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1. A new commissionerThe transition will occur a bit more quickly than expected, but that should be no problem when Jay Monahan takes over as PGA Tour commissioner on Jan. 1. Tim Finchem has been grooming him for the job, naming him deputy commissioner in 2014 -- a position that had not existed for 20 years, one that Finchem filled prior to his move up in 1994 -- as well as chief executive officer duties for the past nine months.It would have never come to Mondays policy board vote had the outcome not already been determined long ago. The PGA Tour does not operate in that manner. Monahan comes to the top job with eight years of experience at the tour, not to mention two different stints as a tournament director as well as key roles in marketing and sales. He has been doing much of the day to day work for the past year.As Finchem has often stated since announcing his intentions to step down, there is a big team of executives in place that helped him put the tour in a strong position, fully sponsored tournaments throughout the year, robust purses and a solid contingent of young star players to build around.2. The issuesThat is not to say Monahan, 46, will not have things to tackle immediately. A big one is FedExs sponsorship of the season-long points race that concludes with a $35 million playoff series, of which $10-million is presented to the winner. Rory McIlroy just celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the system by pocketing the big prize when he won the Tour Championship and the overall title.But the 2016-17 season is the last under the current deal with FedEx, and there is some mild surprise that an extension has not been announced. Is the tour waiting to let Monahan do so? Is a potential different sponsor in play? That is a huge sum of money to find if it isnt there, and it is hard to believe Finchem would stick Monahan with such a burden. Yet it is an issue to be resolved.Television rights deals are also not far off, and they are a big part of Finchems legacy. He used the popularity of Tiger Woods to leverage huge deals that resulted in enormous purses over the length of his tenure. The current contracts with CBS and NBC run through 2021, but there is an opt-out clause that can kick in next year.If the PGA Tour is willing to shake things up, it is possible that is why the FedEx deal has not been announced. Nevertheless, those are just two of the big items facing Monahan as he takes over.3. Wish listThere are unlikely to be huge changes in the short term at PGA Tour headquarters. Such is the relative popularity and success of Finchem and Monahans transition that he would not be compelled to stir things up, especially in a controversial manner.While the commissioner does not have the power to make changes at will, he can certainly have a big influence. For now, well put forth two things wed like to see, one inside the ropes and the other outside.First, slow play. Everyone talks about it, but nobody does anything about it. Watching on television doesnt come close to showing the problems. Spectators at events, however, must get frustrated with the length of time between shots, the constant fretting on the greens and any number of issues that have an influence on how long it takes to play. The players themselves get annoyed with the pace, which seems to be accepted as five-plus hours.What to do? The fine system in place clearly does not serve as a deterrent, so some sort of stroke penalties have to be enforced, maybe as quickly as after a single warning. If it means a shot clock, so be it. If it means heavy fines in addition, even better. And they should be announced. There is no better way to get the slow-pokes moving than to hit them with stroke penalties and call them out publicly.Second, transparency in discipline. Finchem has held firm in his belief that announcing player transgressions doesnt do anyone any good. To maintain the tours image, he has kept any disciplinary measures -- save for positive performance-enhancing drug tests -- private.We dont necessarily need to hear about every time a player cusses at a volunteer, or skips a mandatory meeting. But to keep quiet positive tests for recreational drugs not only creates doubt about the overall testing program, it hardly serves as a means to stop the behavior.Major sports leagues typically announce when a player fails a drug test, for whatever variety. Just like other athletes, golfers are not perfect, and some have issues. To keep it secret with a fine or suspension that nobody knows about only serves to protect the violator from embarrassment.It also invites skepticism of the overall anti-doping program. There are few who believe that performance-enhancing drugs are prevalent in golf. But if you dont announce failed drug tests for recreational drugs, why should we believe youll announce them for a failed PED test?4. Speaking of drug testsThe International Golf Federation reported that all of the golfers who competed in the Olympic Games in Rio passed anti-doping tests associated with their participation.The organization which oversaw the competition said 197 golfers, men and women, were tested between May 6 and the close of the games on Aug. 21, and no anti-doping violations were discovered. The IGF said each player was tested at least once.Olympic requirements are more stringent than what players face on the PGA Tour, another issue for the new commissioner to consider.5. Fore!It seems simple enough, but amazingly, such a shout out for an errant shot doesnt always occur at the pro level. Although this might not be high on Monahans list, it is another thing to consider.6. Ryder Cup chatterSome five weeks after the conclusion of the Ryder Cup, the event continues to be a big topic of conversation. It speaks to the events popularity and intensity that even this far removed -- and with so much time before the next one in France -- it can garner such interest and speculation.So it was that Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood have both come out in favor of changes to a European Ryder Cup selection process that has seemingly worked just fine for the better part of the last 30 years. The United States 17-11 victory at Hazeltine was just the third in 11 tries for the Americans.Some might argue that this is the natural progression of things, that the Americans were bound to finally win one, that having the event on home soil, with every player earning at least one point didnt suggest some fundamental shift in the outcome but rather the way it works out sometimes.But McIlroy and Westwood have a point when they suggest the Europeans might not have fielded their best team. Englands Paul Casey was not allowed to play because he was not a member of the European Tour; Scotlands Russell Knox could have been chosen by captain Darren Clarke, but he would have made the team on his own had his victory at the 2015 WGC-HSBC Champions counted -- it didnt because he was not yet a member. Both are ranked in the top 20 in the world.Westwood put his thoughts out last week at the Turkish Airlines Open. McIlroy did so in a podcast with nolayingup.com after having said the same thing prior to the Ryder Cup at the BMW Championship. Ive always said it should be the 12 best Europeans, regardless of whether they are a member of the Tour or not, McIlroy said.Somewhat surprisingly, European Tour chief Keith Pelley did not shoot down the notion. Speaking with reporters in Turkey, Pelley said the Tour would look at changes to the qualification criteria. We will adjust the qualification system if we feel we need to, he said.Any such changes would be likely to occur fairly quickly; the European Tour is said to be keen to name its 2018 captain in December.7. The carrot of European Tour membershipDespite the wishes of McIlroy and Westwood -- and the apparent openness of Pelley to consider it -- it is very difficult to imagine the European Tour not requiring membership in order to play in the Ryder Cup. Unlike the PGA Tour, which has no significant financial stake in the Ryder Cup -- and doesnt see potential Ryder Cup players not playing its tour -- the event is everything to the European Tour, which all but exists due to the enormous amount of money that is reaped from the event, especially when it is played in Europe.McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Raphael Cabrera Bello, Sergio Garcia and Danny Willett are all members of the PGA Tour as well as the European Tour. Westwood and Martin Kaymer, both 2016 European Ryder Cuppers, have been members. Its not a stretch to think that Thomas Pieters and Matthew Fitzpatrick -- both of whom attended college in the United States -- might want to join the PGA Tour some day.That doesnt mean they all couldnt play both tours. But as Casey pointed out, it can be difficult. He made the tough decision to not join the European Tour because he is based in Arizona and wanted to cut down on travel with a young family.If the European Tour were to change its rules in this way, how many would opt out? Its tough to envision McIlroy doing so, or Stenson or Rose. But all three live most of the year outside of Europe (McIlroy and Stenson in Florida, Rose in the Bahamas). They make plenty of money playing the PGA Tour and select events. Maybe it would be tempting?That said, if youre putting together the team, you would love to know that every European is a possibility -- not just those who take up membership.As captain, my very first priority was to know I had the 12 very best players available; Darren Clarke didnt, said Tony Jacklin, who captained the European side four times. I agree totally with Rory and Lee.8. Patrick Reeds membershipPatrick Reed took up membership with the European Tour last year, a perk for having won the 2014 WGC-Cadillac Championship -- which comes with a five-year European Tour exemption.Reed, who has five PGA Tour victories, met the criteria last year and competed in the Race to Dubai, finishing tied for 10th at the DP World Tour Championship and 16th in the final standings.He was all set to do the same thing this year, and fulfilling the obligations was seemingly easier. Because the Ryder Cup and the Olympics both counted toward the five-event minimum (outside of the majors and WGCs), Reed seemed an easy bet to make it.But he pulled out of last weeks Turkish Airlines Open. And when he didnt enter this weeks Nedbank Challenge, he was removed from the Race to Dubai list -- as he wasnt going to play the necessary number of events, he wasnt eligible for next weeks season-ending event.That would seem to suggest hes lost his European Tour membership, but not so said Pelley last week in Turkey. In comments reported by The Telegraph, Pelley is using his powers as the tours head to basically give Reed a pass.It would be my decision to keep him as a full member of the European Tour, Pelley said. And obviously the justification would be his desire to want to be here in Turkey.Reed is believed to have pulled out due to the security concerns in the region. McIlroy did the same thing. It was last year that Pelley granted McIlroy a similar reprieve as he had not met the tour minimum; he reasoned that McIlroy would have met the minimum were it not for the ankle injury that forced him to miss seven weeks of the 2015 season.9. About those playing opportunities ...Rod Pampling won for the first time in 10 years on the PGA Tour when he captured the Shriners Hospital for Children Open in Las Vegas. He did so after playing on the Web.com Tour for the last three. After getting back to the tour via the Web.com Finals. At the age of 47.But perhaps the best thing about his victory -- or maybe the worst, if you believe there is too much golf, too many players in tournaments -- is that Pampling was the beneficiary of a PGA Tour clerical error which saw the field size in Las Vegas go from 132 to 144. The idea had been to have it be fewer to deal with daylight issues. Pampling, based on his priority ranking coming out of the Web.com finals, would not have been in the field if only 132 were allowed.He took advantage and won the tournament, and now is exempt for the rest of this season and two more years. And he provides fodder for those who believe the more playing opportunities, the better. 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Nike Shoes Online Canada Cheap . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Nike Shoes Canada Sale . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. LEXINGTON, Ky. -- It took every ounce of effort and a track record, but A. P. Indian stayed unbeaten in 2016 when edging Limousine Liberal in a thrilling 164th running of the Grade 2, $250,000 Phoenix Stakes on Friday, opening day of the Keeneland fall meet.After a prolonged stretch duel, A. P. Indian was a nose in front on the wire when completing the six-furlong distance in 1:08.43 over a fast track. The hard-fought victory was the sixth in as many starts this year for the 6-year-old A. P. Indian, who now heads to the Nov. 5 Breeders Cup Sprint at Santa Anita as one of the obvious favorites.Hes just been a champion all along, said winning jockey Joe Bravo. What makes him so special is he listens. He breathes, he relaxes. It wasnt like we were out there running against nothing. My hats off to the horse who took us to the wire. He was really tough.A .P. Indian returned $2.80 as a heavy favorite in a field of seven older horses. Limousine Liberal, a 6-1 shot ridden by Jose Ortiz, was another 3-1/2 lengths before Amis Flatter, the 9-2 second choice who was up in the final jump to get third over Alsvid.Before an ontrack crowd of 19,882, and under sultry conditions for early October, The Great War set the pace to the quarter pole while tracked closely by Limousine Liberal to the outside and A .P. Indian along the rail. After straightening away, the two chasers pulled away from the others.I was worried since the three-eighths pole when he got shuffled back, said Arnaud Delacour, who trains A.dddddddddddd P. Indian at Fair Hill in northern Maryland for the geldings breeders, the Green Lantern Stables of Richard Masson. I knew it was going to be tough to make up ground. He did a great job.Delacour scratched A. P. Indian last weekend from the Grade 1 Vosburgh when the track came up sloppy at Belmont Park. A .P. Indian, by Indian Charlie, now has won 11 of 17 career starts and earned $1,262,434.The Phoenix is a Win and Youre In event toward the BC Sprint, but A .P. Indian already had his free ticket after capturing the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga on Aug. 27. That means the narrow defeat was even more costly for Limousine Liberal than the difference between the first- and second-place shares of the Phoenix purse. Ben Colebrook trains the 4-year-old Limousine Liberal for K.K. Ball.When [A .P. Indian] went by me, my horse dug back in, said jockey Jose Ortiz. I think one more stride and he would have gotten him.While the time was quick, this is just the fifth meet at Keeneland since Polytrack was replaced by a new dirt surface and all track records began anew.The attendance was a record for a Friday opening of the fall meet.The $2 exacta (1-5) paid $8.20, the $1 trifecta (1-5-3) returned $13.30, and the 10-cent superfecta (1-5-3-4) was worth $3.88. ' ' '