Paul and Paige vs. The Field(s) at Worlds?

[ChefKoolaid]

Split worlds into 2 wkds with a cut after the 1st. Simple.

 

[DiscFifty]

Really like GG's (if he's playing?) chances. If his putter stays hot, he could walk away with it. Paul, Kevin are my 2 picks. If Eagle just tames his finesse game a tad bit, he's right there with them. Nate Sexton is playing well lately, he's always a threat.

 

[Streets]

Really like GG's (if he's playing?) chances. If his putter stays hot, he could walk away with it. Paul, Kevin are my 2 picks. If Eagle just tames his finesse game a tad bit, he's right there with them. Nate Sexton is playing well lately, he's always a threat.

GG is definitely a dark horse but I agree...he's got the distance, just has to keep putting like he has been.

 

[DiscJunkie]

Love GG, love watching him...
But his putting form is questionable...and so his putting is streaky.
Maybe if he gets hot and stays hot??
Hard to believe that GG's putting stroke can handle pressure, especially if PM is on his heels.

 

[thirtydirtybirds]

I'd like to see a Barsby repeat personally. Not sure if it's the courses for him though, but I do think he has it in him to make a solid run and be in the hunt.

I think if Ricky gets in to Ricky land mentally, he could win again.

I think Paul wants it most though.

 

[dreadlock86]

barsby? not gonna happen

i would gladly eat my words since he's always been one of my favorite players but i really doubt i'll have to

 

[DiscFifty]

barsby? not gonna happen

i would gladly eat my words since he's always been one of my favorite players but i really doubt i'll have to

yah..it's a bit strange, he's rated with the elite players, but when I watch him play I just never get the vibe he could beat Eagle, Paul. I am starting to think a 1040+ rated player is on a totally different level than a 1025+ rated player. You would think 15-20 points wouldn't mean that much of a difference, but at the very elite top I think it represents a huge gap in overall skill, consistency, etc.

 

[dreadlock86]

absolutely it's a huge difference. Barsby is not rated with the elite players, in terms of the stage of an event like Worlds. he's tied for 23rd highest rating with MJ, Feldberg, and Proctor. since the beginning of the season he went down 5-6 ratings points to 1026. when you look at the number and quality of players above him on that list who are not really big contenders at Worlds, it puts things in perspective: Orum, Leiviska, Colgalzier, Uli, Gurthie...

 

[DiscJunkie]

This is why I think we need to go back to 6+ rounds at MPO Worlds.
Barsby got hot and played some great DG, and Paul was on his heels. Paul made up 3 strokes on the last (5th) round
What do you think would have happened if they played another round or two??
Same thing that happened in Portland Worlds (6 rounds, Semis and Final 9), where Paul won in a playoff.
Someone said that in his run from 2012-2015, if they had cut it off after 4 or 5 rounds, PM would not have won a single MPO Worlds.
I don't want to take anything away from Barsby, there's few people that are more deserving and nobody can take that title away from him.
Still, I think that Worlds deserves more than 4 or 5 rounds so that the the most skilled and consistent player wins.

 

[JC17393]

This is why I think we need to go back to 6+ rounds at MPO Worlds.
Barsby got hot and played some great DG, and Paul was on his heels. Paul made up 3 strokes on the last (5th) round
What do you think would have happened if they played another round or two??
Same thing that happened in Portland Worlds (6 rounds, Semis and Final 9), where Paul won in a playoff.
Someone said that in his run from 2012-2015, if they had cut it off after 4 or 5 rounds, PM would not have won a single MPO Worlds.
I don't want to take anything away from Barsby, there's few people that are more deserving and nobody can take that title away from him.
Still, I think that Worlds deserves more than 4 or 5 rounds so that the the most skilled and consistent player wins.

Thing is, when Worlds was 7-8+ rounds, it was on shorter, less challenging courses where volume of play was needed to off-set the lack of real challenge. Now we've got Worlds being played on courses that are designed specifically for the truly elite players (the 1020+ rated guys). I don't think we need more rounds on courses like they used in VT last year or that they're using in Peoria this year to find the best and most skilled players. They test these players way more than the courses 10-15 years ago did, so fewer holes are necessary to allow for the cream to rise.

I don't buy the argument about McBeth's world titles and where he would have been after 4 or 5 rounds. He knew he had all those rounds, he played accordingly. If those had been scheduled for fewer rounds, he likely plays the whole tournament differently. Does he still win? Maybe, maybe not, but it's meaningless to chop off the last 2-3 rounds that he did play and declare he would have lost a shorter event.

 

[DiscJunkie]

JC, seems like we've had this discussion along these lines before.
There's no objective way to prove either opinion.
We'll just agree to disagree.

 

[slowplastic]

Someone said that in his run from 2012-2015, if they had cut it off after 4 or 5 rounds, PM would not have won a single MPO Worlds.

So what you're saying is Paul has to prove he can win a Worlds with fewer rounds. Prove he can win by being at the top every round of the tournament, rather than by making the fewest mistakes over a longer time while stressing out his competitors.

Show us Paul opcorn:

(If he sees this I'm basically expecting course record/hottest rounds on at least two of the rounds...)

 

[dreadlock86]

JC, seems like we've had this discussion along these lines before.
There's no objective way to prove either opinion.
We'll just agree to disagree.

you don't have to prove anything. what actually happened is what is most likely to have happened. it doesn't stand to reason at all that Paul would have played differently knowing there were 1 or 2 fewer rounds. nobody plans on having bad rounds, no matter how many rounds the event is.

i'm with you. Paul most likely would have lost.

 

[susentangel]

Will the FPO be playing Eureka Temp?

 

[JC17393]

Will the FPO be playing Eureka Temp?

No. They're playing Sunset Hills and Northwoods Blue.

 

[perklc]

it doesn't stand to reason at all that Paul would have played differently knowing there were 1 or 2 fewer rounds.

It absolutely does stand to reason that he would have played differently. You hear it all the time on pro commentary where they talk about a shot that they wouldn't take in an early round but they might take later in the tournament if they need to be more aggressive. Paul (especially that era Paul) is one of the most aggressive players on tour, so there probably weren't as many spots like that as there might be for others, but I would be surprised if there weren't some spots he would have pushed earlier if the tournament was shorter.

 

[dreadlock86]

there is a difference between your approach and your score. of course Paul would plan his game differently but it doesn't stand to reason that in a round where he player shot a relatively higher score, it would have been a lower score if he had known there would be 2 fewer rounds and wanted to get aggressive. if he's already not shooting well that day, how is getting more aggressive going to help?

 

[JC17393]

there is a difference between your approach and your score. of course Paul would plan his game differently but it doesn't stand to reason that in a round where he player shot a relatively higher score, it would have been a lower score if he had known there would be 2 fewer rounds and wanted to get aggressive. if he's already not shooting well that day, how is getting more aggressive going to help?

Because a higher score isn't always a result of poor play. Sometimes it's a matter of playing more conservative and safe. If he's not even attempting to get to the green for a deuce on a given hole, then three is the best he's going to get even if he plays it perfectly.

Fewer holes mean each throw is worth just a bit more overall. One can afford more safe threes when there are more rounds to be played. There's an element of easing one's way into the tournament when there are more rounds to play. The old "marathon, not a sprint" mentality is a factor.

 

[ejvogie]

Paul has won plenty of tournaments with 4 rounds or less on Pro level courses.

 

[dreadlock86]

so you're saying that if there were fewer rounds then Paul would have been less likely to play conservatively and would have come from behind those rounds to win because... McBeast? or that it's impossible to tell?

i don't think i care to think about this hypothetical any further unless i actually go back for each year and put together a daily score board and then take into account what course was played and what the weather was like. 2 of those 4 years they played the same course each day.