Clan-Members » While Brett was fixing the mental part of the Royals

NAPA, Calif. -- Phil Mickelson has now gone three consecutive PGA Tour seasons without a victory, his last title coming at the 2013 British Open at Muirfield. He still has a chance to win before the end of the calendar year by playing his final event this week at the Safeway Open.Thats not to suggest its been a bad year.Mickelson has accrued the most world ranking points of anyone who has yet to win around the world this year. He was a runner-up at Pebble Beach and the St. Jude Classic, though most of his points came from his runner-up finish at the British Open. Mickelson has 196.03 points this year.Paul Casey is next on the list at 186.19 points. The bulk of those came from consecutive runner-up finishes in the Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship during the FedEx Cup playoffs. Casey has gone just more than two years since his last victory in the KLM Open.He was followed by Matt Kuchar (184.91 points), Rafa Cabrera Bello (174.97) and Kevin Chappell (168.34).Casey earned just under $3.9 million this year and plans to play the next three events before taking the rest of the year off, meaning he will sit out the Hero World Challenge (free holiday money) in the Bahamas.It was aggravating to play well enough to win during the FedEx Cup playoffs but lose to great finishes by Rory McIlroy at the TPC Boston and by Dustin Johnson at Crooked Stick. Much like Mickelson, however, Casey isnt about to consider it a bad year just because he doesnt have a trophy to show for it yet.Would he rather contend consistently or just have one week where he sneaks out a victory?I would rather take the latter, what Ive been doing recently, Casey said. Although the win would be nice, I think deep down its more satisfying and theres more gratification playing the golf Ive played recently and not getting a win than sneaking one.---DUSTINS RECORD: The wraparound schedule on the PGA Tour has altered one measure of record keeping.Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus each won at least one tournament in their first 17 years on the PGA Tour. Tiger Woods looked as though he would match or surpass that when he won in each of his 14 years, but that was until he was blanked in 2010, a year after his personal life fell apart.PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem introduced Dustin Johnson as the player of the year on Tuesday by saying Johnson has won at least once in nine consecutive seasons dating to his rookie year. Palmer, Nicklaus and Woods are the only other players since 1950 to do that.But theres one problem.Johnson didnt win in 2014. He took his six-month break in August and missed the rest of the year. Johnson won the HSBC Champions in November 2013 when it was part of the 2013-14 season. And then he next won the Cadillac Championship at Doral in March 2015 as part of the next season (2014-15).Its no less impressive. But its not an apples-to-apples comparison with Palmer, Nicklaus and Woods.---EQUIPMENT TESTING: Paul Casey had two weeks off following the Tour Championship, enough time to ride bikes in Arizona, drink a little wine and test new equipment. Casey has been with Nike for 12 years, and the company announced it was getting out of the club business.He referred to it as scratching the surface.For certain parts of the bag, I think it will be a speedy process, Casey said.He said he was testing new drivers last week, and he also mentioned work on his putting. Casey said those would be relatively easy adjustments if it doesnt require changes to the shaft, for example. He said changing the irons or the golf ball could be a longer process.The general feeling with all of us is were still saddened by it and none of us really want to change anything, Casey said. But its inevitable that we will at some stage because as everything evolves, there will be newer stuff from other manufacturers that might be advantageous to lean toward and use.---LPGA ROOKIE: One year after In Gee Chun won the U.S. Womens Open, the South Korean has clinched the points-based award as LPGA Tour rookie of the year.Chun, who captured her second major this year at the Evian Championship, has a 778-point lead over Megan Khang. If it stands over the final six tournaments, it would be the third-largest margin in the rookie race behind Karrie Webb in 1996 and Se Ri Pak in 1998.To play on the LPGA with all the top players in the world has been a dream of mine that I have been working toward, and in 2016 it came true, Chun said. One of my goals at the start of the year was to try and win this award, so to actually achieve it is a tremendous honor.The award is named after the late Louis Suggs.Chun was not a member of the LPGA Tour when she won the Womens Open last year. As an LPGA rookie, she has nine top 10s besides the Evian, and she has risen to No. 3 in the world ranking. She is No. 4 on the LPGA Tour money list with just over $1.4 million.---ROSE OUT: Justin Roses gold medal at the Olympics is even more gratifying considering the level of his health.Rose sat out a month between The Players Championship and the U.S. Open because of a herniated disc. He didnt crack the top 20 in his next four events until showing up in Rio and holding off Henrik Stenson to win the gold.And after playing three straight weeks in the FedEx Cup playoffs, and then going 2-3-0 in the Ryder Cup, hes taking another break to rest his back.Rose said he is taking the next eight weeks off to rest and recovery. He said the crammed schedule didnt allow time to fully recover. That means missing the British Masters this week, along with the final stretch of the Race to Dubai.At this point in my career, it is important to invest in my body, Rose said. And this time off is crucial for me to return to peak performance.---DIVOTS: Ian Poulter is playing under a major medical extension on the PGA Tour from having missed the last four months with a foot injury. He will have 10 starts to earn 218 FedEx Cup points or about $348,000 to keep full status the rest of the year. Poulter is playing this week in the Macau Open, his first time back since he missed the cut at Colonial. ... Jerry Tarde, editor-in-chief of Golf Digest, is the Memorial Golf Journalism honoree for 2017. ... Phil Mickelson has joined The Greenbrier as a tour ambassador. Mickelson plans to buy a home at the West Virginia resort and join the Greenbrier Sporting Club. ... The Symetra Tour is moving its Tour Championship from Daytona Beach, Florida to Alaqua Country Club in Longwood, Florida, because of the damage left behind and cleanup required from Hurricane Matthew. The top 10 on the money list earn LPGA Tour cards. Clariss Guce is No. 10 with a $995 advantage over Laura Gonzalez Escallon at No. 11.---STAT OF THE WEEK: Since the wraparound season began, all three winners of the season-opening PGA Tour event have made it to the Tour Championship.---FINAL WORD: Its hard being Tiger Woods. It really is. Especially if he cant back it up with the semblance of the old Tiger Woods. -- Johnny Miller. Cheap Air Max 1 Wholesale . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Cheap Air Max 270 China . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.com/cheap-max-plus-shoes.html .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. Paul George Shoes Buy .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. Air Max 1 Wholesale .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- George Brett took over as the Kansas City Royals interim hitting coach with the rudderless team mired in an eight-game skid. He leaves with them showing signs of life. The Hall of Famer announced Thursday that he was stepping down from his on-field job and returning to the Royals front office, where hes served as vice-president of baseball operations since retiring as a player following the 1993 season. "Its been a tremendous experience for me to put on the uniform again after 20 years away," Brett said during a brief news conference, breaking down for a few seconds. "It was special." Brett has helped out at spring training for years as a volunteer coach, but his stint as the interim hitting coach was the first time hed worn his No. 5 jersey for games that counted since the last out of his last game as one of the games greatest third basemen. Brett said that hell still be around for some home games. He may even throw batting practice on occasion, but he wont be in uniform once games starts, instead sitting in a suite with general manager Dayton Moore as the Royals try to play their way into contention. "When I took this job almost two months ago, Dayton and I talked about it on an interim basis. I didnt know what interim was," Brett said. "I just thought it was time for me to move on. I felt it was time for me to resign as the hitting coach. It was a tough decision." The Royals were hitting just .261 when he assumed the job along with Pedro Grifol, who will stay on as the permanent hitting coach. The team was averaging four runs a game and ranked near the bottom of the American League in just about every statistical offensive category. They were 21-29 and in danger of falling out of contention by June. Well, the teams batting average hasnt improved much, but the offence is no longer stagnant. Young cornerstones such as Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas have started to hit -- Hosmer cracked a pair of homers in Wednesday nights win over Baltimore -- and theres a sense that the Royals could still make a move toward its first playoff berth since 1985 down the stretch. With the July 31 trade deadline approaching, they were 47-51 and eight games behind Detroit in the AL Central heading into Thursday nights series finale against the Orioles. "George is a tremendous asset to our organization. To have him here for two months was fun," said Royals manager Ned Yost, who along with Mooree had unsuccessfully tried to lure Brett into coaching several times before finally succeeding on an interim basis.dddddddddddd"We respect his decision." Brett took to his job with relish after agreeing to a monthlong tryout that ultimately lasted about eight weeks. He would arrive at the ballpark early and was easy to spot in the cages before games, overseeing early batting practice with the younger players. He said at the time of his hiring May 30 that he always found the game easier to do than say -- that is, he found it natural to play and difficult to instruct. That never did change. "I found out I was a better player, a better hitter, in my opinion, than a teacher," he admitted. "I was not a good mechanical hitting coach." Brett said he has played several rounds of golf with Fred Couples over the years, yet the former Masters champion never gave him any tips. Not long ago, Brett asked him why. "He told me, George, I know my swing, but I dont know yours," Brett said. But the guys in the clubhouse -- many of whom werent even born when Brett was having some of his finest seasons -- universally praised him for the job hed done, particularly with the mental side, where he helped an uptight bunch of Royals start playing like they were kids again. "At the end of the day it stinks hes leaving," Hosmer said, "but the good thing is hell still around for home games. Im disappointed. Were going to miss him in the dugout. Hes expressed to us about hes a phone call away." While Brett was fixing the mental part of the Royals, Grifol was doing the behind-the-scenes work on players mechanics, poring over video and tinkering with their swings. The 43-year-old began his first season with the Royals as the hitting coach of the Surprise Royals. Before that, he was a manager for Class A High Desert in the Seattle organization, and had worked as an area scout, manager and minor league director over the past 13 seasons. Now, Grifol has the chance to make a name for himself as the hitting coach. "I have all the confidence in the world in Pedro. Pedro is a very knowledgeable guy," Brett said. "He has drills I had never seen. He made my job easier. I learned a ton about hitting from this man. It was a good marriage with Pedro and will continue to be a good marriage. He and I saw eye-to-eye. I thought we worked really well together and will continue to work together." ' ' '