Talk of the TOUR blog
Editor's note: Members of the PGA TOUR Live broadcast team on the PGA TOUR Network (XM 146) occasionally blog for PGATOUR.COM
Carolina boy has zero experience at Sedgefield
By Doug Bell
Aug. 13, 2008
Before this week, Davis Love had never played Sedgefield Country Club, site of this week's Wyndham Championship. Considering how many times the North Carolina graduate has played in this city over the years, that's pretty amazing.
He loves original Donald Ross designs, in which this one is, and likes his chances to not only grab his third win in Greensboro, but secure a spot in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup next week, and get on Paul Azinger's radar for the Ryder Cup.
David Toms is another veteran looking to end the 2008 campaign with a bang. After playing 36 holes on Sunday at Oakland Hills, where he finished tied for 15th in the PGA Championship, he was impressed with how quickly his body recovered.
This is the third week that Toms and longtime caddie Scott Gneiser have been back together since the two parted ways in the middle of last year's FedExCup playoffs. Maybe the magic is back.
Speaking of magic, Vijay Singh has erased the memories of last week's missed cut at the PGA Championship and prefers to think of how he performed at Firestone C.C. in winning the Bridgestone Invitational.
Vijay will use the belly putter for the reminder of the season, and on Wednesday, he was walking around with sports psychologist Gio Valiente.
Gio, a professor at Rollins College in Florida, has worked with a number of players on the mental side of the game, and said that he and Vijay are just friends, and have no working agreement. When asked about it, Vijay replied, "He's helped quite a few players, so why not me?"
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Sunshine in the rain
By Doug Bell
July 24, 2008
With all the rain this week at Glen Abbey Golf Club outside of Toronto, it's been difficult to get in touch with RBC Canadian Open tournament director Bill Paul, whose been extremely busy trying to reschedule tee times, etc., but yesterday he stopped by our PGA TOUR Network broadcast position, and like everyone associated with this long standing event, he couldn't have been nicer. In fact, Paul has learned a long with his other counterparts in the big time tourney business, that in order to keep the top players coming back year after year, you have to take care of them and their families.
On Tuesday night, Paul hosted a number of players at the Eagles concert in downtown Toronto. As Paul explained to us during our interview on the PGA TOUR network on XM 146, " For guy's in their 60s, they sound really good, ay". It sounds like the rock-n-roll version of the Champions Tour. Paul has also arranged a ticket swap with the Rogers Cup tennis tourney at nearby York University. While Tiger and Phil are out this week, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the top two players in men's tennis are here. I love golf, but I must say Nadal put on a heck of a show last night before a packed house. Afterwards he rifled autographed tennis balls into the crowd. I'm not sure that would work on the PGA TOUR.
Several players went to the MLS All-Star game on Thursday night, featuring the Tiger Woods of soccer, David Beckham. The Toronto Blue Jays are back in town on Friday and the list of players who are baseball fans is long. While he played in the opening round, two-time defending champion Jim Furyk's family took a tour of Niagara Falls, arranged by Paul and his staff.
One player who sleeps at home this week is local favorite Mike Weir, who grew up in nearby Bright's Grove, Ontario. As an 11-year-old he was hooked on the game, when he went to watch Glen Abbey course designer Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Johnny Miller, and Tom Kite play an exhibition here. Now he's trying to become the first Canadian since Pat Fletcher in 1954 to win his country's top golf prize. His opening-round 65 was his best start in 18 previous appearances here. Even with all the extra curricular activities happening in the city, thousands of fans sloshed around Glen Abbey to cheer his every shot. I dare say it was the largest, non-Tiger, non-major, Thursday and Friday gallery this year on the PGA TOUR.
What an exciting week it has been for the players and their families, and what a memorable week it will be for the locals if Weir hoists the trophy on Sunday. They will be as high as the CN Tower, the tallest standing structure in North America. Yes, Paul has arranged tours for that magnificent wonder of the world, as well.
Instead of looking down through a glass floor, 144 stories in the air, I'd rather watch golf on the soggy ground at Glen Abbey.
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The waiting is the hardest part
By Dennis Paulson
July 23, 2008
This week, I'm at Glen Abbey Golf Club outside Toronto to broadcast radio coverage from the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA TOUR Network (XM 146), but my trip north of the border could get a whole lot more interesting in the coming days.
As of Wednesday evening, I was the 20th alternate on the commitment list, but based on the list of players who had actually traveled to Canada, I was No. 2 behind Dicky Pride. I laughed with Dicky about it over lunch Wednesday, because it's a familiar position for both of us. Back in 2004, we were ranked right next to each other throughout the year in terms of exempt status, and spent many weeks watching and waiting to see whether either of us would get into an event.
Most of the times I've been an alternate and traveled to the tournament venue, I've been fortunate and ended up getting in the field. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule; like the year I drove through the night to Houston from the Nationwide Tour event in Fort Smith, Ark. Unfortunately, I didn't get in the Shell Houston Open that year, and my calculated risk resulted in a wasted trip.
The important thing is to prepare like you're going to play, and do the things you need to do in order to be ready. I usually get to the course early and stay loose, hitting balls on the range and practicing on the putting green. If nobody from the morning flight withdraws, I usually relax in the clubhouse and watch some television before heading out to monitor the afternoon wave. But this week, I'll be otherwise occupied with my announcing duties on XM 146.
I think it would be really cool to get in the field but not just because I still want to play as much as possible and finished second to Hal Sutton in this event at Glen Abbey in 1999. It would really be fun for all of us who work on the coverage to experience something unique. I'd also like to follow in the footsteps of my colleague, Mark Carnevale, who was on site to broadcast for XM at the 2005 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee and ended up playing in the event.
(One of the things the players will need to deal with regardless of my situation will be the nasty rough. With all the rain that's already fallen in the region so far this week, the rough grew three inches in two days. It was cut down to four inches on Wednesday, but with more rain that afternoon and all the fertilizer that's been applied, it will probably grow at least two more inches before the first round is complete.)
To find out whether I make the field and how my adventure unfolds this week, follow along right here at PGATOUR.COM and on the PGA TOUR Network, XM 146. If all goes well, I'll join Gene Sauers -- who won the 2002 Air Canada Championship after starting the week as an alternate -- in the record books. Oh, Canada!
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Planes, RVs, automobiles
By Doug Bell
July 13, 2008
Once a tournament is over, it's like the last day of school. Players, officials, fans and the members of the media are all heading in opposite directions, and many taking different modes of transportation.
For 23 players and their families, it's a private jet from the Moline-Quad Cities Airport to Manchester, England for the British Open.
On that plane is Jay Williamson, who earned the seat thanks to a runner-up finish at the John Deere Classic. Since Kenny Perry opted not to go, Williamson earned the spot with a 69 to Brad Adamonis' 70 in the final round.
When he was told that he had earned a British Open spot, Jay was hesitant for a number of reasons.
He didn't have his passport with him, and hadn't packed any clothes. After consulting with my XM colleague Dennis Paulson, who assured him it would be a lifelong memory, Williamson was making travel plans.
Eric Axley, who finished one shot out of the playoff, quickly took a shower and headed for the RV lot, where he would drive his family to Milwaukee for the U.S. Bank championship next week. The price of gasoline is pretty expensive these days, but Axley figures he actually saves money since he doesn't need a hotel and also avoids the hassles of air travel.
As he left the front gate, he looked very comfortable in the captain's chair that was stacked and tilted for the ride to Milwaukee.
As for the winner, Kenny Perry finished his post-round Interviews and shook hands with the John Deere folks, and then he jumped into his bright red pickup truck and headed to Rockford for a charity event on Monday, and then to Milwaukee on Tuesday.
The road trip that starts at his home in Western Kentucky is something he's done for many years. He loves the solitude and listening to his favorite country music inside the spacious cabin. Considering how much money he has won this year -- $4.3 million -- the high price of gasoline is never an issue.
"I like to drive my ball and my truck," he told me on the range. "I just really enjoy this road trip, and it's an easy ride."
Everything is coming easy for Perry, who is certainly the odds on favorite to win again next week at the U.S. Bank Championship. Speaking of rides, Perry's longtime caddie Fred Sanders told me on Saturday in an interview you can see on PGATOUR.COM, "It's like riding Big Brown, and I'm the jockey. I just sit back and let the big boy run."
It's on to the next stop for all of us, working and playing on the PGA TOUR. Milwaukee, Toronto, Akron, Detroit, look out, here we all come.
Don't look now, but yes, that's the hottest golfer on the planet, sitting in a red pickup at the traffic light.
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This week, I nearly made the field
By Mark Carnevale
July 11, 2008
Most people relish one job. Thursday I had the possibility of two.
I work for the PGA TOUR Network on XM Channel 146 as a broadcaster covering the TOUR 25 weeks a year. I head to the golf course on Thursday mornings about two hours prior to our noon ET air time. This Thursday, things were just a little different. Two weeks ago, I committed to play in the John Deere Classic with the outside thought that I might get to play in my first PGA TOUR event since the 2005 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.
As the winner of the 1992 Chattanooga Classic on the PGA TOUR, I have status and can commit to tournaments. When I committed, though, it was more or less a long shot that I would get the opportunity to play. A lot of players would have to withdraw, so the stars would definitely need to be aligned. By Tuesday and Wednesday, I had not even reached the alternate list, which usually contains the next 10 players on the commitment list. So I was resigned to the fact I would not play.
Leaving the house on Thursday morning I thought about bringing a pair of long pants along just in case -- they are required to play in a TOUR event -- but I blew it off. When I arrived at TPC Deere Run, the first person I ran into was John Morse, who had been the second player on the alternate list. He said he had just gotten into the tournament because Stephen Leaney had withdrawn. I asked him who was next on the alternate list and he said he wasn't sure. I tracked down a PGA TOUR rules official and was told I was, since I was the only alternate now on site.
At this point, the whirlwind starts. I have to go back to the house to get a pair of pants, find a caddy and talk to my producer and his boss to make sure everything is OK if I give up my regular job of broadcasting and play in the tournament. After conferring with both of them, it was decided that if I got in I could play. I found a caddy, who would double as my driver first. He happened to be my girlfriend's son.
So I grabbed him when I went home and we headed back to TPC Deere Run. Now what to do? I checked with the rules officials to see if anyone had withdrawn while I was gone, but there was no such luck. So I had to prepare to broadcast. After some hesitancy, I decided it was best to go ahead and change into the long pants in case I got a quick call to the tee.
At noon ET, Christopher and I headed out on the course to cover Kenny Perry, who was playing well. I interviewed him after he shot 65 and checked with the rules officials again. It was now about 1 p.m. and the last tee time was 2:54, so there was still a chance.
After grabbing lunch, I was back out on the course to track Rich Beem, who was 3 under at the time. It was now about 2:30 p.m., and I still had 25 minutes left. As Rich Beem rolled in a 7-foot birdie on the 17th hole, I announced to our listeners that all 156 players in the field had let out a big sigh of relief and teed off.
So it was not meant to be, and I was back to doing what I do on a regular basis now, calling golf shots. Dreams of large sums of money, a spot in the Open Championship and FedExCup points would all have to wait for another time.
So for the remainder of this week you can catch me on the PGA TOUR Network on XM 146 or at PGATOUR.com from Noon-6 p.m. ET. But someday soon, you might just catch me out on the course.
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Feeling right at home
By Doug Bell
July 9, 2008
It feels good to be back at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill.
Many years ago, I used to cover this event while working for a television station in nearby Peoria, Ill. I will never forget attending media day in 1987, when 1986 PGA Champion Bob Tway, Greg Norman, and the late great Payne Stewart showed up to promote the upcoming event. Stewart talked Tway and the Shark into wearing plus-fours and Hogan caps for the day. Somehow I got all of them to pose for a picture with me, and it hangs prominently in my office back home.
Stewart loved this event and for good reason. It's where he won his first PGA TOUR event in 1982 and where he started wearing his famous plus-fours full time. It was also his only victory witnessed by his late father. This is also the place where PGA TOUR veteran Ed Fiori outplayed a 20-year-old Tiger Woods on Sunday to win in 1996.
It's easy to get attached to this event and the community. The John Deere Classic in Silvis is a throwback. Like an old quilt at grandma's house it has a cozy feel to it. You walk the fairways at TPC Deere Run, a gorgeous layout designed by two-time champion D.A. Weibring and it reminds you of a family reunion. There is no attitude or ego to this event that has been a part of the PGA TOUR for 38 years. You see many folks in the gallery walking barefoot, and kids wearing John Deere hats skipping from tee to green. This is the heartland of America, and the delicious smells permeate throughout the property from the concession stands that raise money for local charities.
It was great to see Zach Johnson playing again, after a three-week hiatus to rest his sore wrist. A native Iowan, Johnson considers this his fifth major, and would dearly love to contend. Easier said than done, because this year's field is one of the best ever for the John Deere Classic, helped by the tourney committee's decision to charter a flight on Sunday night that will take some 30 players and their families to Royal Birkdale, site of next week's British Open, and then back to the Canadian Open a week later.
Kenny Perry won't be on that plane. He will play in Milwaukee next week. I talked with his caddie Freddy Sanders today and it sounds like those two Kentucky boy's are right at home.
So am I. Bigger is not always better, especially in the case of the John Deere Classic.
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Improved attitude benefits Kim
By Doug Bell
July 6, 2008
In the world of sports, you have to take advantage of your opportunities because they are so few and far in between.
Perhaps the most famous case of an athlete taking advantage of an opportunity is a young Yankees farmhand named Lou Gehrig, who was called up to replace the injured Wally Pipp at first base.
In more recent times, how about when a seventh-round draft pick named Tom Brady, who got the call to replace an injured Drew Bledsoe as the Patriots quarterback? When opportunity knocks, you have to be ready.
On Sunday at the AT&T National, with tournament host Tiger Woods on the sidelines, 23-year-old Anthony Kim took it upon himself to bust the door down with a flying drop-kick. His final-round 65 was good enough to secure his second win on TOUR this season, The other being at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, which is a similar track.
Wearing a diamond-studded "A.K." belt buckle that would have made Elvis Presley take notice, Kim rolled in five birdies and no bogeys to win in style.
His game and attitude has improved dramatically since his rookie season, thanks in part to a total transformation, both physically and mentally.
He swore off alcohol at the start of the season, and started taking his workouts more seriously. When his workout guru, former Green Beret Jim Weathers, chased him around the practice green on Sunday afternoon, spraying him with champagne, he refused to take a swig.
"I can't do that," he said proudly. He's a man of conviction, who realizes you can't do it alone.
His caddie Eric Larsen, who has been on the bag for both victories, has kept things loose, and for Kim, that's exactly what he needed.
Jim Furyk told me afterwards that he would enjoy having Kim as a Ryder Cup teammate.
"He's got lots of confidence and he's not afraid to go at pins," said Furyk, who finished three shots back.
Where others have failed, perhaps Kim is the young gun ready to challenge you-know-who. With two more majors to play, a World Golf Championships event, and THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, Kim will be considered one of the favorites in all those events.
Golf is a funny game, and different from Pipp and Bledsoe, who were benched for their younger counterparts, the world's best golfer will get plenty of chances next year to battle young Mr. Kim.
"I want a jacket. I want a jug. I want everything," he said after the trophy presentation.
For now, Kim has the world of golf by the tail. Time will tell if he can grab a Tiger as well.
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You just never know
By Mark Carnevale
July 4, 2008
In August 1976, I attended my first professional golf tournament at Congressional Country Club, the site of this week's AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods. It was the 1976 PGA Championship, which was won by Dave Stockton. This is where my love for the game of golf started.
A friend and I got tickets for the entire week for our birthdays. We both played on our high school golf team and we were two kids in a candy store. I chose to follow Tom Weiskopf. I don't know why but I think it was because he was tall and I come from a family of basketball players, so it seemed logical. I walked all 72 holes with him and I was hooked.
Since that time, I played collegiate golf, qualified for the PGA TOUR, won a TOUR event and earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1992. Now I call golf shots on XM Radio, for the PGA TOUR Network. You just never know where the exposure to the game of golf may lead you.
This week at the AT&T National, which is also being held at Congressional Country Club, I would gather there are few kids who may find themselves in the same situation -- finding a love for the game.
As we celebrate our country's birthday this week, imagine 10 to 20 years from now. Some young adult may be celebrating their first PGA TOUR or LPGA victory all because they attended a golf tournament at a young age.
So parents out there, there are two days of play left in the AT&T National. Put the kids in the car and bring them out to the tournament. You just never know, the next Tiger, Phil or Vijay may be a passenger.
And if you can't make it, tune in to XM Channel 146 or check us out at PGATOUR.com from 12-6 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.
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You have to start somewhere
By Doug Bell
July 2, 2008
Three years ago at this very site, Congressional Country Club, the PGA TOUR Network on XM radio took its maiden voyage. At the time, people were wondering about golf on the radio, and we have admittedly gone through some growing pains, but thanks to Tiger mania and the fact that golfers love to be in tune to what's happening no matter where they are, I'm proud to say our network has become a viable commodity in the world of golf. I'm proud to be a part of a terrific broadcast team.
This is our second year covering the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods, and even without the big man himself, there is a special feel to this event. Although, I wouldn't be surprised to see him show up on Sunday to hand out the trophy.
The U.S. military is on full display again this week, and the opening ceremony on Wednesday made me proud to be an American. There were a number of military personnel who have fought so valiantly in our current struggles . Many were there standing proud, despite some serious injuries suffered in combat. I remember last year Tiger telling me his Dad would have been so proud.
Even without Tiger, and Phil Mickelson, who is resting before a two-week jaunt across the pond, and Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson and Adam Scott who can't play because of various injuries, there is plenty of spice to this field. Like Paul Goydos and Rocco Mediate, the heroes of THE PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open, respectively, even though they finished second in the events. Both players laughed when I asked them about their newfound fame, with Rocco commenting on the hundreds of autograph seekers," they must have forgotten who won!"
Goydos is still wearing the Long Beach State hat, but with logos of his new sponsor on both sides as well as on his golf bag. Hey, finishing second is not all bad.
It's been a long time since Davis Love III has won, and according to several players who played with him at British Open qualifying earlier in the week, he looks like the Davis of old.
Commissioner Tim Finchem had some interesting comments about the absence of Tiger, and the immediate future of his TOUR. "This is a great opportunity for us in many ways and could generate value for our tour in coming years".
In other words, look out for a star in the making. Like our PGA TOUR Network on XM radio, you have to start somewhere. Why not at one of the country's best courses in Tiger's tourney with the nation's capitol as a backdrop.
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'Youneverknow'
By Bob Stevens
June 29, 2008
I have no idea if former baseball star Joaquin Andujar ever swung a golf club (although he swung a pretty mean bat in the dugout when his Cardinals lost the World Series back in '85) but he left the sports world with the greatest 3-in-1 word description of this weekend's Buick Open when he said "youneverknow."
Daniel Chopra's no longer a wet-behind-the-ears TOUR wannabe, he's won twice in the last nine months, beating the winners-only field at the Mercedes-Benz Championship back in January. Surely he'd hang on to a two-shot lead in the final round at Warwick Hills. But his wild driver had him looking up at a new leader by the end of the second hole.
Surely Dudley Hart, who has dealt with being the father of triplets and a wife who beat cancer in the last year wouldn't cough up his newly found lead on the back nine? But bogeys at both par 5s cost him a first win since 2000.
That left, we thought, two veterans who'd won here before and won fairly recently on TOUR to battle it out down the stretch. Kenny Perry appeared to have his hands around the keys to a new Buick until an untimely bogey at the par-5 13th, then grabbed those keys again with a hole out from the bunker at the next hole for eagle, only to give it back with a bogey at 15.
That left the tourney to Woody Austin, who had played the five-hole stretch from 12 through 16 an incredible 17-under par for the week, but couldn't bring it home, bogeying the 71st and 72nd holes after standing on the green at 17 with a one-shot lead.
At the end, one last charge of excitement was offered by the wildest ride on TOUR, Bubba Watson. Three front-nine bogeys had doomed him, until four back-nine birdies brought him back. He nearly eagled at 16, then did a Houdini-like recovery for par at 17. Needing a birdie at 18 from deep in the left trees just five steps from somebody's back yard, Watson cut a shot to within 12 feet. Alas, his putter failed him and he hung a tying putt on the lip, sending Perry into the company of Woods and Mickelson as the only multiple winners this year, and to a fivesome of Tiger, Vijay, Tony Lema and Julius Boros as multiple winners in Michigan.
With the great late runs of Bob Tway, Matt Jones and Ken Duke, there were a dozen names that were within a couple of shots of the lead on the back nine on Sunday. In what some see as a Tiger-less wasteland on the PGA TOUR, that's cause for celebration.
If the joy and roars of the final round Sunday spread to Tiger's own tournament next week and to Buick and General Motors plants on Monday, we're all onto something. Youneverknow.
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Riding a positive thought
By Fred Albers
June 27, 2008
Last week, Bo Van Pelt managed to find a little victory in a week of defeat at the Travelers Championship and that could lead to victory at this week's Buick Open.
Van Pelt missed the cut in Cromwell, Conn., but instead of sulking his way through Friday's round, he worked on his game and found a little magic shooting a second-round 67. He still missed the cut, but brought some good thoughts with him to Grand Blanc, Mich.
"I had been playing fine but missing cuts. Miss a putt here and there makes a big difference. But last Friday I found a little something and it's still working," smiled Van Pelt who declined to go into greater detail.
The Oklahoma State graduate has made cuts in nine of 18 events this year, including a second-place finish at the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular winning $484,364 on the season.
This weekend could hold much more.
"Its nice to be on top but it's only 36 holes. I have some good thoughts going into the weekend so we'll see what happens."
If Van Pelt smiles when he gets to the tee of a par-5 you can understand why. It's anticipation. He has played the par 5s in 7 under this week, including one eagle.
"You have to take advantage of the par 5s out here," said Van Pelt. "I am long enough that with a good drive I can reach them in two. You do that and you will score."
Van Pelt has taken just 25 and 27 putts in his two opening rounds thanks to that positive thought he brought with him from the Travelers Championship. It may now carry him all the way to victory at the Buick Open.
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A touching gesture
By John Maginnes
June 26, 2008
While PGA TOUR players take aim at the flags dotting Warwick Hills' ample greens this week, a similar but far more significant story is unfolding at the Buick Open.
The American flag beside the putting green is flying at half mast this week. Both symbolic and iconic, Old Glory is fluttering just a few feet above the heads of the many spectators who will pass between the practice green and No. 10 tee.
All flags in the state of Michigan are flying at half mast this week due to executive order 2006-10, which was sent down from Governor Granholm. The order states that any son or daughter of Michigan who parishes in the line of service to his or her country shall be so honored.
So as thousands of people make their way around Warwick Hills, the flag stands as a solemn reminder to golfers and fans alike: Americans are in harm's way throughout the world -- today and every day.
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Reliable like a Buick
By Bob Stevens
June 25, 2008
They're celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Buick Open this week at Warwick Hills Country Club. Without the usual honored guest, Tiger Woods, Buick has been smart to play the nostalgia game, complete with inaugural winner Billy Casper hitting the ceremonial first drive after driving a version of the '59 Buick Invicta he won that year to media day a month ago.
This is one tournament that is still "your father's" Buick Open. The course has been changed very little since a Joe Lee revision in 1967, and folks are proud of their traditions -- like very low scores and winners who keep coming back and keep talking about their Buicks.
When Woody Austin won his second PGA TOUR event, the 2004 Buick Championship in Hartford (now named the Travelers), he couldn't stop talking about how he hoped he could keep the new Buick he'd just won longer than he did the '95 Buick he won for his victory at Warwick Hills nine years earlier.
Most tournaments invite back their past champions as long as they're still competitive, and some let 'em play well past their prime. There are 11 past champions in this year's Buick Open field, and you could make an argument that any of them could find the magic again. Jim Furyk? Sure. Rocco Mediate in his first outing since the U.S. Open? Kenny Perry or Tom Pernice, Jr. or Billy Mayfair? Why not? Justin Leonard or Scott Verplank or, yes, Woody Austin? You bet.
Amazingly, in this era of change in every sport, especially golf, there have been at least three past champions in the Top 10 at the end of EVERY Buick Open. There were five of them last year.
So settle back this week and watch the guys who grew up on courses like Warwick Hills come back for a little "home cookin'," because this is a tournament that loves its history and loves reliving it every year. After all, the keys to an '09 Enclave are at stake!
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The gravity of the situation
By Fred Albers
June 22, 2008
The margin between victory and defeat on the PGA TOUR often comes down to a matter of inches. For Stewart Cink, it came down to 1/100th of an inch in winning the Travelers.
The four-time champion on the PGA TOUR carried a two shot lead into Sunday's final round but was even par and losing ground at the TPC River Highlands course. Facing a 21-foot, left-to-right breaking putt on the ninth green, Cink left the birdie hanging on the edge of the cup. As the gallery moaned and Stewart took a step toward the cup, gravity took control and the birdie fell . Cink went on to birdie the 13th and 15th holes for an 18-under total and a one-shot victory over Tommy Armour III and Hunter Mahan.
"On a downhill breaking putt like that, you just want to feed it to the hole, and I'm glad the hole finally swallowed it," grinned Cink in his celebration.
It's been awhile since the Georgia Tech graduate has been able to smile. Cink has been winless since 2004 and has two second-place finishes this season. Some had questioned his ability to finish a tournament.
Pointing to his heart, Cink said, "I can understand why there were questions. I had questions in here. I think I proved something to myself and maybe to others. It feels so good just to win again."
The victory virtually guarantees Cink a slot on this year's Ryder Cup team to be played in September, a trip to Maui for the Mercedes Championship in January of 2009 and a return to the Masters.
All those riches attained because gravity took hold on the ninth green, and a birdie putt tumbled in by the slimmest of margins.
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Time to Cink or swim?
By Bob Stevens
June 20, 2008
Stewart Cink didn't go to Georgia Tech for its view of the Atlanta skyline. He got a degree in Management and would be on the short list of players who someday might be Commissioner of the PGA TOUR.
He's on the TOUR Policy Board, has always been a stand-up guy, win or lose, and has been one of the most eloquent when talking about the importance of Tiger Woods to the TOUR, even as Woods has been his primary tormentor this year. It was Cink who watched Tiger blow away the field at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines back in February as the "other" player in the final group, Cink who battled into the finals at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship only to find Tiger just hitting his stride, Cink who had only two players ahead of him in the chase for the Masters Green Jacket in April, one of them being Tiger.
What I'm getting at is that while there's nobody who understands better how critical a healthy and winning Woods is to the health of the entire TOUR, there's also nobody who stands to benefit more from Tiger's absence. You've heard many players say that Life Without Tiger presents an opportunity for any number of players to step up and fill the void of excellence on TOUR.
If Tiger is No. 1 and Phil No. 2, the gap to Nos. 3 and 4 might be the difference in winning or losing the upcoming Ryder Cup, and the battle for the hearts and minds of the "new" golf fans brought in by Tiger's great saga at the U.S. Open. Cink went 3-1 at last year's President's Cup, beat Sergio in singles at the Ryder Cup in '06 (lost in the otherwise lost weekend by the Americans) and is poised to become a household name in professional golf. Winning this weekend at the Travelers Championship (a place where he already owns one of his four TOUR titles) won't do that by itself, but it would surely send the kind of message a future leader with a management degree would want sent.
Stewie, the stage is yours.
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The biggest news of the year
By Fred Albers
June 18, 2008
The news spread like wildfire. From the locker room, to the putting green, to the driving range and out onto the TPC River Highlands golf course. The whispers grew into a rumor, which turned into fact.
Tiger Woods needs more knee surgery and will not play any more golf in 2008.
"I feel badly for him," said Kenny Perry. "I was hoping to play with him at the Ryder Cup this fall."
Scott McCarron echoed the sentiments of many players, "I hope he gets better because the TOUR needs him. The Sponsors need him. We like playing against the best in the world."
Woods originally ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while jogging last year. He had hoped rest would allow him to play an entire schedule in 2008, but the ligament rupture led to cartilage damage and surgery in April. During rehabilitation from the surgery, Woods suffered a double stress fracture of his left tibia. Doctors advised him to miss the U.S Open, but Woods played and won his third National Championship.
"I was determined...to do everything and anything in my power to play in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which is a course that is close to where I grew up and holds many special memories for me. Although I will miss the rest of the 2008 season, I'm thrilled with the fact that last week was such a special tournament."
Woods' reconstructive surgery has yet to be scheduled. The stress fractures will heal independently with time. "My doctors assure me with the proper rehabilitation and training, the knee will be strong, and there will be no long-term effects."
Players preparing for the Travelers Championship also took a pragmatic look at the Woods injury.
"There is now a slot open on the Ryder Cup Team," said Perry. "We are going to have a new winner of the FedExCup. Nobody wishes anything bad on another player, and we all hope Tiger is back quickly, but -- at the same time -- there are going to be opportunities out there for us in Majors and other tournaments the remainder of this year."
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Many ways to lead into the U.S. Open
By Bob Stevens
June 8, 2008
To play your way into the U.S. Open, or not to play? That's as close to Shakespeare as I can write, yet it will be the most-asked question leading up to this week at Torrey Pines. Tiger, of course, almost never plays the week before a major. Phil usually prefers to play, but after a grinding week winning at the Crowne Plaza Invitational in the heat of Fort Worth and another week grinding around Jack's Open-worthy Muirfield Village, he was toast and decided to recharge his way into Torrey Pines.
Nearly three dozen other players decided to play their way toward the U.S. Open in Memphis, though I now imagine many of them are having second thoughts. The difficulty of the TPC Southwind made the Stanford St. Jude Championship more of a grind than many would have thought. Mix in a little Memphis heat and humidity and you've got a bunch of tired ballplayers headed to the West Coast, battle-tested, but also a little beaten up. Maybe Kenny Perry did have the right idea!
The surprise of Sunday was not that Justin Leonard won but that the last group of the day was nearly out of the tournament after the first three holes. Tim Clark and Trevor Immelman are old buddies from South Africa, Immelman saying that Clark used to always beat him when they were kids, Clark saying it was his 2006 runner-up finish to Mickelson at the Masters that convinced Trevor he could win it as soon as he did, just two months ago. But Immelman said that after Clark's first tee shot at the first hole went sailing out of bounds, BOTH of them were in shock, something Clark never recovered from (after a triple bogey) and Immelman compounded by hitting a wedge into the water at the easy par-5 third for a double bogey. The last group of the day then played in anonymity until Trevor birdied 16, 17 and 18 coming in to sneak into the playoff.
Leonard hit only one bad shot down the stretch and made the putt to win. Robert Allenby, playing nearly two hours ahead of the leaders, proved you should never give up, or go home early. And Immelman proved you can mix the pleasure of Memphis music (he and his wife went out every night to a different musical venue, in celebration of her birthday) and still play championship golf.
There are as many different ways to get ready for the U.S. Open as there are players in it. I can't wait to find out who got it right.
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Catching up with Brandt
By Brett Wright
June 6, 2008
I ran into Brandt Snedeker in our hotel last night after round one. We were chatting about the TPC Southwind layout,and Brandt knew how good the first round 5-under par 65 that Boo Weekley shot was. Really good! He also went on to talk about the way he (Snedeker) is hitting it very good and just waiting for some putts to start dropping again.
I told him that I had witnessed more players fooled by a hole at TPC Southwind than I had ever seen on the PGA TOUR. He looked at me thoughtfully and guessed "the par 3 -- No. 8?" That's right I said dumbfounded that he did not pick a more prominent hole.
Then he said, "Balls dropping out of the sky 20 yards short?"
I laughed. There are 3 other daunting par-3 holes at TPC Southwind and all of the others have water hazards around the green. But Snedeker knew exactly the hole I was thinking of and how it played not just for him, but for the rest of the field. He went on to say that if you get your ball up at all there from that elevated tee that the wind will hold it up. And if you drill one under the wind the green is so shallow that it will run off the back and leave you a very difficult up and down attempt. It has been interesting to see player's reactions as they hold thier pose on a crisp iron shot on No. 8 only to see the ball fall out of the sky abrubtly and land in or short of the bunker in front of the green. The scoring on the par-3 holes at TPC Southwind will be the defining factor for whoever wins the Stanford St. Jude Championship. But will No. 8 get the credit it deserves?
I followed Boo Weekley through the second round. His ball striking is great again, but his putter was not dailed in. He was leaving everything short right in the mouth of the hole. The Crenshaw Bermuda greens are starting to show signs of baking in the wind and heat and right now they look faster than they are. Watch for Weekley to make this adjustment and a strong run on the weekend.
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Another great week in Memphis
By Bob Stevens
June 4, 2008
When you think of Memphis, golf probably is not the first, second, or even third thing to come to mind. After Elvis and Graceland, Beale Street blues and outrageous barbecue, golf probably still trails University of Memphis hoops (and almost exactly two months after the fact, folks here are still smarting over that NCAA title game they had won, and somehow lost).
But Memphis is much more than just a prelude to next week's U.S. Open. From Danny Thomas to FedEx and now to Stanford Financial Group, the PGA TOUR has been raising buckets of money for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for over a half century. Last year, they raised a record $1.76 million. The players actually get involved with visits to the hospital and this year. All caddie bibs feature artwork from the patients there. It is a strong reminder after every shot of what we're all here for.
But little old Memphis can be a golf crossroads as well. Last year, Woody Austin came in with only one top-20 finish all year and a career record of only four made cuts in nine starts at the TPC Southwind. Then he had the best Sunday anyone had all year, passing Adam Scott like the Aussie was standing still, coming from four down to win by five with a stunning final-round 62. The Stanford St. Jude Championship win propelled him to two more runner-up finishes and a spot on the Presidents Cup team.
Could somebody do that again this week? There are enough hometown favorites to fill out an entire leaderboard. David Toms has made the five-hour drive from Shreveport very successful with two wins and an incredible six straight Top-10 finishes.
Brant Snedeker might have grown up in Nashville and gone to Vanderbilt, but he was smart enough to wear Tennessee orange for the pro-am and good enough to finish fifth last year. Former PGA champion Shaun Micheel put off shoulder surgery to play one last event in his hometown, and -- who knows -- maybe adopted Memphian John Daly will find his lost golfing soul in his own backyard.
Mix those area heroes with red-hot Kenny Perry, a ballstriker in the wind like Boo Weekley (they don't call this Southwind for nothing) and foreign superstars like recent major champions Padraig Harrington and Trevor Immelman, PLAYERS champ Sergio Garcia and two-time U.S. Open champ Retief Goosen, and there's a recipe for more than a little great barbecue.
You've also got the ingredients for an Elvis sighting, a touch of the blues (and green for the kids at St. Jude's), and maybe a career revival for someone who makes a last-minute shot to win.
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Sweet finish for Perry
By Fred Albers
June 1, 2008
Kenny Perry had just missed a similar putt on the 17th green, a 4-foot left-to-right breaking putt. The Kentuckian knew what was a stake, a victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley and virtually a guaranteed slot on this year's Ryder Cup team.
Perry buried the putt in the heart of the cup to win the Memorial, finishing off a final-round 69 and posting a 72-hole total of 8-under-par 280 for a two-shot win.
"Didn't even look at the leaderboard. I didn't know if I was one up, up two or three up. I didn't know how I stood. I was very focused and very patient....Probably one of the greatest rounds I ever remember in a long time playing in tough conditions," said the three-time Memorial Champion.
Perry has been candid with the media all season long. The Kentucky native desperately wanted to win a PGA TOUR event to make the Ryder Cup team which takes place this September at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.
"You know, going to the tee box, everybody was going, 'Go Big Blue, Kentucky, Ryder Cup, Ryder Cup.' I kept looking at the ground and I didn't want to look. I didn't want to make eye contact... I didn't feel comfortable until I made that last putt on the last hole."
Perry always had faith he would win. Enough faith to place his name in a Ryder Cup lottery for tickets. His name was drawn at random and he purchased every ticket available to him. He won't just be a spectator at the matches, he'll be on the U.S. team.
Thank goodness for making four footers.
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Ready for a head-scratcher?
By Doug Bell
May 30, 2008
If Mathew Goggin somehow manages to win his first PGA TOUR event at the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley, it might be the biggest upset at Jack's place since Roger Maltbie won the inaugural event back in 1976. Surely you haven't forgotten those plaid pants of Maltbie, or his shot in the playoff against Hale Irwin that carommed off the stake holding the gallery rope, keeping it from going into the hazard.
Goggin who is 80th on TOUR in third and fourth round scoring average, might want to seek advice from his mother, Lindy, who is a three-time Australian Amateur Champion and a legend in the land from Down Under. Oh by the way, there has never been a wire-to-wire winner at the Memorial, or a first-time winner.
Jerry Kelly got advice from his wife Carol three week's ago, about not being so negative on the course, and concentrating more on short putts, and it seems to have paid off. Jerry isn't the longest hitter on TOUR, and looking at the leaderboard that is hardly a prerequisite for success.
Kenny Perry isn't worrying about the U.S. Open, and that's becuase he's not playing. He doesn't particularly like Torrey Pines, didn't try to qualify and frankly is a bit road weary, having played seven weeks in a row. He has been home to Franklin, Ky., only one day during his marathon run, and hopes to celebrate his third championship at the Memorial which would tie Tiger for the most at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He would also probably secure a spot in the Ryder Cup to be played in his homestate of Kentucky at Valhalla.
Thanks to tough course conditions (maybe the fastest greens other than Augusta National), Mother Nature, and the absence of the world's No. 1 player, this year's championship is more wide open than ever. With all due respect to Maltbie, Jim Simons, Keith Fergus and Don Pooley -- all surprise winners in Dublin, Ohio -- something tells me we might have another head scratcher on Sunday.
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Jack kicks it off right
By Fred Albers
May 29, 2008
The familiar head cock led to the flying elbow and the ball was soon flying down the fairway. Perhaps no longer a bludgeon of 300 yards but impressive nonetheless.
Jack Nicklaus hit his drive off the first tee in Wednesday's pro-am portion of the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley and like a pied piper he took a huge portion of the gallery with him. Make no mistake, Nicklaus is still the most popular player in Ohio -- and still competitive, too.
"Do I love competition?" Nicklaus said. "Sure I do. I mean, that was my life. Golf was my vehicle to it. Do I love to play golf? Absolutely, I love to play golf."
The man with 18 major championships is no longer capable of winning another Masters or U.S. Open but the Golden Bear recently toured the Bear's Club in Jupiter, Fla., and shot 68, his age.
"I had an outing with some people," Nicklaus said, thinking back to that March day. "And I got to the 18th green, had about a 10-footer for birdie and they couldn't understand why I was so grinding over it."
Of course, Nicklaus made the putt to shoot his age for just the second time.
"I shot my age when I was 64 and I hadn't played any since then," he explained. "My competition comes from the golf courses and things that I do to create different ways of playing the game."
If he derives pleasure from crafting courses, then Nicklaus will be smiling all week long. Muirfield Village and The Memorial are his creations and one of the more memorable stops every year on the PGA TOUR..
Let the tournament begin.
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Phil kicked 'em off the leaderboard
By Brett Wright
May 25, 2008
I have been in Fort Worth for a week now, and it was a cool experience it has been for me. Yes, I love calling golf for the PGA Tour Network on the ONE FOUR SIX, and working with PGATOUR.COM.
This week however, was special because I was able to see the city of Fort Worth, the city that I have only envisioned through the eyes of writer/novelist Dan Jenkins.
I saw the fields of Texas Christian University and the Paschal High School Campus that Billy Clyde Puckett ran across all those years ago.
My favorite Dan Jenkins book, Dead Solid Perfect, was made into a pretty good little movie as well. The main character, Kenny Lee Puckett, had a quote in the movie that went something like this: "Every now and then, one of us (TOUR players) will escape and make a run up the leaderboard, but pretty soon, Nicklaus or Palmer come along and put us back in our cage."
All we have to do is update the quote to contain Woods and Mickelson instead of Arnie and Jack.
Is it irony that this happened at the Colonial this week? Or do Phil and Tiger and all the truly great players have a secret ability to focus when everyone else is "shaking like a hound dog who ate too many peach seeds?" (another Jenkins line. I cleaned it up a bit.)
Not taking away anything from the great runs that Rod Pampling and Tim Clark made this week, but when it was crunch time, Mickelson down-shifted into passing gear. It was a day that a player could have made a statement against one of the greats of our time, instead they found their hands on the bars of the cage, closing shut again.
I spoke with Phil Mickelson after his round and asked him about his confidence now looking ahead to the Memorial and U.S. Open. He said that a win like this really helps, especially to hit the critical shot when it counted on the 72nd hole.
He also stated that all the work on his short game has really paid off and that his short game is where he wants it now.
Look out, world!
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Gimme another wedge!
By Fred Albers
May 23, 2008
Paint Phil Mickelson with a colorful crayon. The lefty from San Diego has never been afraid to think "outside the box."
Mickelson leads the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial at 7-under par and he did not even need a 6-iron. During an opening-round 65, Mickelson decided there was not a single 6-iron needed on the golf course. So he took it out and added a fifth wedge.
During Friday's second-round 68 the 6-iron was back in the bag but there was no 3-wood. Mickelson kept the five wedges but had only his driver with no 3-wood or utility club.
"I did not think there was a 6-iron needed in the opening round and fortunately, I was right," said the 36-hole leader. "Today, (Friday) I did not think I needed a 3-wood so I put the six back in and kept the five wedges."
Colonial Country Club has always been a shotmaker's golf course and Mickelson is as creative as anybody who ever played the game. Golfers have been known to take out a 3-iron or a utility wood in favor of another wedge, but keep a 6-iron on the bench in favor of a fifth wedge?
"I think those are the scoring clubs out here," said Mickelson.
That's just the kind of creative thinking that could give Mickelson his second championship at The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
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Time with the defending champ
By Brett Wright
May 21, 2008
The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial gets under way this week at Colonial Country Club. The golf course is one of the oldest and most revered on tour. A real testament to the layout is its ability to keep scores in check over several decades with no major stretching or lengthening of the course. Many of the world's top professionals will be attempting to add their name to a trophy rich with etchings like Nicklaus, Palmer, Hogan. The most recent name, Rory Sabbatini, keeps his home near Fort Worth, and Colonial is a true home game for the South Africa native.
I was fortunate enough to be a guest at Sabbatini's house once this week and I gained a new perspective of this tenacious competitor.
Rory is a complex figure who has a solid appreciation of the game's history and his own place in it. Often misunderstood by golf fans as cocky or brash, Sabbatini has done things like Frank Sinatra: His way. His opinion is often blunt without any sugarcoating, but his friends will tell you "that is just Rory."
He is devoted father and husband who is very attentive to his beautiful wife Amy and their two well-mannered children, Harley and Tylie Jo. I have also realized that he is one of the most popular players among his PGA Tour peers. As the evening wound down, I was able to ask Sabbatini one question: If he ever imagined that he would have the amount of success he has had at this point in his life?
His answer amazed me. He said, "You know, we have a lot of fun here (house) but we really have fun in our (motor) coach when we travel. We all get on the coach and have a lot of great times." Wow, what an answer. I asked him about his success (in golf), and he is focused on family. How many times does that happen with today's athletes? I think it is very cool in a day and age of sound bytes and cliché quotes to see the real motivation behind the man.
Here is a genuine PGA TOUR player that just likes to be Dad.
Good luck this week Rory!
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Wrapping up a wild playoff
By Brian Katrek
May 18, 2008
What an emotional ride for Ryuji Imada. Two consecutive years in a playoff at the AT&T Classic.
Last year, he hit his second shot into the water on the first playoff hole, essentially handing the tournament to Zach Johnson. This year, Kenny Perry banks his second shot off of a pine tree next to the green, and it rebounds, almost as if fated, into that same water that drowned Imada last year. A gutty two-putt par later, Imada is a winner for the first time on the PGATOUR.
You have to feel for Kenny Perry. He played in the last group on Sunday for the second week in a row. At THE PLAYERS, it was an 81 and a finish outside the top 10. In Atlanta, it was a weary playoff loss. But, valuable Ryder Cup points were scored by the 47-year-old. His hot stretch gives him the chance to continue, as he is expected to play the next two weeks as well.
And what is it about TPC Sugarloaf that produces so much repeat success? Scott McCarron and Zach Johnson have both won twice there. Phil Mickelson has won three times, and now Imada goes back-to-back years in playoffs. I know Ryuji hopes this tournament returns for 2009.
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It could have been even better
By Brett Wright
May 17, 2008
Jonathan Byrd, another great Clemson product on the PGA TOUR who is playing close to his hometown, the "Electric City" of Anderson, S.C., shot 66 in the calm morning on Thursday to take a share of the lead at the AT&T Classic. He followed that up in Round 2 with another 66 in some escalating wind in the afternoon on Friday.
Jonathan won the 2007 John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Moline, Ill. I covered much of his early rounds during that event for the PGA TOUR Network on XM 146 and really came to respect his ability to segment the fairways with his driver. This tee ball prowess provides him with great angles for his iron game which, through two rounds this week, has left him putts that he can be agressive with on these undulating TPC Sugarloaf greens.
It's hard to believe that Jonathan's score could easily have been one or even two shots better, but that was the case on Friday. His birdie putt on the par-5 sixth hole lipped out eight inches to the right. From there, he went to tap in, and the ball caught the same offending lip and came back around and out of the hole -- an amateur mistake by the hottest PGA TOUR professional in the world on that day. The hole is round and the game is a mental grind, even when the conditions are calm.
After his second-round 66, I was waiting outside the scoring trailer when he came out for his interview.
"Do you remember when I last interviewed you?" I asked. He kind of smiled and we both said "John Deere" together.
So we had some good mojo going already. I joked about the weather on Friday feeling like Moline. He laughed and then said the the TPC Sugarloaf is very similar and sets up for him the way TPC Deere Run does. He even thinks the par 5s play similarly and really fit what he likes to do with the golf ball. Jonathan is hitting on all cyliders and has three wins under his belt. Two more solid rounds and the Tiger fist pump might give way this week to the electric slide.
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Youth vs. Experience
By Doug Bell
May 15, 2008
An interesting mix of young versus old in this week's AT&T Classic at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga. On the legends side of things is Greg Norman, the 51-year-old swashbuckling course designer who only makes rare appearances on the links anymore, but returns to play on the course he designed. He will also play next week in the Senior PGA Championship at historic Oak Hills.
Always the businessman, the Shark has spent most of his time this week at the grand opening of another creation of his, The River Club.
The 47-year-old Kenny Perry says his balky back is feeling much better and has exorcised any demons that might have risen from a final round 80 at THE PLAYERS Championship. His trusty caddie Freddy Sanders told me his man plays better when the temperature gets hot, and last Sunday's final round was a fluke.
As for 43-year-old Paul Goydos, he's still wearing the Long Beach State Dirtbags hat he made famous at THE PLAYERS last week. He is hoping his game, especially his putting, has arrived in suburban Atlanta as well.
Veterans slash major champions like Retief Goosen and David Toms are also playing this week and have showed signs of turning back the clock lately. Let's not forget the man who loves to play in Georgia, defending champ Zach Johnson.
How about the young guns? After all, we've had seven winners in their 20s in 2008. The last time Camilo Villegas put together three sub-par rounds in a row was a year ago here in Duluth.
Every time I watch young Aussie Jason Day work on the range, I leave shaking my head. This kid has big league talent!
All those names I mentioned, minus the Shark, are on my radar screen this week. As for Norman, I'm just hoping Chris Evert decides to walk along in the gallery.
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Garcia's first major?
By Fred Albers
May 11, 2008
Sergio Garcia is the 2008 PLAYERS Champion. Is he also the winner of a major championship?
It's always a topic for discussion in the media center. Is THE PLAYERS golf's fifth major championship?
History seems to say no. Golf has four major titles: The Masters, The U.S. Open, The British Open and the PGA Championship. As Jeff Sluman once quipped, "When you go to Denny's and order the Grand Slam, there are four items on the plate not five. "
History says no, but history is also fluid and public opinion changes.
When Gene Sarazen won the 1935 Masters did players congratulate him on winning a major championship? Of course not. When Walter Hagen was winning Western Open Championships, were they just more trophies in the case?
Public opinion changes and history will dictate how this tournament is remembered.
THE PLAYERS has the best field of the year and TPC Sawgrass is, without doubt, a championship venue. It already has a rich history from Hal Sutton's "Be the right club today," to Tiger Woods, "Better than most."
My guess, is in the dotage of his old age, Sergio Garcia will be congratulated and asked to recall the windy May afternoon when he won his first major, The 2008 PLAYERS Championship.
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It's not all about playing golf
By Maureen Madill
May 9, 2008
Just imagine you're Aaron Baddeley and you had to tee off on Thursday in THE PLAYERS at 8.44 a.m. What time do you think you would be up and about and preparing for the day and what would you be doing?
Banish thoughts of rolling out of bed at 7:30ish. Two hours before tee off Simon Webb, your exercise physiologist (fitness trainer to those of us less savvy), would have you in the gym running through a series of light exercises and stretches designed to aid movement and help you get the best out of your body for that day. Simon would shadow you for the day, watching you traverse the undulating TPC Sawgrass layout, watching for signs of drop off in your posture and checking your hydration and nutrition. After your round and post-lunch practice there would be a light gym session of an hour or so, consisting of thirty minutes of cardio and similar of light weights. There will be two to four such sessions this week -- a light week due to the importance of the event.
Simon has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree and is one of a growing number of fitness advisors integral to the team of any serious PGATOUR player. Webb has worked exclusively for Baddeley since the end of 2007 but they met in 2000 at the Victoria Institute of Sport in Australia and started working together shortly after that.
"It's all about peaking at the right time. It's not just about getting fit -- it's the science behind it all that interests me," Webb said. "It's the accumulation factor."
By that he means the accumulation of confidence that springs from correct and sustained preparation of the body, mind and technique so that optimal performance can be reached.
It truly is a holistic approach.
We see the players on the range with their coaches honing their techniques. Unfortunately we don't tend to witness them honing their bodies and, by extension, their minds, with their fitness gurus.
There are currently a dozen or so trainers on the PGATOUR full time. Watch that number and the profile of these experts grow, just as surely as the gap between amateur and professional will grow.
Now, let me just try that stretch one more time!
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Klauk's last hurrah
By Fred Albers
May 8, 2008
Fred Klauk knows every nematoad that dares to show its face at the TPC Sawgrass. For the last 23 years he's been Course Superintendent.
"It's been great fun. A lot of work, but fun at the same time," reminisced Klauk.
Every time a player bounces a ball off the 17th green into the water, he can blame Klauk. And every time a player rolls home a birdie putt on perfectly manicured greens, he can thank the Course Super.
"I know we don't make everyone happy but we do make the golf course fair. Fair but demanding."
Players will get one more chance to examine Klauk's work. He is retiring but has one last assignment: The 2008 PLAYERS Championship.
"Last year, after we re-did the course, we were conservative in the set-up. This year we will be more aggressive."
That means firmer greens and faster fairways.
When the last putt is holed on Sunday afternoon, Klauk will turn his attention to family and fish.
"I am going to hunt down every fish in the Keys and spend time with my wife and sons. I know it's not easy playing second fiddle to a golf course so I owe them some quality time. I might caddy for my son (Jeff) on the Nationwide Tour and travel with Peggy."
Klauk and Peggy have been married 34 years.
"Fair but demanding." Those fish in the Florida Keys have been warned.
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Phil always makes time
By Maureen Madill
May 5, 2008
"Hey, Phil, over here. Over here. Have you got a minute?"
It's the Wednesday of Wachovia week and Phil Mickelson is ambling round the Quail Hollow golf course in the Pro-Am. At every turn he is besieged by autograph hunters, well-wishers and those who want him to pose for photographs with his arm around their shoulders.
It is time consuming and tiring but he obliges with a smile and a word for everyone. And then there are the post Pro-Am interviews. He goes to the Media Centre and holds a thirty minute press conference in which the national media join via AT&T teleconference. Then it's an interview with XM, followed by two public service announcements for PGATOUR.COM and then a further interview for The GOLF CHANNEL.
"Have you got everything you need?" he asks. And the tournament hasn't even started yet.
Round 1 on Thursday brings him a 68 and more interviews. There are the big three of the week -- XM radio, The GOLF CHANNEL and the local television networks -- the media center, of course, and, oh yes, the small matter of signing 74 autographs in ten minutes. Such are the demands on a successful player on the PGA TOUR.
On Friday, Phil doubles the 15th and 18th to finish on 74. No media center visit that day, but the usual interviews and more time given to the voracious autograph hunters who lie in wait near the scorer's room. Ditto Saturday and Sunday.
On the course this has been a very average week for Phil Mickelson -- a twelfth place finish after a start that promised so much. One consolation is that it cut down on his media related duties as the spotlight was turned on the new Wachovia champion, Anthony Kim.
So, when I hear those cries of "Phil, Phil have you got a minute?" I know the answer is most definitely "No!"
He hasn't got a minute. He ensures he has, quite literally, hundreds and hundreds of them.
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Golf's most elusive property
By Bob Stevens
May 2, 2008
"It" is golf's most cherished prize. No, not the green jacket from Augusta or the trophy given away at each PGA TOUR stop, though having "it" can certainly lead to those great prizes and the wealth that comes to those who possess "it" for any length of time.
No, "it" is the mastery of this most impossible game. At this week's Wachovia Championship, George McNeill had "it" for almost three hours Friday, when he picked up seven shots to par in an eight-hole span. He still had a version of "it" for three more holes, giving himself birdie chances from inside 15 feet, but as quickly as he had "it", "it" went away. He missed the three birdies, then an eagle putt at a par 5 that would have recaptured "it". "It" then left George's day for good on the very next hole when he drove it into the woods for a bogey, the first of three in a row at Quail Hollow's famed Green Mile. He still tied the low round of the week, but he had so much more going. He had "it".
Midway leader Jason Bohn found "it" when he talked to his putting coach earlier this week. He's second in putting average this week. For the year he's 120th.
Robert Garrigus claimed he found "it" on the practice green before he played, a claw putting grip he called the "crawdad" that he first tried on the second green with a par-saving putt that went down, starting him off on a round that turned out six shots better than his first, safely making it into the weekend.
Current runner-up Anthony Kim seems to have been born with "it." Tiger Woods is still chasing "it," even though it sometimes seems he's always had it. Trevor Immelman had "it" a couple of weeks ago, but left it somewhere between New York City and Texas, where he badly missed the cut last week, and at the Wachovia Championship, where he missed again this week. Maybe "it" is somewhere in the vest pocket of that green jacket hanging in his closet.
The wonder of golf is that we've all possessed "it" at some time or another. Maybe just for one shot, maybe for just one hole, maybe for one round. Obviously, the PGA TOUR pros have felt "it," played with "it," and certainly enjoyed "it" more than anyone. And yet that makes their games all the more frustrating, because "it" is a fleeting commodity, and there's absolutely no telling who'll find "it" between now and Sunday.
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Great balls of fire
By Maureen Madill
April 30, 2008
The grandstands situated behind the practice ground at Quail Hollow Golf Course in Charlotte were packed with spectators on Wednesday. The range was packed with contenders for the Waterford Crystal Trophy, which goes to the Wachovia Championship winner on Sunday. At the left of the range is a tent housing food and drinks for the players and caddies -- and also, of course, the golf balls for the gladiators to hit.
But these, of course, are no ordinary range balls. They are definitely not the ones you and I hit when we saunter down to the range at home in an attempt to tame our unruly actions. These are brand new, never-been-hit-before balls with a choice to suit every player in the 156-strong field. Take your pick from two types of Callaway Tour balls, two types of Bridgestone Tour balls or two types of Titleists. Taylor Made, Srixon, and Nike balls also add their presence to the mix. Whatever the players' choice, their ammunition is presented to them in a pristine, brightly colored, canvas bag with a drawstring keeping the pellets secure until they are despatched down the range.
This is the stuff of dreams for most of us but part of the daily routine for a PGA TOUR player. Practicing with the ball of their choice -- in other words, the one they use on the course -- helps the players hone their skills to the fine degree required to enable them to win a title and lift a trophy.
So, if you think that donning the Wachovia jacket on Sunday and hoisting that Waterford Crystal will simply be the result of sound technique, mental strength and a dose of Lady Luck -- don't overlook the balls required to make it all happen!
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Myth-Busting in Dallas
By Bob Stevens
April 27, 2008
The TOUR leaves the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex having accomplished much this week, including the revival of the EDS Byron Nelson Championship through the almost universal praise from the players for the new D.A.Weibring re-design, a four-year extension of the sponsorship of the tournament by EDS through 2014, and the crowning of a very popular champion in Adam Scott, who won the title in such dramatic fashion.
As the tents come down and the TOUR departs for Charlotte and the Wachovia Championship this week, it also has at least two fewer myths to battle.
1. Adam Scott looks great in the "uniform," but when the heat is on? Busted. Scott not only played up to his enormous talent, he also showed some strategic brilliance when, on Saturday at the par-5 16th, with only a one-shot lead and the opportunity to reach the green in two with a miracle from the fairway rough 230 yards out, he hit his second shot only 100 yards. Why? Because after processing all the options, he decided his best chance at birdie was to hit it to a number he felt comfortable wedging in from. That number was 131 yards, where he then wedged to 6 feet, made the putt, made another on 18 and set himself up with a three-shot lead headed to the raw, cold final round. Then on Sunday, after blowing the lead, he showed some moxie many have questioned whether he had when forced to birdie the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Ryan Moore. All he did was stripe a drive into the fairway, wedge into 10 feet and drain the putt. The rest, as they say, is history.
2. The "next generation" of Tiger-challengers is here. Taking out Ernie Els' win at The Honda Classic and Tiger's title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and the primary TOUR event winners list since the TOUR left the West Coast includes Sean O'Hair, Geoff Ogilvy, Andres Romero, Johnson Wagner, Trevor Immelman, Boo Weekley and now Adam Scott. All but Boo are younger than Mr. Woods. Add to those names the likes of Brandt Snedeker, Anthony Kim, Ryuji Imada, Troy Matteson, Aaron Baddeley and this week's rising star Ryan Moore, all of whom have finished in the top-5 in the last two months, and you have a wave of future stars who can't wait to hoist a few trophies of their own. Tiger, don't stay away too long, or these guys will really be ready to challenge your throne.
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Listen to your caddie
By Fred Albers
April 25, 2008
It was an ugly lie. The ball nestled into a bird's nest clump of grass 189 yards from the green.
Justin Leonard was playing in the second round of the EDS Byron Nelson Championship but had just mis-hit his drive on the par-4 eighth hole , his 17th hole of the day.
"I really hooked it badly. I was in the rough and there were trees and I was ready to just chip out," said Leonard.
That's when caddy Brian Smith intervened.
"Brian said go for it. He talked me into trying for the green instead of a chip out and I listened to him."
Fortune favors the bold.
Leonard did not just pull off the shot, he hit a high hook over a grove of oak trees onto the green that released to within 18 feet of the cup. It was a reminder the former U.S. Amateur and British Open champion can still dial up big shots at big courses like the TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas.
The perfect ending would have been for Leonard to birdie the hole. Instead his putt lipped out and he settled for par, part of his second round 66 that has the Texan 3-under par for the tournament and just a pair of shots behind Adam Scott.
"I'm thinking well, I'm hitting it well. We'll just have to see what happens this weekend."
The weekend figures to be a home game with cries of "hook 'em horns" cascading from the gallery in support of the Texas native and UT graduate.
"It's always nice to play in your home state and I've been able to play well," smiled Leonard.
Play well?
He's a three-time champion of the Valero Texas Open who will try to Texas two step his way to another Lone Star victory this weekend.
Just keep listening to your caddy, Justin.
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Sipping his own fine wine
By Fred Albers
April 23, 2008
Luke Donald is looking for a vintage year and it just might begin this week at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. He has five consecutive top 20 finishes at the TPC Four Season Las Colinas, including second place in 2007.
"Yeah, I've always played well here. I'm not really sure why. The course seems to suit my eye very well," said the Englishman who brought his own bottle of wine to celebrate any victory.
Donald has entered a partnership with the Terlato Wine Group and Paterno Wines and their first bottle was released April 1.
"I'm very proud of it. I think it's very good. If anyone likes wine, I think you'll enjoy it. It's a Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley, very tasty."
About as tasty as Donald's play this season. "You know, I feel like I had some very good weeks this year, obviously a second at Honda, third at L.A., had a couple other top 20s. Missing the cut at the Masters was very disappointing."
Donald is the PGA TOUR's renaissance man. A graduate from Northwestern University he is an accomplished artist, is well read and now the venture into wines.
"I definitely am collecting wines. Where I am right now it's not a big cellar but I'm planning on buying a house right now in Chicago and plan to have a nice cellar there where I can keep some."
Wouldn't it be a happy coincidence if Donald could toast a victory at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship this weekend with a glass of his own Bordeaux.
"That would be lovely."
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Boo! It's no surprise at Harbour Town
By Bob Stevens
April 20, 2008
Some random thoughts while tying to figure out how Boo Weekley's second red tartan jacket will go with his camouflage gear on his next hunting excursion:
The Verizon Heritage doesn't have the storied history of the majors, but here's the list of multiple winners in the tourney's 40-year history: Davis Love III (five times), Hale Irwin (thrice), Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Payne Stewart, Hubert Green, Stewart Cink, Fuzzy Zoeller and now Boo Weekley. And if you think Boo's name is the one that doesn't fit on that list, you might be underestimating this late-bloomer who has the kind of game that fits just about any course -- hit it straight, hit a lot of greens, and roll the ball pretty well.
He and his high school pal from East Milton, Fla., Heath Slocum, nearly won the World Cup last winter, maybe the most underrated event on the planet, and his victory in Hilton Head gets him closer to a Ryder Cup berth he told me he'd be "honored" to have. Imagine Boo going head-to- head with Monty or Sergio at Valhalla later this summer. They'd never know what hit 'em.
I'm sure a lot of you think Boo's homespun style is an act, but he's not making any of this up. He's just that genuine, doesn't give the canned answer to any question anyone has, and (here's the best part), he genuinely appreciates being appreciated. What you didn't see after the network broadcasts ended on Saturday (even ours) was Boo spending more than 30 minutes after his round, before even going in for the post-round press conference, signing anything anyone put in front of him along the rope line, until everyone was satisfied. Boo's not the only player who does that, but not many of them do on Saturday after grabbing the lead in a tournament that winning took one step closer to quitting the TOUR altogether.
Maybe it's appropriate that with the "circus" moving to the EDS Byron Nelson Championship this week that Boo's going home to help his six-month pregnant wife pack to get ready to move into their new home. Boo's not all that interested in 19 majors or 100 victories, or whatever Tiger's goals are. Like Lord Byron, he just wants to set up his family for the future, in his case a future of turkey hunting in that tartan jacket.
Couple of other thoughts from inside the ropes. Aaron Baddeley is sooooo classy. After losing out on a second tartan jacket himself, Badds made it a point to come back and congratulate Boo, and co-runner up Anthony Kim for a job well done with a handshake and an exchange of words that was more than just "congratulations." Where else in sport does that happen?
And speaking of Kim, he took another step toward breaking out this week, playing in the final group on Sunday for the first time and matching Weekley's score. This super-talented kid told me it was a fabulous learning experience, that he understands that he paid a price for being impatient a couple of times, but three straight birdies on the back nine prove he can get it done at crunch time. Now he goes back to his adopted hometown of Dallas with all that talent and a little more confidence. I'm sure I'm not the first to predict he'll be the next great star in Texas, and he's only 22.
What were you doing at 22? Dressing in plaid and camo?
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Food for thought
By John Maginnes
April 19, 2008
On Friday, Mark Hensby hit his second shot into the gallery on No. 5. His ball didn't just end up in the gallery -- it ended up knocking a sandwich out of one particular lady's hands.
When the dust settled, Mark's ball came to rest on the ground on top of a piece of lettuce from the unfortunate sandwich.
PGA TOUR official Mickey Bradley was called in to make the ruling. After some deliberation it was determined that Mark was to play the ball as it lies because the offending leaf was a part of nature. However, it was discussed that if the lettuce had mayonnaise or mustard on it then he would have been entitled to relief, because the condiment isn't found in nature.
The fact that the lettuce was harvested, washed, processed, sold and resold, cut and put in between two pieces of bread apparently didn't change its properties as a product of nature.
So Mark played the ball off the lettuce up onto the green. There is no word on whether or not the poor spectator was ever fed. Let it be said: Playing on the PGA TOUR is no picnic.
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A sigh of relief!!!
By Mark Carnevale
April 16, 2008
As players make their way from The Masters to the Verizon Heritage, exiting I-95 south onto 278 east, they begin to relax; they cross the bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway and see the sign, "Welcome to Hilton Head Island." Now, they can exhale.
After spending the last seven days under the mental and physical pressure of the year's first major championship, the players are now able to relax. As someone who has played in them, there is no more of a "pressure cooker" for a PGA TOUR player than the competition at a major. Requests from family and friends, as well as other time commitments, and -- most of all -- the inner pressure players put on themselves to perform will exceed anything you could ever imagine. That 5-footer to win your club championship is nothing compared to what a TOUR player goes through during a major.
This week, players bring their families, spend time on the beach, ride bikes and even consume an occasional adult beverage or two. It is well deserved. It's time to enjoy the fruits of their profession, and there is no better place than at The Verizon Heritage.
They can relax for a few days, but once the gun goes off Thursday morning, they are back to focusing on golf -- and focus is what is required to win at Harbour Town. Past champions include, Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin (2), Johnny Miller (2), Tom Watson (2), Payne Stewart (2), Fuzzy Zoeller (2), Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman and Davis Love III (5). To win at Harbour Town, you must be a great ball-striker and manager of your game.
Last year, Boo Weekley came out on top, and what a champion he has been. Tournament Director Steve Wilmot said, "Boo was above and beyond anything they could have asked for in a champion. He did everything that was asked of him, with grace and style. Sponsors and media praised him. They thanked him, but Boo said, "No, thank you.'"
So in the day of the question, "Who will be the next Tiger Woods?", my question is "Who will be this year's Boo Weekley?"
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What, me worry?
By Fred Albers
April 6, 2008
When Johnson Wagner arrived at the driving range prior to his final round at the Shell Houston Open, he looked lik