PGA Tour BMW Championship leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/bmw-championship/leaderboard.html
Here's how things stand for the Canadians today going into the final round of the BMW Championship. Corey Connors T6, 69 66 69 -12 (projected 20), Adam Hadwin T13 67 68 71 -10 (projected 42)
Corey is in good shape to make it to the Tour Championship where only the top 30 from this week qualify, as he is projected to finish 20th. So he needs to protect that position with another solid round.
Adam hurt his chances with that 71 yesterday on a soft Medinah course that is being trashed by these pro's who have reduced the scoring average to 68.3. Hadwin will need a low number today, say 66, to move from projected 42 inside the top 30.
As for the tournament, one of the hot topics this week has been fuelled by Adam Scott who said on Instagram that " understand, when we are presented with a soft golf course, we are going to tear it apart with today's equipment and the ball. Length means nothing to us, they can't build them long enough"
Hideki Matsuyama set the course record -9 63 on Friday, Justin Thomas 65 69 61 -21 beat it by 2 shots with that -11 61 yesterday and he leads by 6 shots today.
As I mentioned earlier this week I spent 5 days at the magnificent Medinah CC in 1990 where Hale Irwin won his 3rd US Open title with scores of 69,70, 74 67 -8, then shot a 2 over 74 in the Monday playoff to tie with Mike Donald, eventually winning it with a sudden death birdie. The course is long, lush, hilly, tree lined and tough.
Flash forward to this week, 29 years later, and with the soft conditions, today's equipment and all importantly, the ball, Justin Thomas is already at -21, with a 6 shot lead, likely to win with something like -26, more that 3 times lower than Irwin's winning score. In fact as play gets underway today, Hale's -8 would leave him T24 !!.
In an interview I did with Gary Player back in 1995, he told me and everyone listening that " 20 years from now (ie 1995) players will be standing on the tee hitting the ball 400 yards, they will be fitter, and better. Their equipment and the continuing progress of the golf balls will mean they will outgrow all of these world class courses we play on today"..
Golf is a gazillion dollar business, you and I all thrill, when our drives fly 25 yards longer, we enjoy the wide range of enabling shafts, and struggle to miss hit a drive with the huge heads on today's weapons. We spend a fortune on those balls and new tailor-made clubs.
However to save the integrity of the pro game, particularly the men, golf ball manufacturers whether they be Titleist, Bridgestone, Calloway, Wilson or whomever will have to be rewarded financially by the governing bodies at St Andrews and in New Jersey, to make them agree to settle on one standard pro ball. One that for the sake of comparison, has standards that would act as a governor, much like the one's they fitted in stock cars to slow them down.
This in return would make the guys play great courses like Medinah the way they were designed, with drives averaging 280 yards instead of 340, 7 irons flying 160 instead of 210.
However the question is, is that what you want to watch, or are you more turned on watching Rory bomb it 360, over all the trees and traps, leaving a flip wedge into what was once a demanding 450 yard par 4, and remember he's not alone, most all the guys are ridiculously long now. Not just Jack and Arnie..
That's one of the dilemma's facing the pro game today and I suspect it won't be resolved soon, as long as the crowds keep pouring in, and more importantly as TV ratings remain lucrative.
Bryan Angus
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