I knew that Jim Furyk was a cool customer.  But after seeing his reaction to the earthquake earlier this week, I think his new nickname should be Ice Man.

Full video after the break:

Padraig Harrington, currently 26th in the world rankings,  recently told the Irish Golf Desk that he believes he can become the #1 player in the world.

I think Tiger has opened it up to everybody else. In fact, I am closer to being world No 1 now than I was when I was world No 3.

Technically, that is true.  He’s currently less than 6 points behind Lee Westwood compared to almost 11 points behind Tiger in 2008 when he was ranked 3rd.  But does anybody besides Harrington think that he’s got a legitimate shot at becoming the world #1?

An unwavering belief in yourself is a part of what lets somebody compete at the highest levels of sport, but in this case Harrington is borderline delusional.  He’s 39 years old, hasn’t won since 2008 and would literally have to play the best golf of his life over the next 2 years, while hoping that Tiger doesn’t return to form and that guys like Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Phil Mickelson, and Jim Furyk forget how to swing a golf club.

Harrington isn’t even on top of the list of Irish golfers who could become the next world #1.  If I had to pick an Irish golfer who could become the next #1, Harrington would be a distant 3rd on my list behind Graeme McDowell (#4) and Rory McIlroy (#12).

I do have to say though, that if Harrington does manage to grab the #1 spot, at least we’d have a world #1 that has won a major (or 3).  Oh no he didn’t!  Oh yes I did.

Irish Golf Desk (via Waggleroom)

[Image Flickr/James Marvin Phelps]

You can buy Yes! Golf's artificial putting green

You may or may not be aware (or even care) that Yes! golf recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  That’s the “we’re kaput” kind of bankruptcy, not the Chapter 11 “let’s get out of paying off our debt and reboot this company” kind of bankruptcy.

Even though Jim Furyk recently won the Fedex cup using one of their putters, they still weren’t able to turn things around.  I guess the fact that Furyk got the putter for $39 out of the used putter bin at a local golf shop should have been a clue.

So on January 18th, Heritage Global Partners will be auctioning off the assets of Yes! Golf via a live webcast.  The list of assets to be auctioned off includes:

Patented technology of innovative Yes! Golf Putter design,  various Registered Trademarks of Yes!, Yes! Golf, Yes! Golf logo, C Groove Putters,  etc. Inventory of putters, putter heads, accessories, apparel, training aids, components, and shafts. Capital equipment including equipment molds, office equipment, office furnishings, and more!

Most bidders will probably be after the IP, but they do look to have quite a bit of inventory sitting around in warehouses though.  If anybody wants to put an investment group together, I’m in for a Benjamin!

Heritage Global Partners

The US played a great match and has nothing to be ashamed of.  Playing in Europe is always difficult.  In fact the US has only won in Europe twice in the past 30 years (1993 and 1981).  When a match comes down to the final few holes of the final pairing, you really can’t ask for anything more as a golf fan.  Yes, it sucks that the US lost, but they gave it 100% and the Europeans won fair and square.

The Good:

Tiger - The #1 player in the world seems to be coming back into form.  This was his best Ryder Cup ever.  Who would have actually thought that the #1 player in the world would be the #1 points earner on the US team?   Working with Sean Foley is apparently paying off.  He wasn’t tack sharp over the weekend but he dropped the hammer on Monday shooting 9 under through 15 holes against Francesco Molinari.  If that’s any indication of what he is going to do the next time he tees it up on tour… well, look out because 19 majors will come very quickly.

Rickie Fowler – The Ryder Cup looked like it might be over with 4 holes left to play in his match with Eduardo Molinari, but 3 straight birdies allowed Fowler to halve the match and keep the American’s chances alive.  No, he didn’t play well overall, but the moxy that he showed on Monday will be a valuable asset to future US Ryder Cup teams.

Hunter Mahan – You could tell how much this all meant to Mahan during the press conference.  Hopefully he will be able to come to terms with the fact that he didn’t lose the Ryder Cup.  The US team lost the Ryder Cup on Sunday.  They almost won it on Monday, but that certainly wasn’t when they lost it.

Phil Mickelson – He showed his class stepping in to help out a heart-broken Hunter Mahan in the press conference.

Steve Stricker – They should call him Super Steve or something.  He played solidly all weekend, as usual.  He and Tiger should just be permanently paired together at the Ryder Cup.  Their 6-1-0 record is outstanding.  Maybe we should give them a celebrity couple name like Striger.

Lee Westwood – He played some great golf coming off of his leg injury.  He took over the #2 spot in the world (although the Ryder Cup didn’t really have anything to do with that) and now has a shot at becoming the next world #1 (that’s a subject for an entire new post).

Graham McDowell – Wow.  A US Open win at Pebble Beach and then being the guy that closes out the final match in one of the closes Ryder Cups in recent memory?  Life is good.

Luke Donald – He played exceptionally well, going 3-1-0 and continuing his unbeaten foursomes record.  He was clearly the best pick Monty made and I am eating some crow over his performance.

The Bad:

The Captainess - Raingate.  I realize this probably wasn’t actually Lisa Pavin’s fault, but if you want the title, you get either the credit or the blame that comes with it.  Did it not occur to anybody that they needed functional rain gear for an October Ryder Cup in Wales?

Phil Mickelson – Yes, he showed his class in the press conference.  He also played some pretty poor golf last week.  I wouldn’t expect the world #2 to have the worst record of any US player in Ryder Cup History.

Jim Furyk – I think the FedEx cup just took too much out of him.  I know that he denied any effect during the press conference, but the Jim Furyk we all saw this past week, was not the same Jim Furyk we saw at East Lake.

Molinari Brothers - They got beat like drums without a single point between the two of them.  Not much else to say.

Colin Montgomerie – Yes, his team won so he can’t be completely awful.  However, he’s paranoid and I still contend that the Europeans won despite his captain’s selections.  Does anybody think that it would have come down to the last pairing on Monday if Eduardo Molinari and Padraig Harrington had been replaced by Paul Casey and Justin Rose?

Corey Pavin – Honestly I think his captaincy was a mess.  I know they almost staged one of the greatest comebacks in Ryder Cup history, but honestly I don’t get the impression that he had much to do with it.  He never seemed to exude leadership.  Apparently he even expressed some confusion during one press conference about the total number of matches that were played.  Really????  He just seemed overwhelmed and unable to take the helm of the US team.  I wonder if he will ever lose the nickname “Borey Pavin”.

Photo by Rob Hayashida Sandbox8.com

In an inspirational moment to over-sleepers everywhere, Jim Furyk has won the FedEx Cup and claimed both the $10m FedEx Cup prize and $1.3m for winning the Tour Championship.  Furyk added some dramatic tension over the last few holes, but the best bunker player in the world hit one of the most clutch bunker shots of his career to claim golf’s largest payday.

Maybe Furyk can afford a back-up alarm clock now?  Or he could even hire somebody to do this every morning.

In Ryder Cup news, Monty has got to be feeling good about Luke Donald’s current form.  Although he’s still probably feeling some indigestion over Paul Casey.  I mean seriously, you didn’t put the #7 player in the world on your team?  And hopefully Matt Kuchar will step his game back up for next week.  5 over par from the guy leading the FedEx Cup isn’t exactly the performance we need from him next week.