I haven't written about golf in upwards of a week, so as we approach the start of the TOUR Championship (sponsored by my favorite soft drink of all time, Coca-Cola) at Atlanta East Lake, I thought I'd share my thoughts in advance of the first tee time.
The first thing I'll say is Rory McIlroy. The guy's just been a golf phenom this year, and yes, he's had his ups and downs. But he's had more ups than downs of late, taking the last two tournaments and breaking from the field for the PGA Championship at Kiawah.
Can he win three PGA Tour victories in a row? If all facets of his game are on when he tees it up tomorrow, absolutely. But if Uninvincible Rory doesn't show up, it breaks the field wide open.
To wit, enter Tiger Woods. He comes into Eastlake ranked #2 behind Rory, but if Tiger can turn his putter back on, and stay consistent with the rest of his game, there's no reason he couldn't walk away from this golf feast with another FedExCup.
Tiger and Rory play together in tomorrow's round.
Beyond that, we can't forget Phil Mickelson.
He, too, was struggling with his putting this year, but the claw grip seems to be mostly working for him on the comeback. If anything, Phil will have to have some discipline off the tees and not always be consumed with distance. East Lake is lined with tall pretty trees that you never want to see your golf ball get behind, so accuracy counts. That includes for you, too, Phil.
But I'm also keeping my eye on Brent Snedeker. Never mind, the guy hits the ball faster than any golfer on tour. "No Yips Snedeker," he should be called.
I want to take his putting and bottle it up and sell it at public courses everywhere, and with East Lake's smooth Bermuda greens, and his cavalier hybrid play, Snedeker can not only attack the pins -- he can sink the putts where he gets close.
If Snedeker gets an early lead, he's going to have to buckle down and not allow bad course management (or fear) get in his way.
And then there's also the looming South African, Louis Oosthuizen. Louis still has one of the most beautiful swings in golf, and his calm demeanor will be an advantage with the stakes being so high.
He's had three top fives in his last five starts, so it's not unimaginable for his consistent play to sneak up the leaderboard to win the TOUR Championship.
Of course, that's just five of an excellent field of 30 pro golfers from around the world who will be playing in the TOUR Championship at East Lake -- playing to win, and rehearsing for what I consider to be the real main event, next week's Ryder Cup!
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