Greenbrier Classic Notes 2013

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2013 Greenbrier Classic Media Notes

  • Dates: July 1-7, 2013

  • Where: The Old White TPC; White Sulphur Springs, WV

  • Par/Yards: 34-36—70/7,287

  • Field: 156; Format: 72-hole stroke play

  • Purse: $6,300,000; Winner’s Share: $1,134,000; FedExCup points to winner: 500

  • Defending Champion: Ted Potter Jr.

  • Twitter: @GbrClassic Facebook:

  • https://www.facebook.com/TheGreenbrierClassic

    How the Greenbrier Classic was won in 2012

  • Ted Potter Jr. entered the final round of the 2012 Greenbrier Classic trailing Webb Simpson by four strokes, but posted a 6-under 64 (including a birdie-eagle finish) to end regulation tied with Troy Kelly (66) at 16-under 264.
  • Potter then birdied the third playoff hole (the par-3 18th) for his first-career PGA TOUR win.
  • Ted Potter Jr. 69-67-64-64—264 (-16)* [* Won with a birdie-2 on the third extra hole over Troy Kelly]
  • Troy Kelly 69-67-62-66—264 (-16)
  • Charlie Wi 67-66-68-65—266 (-14)
  • Charlie Beljan 70-62-67-67—266 (-14)

    More on Ted Potter Jr.

  • Won in the second playoff at The Greenbrier Classic. In 2011, Scott Stallings defeated Bob Estes and Bill Haas with a birdie-2 on the first extra hole.
  • Had missed five consecutive cuts entering the 2012 Greenbrier Classic.
  • Posted the third come-from-behind win in as many playings of the Greenbrier Classic (Stuart Appleby, Scott Stallings, Ted Potter Jr.).
  • Won at the age of 28 years, 7 months, 29 days. He was one of 15 players in their 20s to win on TOUR in 2012, accounting for 19 wins.
  • otter entered the week ranked No. 218 in the Official World Golf Ranking. His win came in his 16th start on the PGA TOUR. His previous-best finish was a T13 at his season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii.
  • Potter was one of nine first-time winners and four rookie victors in 2012.
  • Potter went on to finish No. 93 in the FedExCup.
  • Potter earned a berth on TOUR in 2012 by virtue of his second-place finish on the 2011 Web.com Tour money list. It was there where he won twice (South Georgia Classic, Soboba Golf Classic). His 2011 season on the Web.com Tour was quite a contrast from his first. In 2004, he missed the cut in all 24 starts.
  • In 2013, Potter has made the cut in eight of 17 starts, with a T10 at the Northern Trust Open his lone top 10.

    Inside The Field
    FedExCup and The Greenbrier Classic

  • Through the AT&T National, 13 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings are in The Greenbrier Classic field, including Phil Mickelson (4), Billy Horschel (5), Bill Haas (7), Boo Weekley (8), Webb Simpson (14), D.A. Points (15), Russell Henley (16), Charles Howell III (18), Ken Duke (21), Graham DeLaet (23), Jimmy Walker (24), Scott Stallings (27), Ryan Palmer (30).

    A glance at the field

  • Six of the top 15 in the FedExCup standings through the AT&T National.
  • Two of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking: Phil Mickelson (6), Louis Oosthuizen (10).
  • All three Greenbrier Classic winners: Stuart Appleby (2010), Scott Stallings (2011), Ted Potter Jr. (2012).
  • Eight winners from the 2013 season: Scott Brown (Puerto Rico Open), Ken Duke (Travelers Championship), Brian Gay (Humana Challenge), Bill Haas (AT&T National), Russell Henley (Sony Open in Hawaii), Billy Horschel (Zurich Classic of New Orleans), Phil Mickelson (Waste Management Phoenix Open), D.A. Points (Shell Houston Open).
  • Notables making first start at the event include Nick Watney and Bubba Watson.

    Phil Mickelson

  • Win at the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open was the 41st of his career (ninth all-time).
  • Missed the cut in both starts at The Greenbrier Classic (2011, 2012).
  • Recently finished runner-up at the U.S. Open for the sixth time of his career. It was the 29th runner-up finish of his career (478 career starts).
  • Has made 13 starts this season, with top-three finishes at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (1st), U.S. Open (1st), U.S. Open (T2), FedEx St. Jude Classic (T2), World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship (T3), Wells Fargo Championship (3rd).

    Bill Haas

  • Haas entered the final round of the AT&T National in a four-way tie with Robert Castro, Andres Romero and James Driscoll. Including birdies on Nos. 8, 9 and 10, Haas carded a 5-under 66 for a three-stroke win over Roberto Castro.
  • The victory was cemented with a wedge from 84 yards to 9” on the par-5 16th hole, with the birdie giving him a comfortable three-stroke cushion with two holes to play.
  • Haas claimed his fifth PGA TOUR victory: 2010-Humana Challenge, Sanderson Farms Championship, 2011-TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, 2012-Northern Trust Open, 2013 AT&T National. The 2011 FedExCup champion moves to No. 7 in the FedExCup.
  • Haas now has seven top 10s (equals most on TOUR in 2013 and his own career high in 2011) in 16 starts this year.

    Kenny Perry

  • Kentucky native making his 627th TOUR start, with 14 wins, 10 runner-up and 12 third-place finishes.
  • Finished T33 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship and missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament in two previous 2013 PGA TOUR starts.
  • Won last week’s Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, one of the Champions Tour’s majors, by two shots over Duffy Waldorf and Fred Couples. He has also posted two runner-up finishes and a third-place finish in 10 Champions Tour starts in 2013.

    Tom Watson

  • Tom Watson missed the cut at the 2011 Greenbrier Classic with rounds of 75-71.
  • It was his first non-major start since the 2007 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he partnered with son Michael and finished T19. Watson came back last year with a T73 finish at the 2012 Greenbrier Classic.
  • Watson owns 39 wins, 32 second-place and 23 third-place finishes in his PGA TOUR career (605 starts).
  • Owns 14 wins, 21 second-place and eight third-place finishes in 164 Champions Tour starts.
  • At the 2011 British Open, the then 61-year-old Watson (T22) posted his 69th top-25 finish in a major.
  • The now 63-year-old Watson became The Greenbrier’s second Golf Professional Emeritus in 2005.
  • Owns two top-10 finishes in five Champions Tour starts in 2013. Missed the cut at the Masters in his only PGA TOUR start this year.

    Jordan Spieth

  • Special Temporary Member Jordan Spieth, who began the season with no PGA TOUR status, played the AT&T National as a Sponsor Exemption and finished sixth, his fifth top-10 finish of the season.
  • The Greenbrier Classic had awarded Spieth a Sponsor’s Exemption, but he gained entry into the event based on his top-10 finish last week.
  • With more than $1.1 million in earnings this season and 569 Non-member FedExCup Points, Spieth is on track to earn his 2013-14 PGA TOUR card.
  • As a Special Temporary Member, Spieth would need a win to become a regular member in order to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. He is a rookie and is eligible for the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year award at the end of the year.

    Miscellaneous Notes

  • After The Greenbrier Classic, the leading five players who are not already exempt from inside the top 20 in the FedExCup will earn a spot in The Open Championship.
  • The only other way for a player to earn a spot is to win the John Deere Classic. The John Deere Classic features a charter flight for players from Moline, Ill., directly to The Open Championship at Muirfield.

    FedExCup Rank Player Points

  • 5 Billy Horschel 1,422
  • 9 Boo Weekley 1,154
  • 16 Russell Henley 968
  • 17 Harris English 958 (not in the field this week)
  • 18 Charles Howell III 940
  • 21 Ken Duke 861

    More

  • Three players in The Greenbrier Classic field captured the Nationwide Tour event held between 2004 and 2009 at the Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, W.Va.: D.A. Points (2004), Jimmy Walker (2007) and Tom Gillis (2009).
  • Charles Howell III (T9-2010, T32-2011, MC-2012) played all 72 holes at the 2010 Greenbrier Classic without a bogey, the first player to do so and not win since Bubba Watson at the 2006 Chrysler Classic of Tucson.
  • Haskins Awards winner Michael Kim was granted an exemption to play in this year’s tournament. Kim, a University of California sophomore, won a school-record four times and finished in the top 10 in 10 of 14 events this season, helping lead the Golden Bears to 11 team victories. He has previously earned the Jack Nicklaus Award and was a first-team All-American. Kim finished as low amateur (T17) at the U.S. Open with rounds of 73-70-71-76. This is his second PGA TOUR start.
  • Also receiving a sponsor’s exemption is 13-time West Virginia Amateur Champion Pat Carter; 12 of his 13 titles have come at The Greenbrier Resort, where play rotates with alternate rounds on Old White TPC and The Greenbrier Course. Since winning the title last year, he suffered an orbital fracture in his left eye during an assault in April that caused muscle damage and blurred and degenerative vision. He is contemplating corrective surgery in August. Carter is an insurance executive from Huntington, W.Va.
  • Number of players who posted all four rounds in the 60s at The Greenbrier Classic: 2010 (46), 2011 (0), 2012 (14).
  • In 2012, the par-4 13th hole played the toughest for the week for the third consecutive year, yielding a 4.236 average. The par-5 12th hole was the easiest for the third straight year, at 4.591.
  • Scoring average comparison at The Greenbrier Classic: 2010 (68.536), 2011 (70.593), 2012 (69.781)

    Fedex Cup Playoffs

  • Seven weeks remain before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs.
  • During the 33-week PGA TOUR Season, TOUR members earn points based on their performances, with a strong emphasis placed on winning and high finishes.
  • Once the PGA TOUR Season concludes, the top-125 players on the points chart advance to the Playoffs, a series of four $8-million tournaments offering quintuple points relative to PGA TOUR Season events.
  • The FedExCup Playoffs feature a progressive cut, beginning with The Barclays in New York (125 players), continuing with the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston (100 players) and the BMW Championship in Chicago (70 players).
  • A reset takes place, seeding the top-30 players for the culminating TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola in Atlanta, where the FedExCup champion is crowned.

    The Old White TPC

  • The Greenbrier’s original of three courses, the re-named The Old White TPC, will host the third Greenbrier Classic. Originally designed by Charles Blair MacDonald in 1914, The Old White TPC has been restored to its original design by Lester George since the inaugural Greenbrier Classic in 2010. In addition to the restoration, the course now measures 7,287 yards, an increase of 256 yards from 2010.
  • Tom Watson became The Greenbrier’s second Golf Professional Emeritus in 2005. World Golf Hall of Fame member Sam Snead, the winningest player in PGA TOUR history, was the resort’s pro for 29 years and served as Golf Professional Emeritus from 1993 until his death in 2002.
  • The adjacent Greenbrier Course, built in 1924 and renovated by Jack Nicklaus in 1977, has played host to several professional golf events over the years, including the 1979 Ryder Cup (the first time players from continental Europe competed in the event, rather than just Great Britain & Ireland; the U.S. won) and the 1994 Solheim Cup (U.S. won). From 1985-87, The Greenbrier hosted a Champions Tour event, the Greenbrier American Express Championship, won by Don January (1985, ‘86) and Bruce Crampton (‘87).

    The Greenbrier Resort

  • The Greenbrier is an award-winning resort located in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia.
  • As a National Historic Landmark, The Greenbrier’s classic architecture, interior design, scenic beauty and excellent amenities have hosted distinguished guests from around the world since 1778.
  • The Greenbrier offers 721 rooms, guest/estate houses and more than 50 recreational activities, including three golf courses, indoor and outdoor tennis courts and a 40,000-square-foot spa.
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