Of East And West

     I am a Californian by birth. I grew up with all that is West Coast but I have a sensitivity for that which is East Coast as well. My father was from Ansonia, Connecticut and I still have family on the East Coast.  You just can't get a great pizza out here but things kind of even out because you can't get decent Mexican food on the East Coast. One thing truly bothers me and that is that there is an East Coast bias in the way this country is viewed, especially in sports.
     The Forty Niners are never supposed to contend for anything (Yes, I know they are not what they should be right now, but we will just leave it there.) but seem to always be in the thick of things.  How many Super Bowls have they won?  And the Giants, how many World Series Titles have they won in the last five years and weren't even considered to place.  The A's have come close, but just haven't gotten over the hump. What is a Dodger, by the way?
     The same thing has been true for a long time with the PGA tour.  Golfers did not want to come out here beginning with the Hawaiian tournaments and play in the West Coast swing.  To most of them, the tour began in Florida.  That's on the East Coast, isn't it?  Big names on the tour would very rarely come out and play the early tournaments held here on the West Coast.  Yes you did have a few such as Phil and even Tiger would play in San Diego, but it was rare that big names would come out to play the great historical tournaments such as The LA and San Diego Opens and many would even skip "The Clambake" or AT&T as it is known now.
     The West Coast swing this year had some very strong fields.  Jordan Speith, Bubba Watkins, Rickie Fowler and even Rory came out and played.  I think that with a lot of FedEx points on the line, it made these early tournaments very important once again. Some great golf was played in all of these tournaments.  Who could forget Rickie taking taking that driver on number 17 at the Phoenix Open. Most of the tournaments played out here had some exciting finishes. This is great for golf, especially golf on the West Coast.
     With the advent of the FedEx point system, it is good to see that the West Coast swing is becoming important again.  The big names in golf need to come out and be seen here in the west.  Golf is pretty big out here and these tournaments are played on some wonderful courses.  Welcome back.

Ah yes, San Diego.  OK, so this is Coronado but San Diego is across the bay.