Bubba Watson: Stylistic Shifts & Social Media Lessons

After watching Bubba Watson's shot out of the woods for maybe the 10th time, and seeing him interviewed on several prime time TV shows, I came upon PGA Trending - Sean O'Hair and Bubba Watson's Hair, a post I wrote several years ago.

It was May of 2009 Sean O'Hair had just just won at Quail Hollow... despite the presence of a pre-scandal Tiger in field... and The 2012 Masters champion was still a couple of years away from a PGA Tour win. However he'd taken a share of second, and he... or more specifically his hair... was trending on a social network called Twitter that had just been proclaimed "the next big thing". Here's an excerpt:

... The inimitable, long hitting Bubba Watson, who also edged out Tiger yesterday when he tied with Lucas Glover for second, was, in fact, trending on Twitter.

And a though he played some excellent golf at Q.Hol, much of the BubbaCentric Twittering was not focused on golf, but on ...other aspects of Mr. Watson's persona. Like his...hair:

You see what I mean? ...And the thing is, this charismatic player has undergone a couple of rather radical stylistic transformations over the years as evidenced by the graphic.

So, now that we're officially on the subject of Bubba Watson's hair, which Bubba do you like best?

So yes, that was three years ago. Watson now owns a green jacket and when it comes to social media he's being seen as something of an expert, and someone to emulate. Sree Sreenivasan, of Cnet, claims to have learned a few things about twitter from the nascent golf star, he outlines them in "Five Social Media Lessons from Bubba Watson, Masters Champ".

Ryo Ishikawa's Engagement Defies Demographic Trends

When he arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport on Sunday, Ryo Ishikawa wasn't dwelling on his disappointment over a missed Master's cut, choosing instead to tell the gathered media of his recent engagement.

"I got engaged last month, to a junior high school classmate," revealed the 20 year old Japanese superstar, without mentioning her name.  Rumors of a Ryo romance first surfaced several months ago and speculation has been rife ever since, but the identity of the fortunate future WAG is still a mystery.

The Japanese press have described her only as "a tall, slender beauty with long black hair".  No photos were released, though it seems she was in fact, in Augusta for the Masters last week, and at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational prior to that, and was introduced a number of her fiance's close friends.

"I'm now 20 years old, so I decided the time was right" Ishikawa told reporters without elaborating.  In Japan, age 20 does hold a special significance as the year one officially comes of age, however the average marrying age in Japan is significantly old than that... 30.5 for Japanese men and 28.8 for Japanese women... and those demographic statistics are a source of concern for many of the country's economists, who worry about the subsequent declining birth rates and aging population.

For Japan it's a continuing conundrum that began quite a while ago.  One look at a chart representing Japan's birth rate over the past several decades makes that clear.  It resembles an ultra-treacherous black diamond ski slope, particularly as it's coupled with substantial increases in Japanese longevity.

The crisis is often attributed, at least in part, to the fact that young people are choosing to get married later... or not at all.   And the government has tried everything from cash incentives to policies that provide more support for working parents. They've even gone so far as to develop a government dating site to help those unable to find Mr./Mrs. Right... and in what is perhaps the cutest/coolest initiative: robot babies.

Getting back to Ryo Ishikawa, he'll be competing at the Token Tado Country Club in Nagoya, Japan this week for the Japan Golf Tour's Token Homemate Cup.  As for his recent announcement though many in the media are writing jokingly about legions of disappointed female admirers, I'm guessing that those saddled with the task of coaxing Japan's birth rate higher were delighted weren't unhappy to hear that one of the country's top role models has decided to marry so young.

Fans can congratulate Ryo on his engagment at his Panasonic site.

Of Green Jackets, Boyfriends and a Bubba-Bieber Bromance

We wrote about the Bubba-Bieber Bromance a few months ago when it was in its early stages. Then, not long ago mega-popstar Justin Bieber revealed (see video above) that he had an ultra-close friendship with Bubba Watson.Soon after Mr. Watson's big Masters win yesterday, a tweet from @JustinBieber offering congratulations:

@bubbawatson proud of u man! congrats! #MASTERS
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) April 9, 2012

The youthful Mr. Bieber... by the way... has a new single. The much anticipated Boyfriend made its debut at number two on America's Billboard Hot 100 recently and has been conquering global markets as well. It's not often that a professional golfer gets covered by Access Hollywood... or makes the pages of contactmusic.com or starpulse.com or omg! or... you get my drift. Bubba Watson may be a bit... polarizing... within the rarified world of golf media, but the fact that he can transcend that insular world - thanks in part his friendship with The Biebs - is clearly going to expose the sport to a wider audience. I think the most impressive thing I've read about this relationship is that Justin Bieber is now down to an eight handicap.

Watching the Masters... With a Healthy Dose of Reality

Watching the Masters... on television and online... is not quite the same for me this year.

Augusta National still looks sublime, as it no doubt always will, but this year its sublimity is contained, in a certain sense, by my not-too-distant memories of actually being there.

It's not that the velvety green of the fairways is any less vivid than it was... the azaleas are every bit as bright and the Masters song just as evocative... but for me, there's a difference.

After spending four sultry days there in 2011, strolling narrow paths through the towering loblolly pines, stopping regularly for icy pink lemonades and spending time before and after the tournament in the town of Augusta and the rural countryside that surrounds it, The Masters is real to me now in a way that, makes it more tangible... and consequently, less magical.

If you've attended the tournament you probably know what I mean, or you may have experienced a similar sensation after visiting Paris or Hawaii... or even Disney World... for the first time.  When you grow up hearing, reading and catching carefully edited glimpses of a place purported to be magical, finally visiting that place... in the flesh... inevitably and forever changes the way you think of it.

Up till now my impressions of The Masters, and the classic MacKenzie course it's played on, were based entirely on the florid distillation of stories and imagery that came out of Augusta each year.  It existed in my mind as a completely insular place, a kind of Brigadoon that appeared out of the mist, annually, for one week in early April, then disappeared until the following Spring... when we'd once again be able to briefly experience that cloistered corner of the world with it's well preserved traditions and old-fashioned sensibilities.

The thing is,  I now realize that Augusta National during The Masters does feel magical from the inside.  Like the fictional highland hamlet of Brigadoon it's quaint and beautiful, and the Scottish villagers patrons really do seem to be harboring some sort of mysterious secret.  

Downtown Augusta

However, upon leaving the grounds each day... in the inevitable cloud of bliss a day at the Masters brings with it... a one encounters something a bit unsettling: reality.  It's right outside the gates and it's just the normal reality of life in an American city, and Augusta apart from the Masters is a contemporary Southern river city.  As in many cities though out the US, the big box retailers and ubiquitous chain restaurants make it a tough go for the small independent retailers. In downtown, one comes upon numerous empty store fronts, and some of the charming old wood houses are in woeful disrepair.  Meanwhile gentrification has resulted in leafy suburbs lined with stately homes and a revitalized Riverfront... and the hospitality and charm of the Augustans is truly heartwarming. 

So that's where the reality intersects with the fantasy, and if you're like me, once you've experienced it you'll find your Master's viewing experience has changed, just a bit... which in the end is probably a good thing.

Multifarious Masters Musings from the Folks on Twitter

Last year I was in Augusta at this time.  This year my current writing job has kept me in CT... with a deadline that's making it difficult for me to do more than take an occasional glimpse at the livestream and perform a periodic #Masters Twitter search. 

Augusta... not surprisingly... looks beautiful, but it's way too early to get a sense of how things'll play out.  At least Twitter provided me with a measure of consolation on my current plight.  In the misery-loves-company sense.

Those who find themselves at work... or school... and far from the lush fairways of Augusta may (or may not) take comfort in the fact that they're not alone:

Work is really getting in the way of watching the Masters #worksucks
— Keith Kennedy (@kkgolf32) April 5, 2012

I can certainly relate to that sentiment right now.And these.

Augusta National - A Beauty Both Simple... and Complicated

I posted this last year as I got ready to leave for The Masters. The real thing was more beautiful than I ever imagined, but I'm still impressed by the way this landscape came together.

They call it Golden Bell.  The narrow green...  protected by Rae's Creek in front and a cloud of bright pink azaleas behind... is incredibly beautiful.  Ben Hogan Bridge leads to the cloistered corner and adds a mystical element.

It's no surprise that many artists have been inspired by the 12th hole.  However the artist who created the above representation did so in a rather unique way... and it's quite impressive to watch.  See for yourself.

More from this artist
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Ernie Els, Ryo Ishikawa & the Irksome Masters Invite Issue

11/5/11 - Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images AsiaPac

With the Masters just days away, fans, players and members of the media are weighing in on the 'special invitations' debate.

The crux of the controversy, in the minds of many, seems to have boiled down to the special invitation received by Ryo Ishikawa... and the one not (up to this point) received by Ernie Els.

Interestingly, the two players being pitted against each other in the popular debate, happen to have a special relationship that transcends the current polemic. Having played mercurially together at the 2011 Presidents Cup, the likable duo became known as the "the kid and the veteran" and after two losses,  Els' insistence on keeping the pairing intact, was rewarded when Ishikawa summoned the steely nerves required to birdie the final three holes and win their last match together. 

The Masters, with its limited field and mystical aura, is the event every golfer dreams of,  and an element of controversy surrounding the elusive "special invites" is not uncommon,  with little hope of influencing the powers-that-be in Augusta, the opinionating doesn't ultimately amount to much.  It can, however be divisive... and perhaps counter-productive to the global golf cause... in the end. 

A couple of years ago, the always-outspoken Colin Montgomerie raised the invite issue with his "a la China" comment, which was seen by some players as anti-Asian, and... not surprisingly... offended many.

This year, the majority of players and fans appear to be taking a pragmatic view on the issue of the invite.  Acknowledging the attributes of each of these two players (and other's who barely missed inclusion) most seem to accept the fact that the committee at Augusta does things their own way and isn't likely to acknowledge... much less respond to... complaints, criticism or supplication.

In fact, the powerful men on Magnolia Lane are most likely absorbed with an issue potentially much more controversial than their decision on the 2012 special invitations: her name is Virginia Rometty,
and it's a fair guess she's getting more attention from the committee members then Els and Ishikawa combined. 

Note: Ryo Ishikawa fans (like me) can cheer him on with a personal message... here's how to do it.

Ryo Ishikawa Will Soon Be Seen in Nike Casual Wear (updated)

Ryo Ishikawa With Nike Sportswear Creative Director (c) NIKE

Update: Ryo receives a Masters invite!...also check out his new comercial for Asahi Dry Zero a new 0.00% alcohol, beer-tasting beverage.
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Over the past couple of years we've watched Ryo Ishikawa become a truly global golfer. 

He's played all over the world, bringing his whimsical, multi-chromatic style... and an ever-growing gaggle of Japanese journalists... to the top tournaments on multiple contents. - To the extent that it's often hard to keep track of the young superstar. - Right now Mr. Ishikawa is in Puerto Rico for the PGA Tour's Puerto Rican Open,  he'll then head to Florida for the Transitions Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.  Currently ranked 54th, and four places short of qualifying for the Masters, Ryo will be playing these next few weeks for a spot in the field at Augusta.

Japan's number one golfer seems to have magical powers be able to turn on a dime... getting from one end of the earth to another in record time. His appeal seems to transcend boarders as well earning him avid fans everywhere he goes. It's therefore no surprise to hear he's been pursued by top global brands.

In fact, the Japanese phenom just signed a contract with Nike and will soon be wearing "casual shoes and sportswear" from the iconic brand as part of a global campaign designed to convey the importance of "realizing one's dreams through various challenges".  The tenacious 20 year-old golf champion... who's also known to excel on soccer fields and ski slopes... is clearly a perfect poster boy for this message.

As always, the intrepid Noriko Imano filled me in on this story. She also sent me a link to this exuberant Asahi ad. 
 

Ryo Ishikawa's Six Days in the Snow, a Yearly Tradition

From the Arabian gulf to the the American West, last week saw many of the world's top golfers playing in places both arid and sun-drenched.

Such was definitely not the case for Ryo Ishikawa. Instead of a week in Abu Dhabi or Phoenix, the Japanese golfer hit the snow covered hills of Yuzawa, a winter resort in the mountains north of Tokyo.

The intense physical training of cross country camp has become a annual tradition for the Japan's top ranked golfer, and includes a number of rigorous challenges on the snow and in the gym, as well as mental coaching with emphasis on "relaxation of the mind to achieve high performance in tense situations."  That, and fact that this training takes place far from the fairways and greens, might explain the strategy behind Ishikawa's annual pilgrimage. After all, it wasn't long ago that Japan's young gun was described as far 'too intense' and too focused on golf. 

The change of venue will be short lived however, as Ryo now heads back to the US in hopes of earning a place at the 2012 Masters.  Currently ranked 53rd,  he'll need to be in the world's top 50 to assure himself a spot and... starting with the Northern Trust Open next week...  has a maximum of five events in which to do it.


Needless to say, we'll be pulling for him at each one.  Special thanks to awesome Japanese golf girl, @usagihiyoko for the regular Ryo-updates.

Ryo Ishikawa - Words Worth Remembering for 2012

    Ryo Ishikawa         Photo: Khalid Redza /Asian Tour via Getty Images

If you read this blog... even occasionally... you probably know that Japanese golfer Ryo Ishikawa is a favorite of ours.  We love the quiet reserve that earned him the nickname "Bashful Prince" ...and the exhuberantly colorful sartorial style that had one writer calling him "The Pink Pantster"

2011 was a challenging year for the young champion both on and off the course. He finished the season winless, and at 51 in the world, one spot shy of earning automatic qualification for the Masters.

He'll now need to make the top 50 a week before the Masters, or winon the U.S. PGA Tour, to qualify for a spot in the field at Augusta. To that end the player who was recently called "too intense"  by W#2 Lee Westwood, will be playing very... intensively between now and April.

When epic natural disaster struck his native Japan almost a year ago, the then-19-year-old announced that he would donate all of his golf earnings for 2011 to the Japan relief fund.  I don't know exactly how much that ended up being but by mid-October it was approaching $1.5 million.  It was what he said about his donation however, that earned Ryo Ishikawa a place on business writer Jena McGregor's list of the past year's most inspiring leadership quotes: 

“As my social status in Japan is getting higher, I believe that is one of the responsibilities, to provide for those people who are in need."– golfer Ryo Ishikawa, on his decision to donate all of his 2011 earnings to earthquake relief in Japan.


The list appeared yesterday at On Leadership the blog McGregor writes for TheWashingtonPost.com. She explains that she finds Ishikawa’s quote memorable for a couple of reasons, "...one is his use of the word “responsibility” to describe what he believes he owes the Japanese people because his status in the golf world has risen.  The second is his remarkable willingness to donate all of his earnings of last year to earthquake relief. So many people in power are paid far more handsomely than Ishikawa, and yet we don’t know of many who have made such generous gestures."

If you're a Ryo Ishikawa fan you can do what we did and send the inspiring golf star New Year message here.

The Green Velvet Majesty of Augusta National

John Updike dreamed about golf and wrote of his dreams in prose so lovely and lyrical it inevitably makes me smile... or cry.   Really beautiful things do that to me.

Since I started writing this blog I've read volumes on the singular beauty of Augusta National so I probably should have anticipated an emotional response, but my golf roots aren't deep... my family doesn't play and I first picked up a club a mere five years ago... so I thought I'd be fine. --->


And I was for a while.  I checked my phone and car keys, had my badge scanned and proceeded along the path to the practice area.

A couple of things stood out right away: The cheerful contentment  of each and every staffer, and the total absence of logos, bright colors and garish signs.  These elements reinforce the old-fashioned gentility of Augusta National.  Concession stands and shops are uniformly green... scaled to size.  They accommodate a surprising number of people without appearing overly crowded.  Lines move quickly. It's impressive. 

So are the hills.  The course is very hilly, which is something I didn't realize, despite the endless hours of televised Masters coverage I'd enjoyed over the years.  I passed the scoreboard and climbed the first hill.  At the summit I found myself looking down on a gauzy, multi-tonal carpet of green.  There were dozens of different shades but they blended perfectly across the undulating landscape.  For a moment that view literally... absolutely... took my breath away.  Clichéd as that might sound.

I then approached a couple of volunteers, having realized that without the cell phone I'd just checked at the door, I'd have no idea of the time.  Before I could ask for the hour,  they both smiled... in the indulgent, empowering way, a parent smiles at an inquisitive child as presents are opened on Christmas morning. At this point a wave of wonderment struck me. and of course,  I'm smiling too. And crying at the same time.   


Augusta National really does have a beauty that's unparalleled anywhere else in the world, and it wraps those who are fortunate enough to walk its fairways in a unique, verdant warmth.  I count myself extremely lucky to be one of them.

Once Upon a Time at the Masters

Image: Via HistoricGolfPhotos.com

No matter how wondrous a particular event or experience may be, it seems we're compelled... as 21st century humans... to move on quickly.  These days...with the availability of instant information on almost everything... our attention spans are shorter than ever.

The Masters, despite its otherworldly awesomeness, is not immune to this collective obsession with what's next, and that's where we find ourselves now.

The 2011 Masters has had its four days... its week, if you will... and perhaps more importantly, it had the weeks of anticipation leading to it.  These are the weeks of building excitement, when we discuss various possibilities and speculate on probable outcomes.  Eventually, during these pre-Masters weeks, we wind up reminiscing on past events and experiences, and to that end, I feel I'll have much to write about next year when the fervor for 2012 Masters begins. --->

For now however, I want to tell you about a few of the highlights of my 2011 Masters experience.  It was my first time time at the storied tournament and as such it'll always hold special memories.  I'll post these stories here over the next few days... look for links via Twitter and Facebook.

By now you've read all about the electrifying action on course, so I won't go there.  I'll focus instead on my impressions as a first time visitor... of the course and the people I met there.  These, after all are the elements that make the Masters what it is. 

* The Magic and the Majesty of Augusta National
* Of Pinched Chairs and Lost Husbands
* The Furtive Passing of Plastic Cups
* Luke Donald's Awesome Older Brother
* The Evening Procession of Massive Mowers
* Random Encounters With Patrons
* Spectator Style Sheet
* South Africans Sure know how to Celebrate

Image: Via HistoricGolfPhotos.com

The Otherworldly Awesomeness of The Masters

I left Augusta this morning.  En route back home after four days at the Masters, I'm feeling somewhat melancholy. Post-Masters blues? I think that's what I've got.
 
I'm currently in Charlotte, NC waiting for a flight that will take me back to the chilly, gray skies and brown lawns of Connecticut.

I've written about golf for several years now and have attempted... more than once... to put this trip together, but early April is a busy time for me and there always seemed to be a scheduling conflict looming.  Furthermore, my numerous applications for media credentials have always been tersely denied politely dismissed.

So a couple of months ago, when a reader/friend/patron generously offered me the two series badges he wouldn't be able to use this year,  I knew this would be my Masters.  At the last minute, my better half had to make an unexpected overseas trip, so I decided to stay with a friend who lives in big beautiful house in the middle of acres and acres of farmland, 20 miles south of Augusta.  This friend isn't a golfer but is a gardener and she'd been dreaming of seeing the azaleas, the historic magnolias and the Eisenhower tree. When I proposed Nick's ticket to her she was delighted. --->

That's how the trip came together.  And as is sometimes the case when things "fall into place", it was beyond perfect.  Ultimately,  I was amazed by the beauty of the course that I'd seen on a small screen each year for decades.  The palpable history, the aura of reverence and the spectacle of watching the world's most fabulous golfers on the fairways and greens of Augusta National made for one of the most amazing and awesome experiences I've ever had.

I'm glad I was able to attend the Masters as a spectator because in the end it allowed me... and my horticulturally inclined friend... to really experience the tournament, to walk the course and interact with the other spectators in a way that isn't always possible when one is working.

I'll be posting my observations... on the tournament, the fashions, the course and the overall experience... a bit later today.  Right now I've got a plane to catch.

The Springtime of a Dashing Young Spaniard

Golf meant nothing to me growing up, which may seem strange when you consider that my first twenty years were spent in Greenwich, CT, where cloistered country clubs... and the golf courses within them... are almost as ubiquitous as the fine restaurants and expensive emporiums that line the town's main shopping street.

However, Greenwich is a coastal community too, and I spent my summers sailing on Long Island Sound.  Sunfish regattas and Laser racing... the splashing, speed and billowing spinnakers... always seemed more fun and exciting to me than the deliberate-looking game that took place beyond the trim hedges of those back country bastions. ---->

I never thought of golf as a spectator sport either.  In fact the only memory I have of televised golf as I was growing up, is the yearly right-of-spring that was the Masters,  and I don't think there's anyone who grew up in the US who doesn't have memories of that. The intense, velvety green, the bright pink, and the evocative Masters song were all unmistakable and memorable.

Even those who never followed the sport inevitably caught bits and pieces of the Masters spectacle each year... on some TV screen, somewhere... and I'm quite sure the memories resonate with many to this day,  as they do with me.

But my most vivid golf memory of that era... the seventies and eighties... is of glancing up at the family television one random Friday in early spring and seeing the most implausibly handsome man I'd ever seen.  It was Seve Ballesteros of course.  He'd just turned 23 and was on his way to winning the 1980 Masters.  I remember thinking that he didn't look like a golfer... though I don't suppose I really had much of an idea what a golfer looked like.  I do know I made a point to watch the tournament for the remainder of the weekend, which must have seemed extremely odd to my family.  I also absconded with the next issue of Sports Illustrated, the one that featured "The Youngest Master" on its cover.

I developed a major crush that long ago springtime, on the man sports writers everywhere were describing as dashing.  He was sexy and exciting in way that seemed out-of-context on the trim fairways of staid country clubs.  Back then they didn't use the word hot, but in retrospect, Seve was the epitome of hot. 

His appeal of however, went way beyond his physique.  Despite my disinterest in golf at the time, I noticed the way he played; the unbridled, scrambling way.  When I read, not long ago, that he had defended that wild Friday round in 1980 by saying, "...it doesn't matter where you put the drive if you make the putt" and then adding, "it's very boring to go fairway, fairway, fairway," my continued infatuation made more sense.

Seve seemed very foreign too.  In the much more insular world of the early eighties, he was exciting and magical in a way that suddenly made golf compelling, and made me a nascent fan of a sport I'd never had the least bit of interest in before.

Over the year's that followed I watched the ups and downs of Señor Ballesteros: a second Masters, three Claret Jugs and his prolific Ryder Cup partnership with fellow Spainard Jose Maria Olazabal were all brilliant, though they were sometimes overshadowed by the injuries and altercations.

The Masters is when the memories of Ballestero's brilliance are most vivid and those memories are bound to be amplified in the wake of his recent death.

At the 2011 Champion's Dinner earlier this week, Phil Mickelson chose to honor Seve by selecting a menu based on the cuisine of Spain, and my Spanish golf writer friends have written some moving tributes to their countryman who is without a doubt one of the 20th century's greatest golfers, and whose talent and charisma is what brought so many fans, from so many places, to the game.

I'm heading to Augusta tomorrow, for the first time, and it's definitely a trip inspired by Seve.

Photos: Seve Ballesteros 1980 via Bleacher Report, The Youngest Master John Iacono/SI, Second shot on hole 10, Hugo Costa, Canal+Golf

GolfGirl Infographics - 2011 Masters, Early Picks

Infographics are awesome.  Marketers love them - that's a given - but so do regular folks, and these days they're everywhere; offering a whimsical visual representation of virtually anything,  from the cause of jet lag... to the cost of a latte... to the demographics of the internet.

At their simplest infographics are merely charts or graphs,  but they can also be compelling works of an illustrator's art. 



The Masters begins in a week and already it's THE major topic of conversation in golf. The tournament's distinctive history and unique traditions... combined with the wealth of statistics that come out of it each year makes it quiet "infographically friendly".

I've put together a quick word visualization infographic (above) based on early 2011 Masters picks (about 60). I culled them from predictions posted in the forum at sandtrap.com  and randomly on Twitter.  Yes, Tiger dominates, thus his name kind of stands out on the above. Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Nick Watson were also popular, then came Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell ... and so on.  The tiniest names had only been picked by one fan as of Wednesday 4/30 PM.  The pie below can only accomodate a few of the top picks.  I must work on that.  Anyway it's a start.

I have a feeling I'll be creating a few more visual representations of the 2011 Masters before it's over.

 

 Also...

3 votes - Hunter Mahan
2 votes each - Lee~Westwood, Anthony~Kim, Rickie~Fowler, Rory~Mcilroy, Luke~Donald, K.J.~Choi
1 vote each - Sergio~Garcia, Miguel~Jiminez, Angel~Cabrera, Ryo~Ishikawa, Ian~Poulter, Ernie~Els, Alvaro~Quiros, Justin~Rose,  Ricky~Barnes, Mark~Wilson, Steve~Stricker, Retief~Goose, Francesco~Molinari