Monday Morning Caddy - September 6, 2016

September 6, 2016 Sara Rubin Comments

Alright, so technically this would be a Tuesday morning caddy, but I'm hoping you won't fault me too much for slacking off and watching some golf on Labor Day.  Speaking of golf...

Rory Rallies to Win Deutsche Bank

3 holes into the 2016 Deutsche Bank Invitational, you would have likely already counted Rory McIlroy out.  He had to nail a 15-footer just to save Triple Bogey.  Three holes in and he was already four over.  However, in a pretty spectacular turn of events, Rory shrugged off his early misses and closed the tournament with a saucy 6-under 65 on Monday to triumph two shots over Paul Casey.  His 6-shot comeback was definitely one that re-solidified Rory as a major threat on the tour.

McIlroy’s victory was also notable because it pushed him past Jordan Spieth in the World Golf Rankings.  McIlroy now ranks 3^rd and has pushed Spieth to 4^th.  Spieth hasn’t ranked outside the top three since the week before his 2015 Masters victory.  Jason Day currently sits at number one with Dustin Johnson sitting at number two.

Captain Davis Love’s Decision Just Got Harder

With the 2016 Ryder Cup now just a few weeks away, U.S. Captain Davis Love III’s job just got a whole lot more challenging.  He’s got 4 captain’s picks in his pocket, three of which will be announced after play at the BMW this week.  Unfortunately for him, none of the golfers on his presumable list did anything to really distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack.

Logical picks include guys like Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Ryan Moore, Kevin Chappell, James Hahn and Jim Furyk, but none of these guys did themselves any favors with their play at the Deutsche Bank.  What this means is that play at the BMW this weekend will be even more important.  Along with the aforementioned golfers, keep an eye on Bill Haas, Willie McGirt, Scott Piercy and Tony Finau.  Love has got to find a solid few picks out of these names and here’s hoping that a few of the guys can step up and make his job a bit easier this weekend.

USGA Wants to Simplify Rules

In a surprise move, the USGA announced last week that they are working to simplify the Rules of Golf so that they are easier to understand.  Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s Senior Director of Rules was quoted by the New York Times as saying, “It’s still going to look like golf, feel like golf, still have the challenge of golf.  We’re going to make it easier for golfers to play by the rules and feel comfortable playing by the rules.”

Here’s my take – I’ll believe it when I see it.  For a long time the USGA and R&A have stifled technology and change in an effort to preserve the history of the game.  Add to that a lot of confusion with all of the “did the ball move?” questions this year and the Dustin Johnson “will they or won’t they penalize” debacle at the U.S. Open (I still think they got away with one when DJ won by 2), and you’ve got a set of rules that in the eyes of the casual observer seem to be arbitrarily applied.  Simplifying the rules could be a big step in the right direction, but we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.

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