Rocco's Demise???

It looks like da Rodent's trade for Rocco may be in jeopardy!!! That's right, after a fine 68 yesterday, he started today's round with a birdie. Alas, after double bogies on the next 2 holes he withdrew from the event! WOW, this tops the recent WD by Allenby. Perhaps his bad back was acting up. Or thoughts of the drop zone on #12 at Augusta reared up and slapped him senseless. Maybe he needs the help of a sports psychologist? What do ya say there Robbo?

Westchester Thoughts

Brett Quigley and Billy Andrade on the top of the leaderboard? What the hell is this, the Rhode Island Open? All we need now is Brad Faxon...

My boy Hunter Mahan is in a nice position... to shoot 77 tomorrow. Currently in 10th place, I expect him to have a stunning 38-39 tomorrow to fall back to the middle of the field.

Some Data

I was just goofing with the spreadsheet to make sure the formulas are correct... here is some fodder for discussion.

Excluding trades and short picks, the top 5 picks in the FPGP to date are:

1. David Duval (113 points)
2. Richard Johnson (98)
3. Stephen Ames (96)
4. "Tour Star" Danny Ellis (95)
5. Jesper Parnevik (74)

Conversely, the worst picks so far, excluding trades, shorts, and the guys who got dumped are:

1. D.J. Trahan (-57)
2. Padraig Harrington (-49)
3. Paul Casey (-45)
4. Jason "Staying Home During the Open" Gore (-35)
5. Sergio Garcia (-33)

The "average" score per player, excluding trades and shorts is 20.8

The median score is 20 (which is Jimmy Walker)

There is also a near perfect correlation with the order of the trades and how well they are doing... what I mean is that the first trade (Jeff's for Greg Owen) has been the best, and they get progressively worse the longer we waited to execute a trade... that may turn out differently by the end of the year though.

Tiger Philp and Trevor Immelman... Separated at Birth?

Maybe I think all people who are in need of a haircut and wear goofy white visors look the same... but there is a resemblance, no? (not in the gut area).

Post Memorial LEADERBOARD

RIP: Tommy Cuthbert

Charleston Post and Courier story on Tommy Cuthbert.

F PGA Golfers!

Ok, not all PGA golfers, but Allenby. Makes the cut and WD's. He best be hurt. I think the PGA should put in a penalty that if you WD for an event, regardless of the reason, you are not allowed to play the next Major, or next 3 events if the player doesn't qualify for a Major.

PGA Championship Curse

So, I was looking at the Memorial scores... and I saw that my Rich "Beem me up some bogeys" shot 83. 83!!! That is just embarrasing. Then I thinking "how the hell did this guy win a major?" and "what the fuck was I smoking when I made my picks" and then "I am kind of hungry..." but I digress.

I looked at the last 20 winners of the PGA Championship. Basically, if this is your only major, you have a shitty career after winning it. Look for yourself.

2005 — Phil Mickelson, Baltsurol, Springfield, New Jersey
2004 — Vijay Singh, Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin
2003 — Shaun Micheel, Oak Hill, Rochester, New York
2002 — Rich Beem, Hazeltine, Chaska, Minnesota
2001 — David Toms, Atlanta Athletic Club, Duluth, Georgia
2000 — Tiger Woods, Valhalla, Louisville, Kentucky
1999 — Tiger Woods, Medinah, Medinah, Illinois
1998 — Vijay Singh, Sahalee, Redmond, Washington
1997 — Davis Love III, Winged Foot, Mamaroneck, New York
1996 — Mark Brooks, Valhalla, Louisville, Kentucky
1995 — Steve Elkington, Riviera, Los Angeles, California
1994 — Nick Price, Southern Hills, Tulsa, Oklahoma
1993 — Paul Azinger, Inverness, Toledo, Ohio
1992 — Nick Price, Bellerive, St. Louis
1991 — John Daly, Crooked Stick, Carmel, Indiana
1990 — Wayne Grady, Shoal Creek, Birmingham, Alabama
1989 — Payne Stewart, Kemper Lakes, Hawthorn Woods, Illinois
1988 — Jeff Sluman, Oak Tree, Edmond, Oklahoma
1987 — Larry Nelson, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
1986 — Bob Tway, Inverness, Toledo, Ohio

You basically have a list of guys with impressive careers and winners of multiple majors (like Tiger, Phil, Vijay... hell, even Larry Nelson), and just flat out "after I won this I was a scrub"... Tway never did anything else. Sluman never did anything else. Wayne Grady was a top 3 player in the world in 1990, but never did anything after winning this. Azinger, Elkington, Brooks... it is amazing. DL3 is hard to categorize, but he never won a big tourney after winning his PGA either.

I guess the lesson is this... when making an FPGP pick, don't add much weight to the "former winner of a major, PGA Championship" because it means diddly squat.

TRADES

Ok everyone, the trading deadline has come and gone... here are the last 2 moves.

Da Bandit has dropped Alex Cejka and has picked up Chris Smith.
Robbo has dropped Vijay Singh and has picked up Rocco Mediate.

Johnny V. stands pat, which may be the most shocking move of all. I did this last year, unable to move my worst player while I was in 2nd place, and it ended up costing me as I slid to 4th on the last weekend of the year.

As an aside, Robbo admitted that he waited until the 11th hour because he was waiting for Johnny V.'s trade to post on the blog... a little "Junior Bandit" game I guess.

These trades will be reflected in the next update... now that we are stuck with our teams, Jeff and I may not be quite as diligent with the updates... I'll try to do it every week, but if we miss one, sorry.

I am already thinking of some improvements for next year's FPGP. What would you guys think of having multiple trades? If this is going to be some kind of "fantasy league" I think we should be able to make more than one move. And, the more trades, the more cash in the kitty... I don't envision unlimitted trades, as I don't want to deal with those headaches... but maybe allowing 2 or 3. I'd also like to extend the number of players we actually pick, which would also present a "I may need to make more trades" problem. Give me some input on this... I don't want to set it up so that it precludes folks from getting in the pool... rather, I'd like to see this pool double in participants next year... again, more money in the pot, and suddenly this becomes REALLY interesting. I'd love to see everyone recruit one more person for next year... show em the blog, show em the little fun we have... it is about the cheapest entertainment I get.

Here Come the Tears

I am way psyched about the upcoming U.S. Open at Winged Foot and a possible massacre redux, but my spidey sense is tingling. Now I have respect for the dead and Tiger's old man appeared genuine, but aren't we about to be bludgeoned by the "1st Major without his Dad" storyline. The gentle Ben and Harvey Penick thing has been done and I don't care to see Tiger blubbering like Maury Povich after a paternity test reveal. Let's all vow to turn off the set at the first sign of a "man cry." Feherty cowering naked in Golf Digest, Barroid Bonds whimpering on his ESPN show, Adam crying after a semi-final loss in March Madness...what ever happened to some healthy, good, old-fashioned repression. It's time to nut up an play ball without anybody getting in touch with anything other than a velvet cord victory grip!

Bandit Pulls Trigger

Just received word from Da Bandit that he has made his trade decision... I'll post it tomorrow along with Robbo's and Johnny V.'s, assuming they make one.

THIS IS THE LAST DAY FOR A TRADE FOLKS!!

UPDATE 5/30 and FINAL TRADE WARNING

Here is the update for this week:

TRADES MUST BE ANNOUNCED BY C.O.B. TOMORROW, May 31st, 2006. If I don't get a trade email from you, you will not be allowed to make one. Because this is pretty neck and neck in the top 3 spots, I will not post trade information (if any comes in) until THURSDAY. I don't want a repeat of some of the "banditting" that has gone on in the past.

I DONE PICKED THE WRONG FAT MAN!

Double stuffed oreo damn! Buttertits on the fritz and Tim "Lumpy" Herron goes off like he's at a Barnhill's buffet. Here's a hefty we can love; He reminds me of a manatee. This boy has been big since he got his first pair of husky toughskins at Sears. I'm looking for some motivating storyline, this St. Jude's Memphis tournament is less exciting than a WNBA exhibition. I am throwing my full support behind the big behind of the lumpster, any bandwagoners want to jump on before the axles brake?

We Have A Fan!!!

Hey FPGPers... looks like we have a fan... check out the comments in recent posts, particularly those about Buttertits Gore. Looks like his boyfriend "G.W." is lurking on our blog, and is quite upset about our little pool and our comments. Oh well, to each his own.

Welcome to the blog "G.W."... if you want to join us officially next year, your money is welcome. I will reserve Gore for you... at this pace, he'll be going off around 145... or 1/2 his body weight.

Jason Gore is congratulated by "G.W." (striped shirt) after succesfully downing 17 hot dogs before his openning round last week.

ROBBO BACK ON TOP!!

Robbo has rebounded from his brief fall from the top, and has overtaken Stevie V.

Richard Johnson

Go Dick Go!

JJ Finish

JJ Henry played the last 4 holes +4. This included a 7 on the par 4 15th after the crowd began to chant the infamous Schwarzenegger line "Girlie Man" as he approached the tee. So it goes ....

Fat Man Hurt

From the Colonial: Jason Gore, who played with Pampling, withdrew because of a right elbow injury at No. 3. After his drive, he released the club which almost hit a television camera behind him and grabbed his arm. He put ice on it and tried to take one more shot before leaving the course.

Probably a repetitive motion injury from lifiting one-too-many of these.

Jason Gore

From the Dallas Morning News:

Big Jason Gore birdied the final three holes for a 66. Afteward, he stressed the importance of a strong finish. "It always makes lunch taste better," he said "Not that I have a problem with that."

How Do They Get Jobs?

I am sitting in my office, reading the Dallas Morning News while taking lunch... not surprisingly, there is a section on the Colonial, and of course, they have to handicap the field. Staff Writer Bill Nichols has his "projected finish", that player's finish at the Colonial over the last 3 years, and a comment. Here are a couple beauts:

4. Mike Weir, 2003- DNP, 2004- t-61, 2005- Cut

The comment?

"Course suits his game."

Uh, really? Then how come he has not cracked the top SIXTY in the last 3 years?

10. Ryan Palmer, 2003- DNP, 2004- Cut, 2005, t-69

The comment?

"Membership has its privaleges."

What the hell does that mean? I guess Ryan plays out of Colonial Country Club... but his "success" the last few years suggests that he can't win the B-flight Club Championship there.

In their list of players to "watch out for" they list:
Rich Beem
David Duval
Jason Gore
David Frost
Todd Hamilton
Hunter Mahan
Duffy Waldorf

to name a few... what is the over/under for the number of these players that will need to be "watched out for?" 1? 2? I'll lay the line like this... the over/under is 2 for "the number of these guys who will finish in the top 15."