McGirt and "The Geriatrics"

Alright, I know what you may be thinking. This title is either demeaning or it's about some new up and coming country music brand. Of course it isn't. This week the world of golf had some interesting stories emerge so let's take a look.

Photo Credit: independent.ie

When was the last time we saw not one but two elder statesmen at the top of the leaderboard of a tournament that did not say Champions? I'm sure that it has happened but I fail to recollect when that might have been. This weekend was special. Over in Portugal at the Portugal Master's was played at the Victoria Clube de Golfe in Vilamoura, Portugal. The tournament was host to some fantastic scoring from the field which included the winner in 2015 Andy Sullivan. Sullivan finished with a score of -22 and second place. Of course, this is a terrific score that could nearly any golf tournament but not this weekend. For the first time in 8 years Padraig Harrington the very likable Irishman from Dublin, Ireland found himself atop the leaderboard when the action ended on Sunday. Powered by the new Wilson Staff FG Tour V6 irons 5-PW (which he tried out Monday) he would scramble his way to a winning score of -23. Scrambling was the key for the weekend as Paddy had otherworldly statistics. Yes, he held it together coming down the 72nd hole after missing the fairway but his scrambling was insane. But there was another elder statesmen that was in contention at the sane time. Anders Hansen. Why is he noteworthy? Well, he just happens to be 46 years young and the Dane would find himself finished with a T-3. But as much as his age might be an eyebrow raiser it's the fact that Hansen is a part-time Tour player. Hansen announced his retirement at the same tournament in 2015. He has teed it up this year four other times. Talk about a good paying part-time job.

Photo Credit: skysports.com

As we had a "part-timer" made some decent cash this past weekend things were a little different on this side of the pond heading into this weeks stop in Jackson, MS. The Sanderson Farms Championship is being played and it so happens that it happens to be the same week as a WGC-HSBC Champions event. Well, there happens to be a bit of a wonky rule that states if there is a WGC event and you are qualified to play in that event you CANNOT play in another event that week on the PGA Tour. William Mc Girt fell victim to this rule. While rules are rules I also understand Mc Girt's position. Why fly to China when he can board a flight and have a short hop to Mississippi? If I were him I would opt to do the same thing... regardless of the guaranteed paycheck (no cut). Of course, the WGC has their position as well which is basically that they want the best possible field that they can muster. They actually have 43 of the Top 50 players in the world. But the last time that I checked the PGA Tour does not have a player's union and these guys have the right to play where they want... when they want. Otherwise the world would have seen a lot more Tiger over the years. So will there one day be a player's union in golf? I honestly don't see it ever happening. Getting back to Mc Girt it has been reported that he's going to go to Jackson anyways. It has been stated that Mc Girt will be attending the Pro-Am party on Tuesday and then after playing in the Pro-Am Wednesday he's heading home. He feels that supporting a brand (Sanderson Farms) that has given his his area's economy much needed employment is more important and quite frankly... I don't blame him.

Photo Credit: golfchannel.com

Until The Next Tee!