Who's the Jeremy Lin of golf?

[Phil McDade]

Some very good answers -- I like the Kidd mention of Bandon, and Perks is maybe a precursor of Lin's future? (Micheel, too, for that matter).

Bill -- Tiger's 1997 is about as opposite of the Lin thing as I can imagine. Three US Amateurs, PGA Tour stops at 16, PGA Tour wins in late 1996 -- maybe folks didn't think he'd go -18 at Augusta and win by a dozen, but everyone knew that guy was slated for potential greatness very early on.

Lin didn't get recruited by a single D1 program, by most accounts.

Mike S.: A Pearl reference -- almost makes me want to cry. Still the single best Big East tourney performance I've seen. What a baller.

[Mike Sweeney]

Mike S.: A Pearl reference -- almost makes me want to cry. Still the single best Big East tourney performance I've seen. What a baller.

Phil,

I know you did not mean this game, but here goes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p7_Fm1s3rM

[Don_Mahaffey]

Lin was the last cut by the Houston Rockets. Heard the Rockets GM today lamenting about how they struggled with the last cut. I kept thinking he'd man up and just say he blew it, but he never said it even though every one in town knows it. Course it could have been an HC decision. Knew we shouldn't have hired a Celtic.

[Alex Miller]

Lin was the last cut by the Houston Rockets. Heard the Rockets GM today lamenting about how they struggled with the last cut. I kept thinking he'd man up and just say he blew it, but he never said it even though every one in town knows it. Course it could have been an HC decision. Knew we shouldn't have hired a Celtic.

Of all teams though, the Rockets probably have the greatest surplus of PGs in the NBA (since they traded for Flynn, of course Flynn's last team, the T-Wolves used to have that honor). Lowry is a budding superstar, and still better than Lin. Dragic proved himself as a worthy backup last season and as a Laker fan I would not mind having him right now (I'm not sure whether we are worse at SF or PG, but the we're probably last in the league in production from both). Flynn too is obviously very talented and it would be foolish to cut him. And they can't roll out 2PGs together in a rotation since they've got Kevin Martin and Courtney Lee at the 2. They're a very talented team when it comes to guards.

So the Rockets were left with Lin, a guy who obviously has game, but hadn't yet proven himself and was therefore not a valuable commodity to other teams in a trade. He is, by definition, a fluke, and every team in the NBA including the Knicks passed on him. It just turns out he was needed and was able to shine. I hope he continues his play, but I wouldn't go so far as to say the Rockets "blew it".


On the flipside, you have Ron Artest who's getting paid 6.8M for the next 3 years while playing atrocious basketball. Not amnestying him in order to save what he's costing in luxury tax would be a worse decision. I'm still waiting, Mitch...

[Mike_Trenham]

Rich Beem

[Howard Riefs]

Projection: Keegan Bradley

[astavrides]

.

[Adam Clayman]

Kyle Stanley.

Phil, I thought it was a mention in Golf Digest, by Ben Crenshaw, that spilled the beans to the world about Crystal Downs.

[Sam Morrow]

Can't really compare Lin to anyone right now. I suppose right now he would be a Monday qualifier who came out of the woodwork to win. The first thought was about 10 or so years ago was when Zach Johnson Monday Qualified in Atlanta and then nearly won, of course I realized that thought was not going to work because anyone who knows the mini-tours knows that Zach Johnson and Chad Campbell won everything back then. Since he is only a week or so in I will go with the Jack Fleck comparison.

[Tim Gavrich]

Lots of cynicism here so far with all the predictions/assumptions that Jeremy Lin will fade into obscurity as quickly as he emerged from it.

It's impossible to compare Lin's career to this point to someone with a more or less complete career arc in golf, because Lin's career is only beginning.  I do like the Rich Beem comparison, but only if that means "Rich Beem, pretending it's mid-2002."

Keegan Bradley is a good one, because both careers are in their early stages.  Growing up, Bradley was known for a long time as the second best player from his town of Hopkinton, MA to Jon Curran, who won just about every junior and amateur tournament there was for a while.  Lin was a standout player...on a Harvard basketball team that was merely decent.

I think Lin is going to continue to flourish this year.  He's not going to score 25+ points very often at all, though, since he'll be too busy distributing the basketball to Stoudemire and Anthony (once Anthony returns).  He'll be an assist machine, and extremely important to the success of the Knicks the rest of the season.

Maybe Jeremy Lin is like Sean Foley, then.

[Sam Morrow]

Beem isn't a good comparison either. Yes, he had that great run in 02 when he won The International and then The PGA a few weeks earlier but he also won the Kemper in 99. Talk to me in 5 years and then it will be easier to make a comparison.

[JESII]

Sam,

The Zach Johnson comparison is a good one because while Johnson was winning on the mini-tours, Lin at least had a spot on an NBA roster. While I hadn't heard of him 2 weeks ago, some people had.

[Sam Morrow]

Sam,

The Zach Johnson comparison is a good one because while Johnson was winning on the mini-tours, Lin at least had a spot on an NBA roster. While I hadn't heard of him 2 weeks ago, some people had.

It probably is the closest one in recent memory.

[Sam Morrow]

Now that I think about it how about another player who made a great run in Atlanta, Club Pro Stephen Keppler.

[JESII]

Ben Crane did the same thing there as a Monday Qualifier I think.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Simon Dyson, who I believe this year will climb into the world top 20...

[Chris Johnston]

Mac Plumart  

Kid came out of nowhere!

[Sam Morrow]

Ben Crane did the same thing there as a Monday Qualifier I think.

The year he won he had a card, he went through Q-School and spent a couple of years on The Nationwide Tour.

[Sam Morrow]

Simon Dyson, who I believe this year will climb into the world top 20...

I don't know if he will make the top 20 this year but wouldn't be crazy. He's been a stud for years now, he was on a Walker Cup team, probably around 99.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Sam,
He is on the verge..new fitness regime, new mental commitment,I think he is just about ready to move up that extra notch...confidence is never an isuue with hime that is for certian...get him on a roll and he will thrive.

[Sam Morrow]

Sam,
He is on the verge..new fitness regime, new mental commitment,I think he is just about ready to move up that extra notch...confidence is never an isuue with hime that is for certian...get him on a roll and he will thrive.

I could see him making a run, no doubt about it, he's been a good player for a long time now.

[Chris DeNigris]

Does anyone want to bet against Lin, barring injury, remaining the Knicks PG for the rest of the season?

Sure there's a possibility that he might flame out but if you've watched any of his last 7 games (last nite's in particular) you'll notice that he has all the attributes of a better than avg NBA PG. Most importantly, he excells at making his teammates better. His high turnover rate likely has more to do with him getting to know his players and his weakness of going to his left and those numbers should improve a bit. Plus he's an intelligent guy which helps him QB the offense. Between Lin and Shumpert (who is going to be a star in his own right) I think the Knicks have found their primary backcourt for the next several years.

I know this is supposed to be about golfer comparisons but I don't have any better than Zack- but interestingly, the best recent Lin comparison is also in NY- Giants WR Victor Cruz. Undrafted from UMass, longshot to make the team- Super Bowl Hero. And like Victor, I think Lin will be a star in NY for awhile.

No matter what Kalen thinks

[Sam Morrow]

Does anyone want to bet against Lin, barring injury, remaining the Knicks PG for the rest of the season?

Sure there's a possibility that he might flame out but if you've watched any of his last 7 games (last nite's in particular) you'll notice that he has all the attributes of a better than avg NBA PG. Most importantly, he excells at making his teammates better. His high turnover rate likely has more to do with him getting to know his players and his weakness of going to his left and those numbers should improve a bit. Plus he's an intelligent guy which helps him QB the offense. Between Lin and Shumpert (who is going to be a star in his own right) I think the Knicks have found their primary backcourt for the next several years.

I know this is supposed to be about golfer comparisons but I don't have any better than Zack- but interestingly, the best recent Lin comparison is also in NY- Giants WR Victor Cruz. Undrafted from UMass, longshot to make the team- Super Bowl Hero. And like Victor, I think Lin will be a star in NY for awhile.

No matter what Kalen thinks

Lin is lucky that he is playing for a coach who needs a point guard to thrive for his team to do well.

[Chris DeNigris]

Sam- Most teams would benefit from having a great PG. They just don't all have them.

[Sam Morrow]

Sam- Most teams would benefit from having a great PG. They just don't all have them.

I agree 100% but I think Lin is very lucky to be with a coach who I think does better than most at utilizing his point guard.