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HOF MC X 2

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The Zurich Classic is the start of a new chapter for the Tours cut challenged. Naw Leans is the first single-course, 156-player field of the year, noteworthy because the Thursday-Friday talent pool just got deeper and playing the weekend just got harder.
 
As they say in the Crescent City, laissez les bon temps roulez. Let the good times roll.
 
Made Cut
 
  • Kenny Perry: Funny how in golf a player can increase his Q rating with a well-handled loss almost as much as he can with a well-earned victory. Angel Cabrera headed down Magnolia Lane with a new green jacket in tow, while Perrys trip back to Franklin, Ky., probably featured more soul searching but a new legion of fans trailing.
     
    Seems honesty plays well in victory or defeat, and the from-the-hip Perry kept it going this week in New Orleans when asked about the conversation between the Masters runner-up and his father, Ken.
     
    He just felt sorry for me. He just wanted to give me a hug, Perry said. He actually was speechless. There wasn't a lot said. You know, we just kind of hung on out and we sat there for a while. Then he started opening up a little bit, not a lot. He just didn't want to go back there, I don't think. He just wanted to tell me how proud he was of me, and it was a good time.
     
  • Harbour Town: Brian Gays 10-stroke romp aside, the short hitter ' relative by Tour standards ' would probably be the first to admit the number of courses he can realistically contend on can be counted on a single hand. The long-ball reality of the modern Tour is that the Harbour Towns and Colonials are heading the way of the Dodo. Instead we get a steady diet of sprawling ballparks like this weeks TPC Louisiana, a 7,300 yard behemoth that favors the long hitter and little else.
     
    Variety, at least on Tour, seems limited to the buffet line.
     
    Missed Cut ' Did not finish (MDF)
     
  • Zurich officials: Always good to see a financial services company step up to the plate and extend a sponsorship, like Zurich officials did last week for the NOLA stop through 2014, but there is a greater good in New Orleans that seems to be getting overlooked.
     
    There has been a push afoot to remake the citys beleaguered municipal layouts in the image of Atlantas East Lake project, which revitalized a rundown neighborhood with a mixture of public and private housing and a championship-caliber layout worthy of hosting a major event.
     
    The Bayou District Foundation continues to push for the City Park project, which would revitalize the Katrina-battered surrounding areas and probably the Zurich Classic by moving the event closer to the city center, but the Tour recently signed an extension to stay at TPC Louisiana, which is one of the circuits more unpopular layouts and a good 30-minute drive from downtown.
     
    Zurich Financial Services CEO Jim Schiro gave the event an encouraging one-putt this week when he said, 'Coming to New Orleans was one of the best decisions we've ever made.
     
    One more good decision would make a good event something special.
     
  • Hall of Fame: Lanny Wadkins waited too long, and getting the HOF nod rights a wrong chapter that prattled on far too long. Its time the Hall starts doling out more make goods and it should start with Sandy Lyle.
     
    Lyle has the street cred, two majors, six PGA Tour titles and 23 international titles. What he doesnt have is a self-promotion gear which has probably slowed his ascension into the Hall.
     
    The European Ryder Cup snub was an unnecessary blow, but one that cannot be reeled back. Getting into the Hall would help.
     

    Missed Cut
     
  • Tweeting: Word is Stewart Cink has 1.5 million followers on Twitter, or so it seems.
     
    While Cink is one of the Tours most likeable guys, and probably the player wed vote most likely to Twitter, there are limits to the spread of instant media.
     
    Tiger Woods, for example, didnt need to be punching in 140 characters or less after bogeying the last two holes at Augusta National. Probably would have gone something like, What the &*%$^* Tiger. What the &*%$^* Stevie. What the &*%$^* Hank.
     
    Ditto for Phil Mickelson, whose closing 37 on the back nine Sunday at the Masters would have prompted a similar post: What the &*%$^* Tiger. What the &*%$^* Stevie. What the &*%$^* Hank.
     
  • Hall of Fame II: Cut Line normally doesnt pile on with a double clutch, but we cant help ourselves.
     
    After Wadkins the list of others receiving votes was interesting, if not confusing. Davis Love III, still an active member of the Tour who is eyeing a spot on this years Presidents Cup team, got 27 percent of the vote.
     
    When the time comes DL3 will get the call, victory No. 20 last year at Disney assured that, so why do we have to go through a decade or more playing will he, wont he?
     
    The current minimum for consideration is 40 years old, far too early for todays conditioned golfers. Lets take the guess work out of it, jump the minimum to 50 and let all the Hall talk come at a more natural pace.
     

    Email your thoughts to Rex Hoggard
     
    Related Links:
  • Full Coverage - Zurich Classic