Pete McDaniel
Contributing Editor
African American Golfer’s Digest
Blog: September-November 2013
An anticlimactic conclusion to the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup playoffs this past Sunday at Atlanta’s East Lake GC not only crowned a runaway champion in Swede Henrik Stenson, it also sparked a debate as to who merits PGA Tour Player of the Year honors.
World No. 1 Tiger Woods entered the season-ending event in position to win the Cup and the $10 million payoff for a third time but played poorly the first two rounds and needed both a miracle comeback on the weekend and a monumental collapse by Stenson to get the job done.
He got neither. Instead he received $3 million for finishing second in the FedEx Cup standings. That should take care of maintenance on his jet and yacht for the year–but probably won’t salve the wounds from an uncharacteristically inconsistent second half of his season. He opined about the lack of consistency in his post-tournament interview while, I believe, couching much of his disappointment.
“I wish I would have been a little more consistent in some of the events, but overall, at the end of the day…to add to the win total for the year, it’s always a good thing,’’ he said.
Perhaps it was good enough for Tiger but it hardly satisfied the haters, who pounced on his lackluster performance in the major championships and playoffs to suggest his unworthiness of POY. The arguments are too absurd to repeat in this space, plus I refuse to give even a penny’s worth of credence to the perpetrators. Besides, they know who they are and those watching GC/network coverage of the playoffs– know them, too. They are the usual suspects.
As an unabashed biased supporter of Tiger, I won’t attempt to debate his worthiness. I’ll simply let the numbers speak for both of us.
He won five of 16 events, slightly less than a third. No one else won more than twice. He made the cut in all 16 events. He had eight top-10 finishes. That’s 50 percent for those haters who might be math-challenged. But who’s counting?
He banked $8,553.436, ahead of second place Stenson ($6,388,230) by a Jupiter (Fl.) ocean front condo or two. He averaged 68.985 strokes per round to finish second by a hair to Steve Stricker in the competition for the Byron Nelson Award, the PGA Tour’s equivalent of the more prestigious Vardon Trophy, which Tiger won this season for the ninth time.
The haters/debaters like to base their argument on the fact that Tiger failed to win a major championship while discounting the quality of his five victories. That’s because acknowledging the quality and quantity of ranked players in the Farmers Insurance Open, two World Championship events, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship (incidentally, which many consider the fifth major) would shine a light on their dark intent.
Tiger has the numbers on his side and, in all probability he’ll have enough colleagues on his side, too, later this week when the votes are tallied. As we used to say back in the day, the haters can either like it or lump it. Better luck next year.
Here are the inaugural “Peteys,’’ which recognize individuals who distinguished themselves during 2013:
1. Jordan Speith—The University of Texas dropout (no disrespect as Tiger was also a college dropout) started the year as a teenager on the Web.com Tour. He ended it with more top-10 finishes than anyone else on the PGA Tour, including a victory in the John Deere Classic. Full of potential and flashes of brilliance.
2. Adam Scott—He finally shed the title of “best player not to have won a major championship’’ with his Masters victory. Arguably the best swing in golf and certainly one of the nicest gentlemen on tour.
3. Phil Mickelson—Lefty reinvented himself while turning a weakness into a strength as he successfully strategized on how to play links style golf. A first British Open win was the result. Bravo Lefty. Well done.
4. Justin Rose—Forever a potentially great player, he finally fulfilled the promise with a win in the U.S. Open, his first major. Also an exceptionally nice young man.
5. Jason Dufner—Forget “Dufferning,’’ the “pinch between your teeth and gum’’ kind of guy is one helluva ball striker as witnessed in the PGA Championship. No one hit it better or closer that week. The result was his first major.
6. Steve Stricker—The 46-year-old made 13-of-13 cuts and eight top-10 finishes while playing a limited schedule. He has discovered the formula for longevity on tour: a simple, repeatable swing and a shortened season. In case you’re reading this Tiger, instead of putting advice, perhaps you should take note of that formula, especially the repeatable swing part.
7. Harold Varner III—The young man from North Carolina became one of only a handful of African Americans who qualified for the U.S. Open in contemporary times. I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of him either.
8. Peter Horrorbin—The Jamaican 50-plus player competed in the U.S. Senior Open, briefly near the top of the leaderboard before failing to make the cut. A great example of sticktoitiveness.
9. Mariah Stackhouse—The Stanford freshman shot an NCAA record 61 to win the Peg Barnard Invitational. First witnessed her prowess during an exhibition at Sugar Creek GC in Atlanta, Ga., when she was slightly taller than her driver. Her legend is certain to grow.
Final word: While the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup playoffs took center stage internationally this past weekend, there were a couple of events of import to those still laboring in the vineyards in the spotlight, as well.
The inaugural James Ross Golf Tournament was held in Charlotte with proceeds earmarked for a scholarship fund. Tournament organizers, headed by Jean, widow of my friend “Ross,’’ were supported by a full field of 144 golfers, proving that Ross was well-loved and respected in the Charlotte golfing community.
A couple hours south in Columbia, S.C., 22 individuals were honored as “Outstanding Leaders In Golf’’ by African American Golfers Digest. Among them were great friends of mine: Craig Bowen (golf coach at Benedict College), Paul A. Cunningham, Jr., Joe Dennison, Conan Sanders, John W. Love, Sr. and Billy Gardenheight.
A former sales rep at Titleist Footjoy Worldwide, Bowen was one of the first African Americans who worked in that capacity for a major manufacturer. He also helped research my book “Uneven Lies: The Heroic Story of African Americans in Golf.’’
Gardenheight and I are homeboys from Asheville, N.C. Billy is a founding member of the North American Golf Association, a developmental tour for minorities back in the day. He also served as tournament director for the Skyview Open, one of the oldest remaining events on the beloved “chittlin’ circuit.’’ And for those of you who don’t know anything about chitterlings, well, it would take much too long for me to inform you. Maybe next time.
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Pete McDaniel is a veteran golf writer and best-selling author. His blogs and books are available at petemcdaniel.com
Comments on this topic may be emailed directly to Pete at: gdmcd@aol.com
