Tour Championship..'Playing with house money"

PGA Tour, Tour Championship leaderboard http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html

A debate broke out on the Golf Channel yesterday between former world #1 David Duval now turned analyst, and recent victorious Ryder Cup captain, and veteran European Tour player Paul McGinley about who was the best player in the world.

Duval was very assertive in saying that it was Dustin Johnson when "it was his week with the putter" was unbeatable, citing his easy length and accuracy off the tee, much improved wedge game and regular placing in the top third on tour with the flat stick, topped off with the inner confidence he know carries with a US Open on his CV..

McGinley, much more the politician, said he thought it was Rory who from tee to green is as good as there is, and with a record that includes four majors by the age of 25, and a gold plated Ryder Cup record despite weeks when he putts like an eight handicapper, was the best, although he was quick to include Jason Day and Jordan Spieth in the top four for obvious reasons..

One thing is for certain, all four of them are playing with house money as this regular PGA Tour season wraps up this week at the Tour Championship on the historic par 70 East Lake course in Atlanta.

All are already rich beyond their wildest dreams, travelling the world as they decide in first class accommodation, all with wonderful wives and or families for support, surrounded in adulation by their peers, and public.

While they are fuelled to varying degrees, by their desire to place themselves as prominently as possible in the history books beside all the legends, they are all great friends, sharing private moments that they somehow keep separate from we mortals.

This week in Atlanta all four are in the top 10 after round one, Johnson T1 at -4 66, Day T3 -3 67, with Spieth and Rory T7 -2 68 as they fight with the likes of Kevin Chappell (66) Hideki Matsuyama (66) for another $1.8 million first prize and the $10m bonus thrown into the pot as the Fed Ex Cup winner.

Next week the pressure gets turned up by as many notches as the game has, this time at Hazeltine for the Ryder Cup where there is no money necessary, just national pride, with DJ and Spieth as intrigal parts of the US team desperate to stop the 8 out of 10 wins by the Europeans, led of course by Rory and his mates.

Still, through it all, they remain friends and in a way colleagues in a very rare wealthy circle, travelling without a financial care in the world, playing with house money, with many more years to come.

Bryan Angus