Tagged: Jack Nicklaus
The Barclays — … The Barclays What?
The Barclays sets itself apart from most other tournaments by deciding to not use an identifier or other words in the tournament title besides the name of the sponsor. So I guess it’s neither an Open, nor a Championship, so probably just a Tournament. Actually, I’ll go with invitational since you have to qualify. So this week, it’s The Barclays Invitational. I asked Barclays officials about what kind of event this really is and they declined to comment.
About the Sponsor
I’ve sat here for a while now trying to think of what to say about Barclays. I figured I needed to mention that you have to say “Barclays” with a English accent, cause 1) it sounds better, and 2) that’s a good enough reason on its own. But that’s about the only interesting thing about it. In reality, all you really need to know about Barclays is that it’s a British bank that does bank like things all around the world.
Barclays — Impressively Boring
About the Tournament
Beginning in 1967 (and first won by Jack Nicklaus), The Barclays had a rich history of being played on the same course until 2008. The tournament was pretty much synonymous with Westchester Country Club, even donning the name “Westchester Classic” for the first 9 years of existence.
But money changes things, and in 2007 when the FedEx Cup began, the tournament was moved from June to August, and also started moving around host courses (and hasn’t returned to Westchester either). Currently, the tournament seems to be on a 5 course hosting rotation, with Plainfield being a part of it.
PGA Championship — How Many Club Pros are Gonna Make the Cut?
Time for the PGA Championship, golf’s final major of the year! We’re moving up to the best state in the union, Wisconsin, to watch the best players in the world play at Whistling Straits. Is Jordan Spieth going to win again? Is Tiger going to make the cut? How will Rory do in his first tournament post leg injury? We don’t have the answers to those questions, but we do have some words to get you excited about championship golf! Keep reading.
Herb says: “Waddupp?”
About the Tournament
Back at the turn of the century, golf in America was really just starting to pick up. Now the PGA Pros back then, and for pretty much the next few decades weren’t pros in the way people think about professional golfers are today. There was no Tour, there weren’t even close to as many tournaments, and the pros were pros in the sense that their day job was to run and manage golf courses (usually private clubs since public courses weren’t really a thing yet). But those guys still liked to compete, and in 1916, the same year that the PGA of America was founded, they held the first PGA Championship.
Quicken Loans National — Maybe Quicken Loans Can Refinance the Federal Debt
Every year since Quicken Loans took over as sponsor of the QL National, I loved the irony of loans and the US government being so close to one another considering how much in debt we are as a nation. Golf time again.
About the Sponsor
Watching the Canadian Open the other day, and there was a commercial for Quicken Loans. Apparently they’re the official mortgage company for the PGA Tour! Wonder how much they had to pay to be able to say that. If I wanted to say I’m the official “preview writer” for the PGA Tour, how much would I have to dish out?
Dammit Dan, smile like you mean it!
Back to the regularly scheduled section. They might as well call this the Dan Gilbert National, cause dude loves putting his name and the name of his company all over the sports world. He owns the Cleveland Cavilers, the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters, the Arena Football League’s Cleveland Gladiators and the NBA D League’s Canton Charge.
Despite owning all these sports franchises, according to Google, Dan Gilbert is most well known for his stupid letter after LeBron left Cleveland.
People care more about his letter than his money. He’s worth 4.8 billion in case you were wondering.
In it, he cries about how terrible it is that LeBron is leaving his hometown and how the Cavs will win a championship before LeBron does. Yeah right. A few first round picks later, LeBron comes back and the Cavs are relevant again, no thanks to Gilbert.
Golf On The Mind 