Volvo Golf Champions-Round 4

Paul Casey emerged as the winner today with a score of -20. Peter Hanson and Miguel Angel Jimenez came in tied for second. It was nice to be able to watch more than just a few hours of a tournament on the weekend for a change.

Volvo Golf Champions-Round 3

Today was pro-am day at the Volvo Golf Champions. One amateur joined each pro pairing and the lowest group would win the pro-am portion of the tournament, with the two pros winning cars. Paul Casey, Darren Clarke and their pro won the pro-am competition. Paul Casey is also tied for the lead with Peter Hanson. It looks to be a good final round.

Volvo Golf Champions-Round 2

As this was a day off for me, I was able to watch most of the second round. The highlight of the round was Miguel Angel Jimenez using his wedge as a putter after his putter met with a tragic end. Sergio Garcia also did well, though he did have a few wayward shots. In addition, the Molinaris played well too. One disappointment was that Jose Maria Olazabal missed the cut.

The leaders going into the weekend are Jimenez, E. Molinari, Raphael Jacquelin, and Peter Hanson, all at -11. This is setting up to be a great weekend of golf.

Volvo Golf Champions-Round 1

I was able to see some of this tournament, but for an upsetting reason. My dog PJ needed to make a semi-emergency trip to the vet. She's had a hernia since birth (she's almost 4 yrs old) and last night it became a serious condition. And this morning, she was in some pain over it. So, I left work early to get her to the vet. He decided she needed surgery so while she was having surgery, I was at home watching round 1 of the tournament. I caught the last hour of the coverage and got to see Jose Maria Olazabal. Looks like he's doing well at -2. Hopefully, he'll play the weekend. I understand the cut is top 60.

Hope I can watch some of round 2. I have to get out to the bank at some point tomorrow. Walking up and down my long driveway thanks to the snow.

Volvo Golf Champions

This week's event on the European Tour is the Volvo Golf Champions in Bahrain. Sergio Garcia is making his return to golf in this event. And Jose Maria Olazabal is planning to play as well. I'm looking forward to watching this one and hopefully, I'll get to see Garcia and Olazabal play the weekend. Check out this brief article about Sergio's outlook for this year.

A Great Interview with Jose Maria Olazabal

I found this really great interview with new Ryder Cup Captain, Jose Maria Olazabal. You should all read it. I plan to memorize it.

Wrap Up

So many good things happened yesterday. Lee Westwood is still #1. Martin Kaymer won the Abu Dhabi event for the third time. He not only got to keep the trophy, he replaced Tiger Woods as the #2 player in the world. I like saying that, he replaced Tiger Woods as the #2 player in the world. Graeme McDowell broke out of the 4th place tie with Mickelson and claimed the #4 world ranking for himself. Elsewhere in the world of golf, Jhonattan Vegas from Venezuela claimed the Bob Hope Classic title yesterday in a playoff. This is his first win in only five starts on the PGA Tour. And he is the first Venezuelan to earn a US PGA Tour card. I love it when the rookies win.

Jose Maria Olazabal returned to playing golf at Abu Dhabi but didn't make the weekend. He's set to tee it up again in this week's event. Hopefully, he'll do better this week and I'll get to see him play this weekend. I do have Friday off. Maybe I'll see him on Friday's coverage.

Yippeee!!!!!!!!!!

It's now official. Jose Maria Olazabal is the next European Ryder Cup Captain!! According to this article, the decision was the first unanimous one since 1987's Captain was chosen. Although I can't wait for the next Ryder Cup, I have a feeling part of me will be watching the event with my eyes covered, afraid the team might actually miss a shot. And I agree with Olazabal that the Top 10 should have special significance. I think I'm going to search Twitter to see what everyone's saying about the new Captain. Someone should talk Olazabal into joining Facebook and Twitter. He wants to stay in touch with his players and social networking is a popular way to do it.

Exciting Finish to the Africa Open

I just finished watching the Africa Open and was pleased by the exciting ending. Louis Oosthuizen, Manuel Quiros and Chris Wood all battled their way to a playoff with Oosthuizen bringing home the win. I hope Quiros and Wood find wins of their own this year as they were quite deserving today.

An observation - Oosthuizen was sweating during his round today while I'm sitting here in WV freezing and watching the snow on the ground. Is it any wonder I like golf. At least someone gets good weather.

News on Olazabal

According to this article, Jose Maria Olazabal will be playing in the Volvo Golf Champions tournament the last week of January. I can't wait to see him back in action and hopefully he will do well not only that week, but all year long. If anyone deserves it, it's Olazabal.

Rumor?

I read this article regarding a rumor that Lucas GLover, 2009 US Open Champion and owner of the coolest voice in golf, may be quitting the game. I don't usually subscribe to rumors but I'm providing a link to this article for just two sentences. The ones about Glover's not so superstar status and his fondness for books. You'll have to click the link to see them, but trust me, they are worth it. As for the rumor, I would love to see him find success on the golf course again, but if he wants to go in a different direction, then good for him. There's no law that says you have to be what you are. There's always an opportunity for change.

Killing TV

I read this news this morning in a local paper. Apparently, the PGA Tour may pair golfers up and change up pairings during a tournament with the main focus being to appease ratings watchers. I guess this means that viewers could be tuning in on Thursday and Friday and seeing the same three or four players just because some ratings people think these three or four players draw the most viewers. Yuck, yuck, and more yuck. So, here's the flipside that people haven't thought of yet - what if you've seen enough on Thursday and decide you don't have to watch the same guys play on Friday?

Everyone who reads this blog knows I rarely watch any tournament that Tiger plays in. I can't imagine being subjected to him two days in a row and then on the weekends too. At least you'd have one day of coverage without him the way they used to set the pairings. Not to mention the obvious point - the first two days of the tournament, everyone plays. It's their chance for their family and friends to see them on tv. If the tour switches to this 'winners category' thing, then some of these guys playing in the first two rounds won't be seen on tv and that's insulting to those guys. They need to get on tv to sell their sponsors' crap too.

The Tour hasn't learned anything from the Tiger issues of 2009-10. They need to be promoting the lesser known guys, not putting all their eggs in the 'winners category' basket.

Guess I'll be watching even more European Tour golf now.

The Best Time in Golf

This week marks the beginning of what I believe is the best time in golf - Hawaii in January. Considering it's winter here, cold and snowy, I always look forward to the Hawaii tournaments and the warm, beautiful scenic views captured by the cameras at the tournaments.. This week's event for 2010 Champions promises to be a good one with several European players making the trip to play.

2011 Players to Watch

After some consideration, I have selected two players to watch this year. Hopefully, they will experience some of the same success that Martin Kaymer, last year's player to watch, experienced. The players I've selected are: Matteo Manassero and Jose Maria Olazabal. I chose Manassero because I want to see if he experiences a sophomore slump or if he continues his good play. As for Jose Maria Olazabal, I desperately want to see him return to the game and have a complete recovery from the ailments that have had him sidelined for quite some time. So, spend a few minutes clicking on the links in the side bar and read what the European PGA Tour's official website has to say about these two exciting players.