Goodbye Nissan Open...Hello The Northern Trust Open

The PGA Tour announced Wednesday that the title sponsor of the Nissan Open at Riveria Country Club in Los Angeles, California will no longer be Nissan and will now be named The Northern Trust Open. Northern Trust, a Chicago based company, signed a five year deal, giving the tournament a new name for the first time since 1989, when Nissan took over as title sponsor.

Nissan had signed a contract to sponsor the event through the 2010 season, however recently moved it's U.S. based headquarters from Southern California to Nashville, Tennessee and asked to be released from their contract if another sponsor became available.

Northern Trust is an investment management and personal trust company based in Chicago, with two offices in Los Angeles and branches in Newport Beach and Santa Barbara.

TaylorMade Drivers & Golf Clubs
New Nike Sumo SQ Irons
What is My Car Worth? - Find out here!

The Fall PGA tournaments bore me to tears...someone had to say it!

It's true...the fall leg of the PGA tour is like watching paint dry. Yeah, I know John Daly is making his third straight appearance in as many weeks at this weeks Valero Texas Open, but unless Big John pulls off a miracle, I don't even think there's a chance for him to get his card back for 2008. The highest ranking player on the money list playing this week is Steven "big teeth" Ames at 42nd. Don't get me wrong, Tiger doesn't have to be playing to keep me interested, but watching J.J. Henry and Justin Leonard battle it out in San Antonio isn't my idea of must watch television. I guess I'm just spoiled from seeing so much good, championship caliber golf at the end of the FedEx Cup matches. So when does the regular season start again?

Will there ever be a 5th Major Championship on the PGA Tour?

I've heard this question asked and kicked around many times, and the usual answer is; no, there won't ever be a 5th major added to the PGA Tour. Reasons for this answer vary, but the popular answer seems to be that golf is based on history and tradition, and you can't just create a tournament in this era, declare it a Major, and gain instant acceptance from players and fans alike. While I do agree with this rationale, it doesn't defend the answer of "no" to the question, Will there be a 5th major? The Open, Masters, U.S. Open, and PGA Championship tournaments were not all created in the same PGA season. Each of these majors had their turn at being the "new major on the block". Was the Masters an instant hit the first year it was played...hard to say, but one thing is for certain, tradition and history is not an instant trait. You can't create a golf tournament, call it a Major, and have it accepted immediately. However, like everything in life, change happens. Just because there's been 4 Majors as long as most of us can remember, doesn't mean that our grandchildren won't be asking if there will ever be a 6th Major Championship. I know that one day, a tournament will come along that the players respect and enjoy just a little more than all the other regular tour stops. A tournament that's played at a spectacular venue, with all of the top pro's trying to earn a spot on the leaderboard....and a tournament that they would all play, even if there wasn't a dime to be won. This tournament will spawn into what future generations of golfers know as the 5th Major. Will it be the FedEx Cup? Probably not, and I probably won't see this new Major in my lifetime, but I'd be willing to put money on the fact that one day it will happen. But hey, I've been wrong before.

The FedEx Cup a Huge Success!

Well as much as I hate to admit it, Tim Finchem and those in charge of setting up the now infamous FedEx Cup managed to get a darn good showing for the inaugural year. I have to admit that I was skeptical at the beginning of the 2007 season. First off, I didn't quite grasp exactly how the points system was going to work, especially when the playoffs came around, but once things started to get interesting a with a couple of months remaining, I finally had to concede that the FedEx system was doing exactly what it was designed to do, get the best players, to play the best golf, against each other, week in and week out. We got to see Tiger and Phil go head to head on more than one occasion. Young players like Zach Johnson and Chucky Howell III gave us a preview of the young talent that will still be trying to beat Tiger in 10 years. And in the end, Tiger wins, like we didn't see that coming. It would have been nice if Phil could have given Mr. Woods a better run in the Tour Championship, but all in all we got to see some of the best golf in many years. I for one am looking forward to seeing how the FedEx Cup plays out next year...oh yeah, Tiger wins again, I forgot.

Tiger Woods Wins BMW Invitational with a final round 63

Tiger Woods took over the FedEx Cup points lead with a 2 shot lead at the BMW Invitational and a final round 63 Sunday. With Aaron Baddeley and Steve Stricker right on his heels, Tiger was able to pull away on the back 9 and open up a 2 shot lead going into the final hole of the Championship, leaving Aaron Baddeley needing to hole out his approach shot on the 18th to tie. Baddeley came up short and only managed par, giving woods the win. Tiger will be #1 in the points race going into the final round at Eastlake next weekend, and the final round of the FedEx Cup Championship. Steve Stricker will be 2nd in points, with Phil Mickelson sitting in 3rd. With the way the points stand, if Mickelson finishes first at Eastlake and Tiger can pull off second, Tiger will still win the FedEx Cup over Phil Mickelson by 20 points. Next week is going to be as exciting as any major we've seen this year.

Will Phil play at Cog Hill next week?

A few statements made by Phil Mickelson at the conclusion of the final round Monday left everyone guessing as to his intentions for next weekend's FedEx Cup tournament at Cog Hill in Chicago. As we all know, Phil usually wraps up his yearly tournament play shortly after the PGA, but with the new format this year, he's more or less obligated to play in the FedEx events, even more so now that he's leading the points race. However, Phil alluded to reporters this evening that he may not play in the next event because of some promises that had not been fulfilled by PGA commissioner Tim Finchem. We can only speculate what these promises were, and if Phil's possible decision not to play in Chicago could be a sort of payback for Mr. Finchem's lack of response to Phil's requests. It's highly unlikely that the ratings would suffer from Mickelson's absence, as they would if Tiger did not play, but Phil has an obligation to the fans of golf to put aside tour politics and finish out the FedEx matches. Hopefully we'll know something in the next day or so....