Watching Dan Jenkins’ acceptance speech at the World Golf Hall of Fame, he started to think about which other writers should be inducted in the future and the two people he came up with were Jaime Diaz and Bob Verdi although he agreed with Gary that Furman Bisher should certainly be considered for posthumous induction.
Rickie Fowler’s win in Charlotte was a very popular one among fans and players alike. Ben Crane and Aaron Baddeley both followed Rickie during the playoff just as they followed Bubba Watson during the playoff in The Masters. Crane actually became quite emotional after Rickie won and stated that he was not surprised to see this happen and knew he would win eventually.
Fowler’s approach to four feet during the playoff when Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points were safely on the green was amazing because it could just as easily have ended up in the water. It proved that Fowler has a lot of guts on the course and this win could very well open the floodgates.
There is no new territory to cover with Tiger Woods so he was not too angry at Tiger over the decision to eschew his Wells Fargo Championship news conference in favor of a web conference where he answered questions from fans. He expects Tiger’s news conference at TPC Sawgrass to be a typical one and does not anticipate any breaking news from this event.
It was amazing to watch how long Rory McIlroy was hitting the ball last week in Charlotte and despite some problems with accuracy and putting, he still had a chance to win the Wells Fargo Championship on the 72nd hole. It was great to see Rory play so well after taking time off following a T40 finish in The Masters.
Peter Alliss was one of the five inductees and while he enjoyed Dan Jenkins’ speech very much, Rex felt that Alliss gave the acceptance speech of the night and much of it could not be repeated on television because while it was very funny, it was also a bit racy at times. Alliss has had an amazing life and career and his acceptance speech was very much a Peter Alliss speech.
In reaction to Rory McIlroy’s news conference, Hoggard said that he was struck by Rory’s answer about the OWGR when he said it should be measured on wins, consistency, Majors, and scoring average. Rory’s admission that skipping the 2011 PLAYERS was not one of his brightest decisions was a big statement and shows maturity on Rory’s part but it also shows some resentment towards his former manager Chubby Chandler.
Rex’s favorite this week is Lee Westwood who also skipped the 2011 PLAYERS and is still close with Chubby Chandler. Westwood has been playing great golf lately and he recorded his best finish at TPC Sawgrass in 2010 when he finished tied for 4th.
At some point, the media will get tired of Rory McIlroy especially when they have covered his press conferences on hundreds of occasions. Players who rise to the top of the game of golf certainly do have honeymoon periods with the media but they do go away at some point.
Rex was in Charlotte last week and a big topic of discussion is the fact that the contract between Quail Hollow and Wells Fargo ends in 2014. It is a very special event for many reasons but the main reason is Quail Hollow. There is a desire to keep the event in Charlotte but play it at a different course but the future is uncertain especially with Quail Hollow scheduled to host the PGA Championship in 2017. Another possibility would be for the Wells Fargo Championship to go to Philadelphia in 2016 or 2017 when Quail Hollow is being prepared for the PGA Championship but many people hope that the event can stay in Charlotte for a long time.
