2nd Round

I didn't get to see much of the golf today and none of it yesteday. Here's what I noticed from looking at the leaderboard: Stewart Cink missed the cut, but Adam Scott and Peter Lonard made the cut. So, some of the President's Cup folks are doing well this week. Justin Rose is 10 under and two shots out of the lead. Several people scored the low round of 7 under including Justin and Brandt Jobe, Chris Smith, Jason Bohn, and Shigeki Maruyama. Another interesting note - Paul Azinger made the cut. I don't know how he will be comentating on Sunday and playing but I guess he will manage. Maybe they will mike him while he's on the course. But then, that might not be the best of ideas. He seems to be the kind of guy who has to watch what he says :)

Gavin Coles

From The Australian:

AUSTRALIA's Gavin Coles, back after missing six weeks with a cracked rib, resumed the battle to keep his USPGA Tour card with a four-under-par 68 first round at the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro yesterday.

Coles sustained the injury while hitting a tee shot at a tournament in July.

"I'd hurt my back two weeks prior and it progressively got worse," said Coles, who ended the day tied for 15th with compatriot Geoff Ogilvy, six strokes behind American leader Charles Warren at Forest Oaks, North Carolina.

"All of a sudden (a rib) snapped.

"I finished the round and played the next round as well after they drugged me up. It was probably not the right decision but I don't think I could have done more damage."

Coles was sidelined for six weeks and has only made one cut since his return, falling to 174th on the money list. It means he has much work to do in the final month of the season to jump into the top 125 on the money list and keep his card for 2006.

But yesterday was a step in the right direction as he matched Ogilvy, who has no such problems, not having missed a cut since March.

"I played really well. I could have had two or three better if I'd made a few putts, but all in all I'm very happy," Ogilvy said.

In Tucson in February, he scored his first professional victory, and top-six finishes at the British Open and US PGA Championship stamped him as a player to watch in the majors.

"I'm driving it better than I used to, and golf's a lot easier when you're playing from the fairway more often," he said.

"A few years ago I was an awful driver. I could drive it well for a week, but not for months."

The other Australians were further back. Steve Elkington and Robert Allenby shot 70, Peter Lonard and Brendan Jones 71, Steve Allan 72, Adam Scott 73 and Scott Hend 74.

Paul Gow shot 81, but was disqualified for signing for an 80. He made bogey at the par-three fourth hole, but signed for a three.

Huston Leads the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro

REUTERS

3:11 p.m. September 30, 2005

NEW YORK – American John Huston returned an error-free six-under 66 to grab a one-shot lead over South Korea's KJ Choi midway through the second round at the Greensboro Classic in North Carolina on Friday.

Huston, who began the day at Forest Oaks Country Club four shots back of overnight leader Charles Warren, has had just one bogey through two rounds to sit on 12-under 132.

Choi had just one blemish on his card mixing a bogey on the par-four fifth with four birdies for a three-under 69 to reach 11-under 133 at the midway point of the $5 million event.

Sitting three-shots off the pace are South African Tim Clark (69) and 2003 champion Shigeki Maruyama of Japan (65) at nine-under 135.

Warren, who opened with a course record 62, slipped back into the pack with a two-over 74 joining Swedes Carl Pettersson (67) and Daniel Chopra (69) at eight-under 136.

Spain's Sergio Garcia, the world number six, stayed in contention returning a three-under 69 for the second consecutive day to sit six back of the leader on six-under 138.

Update on Greensboro

Apparently Davis Love has withdrawn from the event. Click here to read the article.

A New Website (And Possibly a New Friend)

I received an email from Doug Farrick who said some very complimentary things about this blog and then asked if I would be interested in featuring his website on this blog. I checked out his website, GolfDash: The Intelligent Golf Directory, and decided that I would feature it. It seems to have a lot of information and it looks like someone puts in a lot of hard work to make it so encompassing. So, Check out Golf Dash. I will be adding it to the sidebar.

This Week on the PGA Tour

Is the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. It airs on the USA network and on ABC on Sunday apparently. Some of the participants include: Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Davis Love and Peter Lonard - at least that's what the website says. It's no accident that among those in the list above, I highlighted some President's Cup participants. I think it will be interesting to see them play this week after last week. And I think it's good to have this kind of celebrity in an event like this to bring more people out to watch the tournament. Personally, I'm hoping Sergio Garcia does really well. I haven't seen enough of him lately. And Justin Rose will always get a favorable mention here since he was nice enough to respond personally when I sent him a friendly email on his website.

News from the Valero Open

Gamez makes big jump in World Rankings

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Robert Gamez won the Texas Open on Sunday snapping a massive drought and in doing so moved up 113 places to No. 148 in this week's Official World Golf Rankings.

Gamez went 394 events without a victory until yesterday. The 15 years and six months between wins was the longest stretch in PGA Tour history. Butch Baird held the previous record of 15 years and five months (May 1961-October 1976).

Outside of Gamez' big jump, there was little movement in the top-20 in the world. That is due impart to the fact that there was a pair of team, match- play events this past weekend, The Presidents Cup and the Seve Trophy.

Tiger Woods maintained his large lead at the top of the world rankings despite his singles loss to Retief Goosen in The Presidents Cup. Woods was followed by Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Goosen.

Sergio Garcia held on to the sixth spot while Adam Scott, Chris DiMarco and Jim Furyk followed again.

The first change came in the 10th spot as Angel Cabrera moved to 10, while Kenny Perry slipped to 11th. David Toms and Padraig Harrington exchanged slots as well with Toms now 12th and the Irishman sliding to 13th.

Luke Donald and Michael Campbell held steady at 14 and 15 respectively. Darren Clarke moved up one to 16 as Davis Love III dropped one notch to 17. Tim Clark and David Howell kept their 18th and 19th positions from one week ago.

Thomas Bjorn inched back into the top-20 at 20th this week and Fred Couples dropped to 21st despite his heroics at The Presidents Cup.

America Wins!

America won the President's Cup today and I would just like to point out that the three matches I suggested you keep an eye on were all important wins for the US. Fred Couples beat Vijay Singh on the last hole and his reaction was worth watching the whole event. He was so excited and happy. And Davis Love's big hug when he congratulated Fred symbolized what the President's Cup is all about. Team spirit. Have I mentioned that I have been completely, absolutely, unabashedly in love with Fred Couples since 1992?

The next most memorable moment I think is Chris Dimarco's win on the 18th hole. He was just as excited as Fred and with good reason. When the day started there were a lot of arm chair captains on tv second guessing Jack Nicklaus' decision to have Dimarco and Mickelson anchor the team today, but Jack's strategy proved to be correct and he proved the tv people wrong. It's good to see Dimarco get the winning point; he seems to really love the team concept. And he reminds me of Fred Couples, which isn't a bad thing. I did have an interesting thought while I watched Dimarco today. In the local paper there is a Bull Dog puppy for sale. And I thought, "if I owned that dog, I'd name him Dimarco". Chris Dimarco just reminded me of a scrappy bulldog who wouldn't give up without a fight. Of course I could name a pet Stewart or Nick and cover four or five golfers all at once. I did name a couple of calves Fred and Payne once. I think they ended up being someone's dinner.

I guess the big elephant in the room, so to speak, is Tiger's loss to Retief Goosen. I don't find it that surprising. Tiger isn't number 1 in the world because he can play the best all the time. He's number 1 because he can string together enough good rounds in every tournament to beat the others. Today, he only had one round to play and Retief was killing him with those long putts. I will admit I didn't root for Tiger the same way I did for Davis Love or Fred Couples. But I didn't root against him either. Mainly I just kept telling the tv (aka Tiger) "You're the number 1 player in the world, you'd better win this." That's as supportive as I think I could be.

All in all, this was a very exciting President's Cup. I'm almost tempted to order the official tape of the event.

Yesterday's President's Cup

I'm late in posting my comments. I was dying my hair again last night. It came out better than Tiger's new Do. Anyway, here they are:

I like the Alternate Shot format. That's much more exciting to see how the team mate plays your game and vice versa. And it encourages more teamwork than just playing your own ball. As for the teams, Dimarco and Mickelson and Leonard and Verplank could be the next Love-Couples iconic pairing. It's great that they are doing so well. Tiger and Vijay are still competitive bordering on hostile at times. Good thing Jim Furyk was there to calm Tiger down a bit and remind him that it's team competition. I'm glad to see the NBC folks pointing out how great Jim Furyk did yesterday. It was one of those rare days that they weren't wearing the Tiger blinders and just mindlessly touting Tiger's greatness even though he kept missing his drives. There was some honest comentating yesterday. Goosen and Scott were phenomenal and as I've already alluded to, very easy on the eyes. I'm glad Goosen is doing well. It seems like after the US Open thing, everyone just started commenting on all his mistakes and never remarked on any of his good shots. True, he went through some rough patches after the US Open, but I think he won two tournaments back-to-back just recently. In the afternoon matches I was confused with the Couples and Love match. On the one hand, they were doing great, but on the other hand, they weren't doing great. It was weird. But it was great to see them paired together. Another handsome team. A lot was made about Vijay changing putters from one week to the next, but I think I saw Phil Mickelson change putters between the morning and afternoon matches. Maybe Phil should start using Michael Campbell's eyesight drills and leave the putter alone. I don't play golf but I would think putting has more to do with the green and less to do with the putter. Don't they all have a flat surface that hits the ball? I'm sure that's oversimplifying the game a bit :)

Ones to watch today:

Furyk vs Scott
Couples vs Singh
Dimarco and Whoever he's playing

Early Observation

Of today's President's Cup matches:

The most handsome match of the day: Goosen and Scott vs Leonard and Verplank.

The Valero Texas Open

I took a look at the leaderboard and here are some observations:
David Duval and Michael Putnam have made the cut. Yay for them! Michael Putnam just turned pro a few weeks ago and had that amazing run at his first pro event. And David Duval was one of the world's best a few years ago and is gradually making his way back to good form.

Dean Wilson is leading the event and shot an 8 under round today. I think that was the best round of the day too. Jeff Maggert, John Senden, Olin Browne, Woody Austin, Bob Heintz, and Robert Gamez are close behind and could provide some great entertainment this weekend.

And apparently Rita may have an impact on the event. It will be interesting to watch to see what happens.

It's All A Blur!

I missed the beginning of the President's Cup matches today. I was helping Mom and Dad with their new house. So, unfortunately, I had trouble getting into the matches and keeping track of everyone. And I missed all of the matches from yesterday. Hopefully, I can follow it all tomorrow, but I think I'll be missing about a half an hour or so in the morning to work out. I will try to find some news stories about the President's Cup and the Valero Texas Open on the web and post them here. I keep wondering if Rita will affect the Valero event.

Valero Texas Open

San Antonio Express-News

Crane, others exit: Ben Crane's gain at last weekend's 84 Lumber Classic in Pennsylvania was the Valero Texas Open's loss.

Crane, one of the PGA Tour's hottest golfers over the second half of the season, was one of several late withdrawals for this week's Open. A third-place finish at the 84 Lumber, worth $299,200, brought to almost $800,000 Crane's earnings from the past two tournaments.

With his bank account flush, Crane joined Tim Herron, fourth at the 84 Lumber, Brandt Jobe, Kevin Na, Justin Bolli, Danny Ellis, D.J. Trahan and Joey Snyder III in dropping from the field.

Alternates who have been added to the event include Brenden Pappas, Glen Day, Matt Kuchar, Craig Bowden, John E. Morgan, Arjun Atwal, David Peoples, Per-Ulrik Johansson and Richard S. Johnson.

Rested and ready: Defending tournament champion Bart Bryant teed off for his practice round early Tuesday, and came off the course pronouncing himself fit and prepared for Thursday's opening round.

Bryant, who owns the La Cantera resort course record with a third-round, 10-under 60 last year, has been nursing a sore wrist. But he stayed home the past three weeks and said the pain has subsided.

Cameron crows: Cameron Beckman's tie for fifth at last week's 84 Lumber, worth a season-high $154,500 payday, has moved him to 159th on the money list at $361,281 overall. Beckman is working to move into the top 125 to secure his PGA Tour card for next season.

Money matters: Two-time Open champion Duffy Waldorf is one of three golfers who have raked in seven figures in winnings at the event. Justin Leonard, with $1.40 million, and Loren Roberts, with $1.27 million, are the only competitors ahead of Waldorf's $1.01 million total.

- Richard Oliver

The President's Cup: Thursday's Matches

USA	Scoring	International
Woods		Scott
Couples	1:10 pm ET	Goosen
Funk		Singh
Furyk	1:20 pm ET	Hensby
Mickelson		O'Hern
DiMarco	1:30 pm ET	Clark
Leonard		Lonard
Verplank	1:40 pm ET	Appleby
Love III		Campbell
Perry	1:50 pm ET	Cabrera
Toms		Immelman
Cink	2:00 pm ET	Weir

President's Cup: Tuesday, Part 2

Campbell targeting team success

Campbell seals Wentworth win

US Open and World Match Play winner Michael Campbell will captain the International team taking on America in the Presidents Cup from Friday.

The New zealander is aiming to lead his multi-national outfit to a first-ever victory over the US on home territory.

He said: "I've taken on a lot of new responsibilities since I won the US Open, and this is one of them.

"Their big advantage is playing on home soil. But we've got eight guys in the top 30. That's a pretty strong team."

Campbell leads an International squad which includes Fiji's Vijay Singh, Canada's Mike Weir, Argentina's Angel Cabrera and South Africans Tim Clark, Trevor Immelman and Retief Goosen.

Adam Scott is among five Aussies in the line-up, but he said: ""It doesn't matter where you are from - we're all under the same flag this week.

"Hopefully we can contribute points."

Compatriot Nick O'Hern added: "The great thing about this week for us is it's pretty much a team feeling.

"We're all pretty good friends and we're going to have some pretty good parties - not parties, dinners - this week."

The sixth edition of the biennial Presidents Cup is taking place at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club at Lake Manassas, near Gainsville, Virginia.

President's Cup: Tuesday

Scott enjoying his game again
By Robert Lusetich in Manassas, Virginia
21sep05

ADAM Scott caught the flu in Singapore and it won't go away, but it has been a small price to pay.

As he prepared to practise for the Presidents Cup with some of his International team-mates at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on Washington's outskirts yesterday, Scott, 25, was in buoyant mood. Seven-stroke wins - even in the Singapore Open - tend to encourage it.

The last time we saw Scott, at the USPGA in New Jersey, playing golf seemed to hold the appeal of root canal surgery.

"Yeah, it got to the point where it just wasn't fun for me any more," Scott said.

He left Australia at the start of the year and had simply burned out from living out of a suitcase, shuffling from tournament to tournament, for eight months.

"I just really needed a break," he said. "It's one of those things where I had to listen to my body but listen to my mind more importantly. My mind wasn't in the game.

"I put too much pressure on myself ... I was playing well [but] I just wasn't scoring well and it was so frustrating."

The antidote was, oddly, to go home to the Gold Coast and play golf. Not just golf: he surfed, played tennis and chilled out, too. But mainly, he spent his days on the links with mates.

"Yeah, it's bizarre that I ended up playing a lot of golf at home with my mates but all of a sudden it was relaxing. It was fun again," he said.

"Normally for me it's fun to play out here but those last couple of weeks, at the PGA and the NEC (World Series of Golf), it was a grind. Anyway, a few weeks back home and I went to Singapore and it was back to the old frame of mind and I really enjoyed it."

This week, during the sixth Presidents Cup which starts tomorrow (US time), Scott predicted he would need to draw on that experience often against the US team.

"You have to be so mentally tough for this event because there's a lot of pressure. You're not just playing for yourself out there, you don't want to let anyone down," he said.

Scott, who finished with a 3-2-0 record at the Presidents Cup in South Africa two years ago, will need to do a lot of heavy lifting with Ernie Els sidelined with a knee injury.

"Look, there's no question that Adam, and a lot of the other players, will need to do more because not having Ernie Els here hurts us a lot," International captain Gary Player said yesterday.

Scott said the external pressure couldn't be greater than that which he puts upon himself, but felt confident he would answer the challenge.

He also said that the Presidents Cup, still in its relative infancy, had already grown in stature, in part because of the thrilling 17-all tie in South Africa, which finished with Els and Tiger Woods trading long putts in near darkness on the third and final play-off hole.

"The event in South Africa was awesome, the whole week," Scott said. "And then the finish was unbelievable. It's one of my favourite memories. It was the most exciting play-off you'll ever see. It really pissed me off that it was a draw, but it was awesome anyway. If this can tap into that, I think this event will take off."

He also disputed the widespread belief that the US players did not care much for it. Scott cited David Toms, who collapsed on the course last week.

Toms was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia, an electrical problem in the upper chamber of his heart that can be treated with medication and fixed by surgery, but he put off an operation until after the Presidents Cup.

"Now it's an anticipated event for (US players). I think it got off to a start where it was a pain in the arse for them to play it, but I think it's got something about it now," Scott said.

The US has won three of the five Presidents Cup, losing once (in Melbourne seven years ago) and drawing.

A Few Observations

PGA Tour Money List:
Carlos Franco from 116 to 60
Jason Gore from somewhere in the 200s I think to 81
John Huston from 150 to 123
Cameron Beckman from 181 to 159

This Fall Finish is pretty exciting.

Next PGA event is the Valero Texas Open this week while the Presidents Cup is going on.

The Presidents Cup: Monday, Part 3

THE PRESIDENTS CUP

Randall Mell
Golf/College Football Columnist
September 18, 2005

---

THE PRESIDENTS CUP

When/where: Thursday-Sunday, Gainesville, Va., Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

The Series: The Americans and Internationals shared the cup when it was last played in South Africa in 2003. The Americans lead the series 3-1-1.

TV: Thursday - {tvtlw}{tvncw}{tvtrw}, 1-6 p.m. Friday - {tvtlw}{tvncw}{tvtrw}, Noon-6 p.m. Saturday - {left}{tv5cr}{right}{left}{tv6cr}{right}, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday - {left}{tv5cr}{right}{left}{tv6cr}{right}, Noon to 6 p.m.

Format: The competition consists of 34 matches - 11 foursomes (players hitting alternate shots) and 11 four-ball matches (players play the best ball). There are 12 singles matches on the final day. All matches are worth one point, for a total of 34 points. There are no playoffs in foursomes or four-ball with a squared match yielding half a point. Singles matches all square after 18 holes will go to extra holes until a winner is determined. In a change inspired by events at the 2003 Presidents Cup, if the match is deadlocked at the end of singles play, the competition will be deemed a tie and teams will share the Presidents Cup.

U.S. team: Jack Nicklaus (captain), Stewart Cink, Fred Couples, Chris DiMarco, Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson, Kenny Perry, David Toms, Scott Verplank, Tiger Woods.

International team: Gary Player (captain), Stuart Appleby, Angel Cabrera, Michael Campbell, Tim Clark, Retief Goosen, Mark Hensby, Trevor Immelman, Peter Lonard, Nick O'Hern, Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, Mike Weir.

Copyright © 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Presidents Cup: Monday, Part 2

Hensby geared up for Presidents Cup

By Tim Rosaforte
Golf World

Mark Hensby is an edgy guy. In less than two years on the world stage, the feisty Australian has been: (a) critical of Augusta National GC; (b) disqualified from Bay Hill; and (c) outspoken on Michelle Wie's invitation to play in the tournament he was defending. Hensby has also feuded with the Australian Golf Union and skipped both his country's National Open to play in South Korea and the British Open because he didn't have a passport. On top of all that, he has not been talking to The Golf Channel because he believes it slighted him during this year's Masters. When confronted with the question about a chip on his shoulder, Hensby admits his reputation is partially deserved. "Anyone would have a chip on their shoulder if they had a background like me," he says.
........................................Read More ............................................

Presidents Cup: Monday, Part 1

Golf Fans Pay to Be Unpaid Workers at Presidents Cup

By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 18, 2005; PW01

When the Presidents Cup starts Tuesday at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, more than 1,000 volunteers will help keep score, escort players onto the course, drive golf carts and do whatever else needs to be done.

It promises to be an exhausting week, with 20,000 people expected each day at the tournament, which pits a team of golfers from the United States against a team made up of players from other countries.

The volunteers have paid for the privilege. In a twist on the meaning of volunteerism, those offering to work for free not only do not get paid, but they pay $200 each to sweat it out on the grounds each day.

"I was flabbergasted at the fact that these people are paying to do this," said Mark Elliott, a member of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club who is guiding the work of the volunteers for the first time at a PGA tournament. "I thought, 'How is this going to work?' But people are doing it."

The Presidents Cup has usually required volunteers to pay, a phenomenon that is catching on throughout the golf community. The system helps to offset costs and gives fans a chance to get up close to the world's best players, said George Burger, general chairman of the Presidents Cup.

"I think a lot of the majors are going to start doing it," Burger said.

From a minimal $40 at a golf event in Omaha to the $200 at the Presidents Cup, a check of tournaments across the country this year shows that people are willing to pay to work.

Lindsey Wagner, a PGA Tour volunteer coordinator, said there is no shortage of volunteers, just a scarcity of volunteers for certain duties. There are 30 committees.

"Trash pickup is the least favorite," she said.

Volunteers list three preferences of what they would like to do during the tournament, which ends next Sunday. The marshal's job, which allows volunteers to roam the course with the players, was the most popular. A list of volunteers shows that 436 people signed up for 300 positions.

There are fanatics who know how the system works and follow the tournaments like hangers-on of a rock band, Elliott said.

"There's a small group of people who are like groupies," he said. "They are retired, and they have the time to do it."

Volunteers are coming from as far as Oklahoma, Indiana, California and Iowa, Wagner said. But the Presidents Cup is being worked mostly by local golf fans, she said.

Elliott, who lives in Loudoun County, said the subdivisions of Heritage Hunt, Piedmont and Stonewall Jackson -- all in Gainesville and all with their own golf courses -- are supplying the bulk of volunteers.

"We have a whole pool of people who are golf-oriented," he said.

Jennie Fulwiker of Heritage Hunt said she took up golf 10 years ago when she retired as an office worker.

"I was retiring, so my husband and I decided to take up something. We weren't fit enough for tennis, so golf was our speed," she said.

Fulwiker, 68, said that she has attended the Presidents Cup and other big tournaments but that this is the first year she has volunteered. She said she was surprised to pay a fee, but "it's worth the experience."

"Most everyone I've met that's signed up for it feels the same way," Fulwiker said. "They give you a lot."

She is volunteering as -- what else -- an office worker. "It's been a while," she said, joking.

Like all other volunteers, Fulwiker will get a few things in exchange for her service and fee: two golf shirts, a wind shirt, a golf cap, a weekly badge with access to an exclusive suite, continental breakfast and lunch each day and one of the biggest perks -- a round of golf at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club after the tournament.

To play at the private club, golfers must be invited by a member, and members pay a $100,000 initiation fee. "Oh, yeah, it's absolutely wor th it," Fulwiker said.

Gore Wins!!!

This is a very good golf week for me. I have kept my eye on both Jason Gore and Carlos Franco for the last few week and both did extrememly well this week. It's great to see Jason Gore win and Franco proved once again just how much talent he has (talent because he practices so little).

Meg Mallon Heart Scare

Meg Mallon released from hospital after being treated for rapid heart rate

Canadian Press

Saturday, September 17, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Meg Mallon, who made the clinching putt when the Americans won the Solheim Cup, was released from hospital Wednesday after being treated for a rapid heart rate.

Mallon, 42, was taken by ambulance to The Heart Center of Indiana after closing ceremonies Sunday afternoon when her heart rate increased to as many as 290 beats per minute.

Dr. Richard Fogel said she was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia, a cardiac rhythm disturbance that results in a racing heartbeat. Mallon went through a procedure Tuesday in which heat distributed through a catheter destroyed a small piece of tissue where the rhythm arises.

Fogel, who lives near Crooked Stick and was in the gallery when Mallon won her singles match, said she is expected to make a full recovery and should be able to return to the LPGA Tour next week in Los Angeles.

A three-time major champion, Mallon went 2-0-1 in the Solheim Cup. Her six-foot par putt on the 16th hole assured the Americans of the final point they needed to win back the cup from Europe.

Mallon went on to defeat Karen Stupples on the next hole, 3 and 1. She has won more points than any other American in Solheim Cup history.

© The Canadian Press 2005

Update on David Toms

David Toms plans to play in the President's Cup this coming week and then according to this article will have surgery to correct the condition that caused his collapse at the 84 Lumber Classic this week.

Here's an article that names his heart condition:

Toms facing heart surgery
From correspondents in Farmington
18sep05

DAVID Toms will have surgery to correct a heart problem that forced him to withdraw from a PGA event this week, but that operation will not come before he plays in next week's Presidents Cup.

The 38-year-old American collapsed during Thursday's first round of the $US4.4 million-dollar 84 Lumber Classic and was treated by paramedics before being taken to UPMC-Presbyterian University Hospital. He was released on Friday.

Doctors found Toms had not suffered a heart attack but suffers from supraventricular tachycardia, an electrical problem in the upper chamber of his heart that can be treated with medication and fixed by surgery.

"I'm on medication for it and I'm going to get it fixed pretty soon," Toms said Saturday. "They're going to fix it so I never have to withdraw after playing nine holes ever again."

Toms, whose only major title came at the 2001 PGA Championship, made it clear to US captain Jack Nicklaus and his rivals on the Internationals team that he will be fit and ready for next week's biennial team matches.

"Count on me for some points next week," Toms said.

Toms could have undergone surgery Monday in Pittsburgh to correct the heart problem, but the operation would have lasted up to six hours and left him to sore to compete in next week's Cup showdown against a non-European squad.

Toms first felt pain from the condition in 1991. His most recent pain before this worst-ever episode came last month at the World Golf Championships NEC Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

Toms, ranked fourth on the US PGA tour money list, was stricken with a rapid heartbeat after playing his tee shot on the first hole, his 10th hole of the opening round.

"I was feeling fine. Then I bent over. I went to one knee and tried to get up and it just got worse. My heart started pounding pretty good," Toms recalled. "It got worse for about the next 30 minutes."

A paramedic tried to put an IV line into Toms' left arm but could not and instead inserted it into his right hand.

"I said, 'Don't do that. I've got my second shot to hit,"' Toms said. "She said, 'You're not going anywhere. An ambulance is on the way."'

3rd Round

I managed to see some of the third round today. Jason Gore was leading when ESPN stopped covering it. I hope he does well. He's such a nice guy. Carlos Franco is doing well this week, please don't let me jinx him. Justin Leonard is also having a good tournament so far. Where has he been lately? Hopefully he will carry this through to the President's Cup since he is a Captain's Pick. I always think the Captain's Pick has to do better than the guys who earn the points (whether that's fair or not).

I Admit It

I have missed both the first and second rounds of the 84 Lumber Classic. Last night I did my grocery shopping because it was supposed to rain today and I didn't want to shop in the rain. Today I missed it because we had pizza at work for employee appreciation day and I needed to walk off some of it when I got home. I did hear that David Toms was taken to the hospital, but the last time I checked out Google News, he was in stable condition, so I'm hoping he will be ok. It really makes you think about your health when someone young and athletic has an episode like that. I will try to check out the leaderboard later on to see what I've missed.

Checking out the PGA Tour Money Leaders

Just a few notable jumps on the list:
Ben Crane from 42 to 20
Mark Calcavecchia from 68 to 21
Joey Sindelar from 83 to 63
Jesper Parnevik from 131 to 94

It's a bit depressing to look at the out of the top 125 list. So many big names and good players.

84 Lumber Classic

This week's tournament is the 84 Lumber Classic. Vijay is playing, which is expected since every 84 Lumber ad I get has his and John Daly's pictures in it. And of course, John Daly is playing. Other notables in the field include:
Sean O'Hair, Fred Couples, Carlos Franco (no I haven't given up on him despite the possible jinx I am) Justin Leonard, Ryan Moore, Justin Rose, Phil Mickelson, and Jason Gore. It looks as though some people are using this as a tune-up for the President's Cup. It should be a good tournament. I hope Jason Gore gets something going soon. Everyone wants him to do well, I think.

Not so Observant

Okay, so I didn't keep up with the Solheim Cup and I didn't mention Retief Goosen winning again this past weekend. I've been working out more on the weekend, trying to lose as much weight as I can before the new dress code at work goes into effect. With the longer workouts, I've had to give up some of my spare time that I could have otherwise used to comment on other golf happenings. Hopefully, I will soon stop all this exercising stuff and I'll get all that time back.

Final Round

I'm guessing Mark Calcavecchia won. I had to stop watching when he was on the green with two putts to win. I had to feed the dogs. Ben Crane and Ryan Moore did their best and made the final round a bit exciting there at the end. And apparently, I must have jinxed Carlos Franco this week. Sorry about that.

Third Round

The announce crew appeared to be most impressed with Ryan Moore today. And why not? He made a move on moving day. Mark Calcavecchia didn't, which means Sunday is sure to be an interesting final round. I'm still hoping Carlos Franco does well.

A Charitable Change to the Blog

I have created a permanent list of Hurricane Relief charities over in the sidebar. Yes, there are more pet related charities listed than people ones, but The Red Cross is the big one that everyone on the news is advising people to donate to.

Second Round

I didn't get to see the second round yesterday. I went shopping after work and by the time I got home, put everything away and fixed my supper it was too late to watch any of the round. Looking at the leaderboard it looks like 4 under was the best round of the day and several people scored that low including Vijay, Jerry Kelly, Justin Rose and Ben Crane. Mark Calcavecchia (and yes I actually spelled the name right without looking at it) is leading after two rounds with a score of 8 under par. I plan to watch Carlos Franco this week. He's been having some very good rounds lately and he might do even better this week. The one disappointment is Jason Gore, who missed the cut.

The Bell Canadian Open

Jesper Parnevik is leading in the first round with 4 under par. Other players near the top are Brandt Jobe, Todd Hamilton, Mathias Gronberg, Scott Dunlap, and Carlos Franco. Vijay is 3 over par. Click here to see the full leaderboard.

Golfers Are Pet Lovers Too

When you are reaching into your pockets to donate money to Katrina Relief efforts, please don't forget about the stranded pets who also need rescued and shelter and care in the aftermath of the hurricane. Please donate money to help those efforts. The Humane Society is a good place to start.

Justin Rose Day

I have proclaimed today Justin Rose Day here at Even Par Round! I sent him a nice fan email and he replied with a personalized response. It wasn't an automated thing. He is such a nice guy! I'm so excited! So, once again, I will direct your eyes to the side bar where you will not only see a link to his website, but also a link to his foundation, the Ken Rose Foundation. Please take a few moments and visit both of those sites.

Today's Results

Olin Browne won the Deutsche Bank Championship and he won a ton of money. Jason Bohn came in second and he was fighting all the way to the end. It's great to see that kind of competitiveness but with a more polite nature than some of the top tier players. They showed his reaction when he won that million dollars all those years ago - it was priceless. I would act the same way now if I won a million dollars. I'd react that way if I won a thousand. Vaughn Taylor came in a quiet third. Seriously, he made very little noise during the last round and the TV folks might have shown him two or three times in the three hours of coverage. ABC had a video thing with Nick Faldo going to a Red Sox game. I thought it was pretty funny. And I never complain about a chance to see Nick Faldo on tv.

Around the World

Sergio Garcia won the Omega European Masters.

Retief Goosen won whatever tournament he was playing.

Hale Irwin won the Walmart First Tee tournament out at Pebble Beach.

Pat Hurst won the LPGA event.

Peter Tomasulo wins the Nationwide event.

Jason Gore

Talk about Jason being a people's player. He just commented that he was lucky to have bought a more economical car after the U.S. Open because gas prices have gone up. When was the last time you heard a PGA golfer comment on things like the price of gas?

More on Hurricane Katrina

Toms and Sutton pitching in to help Katrina Victims

David Toms lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, some 340 miles from New Orleans, but he doesn't have to travel far to see evidence of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

"There's a shelter a mile from my office, at LSU's Shreveport campus, and we have 1,000 people down there," he said Friday afternoon. "Just 200 yards from my office there's a hotel full of refugees. [They're] all over town. You don't actually have to go to a shelter to run into somebody whose been displaced."

In the days after Katrina struck, the sports pages detailed how golf was hurt -- how courses were damaged, and tournaments, both professional and amateur, were placed in jeopardy. More important, however, is how golf is trying to help.

Toms and his foundation (donations through davidtomsfoundation.com) have been busy since Tuesday relocating families with young children from shelters into hotel rooms, with the foundation bearing the cost.

He's not the only Shreveport-based pro helping in relief efforts. Hal Sutton, along with his wife, Ashley, have spent the week visiting shelters (one of which is the sports arena at Centenary College, Sutton's alma mater), and buying supplies for the evacuees living in them.

Sutton said that the couple spent most of Wednesday "at Sam's Club and WalMart buying supplies, and taking them down to these people. They have nothing, and have babies who need medicine and formula, and need diaper changes, and everything like that. That's where we're trying to do some good."

That Sutton and Toms have prioritized families with young children is in keeping with the missions of their foundations. Sutton's focuses on pediatric health care, and Toms' on at-risk children. "There's literally hundreds of thousands of them in our state right now," Toms said.

Their annual Hal Sutton-David Toms Christus Schumpert Charity Classic, a pro-am in which over 30 PGA Tour pros participate, has been a principal underwriter of a new children's hospital in Shreveport.

Toms said that since Katrina struck, some of those same fellow pros have called, opened their wallets, and "helped out in a big way."

The Sutton Foundation -- which is raising monies for disaster relief in cooperation through local television station KTBS (ktbs.com) -- will concentrate on Shreveport's public school system. According to current estimates, there are now 5,000 people in Shreveport shelters. But as refugees continue to enter the city, the number of children alone will likely surpass 2,000. The foundation will assist in finding classroom space, and with buying supplies.

Still, actually providing relief can be an uphill battle. So desperate are the refugees' situations that it's a challenge to meet all their needs.

"A family we're helping out has two girls in college," Toms said. "One's a pre-med student, and the other is enrolled in a nursing program. But their parents have no jobs, and they have no money in their pockets. We originally approached them about getting out of the shelter and into a hotel. But they said, What do we do then? We have shelter here -- and free food. We don't have any money to buy food on our own."

At this stage, Sutton and Toms admitted, their efforts are dwarfed by the enormity of the catastrophe. "It's tragic what's happened," Sutton said. "There isn't any doubt about that."

"Our region is going to be in chaos for a long time," echoed Toms. "The media's not playing it up to make it seem worse than it is. The reality is that it's as bad or worse than what you're seeing on TV. It's going to take a lot of help from a lot of people to get everybody back to living a normal life again."

Second Round

I really like the course they are playing this week at the Deutsche Bank Championship. It isn't one of those cookie-cutter type courses with predictable layouts. You see different kinds of hazards and rough and trees and the view of the greens is different. It's like you're watching it through a mirror and things are backward. Very attention-grabbing. As for the players, I'm glad Jason Gore is doing well, and Billy Andrade is still hanging in there. Brad Faxon made the cut as well. Olin Browne is leading the tournament currently. Tiger made a move today, but he went in reverse and was 2 over on the round today. I liked the interview Ian Baker-Finch did with Ted Purdy. It was great to see his gleeful smile and find out that he loves to give golf balls to the little kids who go to the tournaments. One more great example of what's so wonderful about the PGA Tour.

The tournaments so far

For the Deutsche Bank Championship: Check out this story about Billy Andrade. He had a great round yesterday and I hope he continues to do well.

For the Omega European Masters: Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia are playing this week.

For the First Tee Open: Jacques Gatera is the big story

Hurricane Katrina

The PGA TOUR, LPGA, PGA of America, USGA, the Masters Tournament and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America have organized the US Golf Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund to help those affected by the hurricane. If you haven't already contributed to a relief organization such as the Red Cross, then please consider donating to this one or any of the dozens of relief funds and fundraisers that have been created to help those in need.

New Orleans native Gibson has concerns other than golf