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W
H O 2
W A T C H 4
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The
83rd
PGA
Championship
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Compiled
by: Aaron Lightle (©â®®íê§
Å ß¿g §‡ïç? Bb) &
Ed Crowder (Gators Kick Butt)
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T
o u r n a m e n t P r e v i e w
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This year's
installment of the PGA Championship will be held at the Atlanta
Athletic Club. The "true" home of Bobby Jones (he
actually was a member of East Lake CC until the group that
owned the course purchased the land which AAC is on now, and
he moved along with the owners) and the home of one of the
most treasured and beautiful old courses in the states.
The course plays to over 7200 yards and also will play to
a par 70 this year. Driver's will be pulled a-plenty this
year and not just by the shortest hitters but even by the
longer bombers like DL3, Tiger, Mickelson, Singh, and Duval.
The rough has been grown out to 3-4 inches, and since it's
bermuda grass, that makes it just that much more difficult.
This golf course has a great final stretch to it as well,
with the final 4 holes playing quite long and 3 of the 4 have
water that comes into play on them.
Remember
when picking your squads that Tiger has never won a major
on a par 70 course, and the PGA Championship is notorious
for 1st-Time Major winners, so lookout Phil or Sergio?
Here are
our picks to click for the PGA Championship:
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Previous
Three Winners:
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00 - Woods, T.
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99 - Woods, T.
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98 - Singh, V.
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David
Duval
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Ed's
Pick
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'A'
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Since
the tournament is in Georgia, Duval's almost a lock
to do well. Let's see...1999: Bellsouth-win; Masters-T6,
2000: Bellsouth-T73 (an abberation, I assure you); Masters-T3;
Tour Championship-6, 2001: Masters-2. I think you get
the idea. And for those of you who live under a rock,
he attended college at nearby Georgia Tech. As far as
his record in the PGA goes, it's decent, but undistinguished,
much like his record in the British...prior to this
year.
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| Last
Three Years: |
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00 - DNP |
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99 - t10 |
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98 - MC |
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Tourney
Rnd Avg: |
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72.06
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Sergio
Garcia
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Aaron's
Pick
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'A'
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| Is
there a hotter golfer over the summer than Sergio? Wins
twice on the PGA Tour for his first career wins on tour,
and throws in quite a few Top 10's to boot. He's been
in contention in almost every tournament he's entered
in 2001, and he has a stellar record (albeit a short one)
in the PGA Championship. Has the length, the accuracy,
and the touch to win a major, and The PGA Championship
would be a fitting 1st Major for El Nino. |
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| Last
Three Years: |
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00 - 34th |
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99 - 2nd |
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98 - DNP |
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Tourney
Rnd Avg: |
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70.37
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Chris
DiMarco
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Ed's
Pick
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'B'
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Truth
be told, I haven't even looked at his record at the
PGA, because it doesn't matter. He's got the fever,
he's hot and he can't be stopped. Not to mention that,
as a former Gator, he's accustomed to playing in the
sweltering heat which one generally encounters in Georgia
in August.
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| Last
Three Years: |
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00 - t15 |
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99 - t41 |
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98 - DNP |
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Tourney
Rnd Avg: |
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71.50
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| Jose
Maria Olazabal |
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Ed's
Pick
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'B'
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A
bit of a risky pick, as he has been spotty at best in
the PGA in the past and is having a mediocre year, at
best.
However, he has has success when the tournament has
been played south of the Mason-Dixon line. I didn't
check, but I seem to remember him having some good results
in Georgia in a couple of other tournaments.
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| Last
Three Years: |
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00 - 4th |
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99 - MC |
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98 - MC |
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Tourney
Rnd Avg: |
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72.58
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| Rocco
Mediate |
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Aaron's
Pick
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'B'
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| Last
Three Years: |
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00 - WD |
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99 - t49 |
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98 - MC |
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Tourney
Rnd Avg: |
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72.93
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| Brad
Faxon |
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Aaron's
Pick
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'B'
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| Has
a Ryder Cup spot waiting on him if he can make a really
good showing. Played well to start the British Open a
few weeks back, and has the game to compete and win a
major. Like always depends on what his putter is doing
as to whether or not he'll have a chance come Sunday. |
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| Last
Three Years: |
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00 - t27 |
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99 - t61 |
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98 - t13 |
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Tourney
Rnd Avg: |
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72.34
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| Brett
Quigley |
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Ed's
Pick
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'C'
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Another
guy on a roll. He attended college at University of South
Carolina for a year (which is hot as Hades in the summer,
trust me) and currently lives in Florida, so the heat shouldn't
be a factor. However, his record in Majors is, er, nonexistant
(unless you count the MCs at the 2000and 2001 US Opens), so
take a more
estblished player as your other C.
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| Last
Three Years: |
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00 - DNP |
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99 - DNP |
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98 - DNP
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Tourney
Rnd Avg: |
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| Steve
Stricker |
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Aaron's
Pick
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'C'
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Steve
has had a fantastic year in 2001 (started off brilliantly
with his win at the Anderson MatchPlay event) and is having
probably the best year of his career. He's got the game to
compete in a major (as evidenced by his 2nd to Vijay at Sahalee
in '98) and should be able to contend for the Wannamaker Trophy
come Sunday.
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| Last
Three Years: |
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00 - MC |
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99 - MC |
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98 - 2nd
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Tourney
Rnd Avg: |
71.33
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| Charles
Howell III |
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Ed's
Pick
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'D'
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| Until
Yahoo! makes me stop, I'm riding this guy for all he's
worth. Your other choices are a bunch of furriners and
over-the-hillsters, and while most of the foreigners are
pretty good...well, let's just say that it don't get 90
degrees with 80% humidity very often in Sweden. |
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| Last
Three Years: |
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00 - DNP |
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99 - DNP |
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98 - DNP |
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Tourney
Rnd Avg: |
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| Andrew
Coltart |
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Aaron's
Pick
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'D'
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| Sure
this has nothing to do with my pick of one of the vying
members of the European Ryder Cup team, but ask yourself
why Ed's sticking with Chucky H the 3rd so much lately
but still sides with me on the Chris Smith issue. ;-)
Isn't this the same thing ole Butt Kickin' buddy? hehe
j/k |
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| Last
Three Years: |
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00 - t51 |
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99 - t65 |
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98 - 69th |
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Tourney
Rnd Avg: |
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73.33
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* - Tourney Avg. reflects player's scores over their career at each event.
Some tournaments change venues over the years or play multiple courses
thru the tourney each year. Please take this into consideration when using
the "Tourney Rnd. Avg.".
WD = Withdrew, MC =
Missed Cut, DQ = Disqualified, DNP = Did Not Play, t14 = tied for 14th,
NA = Not Available
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