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| Paul Casey has stuck around the U.S. after struggling at the PGA Championship with hopes of gather more Ryder Cup points, and thus far he is staying competitive. Today he followed the Thursday round of 70 (even par) with an impressive 66 (-4) on Friday, ranked at T45 with an overall score of 4-strokes under par, 11 strokes off the lead. |
Our View: Clearly Casey will need a bit of a miracle to catch up to the top of the leaderboard, but his performance thus far will get him the Ryder Cup points he covets and he is well within reach of a respectable finish, if not better. Let's see how he plays it on the weekend, but Casey looks to be in good shape moving forward.
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| The PGA reports Jeff Quinney was officially disqualified from the Wyndham Championship "because he did not properly withdraw and he did not turn in his scorecard." |
Our View: PGA Tour live scoring lists Quinney shooting 4-over-par 74 on the day. Mix that with his 70 (even par) on Thursday and he would have finished seven strokes below the cut line, thus we believe frustration set in. Quinney has failed to meet expectations in recent weeks and struggles seem to be following him to each and every venue he hits. We have no reason to believe he won't be at The Barclays to start the FedEx Cup palyoffs next week.
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| Marco Dawson added his name to the surprisingly long list of golfers that dropped out of competition at this week's Wyndham Championship after completing the first round and getting started with his second. |
Our View: This is rather shocking considering the circumstances. Dawson was 1-under-par for the tournament and had one hole to play when he withdrew, and PGA Tour Officials state he simply walked off without giving a reason for his withdrawal. Dawson entered the tourney ranked 144th on the latest FedEx Cup standings, and making the weekend would all but assure him a spot in the four-tourney playoff that begins next week. Instead, he walks off and is guaranteed to fall out of the mix.
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| John Huston has officially withdrawn from this week's Wyndham Championship. |
Our View: Huston had played 13 holes and was 2-over-par at the time of his withdrawal. PA Tour Officials failed to present his submitted reason for early withdrawal.
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| One of the only elite golfers on the course this week, Vijay Singh followed a disappointing round of 69 on Thursday with a round of 71 (+1) on Friday, forcing him out of weekend play as he falls short of the cut line. |
Our View: Singh failed to impress at the PGA Championship last week after a win at the WGC Bridgestone the week before, and now he falls well short of the pace against a field all but void of elite competition. He'll be in the mix next week as the FedEx Cup playoffs get under way, but the current state of his game suggests he may not entice too many fantasy owners to wager his way.
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| He hasn't played much at all this season, and despite hopes of a return for fall action on the Tour, Duffy Waldorf confirmed today that he will miss the remainder of the 2008 PGA season as he continues to rehabilitate his surgically repaired knee. |
Our View: Waldorf has just four starts on the season and managed to earn a check at just one. He will begin 2009 on a major medical extension, allowing him 22 to 25 starts to earn approximately $800K, essentially a full season on the Tour. Although he'll be starting at the bottom of the Q School/Nationwide Tour grad category, which would normally limit his starts early on, Waldorf can accept unlimited sponsor's exemptions as a past champion.
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| After a strong round of 64 (-6) in the opening round, Carl Pettersson continued to surge on Friday, carding a round of 61 (-9) to take sole possession of 1st place entering weekend play at the Wyndham Championship. |
Our View: Pettersson has been one of the more underrated golfers on the Tour this season, posting more than a few beneficial rounds in one of his best seasons to date. There is every reason to believe he can defy the odds and maintain the top spot on the leaderboard moving forward, making Pettersson a player to watch this weekend.
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| With more Ryder Cup points to be had, Ian Poulter has announced he will attend next week's tourney at The Barclays, ditching on his plans to attend the KLM Open on the European Tour. |
Our View: Poulter has filed to attend next week's Euro stop at the Johnnie Walker Championship, thus he has no intentions of taking part in the FedEx Cup playoffs. However, if Poulter chooses to miss the Deutsche Bank and doesn't play in the Ryder Cup, he will have to return to the U.S. for one more event to meet the Tour's minimum requirement of 15 starts.
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| With little to gain or lose in finishing, Brian Davis has officially withdrawn from this week's Wyndham Championship. |
Our View: Davis cited illess as his reason for taking off early, walking off the course after 13 holes of the second round of play. He entered the tourney ranked 84th in the latest FedEx Cup standings and thus is not in danger of losing a spot in that field.
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| Brent Geiberger has officially withdrawn from this week's Wyndham Championship, completing his first round and half of the second before walking off the course, citing illness as his reason for withdrawal. |
Our View: It was a long shot to make the field at the coming FedEx Cup playoffs regardless of his performance this week (ranked 189th in the FedEx standings), but it stands as another disappointing mark on a troublesome season for Geiberger.
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