ago, grm24 said:

19 of the OWGR top 50 and 43 of the OWGR top 100 that started this event is considered relatively weak? Still a pretty good strength of field for an event heading into a signature event and the TPC the next two weeks.

 

For comparison looking at the field rating:

 

- Mexico Open = 180.90801

- Sentry = 283.24703

- Sony Open = 284.67509

- Cognizant Classic = 294.49245

 

Decent field I'd say.

[grm24]

2 hours ago, iBanesto said:

 

For comparison looking at the field rating:

 

- Mexico Open = 180.90801

- Sentry = 283.24703

- Sony Open = 284.67509

- Cognizant Classic = 294.49245

 

Decent field I'd say.

Agreed. The Sentry is outlier of sorts as it was only a 60 player field (59 played) and not a full field like the others. Field rating and winners points would've been higher had Rory and Rahm been there or had it been a full field event. The upcoming opposite events are going to have some low field ratings like Mexico (Vidanta). Possibly lower. 

Edited March 3 by grm24

[Peak]

2 hours ago, grm24 said:

19 of the OWGR top 50 and 43 of the OWGR top 100 that started this event is considered relatively weak? Still a pretty good strength of field for an event heading into a signature event and the TPC the next two weeks.

Could also say only 5 of the top 25 are playing. Mexico had a bad field, this field is very average. I understand why but it doesn’t really make it any better.

Hopefully Lowry can win this one. 

[grm24]

37 minutes ago, Peak said:

Could also say only 5 of the top 25 are playing. Mexico had a bad field, this field is very average. I understand why but it doesn’t really make it any better.

Hopefully Lowry can win this one. 

50+ OWGR rankings points to the winner is not very average. Mexico paid 31. Waste Management, Farmers and Amex which had a better field ratings, somewhat better fields for non signature events, paid 55. Just because the top names aren't in contention when playing doesn't make it "very" average. JMO.

 

That aside I would like to see Lowry win as well. Especially how it ended in 2022 with him and the downpour on the 72nd hole. If Lowry wins his just awarded sponsor exemption into The API next week can go to another player.

 

Another issue is too many people (not saying yourself) act like top names should be in contention and win every event they're in. It's never been that way in golf history. Even with majors. Regardless of ones tour affiliation. Though it seems many alleged golf fans expect it, think it should happen all the time, then complain when it doesn't. Ad nauseam.

 

Interesting how the PGA Tour gets criticized for this constantly yet a tour that's alleged, or so we're continually reminded, to employ so many of golf's greatest names on their roster infrequently win, contend or even seem to try most weeks in their events escape the same critique. Especially when those short fields top to bottom are worse than average. 

 

I surmise that happens where there is actually nothing for many of those "best" players to play for outside of contractual obligation.

[Valtiel]

22 hours ago, MyShortGameSucks said:

From the middle of the fairway as well.  Way to take yourself out of the tournament Rory 🤬

Has anyone ever done a real analysis of what in Rory's swing causes those occasional big miss shots with scoring clubs?

 

 

22 hours ago, jimecherry said:

its not the swing and he has big misses with the driver some times to

 

17 hours ago, Justsomeguy said:

He's literally the most talented golfer on planet Earth, and his distance is an advantage over 99% of the pro ranks. Decent putter, definitely no Scheffler Achilles heel.

And yet for some reason he keeps having these inexplicable moments where he won't just make a bogey - he'll make a quad, or a couple doubles in a row, or some other enormous lapse that cancels out all of his advantages.

Does he have a fear of greater success?

Is his course management really that bad?

Is he trying to be too perfect and making big mistakes taking on bad margins of error (same as bad management)?

I cannot believe that he's a choker. He's won too much.

Some kind of golf PTSD like the guys who get the yips from too many reps affecting their nervous systems?

I don't get him.

IMO Rory has a super unique set of often complementary but sometimes contradictory skills. He basically has the perfect version of a junior golfer's power swing, but even at his level that comes with flaws...ones that he has openly acknowledged. He's basically hardwired to drop the club under plane and inside, something he's tried to change in the past without success, which sets him up biased towards being a drawer of the ball. He has more/earlier wrist hinge than most on tour and occasionally gets too across the line with too much cup in his left wrist, requiring a little more re-routing in the downswing. He also rarely flights the ball and has a naturally high trajectory. All of these points are either from him directly or via a coach, and they add up to a pretty specific skill profile that has been the same for him his entire career; huge off the tee with a high efficiency, strong distance approach, streaky and often sloppy shorter irons, good short game (hands), and a streaky putter (also hands). When the streaks in approach play and putting lineup he's a world beater, when one is on and the other is off he is in the mix and sometimes on the front page based on how "off" the weak one is, and when both are off he is often out of contention. 

Combine that with his general approach to course management and the blueprint for the blowups is pretty clear. He's either aggressive to a fault OR his misses with the irons make him look that way at times. He plays like someone with no weaknesses and regularly seems to favor the higher tariff shot because he *can* pull it off, whether or not it's a good idea. He's Rory f'ing McIlroy so of course he can swoop a draw out over water into a back right pin, just send it out there and.....oops OB. He also doesn't seem to have the type of caddy to back him off those types of plays either, so he's a massive but somewhat unregulated talent prone to the highest highs and sometimes the weirdest lows.  

Edited March 3 by Valtiel

[elwhippy]

Last round should be good viewing. A Skinns win would be awesome. 

[Peak]

2 hours ago, grm24 said:

50+ OWGR rankings points to the winner is not very average. Mexico paid 31. Waste Management, Farmers and Amex which had a better field ratings, somewhat better fields for non signature events, paid 55. Just because the top names aren't in contention when playing doesn't make it "very" average. JMO.

 

Another issue is too many people (not saying yourself) act like top names should be in contention and win every event they're in. It's never been that way in golf history. Even with majors. Regardless of ones tour affiliation. Though it seems many alleged golf fans expect it, think it should happen all the time, then complain when it doesn't. Ad nauseam.

I fully agree with you on the basics but our interpretation of them differs. if you’re thin at the top end, you’re at best a bit above average to me. To me it’s more about the feel of the field regarding what’s average and what’s not than pure rankings. And when the top end is thin, it feels average. It’s kind of like a week of football where none of the matchups are particularly exciting even though every single team is playing.
 

I don’t expect top names to win (or want them to win) every week but an underdog winning against them rather than other underdogs or average players is much sweeter. 

 

In the end it’s my fault for watching the tour every week even if the field doesn’t speak to me. I know this is not a signature event.

[iBanesto]

On 3/2/2024 at 9:36 PM, JungleJimbo said:

 

Better audio/video quality, in this GC tweet

 

 

It is sad to see this from Detry.

 

It appears he is having problems with the putter and just wanted to casual tap the short putts because he did not want to deal with the stress.

 

Detry's SG putting stats was steady in his 3 of his last 4 tournaments:

 

- Farmers Insurance: +1.18

- AT&T Pebble Beach: +0.75

- WM Phoenix: +0.82

 

Last week in Mexico, he was -1.62 with a really poor putting performance in R1.

[MyShortGameSucks]

3 hours ago, Valtiel said:

IMO Rory has a super unique set of often complementary but sometimes contradictory skills. He basically has the perfect version of a junior golfer's power swing, but even at his level that comes with flaws...

Great post and perfect analysis!  
 

When his swing is on and timing is perfect no one can touch him and, for me, he is the most watchable golfer since prime Tiger.  On the other hand he seems to struggle to manage his  "B" or "C" game and still win at the highest level like say Tiger did.  Yes he does that on the DP Tour but I cannot remember in recent years him grinding  a Faldo-like mistake free 70 to win a PGA Tour event.  There is always a costly big miss in there somewhere.  Maybe that's part of the "edge of the seat" viewing experience with him!

 

You are also bang on with the course management approach and the caddy comments.  I'd love to see him sit Harry for the majors and get Stevie Williams on the bag - especially Augusta.  

 

 

[MyShortGameSucks]

3 hours ago, Valtiel said:

 

Edited March 3 by MyShortGameSucks
Duplicate post

[NEhomer]

Skinn's best approach to to today is going to be just relax and celebrate the last group accomplishment. The killer save on 18 yesterday bought him that. Put away thoughts of winning and know that if you don't crap the bed and just shoot anything near par, you're going home with a really nice chuck of change. That's already in the bag. The only disappointment would be tossing up a 78 or something and throwing it all away.

 

.....and it'll also be the best attitude for him to actually win.

[WorkItBothWays]

Rory has referenced it many times in particular in relation to an in depth conversation he had with Thomas Bjorn about wedge play. Rory's biggest asset with the driver, his explosive speed thru the ball, is his biggest weakness with the wedge.