This Week in Golf

PGA Tour - The first round of the PGA Tour Playoffs is contested this week at a new venue, Liberty National in Jersey City, New Jersey. It is a breathtaking new course designed in part by Tom Kite. The Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty are only a couple hundred yards off many of the holes along the Hudson River. Tiger Woods is in the field and is, therefore, the favorite to win the Barclays. However, the vast majority of the top 125 players this season are also competing this week. I expect a good showdown as I anxiously wait to see more of this exciting golf course. Mike Weir will serve as my sleeper pick this week. I want to see him get hot before the President's Cup at Harding Park in a few weeks. The Playoffs last for four tournaments over the next five weeks. Golfers in the top 125 in the points race got in to the event this week. They retain their points from the regular season, and only the top 100 on the points list get into next week's tourney in Boston. The catch is that the points are quintupled for Playoff events. So a top ten this week would go a long way for anyone towards the bottom of the list right now. CBS will broadcast this week.

US Amateur - The USGA's top amateur championship is being played this week in Tulsa, Oklahoma at a familiar track in Southern Hills. The medal play portion of the tournament has already been completed with 50-year-old Tim Jackson of Tennessee earning medalist's honors. It has definitely been a timeless year between Jackson here, Watson at Turnberry, and Kenny at Augusta. Semifinal matches will be played on Saturday, and the 36-hole final will be battled on Sunday. We'll have to pull for Illinois boy, Zach Barlow, but he still has a lot between him and the finals. My pick to win was Bob Tway's boy, but he lost in the first round. NBC televises USGA events.