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09/02/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A week after Jim Furyk overslept and missed his pro-am tee time, the PGA Tour suspended its own rule that disqualifies a player for missing a pro-am.
But has the damage been done? Furyk would probably argue that it has.
We have all been there before. You wake up a few minutes after a final started, or 10 minutes before a job interview, or five minutes before you are supposed to be at work and the office is 20 minutes away.
It happened to Furyk last week. He was doomed by a dead cell phone battery and woke up less than 10 minutes before his scheduled pro-am tee time.
Furyk raced to the course and got there no more than five minutes after he was scheduled to tee off, but was deemed to have missed his tee time and disqualified.
"I overslept. I always use my phone as an alarm and it had no power this morning," Furyk explained.
After plenty of criticism over Furyk's disqualification, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem suspended the rule for the remainder of the year. The rule that says players must compete in the pro-am to play in the tournament was originally put into place so that players couldn't just skip the pro-am for no reason.
But, as Phil Mickelson pointed out, the rule applies to only some of those entered in each week's tournament.
"The rule itself applies to only half the field. So if you're going to have a rule that does not apply to everybody, because not everybody played the pro- am, you cannot have it affect the competition," explained Mickelson. "It's got to be a different penalty. It can't be disqualification if it only applies to half the field.
"I cannot disagree with it more. I have no idea how the commissioner let this rule go through. It's ridiculous. I made my viewpoint very clear to him."
Strong words from the No. 2-ranked golfer in the world, who previously had a run-in with this rule himself. In 2007, Mickelson was stuck in Arkansas due to heavy rain and flooding. The airports around him were closed and he was unable to get to Texas for his pro-am tee time.
The tour made an accommodation for that, but if you're 10 minutes away catching some extra shut-eye as Furyk was, no dice. Not only are you out of the pro-am, you are disqualified from the tournament.
Furyk has made nearly $50 million in his career on the course. Being kicked out of an event with a $1.35 million first-place paycheck might not be a big deal for him. At the same time, missing the tournament did drop Furyk from third to eighth in the FedExCup playoff points standings. Entering this week's second playoff event, the Deutsche Bank Championship, Furyk is 2,246 points behind points-leader Matt Kuchar. If the disqualification ends up costing Furyk the top spot at the end of the FedExCup points race, there will be even more consternation, not least due to the $10 million first-place paycheck that comes with winning the trophy.
To his credit, Finchem heard the complaints and responded quickly. In a statement on Tuesday, Finchem called for the Player Advisory Council to evaluate the current pro-am regulations.
"Hereafter, should a player be late for his pro-am starting time, the situation will be handled as a matter of unbecoming conduct," said the commissioner's statement. "Such player will be required to participate in the remainder of the pro-am round and may be required to perform additional sponsor activity. A player who misses his pro-am obligation in its entirety will still be ruled ineligible for the tournament unless he has been excused in accordance with the provisions of the regulations."
The players realize the importance of the pro-ams. They get paired with three players that forked over a nice chunk of change - $8,500 or more in some cases - to have the chance to compete alongside the best players in the world.
No one ever knows what opportunities could arise from these pro-ams. There's a chance that a tour player could find a new sponsor for himself through a pro- am.
Mickelson had this one right. If the rule only applies to half the field, change it or get rid of it.
GOLF EN FUEGO
I've been golfing for nearly 25 years and have caddied for over 10. Suffice it to say, I've seen a lot of things on a golf course.
However, one thing happened last week that most people have never seen before. A golfer at Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine, Cal. sparked a fire with a single swing.
The poor soul has remained nameless, and who would want to be connected with that? Said player was hitting a shot out of the rough and clipped a rock with his swing.
The golf club/rock connection created a spark which lit the rough on fire.
Nearly 150 firefighters and 12 burned acres later, the fire was finally extinguished.
Who knows, maybe someone yelled 'Noonan' while the guy was swinging. Though in this case, he didn't hit his ball into the lumber yard - he burned it down.
MINI-TIDBITS
- At one point in his career, Matt Kuchar had just 10 top-10s in 149 starts. This year, he has 10 top-10s in 22 starts. He should be under consideration for PGA Tour player of the year.
- People always talk about golf being a gentlemen's sport which polices itself. Junior golfers are taught the rules growing up, and start policing themselves at a young age. Zach Nash, a 14-year-old in Wisconsin, disqualified himself after winning a recent tournament because he had too many clubs in his bag. He realized the mistake after the tournament and turned in his winning medal. He could have gotten away with it, but showed maturity beyond his years in giving up the victory.
<< Sharks sign G Antti Niemi
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -The San Jose Sharks have signed the goalie who helped knock them out of the playoffs, agreeing to a one-year, $2 million deal with Antti Niemi.The team announced the deal Thursday.Niemi stopped 129 of 136 shots in the Western
<< 2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 2nd
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Group C: Puerto Rico vs. Ivory Coast, 9 a.m. (Kayseri)
Group D: Spain vs. Canada, 9 a.m. (Izmir)
Group A: Angola vs. Australia, 9:30 a.m. (Kayseri)
Group B: USA vs. Tunisia, 9:30 a.m. (Istanbul)
Group C: Greece v
<< Buffalo Bills 2010 Season Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills and Chan Gailey have both been absent from
the NFL playoffs for a long time. Almost exactly the same amount of time,
actually.
The Bills' last playoff foray came on Jan. 8, 2000, when they were 22-16 lose
<< Players move on after Hofstra dumps football
NEW YORK (AP) -For 84 former players at Hofstra, the start of this football season is bound to come with some mixed emotions.Last December, the school abruptly announced it was eliminating football, leaving players with eligibility scrambling.Some t
Twins seek to sweep Tigers out of Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins will
continue their homestand tonight and try for a second sweep of the Detroit
Tigers this season in the finale of a three-game series at Target Field.
The Twins have wo
Skidding Indians head out west to battle Mariners >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians will take their four-game losing
streak out west for seven straight games starting with tonight's opener of a
four-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.
The Indians are coming off
LPGA Taiwan to start in 2011 >>
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The LPGA Tour announced Thursday that the
LPGA Taiwan has been scheduled for October 2011 at Sunrise Golf & Country
Club.
The LPGA-sanctioned event will be co-sponsored by the Golf Associati
Mound Presence: A's lefty Braden faces Yankees again >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics starter Dallas Braden won't have to worry
about Alex Rodriguez running across his pitching mound this afternoon due to
the slugging third baseman currently being on the disabled list.
Braden, making hi
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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