Quigley in Greenwich

By Greg Midland

I had the pleasure of spending some time with PGA Tour player Brett Quigley at an event last night at the Vineyard Vines store in Greenwich, Conn. Quigley, who has a sponsorship deal with Vineyard Vines, was in town to help promote the company's spring line and play in an outing today at the Country Club of Fairfield. (I hope he brought thermals for the round).

Quigley, who grew up in Rhode Island but now lives in Florida, is part of a great golf family. His uncle Dana is an 11-time winner on the Champions Tour and his father, Paul, has won a ton of amateur events in New England. Brett, who turns 40 later this year, is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory (he has two Nationwide Tour wins), but he does hold a notable Met Area distinction: He was the medalist at the 2006 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying Round at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, N.J., shooting 68-63. Of course, he joked last night that his performance was "completely forgotten," because another player in the field that year, Michelle Wie, received 99.9 percent of the attention from the 5,000 spectators and more than 250 members of the media who descended on Canoe Brook.

Even though Tour pros are among the most accessible athletes in sports, it's always nice to see just how down-to-earth someone like Quigley is. Here's a guy who has won just over $10 million in his professional career, and yet it's obvious that he simply loves to talk golf. Like any golfer, he tends to linger more on his disappointments (two chances to win tournaments in March that resulted in second-place finishes) than his successes. Surely he would have preferred to be in the Masters field this week, but he still seemed to be enjoying himself.

The talk turned to future major championships, and Quigley, who didn't make the field for the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage and has never played there, would love a crack at the Black this year. There's a good chance he will have to qualify to make the Open field, and if so, those of us here at the MGA are hoping he'll be in the field at the June 8 Sectional Qualifying Round at Century Country Club in Purchase, N.Y. Here's hoping that Quigley continues his success. He's an easy guy to root for.

Lucky 13 for Tiger

It’s hard to believe, but this is Tiger’s 15th Masters appearance (his 13th as a professional). He has grown up before our eyes, from a skinny Southern California kid who won six consecutive USGA titles from 1991-‘96 (three Juniors, three Amateurs) to an incredibly well-built, mentally strong, virtually unstoppable force in golf. During that time, he has amassed more course knowledge about Augusta National than any other player, especially when it comes to reading the greens. He will continue to be the favorite in every major championship until well into the next decade, and despite coming off reconstructive knee surgery last year, he appears to be in top form heading into the first major of the year. No matter what he says, Tiger would love nothing more than to win the Grand Slam (and tie Jack Nicklaus with 18 majors in the process). You can’t win all four without winning the first.

The Euro is Rising: A European has not won the Masters in 10 years, since Jose Maria Olazabal came out on top. If it’s not Tiger, I’d look for either Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, or Padraig Harrington to end the Euro drought. Casey, in particular, seems to be peaking at the right time, having just won last week in Houston. And with three top-10s in four Masters appearances, Casey obviously feels comfortable on the course. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Casey become the sixth player in history to win the week before the Masters and then go on to claim the green jacket (the last was Phil Mickelson in 2006).

Greg Midland