Transition requires some downshifting

An apology is in order for taking so long to address queries by two Chase The Pea followers to explain a recent lack of posts on this blog. Support and words of encouragement from followers and friends of Oldgolfdawg during the past 10 months deserved better treatment, too.

The truth is a combination of factors has gone into the lack of activity. One is that with the conclusion of the Ryder Cup the serious golf season on the professional level has come and gone in 2010. Another is the golf season for regular duffers -- aka chasers of the pea -- is also winding down. I hate to say it, but it won't be long before the snow will be flying around again and we will be yearning for the sun-filled days of summer.

Beyond that, this blog was begun to keep Oldgolfdawg busy doing something while he tried to re-enter the workforce at age 56. In that regard, it has served its purpose. Oldgolfdawg began working last week as a licensed health insurance agent for NationsHealth. If he can get through a 90-day probationary period, he should have a full-time job in an industry with a brighter future than newspapers.

That doesn't mean Chase The Pea will go out of existence. It just won't have as many posts as in the past and will appear in moments of inspiration rather than following a specific agenda.

In regard to recent inspiration, Oldgolfdawg has had the chance to play Cooks Creek, Darby Creek, Cumberland Trail, Deer Ridge and Eaglesticks over the last several weeks and has decided to update his best-places-to-play-in-central-Ohio list accordingly:

5 dog biscuits: Longaberger (the alpha dog)
4 1/2 dog biscuits: East Golf Club
4 dog biscuits: Cooks Creek, Cumberland Trail, EagleSticks, Deer Ridge, Golf Club of Dublin, The Players Club at Foxfire
3 1/2 dog biscuits: *Apple Valley, Bent Tree, Blacklick Woods, Chapel Hill, Champions, Darby Creek, Granville, Indian Springs, New Albany Links, The Links at Echo Springs, Royal American Links
3 dog biscuits: Glenross, Mill Creek, Turnberry, Westchester
2 1/2 dog biscuits: Blackhawk, Crystal Springs Golf Club, Mentel Memorial, National Golf Links, *Licking Springs, Raymond Memorial, Safari Golf Club, *St. Albans, *Table Rock, The Links at Groveport
2 dog biscuits: *Airport, *Oakhaven, *Bridgeview, Marysville Golf Club, *Minerva Lake
1 1/2 dog biscuits: *Wilson Road, *Big Walnut (executive courses)
1 dog biscuit: Let's not go there
* Indicates Oldgolfdawg has not played the course in more than five years and needs feedback from others to adjust any ranking.

Tough loss for Team USA hard to explain

Hunter Mahan acted as though he felt responsible for Team USA's 1/2-point Ryder Cup loss to Team Europe at Celtic Manor in Wales today. While such a notion is understandable on his part, it holds little water. The truth is he had plenty of help.

Afterward, in a team news conference, Mahan tried to express his feelings but was repeatedly overcome by emotion. As Mahan fought back tears, Phil Mickelson took the microphone from him and partly blamed himself for the USA's loss. After all, Mickelson said, he had lost three of his four matches.

Added Steve Stricker: "It really doesn't come down to Hunter. You hate to see Hunter go through what he's going through."

Though it's true Mahan chunked a chip shot on the 17th hole that sealed his fate in a 3-&-1 loss to Graeme McDowell in the final singles match that decided the competition, Team USA as a whole has to be blamed for the weight he was asked to carry. If Stewart Cink hadn't three-putted for par on the 15th hole in his match against Rory McIlroy, he would have likely earned a full point instead of a halve and the Americans would have enjoyed a victory celebration instead of the Europeans. It was that close.

The key to the competition came in the third session when the Americans, who won 3 out of 4 sessions, were drubbed 5 1/2 to 1/2. Trailing 9 1/2 to 6 1/2 going into today's final 12 singles matches, put the Americans in a tough position. But they almost pulled off another miracle like the one at Brookline in 1999 when they rallied from a 10-6 deficit to win.

But a 7-5 advantage in the final session wasn't enough for Team USA. It just made the Europeans sweat a little before the celebration began. At 11:30 a.m. in Wales, Team USA trailed in 8 of the 12 matches. Three and half hours later, the Americans were in position to keep the Cup, but they came up short.

What could have been a blowout was made interesting by victories by Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton, Tiger Woods, Mickelson and Zach Johnson. Stricker set the tone for an American comeback with a 2 & 1 victory over Lee Westwood. Dustin Johnson dusted Martin Kaymer, the man who edge him in the PGA Championship, 6 & 4 and Woods was 9 under through 15 holes in a 4-&-3 drubbing of Francesco Molinari.

Ryder Cup rookie Rickie Fowler, who birdied his last four holes, showed his grit by earning a halve against Edoardo Molinari after being 4-down through 12 holes. But the gutsy comeback went for naught when Mahan couldn't extend the day's final match past the 17th hole.

Some are blaming captain Corey Pavin for the loss, saying he wasn't emotional enough and didn't seem to have his players wanting to win for him. But you wouldn't think the players really needed any motivation considering Team USA has won only two of the last eight Ryder Cups and hasn't won on European soil since 1993 at The Belfrey.

You can blame Pavin for Team USA's leaky rain suits, shoddy bags and ugly outfits, but you can't blame him if the players aren't fired up. That didn't seem to be the case. The will was there but the execution came up 1/2 point short. Maybe it was those ugly purple sweaters Team USA wore on Sunday. They were enough to make the golf gods puke. That's as good an explanation as any.

For Ryder Cup video highlights, check out: http://www.rydercup.com/2010/usa/multimedia/video/videohub.cfm

Information from ESPN.com and RyderCup.com contributed to this post.

Revisiting the bargain bin

As of noon today, here are some of the bargains available to central Ohio golfers for the coming week at Golfnow.com:

Monday (Oct. 4)
1 to 4 players -- New Albany Links at 8:50: $16.26 (58% savings)
1 or 2 players -- Cumberland Trail at 11:50: $15.43 (60% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Foxfire at 12:12: $13.02 (55% savings)
2 to 4 players -- Eaglesticks at 12:10: $18.56 (60% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Cooks Creek at 12:31: $21.45 (52% savings)

Tuesday (Oct. 5)
2 to 4 players -- Eaglesticks at 12:19: $22.74 (51% savings)
2 to 4 players -- Glenross at 12:20: $20.54 (47% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Westchester at 12:30: $18.74 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Longaberger at 1:30: $41.15 (48% savings)

Wednesday (Oct. 6)
1 to 4 players -- Foxfire at 12:12: $14.23 (51% savings)
2 to 4 players -- Eaglesticks at 12:19 $22.74 (51% savings)
2 to 4 players -- Glenross at 12:20: $20.54 (47% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Westchester at 12:30: $18.74 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Phoenix at 1:18: $16.13 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Longaberger at 1:30: $41.15 (48% savings)
1 to 4 players -- The Players Club at 1:32: $20.45 (55% savings)

Thursday (Oct. 7)
1 to 4 players -- Foxfire at 12:12: $14.25 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- New Albany Links at 12:40: $20.13 (48% savings)
1 players only -- Westchester at 12:48: $18.69 (51% savings)

Friday (Oct. 8)
1 to 4 players -- Foxfire at 12:12: $14.35 (51% savings)
2 to 4 players -- Eaglesticks at 12:19: $22.74 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Phoenix at 1:18: $16.13 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- East Golf Club at 1:40: $23.47 (51% savings)
1 to 2 players -- The Players Club at 2:30: $20.45 (55% savings)

Pavin wants Team USA to come out swinging

The 38th Ryder Cup kicks off tomorrow at the Celtic Manor Twenty Ten Course in Newport, Wales, with more question marks than normal.

The inclusion of 11 rookies -- six for the Europeans and five for the Americans -- pushes a competition teeming with questions about Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood into totally uncharted waters. Add to the mix a forecast of rainy weather for the three days of the event on a 7,378-yard, par-71 layout with wide but-still-sometimes-elusive fairways and thick third-cut rough and you have a volatile concoction difficult to predict.

A look at the world rankings would indicate that Team Europe should take back the Ryder Cup it surprisingly lost in 2008 at Valhalla. But world rankings won't mean anything once the players tee it up tomorrow, and as the PGA Tour always likes to say: "Anything's possible."

The opening four-ball pairings indicate that Team USA captain Corey Pavin is hoping his long-hitting bombers can put the home team on the defensive and into an early hole. For the opening session, Pavin has chosen to play his full complement of big hitters, including two apiece in two of his four pairings, as Mickelson and Dustin Johnson will compete in the opening match with Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton playing the anchor leg of the morning matches.

"I wanted to get guys out there in better-ball that make a lot of birdies," said Pavin, who will have six of his seven longest drivers among his eight players in the first session. "It's a very aggressive game tomorrow morning, so I just look for guys that can get the ball in the hole very quickly."

The morning matches break down like this:

First match: Mickelson/Johnson (USA) vs. Westwood/Martin Kaymer (EUR)
Second match: Stewart Cink/Matt Kuchar (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy/Graeme McDowell (EUR)
Third match: Steve Stricker/Woods (USA) vs. Ian Poulter/Ross Fisher (EUR)
Fourth match: Watson/Overton (USA) vs. Luke Donald/Padraig Harrington (EUR)

That means Americans Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Hunter Mahan and Rickie Fowler are taking the morning off while Europeans Miguel Angel Jimenez, Edoardo Molinari, Francesco Molinari and Peter Hanson sit out, too.

It will be interesting to see how Woods and Mickelson, who haven't played particularly well of late, perform in the spotlight's glare. Neither has a dominating Ryder Cup record. Is Pavin expecting too much out of players struggling with their games? If Pavin's big hitters fail to land an early knockout punch, will the Europeans grab the upper hand and never look back?

Team Europe captain Colin Montgomerie will be watching Westwood closely to see how Europe's best player will perform in his first competition since withdrawing from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron with a torn plantaris muscle that caused swelling in his right ankle and calf. He's been out of action for six weeks.

The biggest unknown is how the rookies -- Dustin Johnson, Watson, Kuchar, Overton and Fowler for USA and Kaymer, McIlroy, McDowell, Edoardo Molinari, Francesco Molinari and Hanson for EUR -- will perform when their mouths get a little dry. Their successes or failures will play in big role in deciding which captain will be second-guessed for coming up with the wrong strategy. All these questions for an event that always stirs up a lot of national pride should make for some fun television viewing. Expect to see a lot of birdies. The Celtic Manor greens are relatively flat and smooth, conducive for a lot of cup rattling.

The Ryder Cup can be seen on ESPN (today: 2:30 a.m.-1 p.m.) and NBC (Saturday: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday: 7 a.m.-1 p.m.).

For a closer look at the Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor, check out:
http://www.rydercup.com/2010/usa/course/tour/index.cfm

For a closer look at the Ryder Cup teams, check out:
http://www.thegolfchannel.com/2010-ryder-cup-teams/

Information from RyderCup.com, PGATOUR.com, ESPN.com and GolfObserver.com contributed to this post.

Ryder Cup stage promises lots of drama

Furyk win takes PGA Tour off the hook

The golf gods smiled on the PGA Tour yesterday and even gave it a mulligan with Jim Furyk's one-shot victory over Luke Donald in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Furyk overcame an ill-advised PGA Tour policy concerning pro-am play to win the FedEx Cup points race and its $10 million bonus after he was disqualified from the first round of the playoffs. Aided by strong bunker play, Furyk shot a final-round 70 that made the season-long race come down to the last putt on the final hole -- a 2-footer -- just as the PGA Tour was hoping it would and eased the pain he suffered for oversleeping and missing an obligation to play in a pro-am before The Barclays.

It was Furyk's 9-for-9 record in sand-save opportunities in the Tour Championship that enabled him to prevail and earn his third victory of the season. The well-deserved victory also probably wrapped up player-of-the-year honors for the 40-year-veteran in what has turned out to be his finest season on tour.

While TV announcers Johnny Miller and Dan Hicks were singing the praises of the FedEx Cup format and how it had achieved the desired effect, the PGA Tour braintrust was probably breathing a sigh of relief that a fitting champion emerged in the form of the popular Furyk. The only negative for the day was a rain delay and a soggy finish, but PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem was beaming at the trophies presentation to Furyk just the same.

Cries for more fine-tuning of the current format might go unheard because of Furyk's victory. But if someone like Charley Hoffman -- who didn't play in any of the majors this year -- had won the FedEx Cup, the cries would have been loud and justified. For now, the PGA Tour can sleep easier, thinking its FedEx Cup format is on track to achieve greater fan interest.

Whether that notion will hold water when the PGA Tour negotiates its next TV contract in 2012 remains to be seen. But Furyk's victory, for now, will make that less of a pressing issue.

Revisiting the bargain bin

As of noon today, here are some of the bargains available to central Ohio golfers for the coming week at Golfnow.com:

Monday (Sept. 27)
1 to 4 players -- New Albany Links at 8:50: $20.12 (48% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Foxfire at 12:12: $14.23 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- The Players Club at 12:12: $24.15 (46% savings)
1 or 2 players -- Glenross at 12:20: $20.54 (47% savings)
1 player only -- Phoenix at 1:18: $16.13 (51% savings)

Tuesday (Sept. 28)
2 to 4 players -- Glenross at 12:20: $20.54 (47% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Westchester at 12:30: $18.74 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Longaberger at 2:10: $41.15 (48% savings)

Wednesday (Sept. 29)
1 to 4 players -- Foxfire at 12:12: $14.23 (51% savings)
2 to 4 players -- Glenross at 12:20: $20.54 (47% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Phoenix at 1:18: $16.13 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Longaberger at 2:00: $41.15 (48% savings)
1 to 4 players -- The Players Club at 2:30: $20.45 (55% savings)

Thursday (Sept. 30)
1 to 4 players -- East Golf Club at 8:00: $24.47 (50% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Cumberland Trail at 11:50: $17.19 (56% savings)
1 to 4 players -- New Albany Links at 12:40: $20.13 (48% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Foxfire at 12:12: $14.25 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Westchester at 12:48: $18.69 (51% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Longaberger at 1:30: $41.15 (48% savings)

Friday (Oct. 1)
1 to 4 players -- Cumberland Trail at 11:50: $17.19 (56% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Crystal Springs at 12:06: $15.23 (46% savings)
2 to 4 players -- Eaglesticks at 12:19: $22.74 (51% savings)
2 to 4 players -- Glenross at 12:20: $25.56 (48% savings)
1 to 4 players -- Westchester at 12:57: $18.72 (51% savings