Again, I didn't watch much of this. I saw Mike Weir go 3 up on Tiger and Tiger hit it out of bounds and then switched over to women's tennis on the tennis channel. So, I searched the web for the results. Only took about 40 minutes to find a website that would load the information. Have I mentioned how much I hate all the video and graphics on these websites? Anyway, looking at the results I have some observations:
Mike Weir made one great Captain's Pick. He beat Tiger head to head. When are people going to start admitting the truth - Tiger isn't good at matchplay, he isn't good at team events, and his #1 status doesn't count for beans in these team events. How many people have to beat him at matchplay before people see this? O'Hern, Micheel, and now Weir. The list is growing.
Scott Verplank is continuing to make Tom Lehman's decision to set him out of much of the matches of the Ryder Cup last year look really, really stupid.
Lucas Glover began his quest for a spot on the Ryder Cup with this event - he won a point so at least he wasn't shut out.
Steve Stricker ended up winning 3 points it looks like. He's one of my picks for next year's Ryder Cup (see the sidebar). We'll see how close my line-up gets to the real thing next fall.
Angel Cabrera, a favorite of mine, won 2 points this time around. You would think he would do well in a team event like this. He's a shot maker kind of player and goes for broke.
Retief Goosen won his Sunday match despite all the announcers dogging him and claiming he was doing absolutely nothing for the International team.
It's very premature for the announcers to say that Paul Azinger needs to consider Woody Austin for the Ryder Cup team. That's a year away and who knows how Woody will be playing next fall.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Seve Trophy
The Team of Great Britain and Ireland won the Seve Trophy today over the team of Continental Europe. Once again I didn't get to see much of it. I took the puppies to my parents' house for their weekly visit. You know, they kept saying that the Seve Trophy was a warm up for the Ryder Cup. They don't say that about the Presidents Cup. Frankly, I don't see how the Seve Trophy could be a warm up for the Ryder Cup when those players aren't playing against Americans. I'd say that the Seve Trophy just keeps things even in terms of matchplay experience. The Americans play the Presidents Cup in the off year, and so the Europeans have a matchplay event of their own to play.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Ryder Cup News
The big news this week is Paul McGinley's decision to resign as assistant. People are trying to turn this into a bigger story by suggesting McGinley was ticked that there are no Irish players on the GB and I team at the Seve Trophy competition, in fact some are reporting that McGinley turned down the World Cup qualifier because he was expecting to be named a wild card pick for the GB & I team. If McGinley is upset over Ireland's lack of representation in golf events, then he's going about it the right way - deciding to improve his level of play and represent his country whenever he can as a player. Some people questioned the timing of McGinley's decision - just before the Seve Trophy was to begin. Well, the sooner the better is my way of thinking - Nick can concentrate on finding someone else and McGinley doesn't have to wrestle with the decision, having it affect his play until finally jumping off the fence.
Seve Trophy
It would be a lot better if it wasn't raining. And Justin Rose isn't putting all that great. But the score is close, just one point separating the two teams. It's too bad we don't get to see all the matches.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Presidents Cup
I haven't been watching much of this but I do have a few observations:
Mike Weir is an excellent Captain's Pick
Steve Stricker is doing great
Woody Austin is the big star of the Cup so far. He is a fiery competitor. It's too bad you don't see that kind of desire out of Woods and Furyk. This is one of the things that Paul Azinger and other Ryder Cup people have to consider - having people on the team who want to be there, instead of the people who earn the most points who see the Ryder Cup as another chore. Has anyone else noticed that it isn't the really big stars doing the best out there? I would love to comment on more of the players but it's taking forever for any of the stupid golf websites that would have the scores to load. Curse Broadband technology that's ruining the internet for us dial up people. Too much crappy video and graphics on websites causing them to load too slowly.
Mike Weir is an excellent Captain's Pick
Steve Stricker is doing great
Woody Austin is the big star of the Cup so far. He is a fiery competitor. It's too bad you don't see that kind of desire out of Woods and Furyk. This is one of the things that Paul Azinger and other Ryder Cup people have to consider - having people on the team who want to be there, instead of the people who earn the most points who see the Ryder Cup as another chore. Has anyone else noticed that it isn't the really big stars doing the best out there? I would love to comment on more of the players but it's taking forever for any of the stupid golf websites that would have the scores to load. Curse Broadband technology that's ruining the internet for us dial up people. Too much crappy video and graphics on websites causing them to load too slowly.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
This Sounds Like a Really Good Book!
I received an email from Erikk at Skyhorse Publishing telling me about this book and asking that I mention it on my blog. I would be glad to mention it - I love quotes. And $24.95 isn't a bad price for an 800 page hardcover book, of course Amazon is selling it for even less! Click here to get to Amazon's listing.
Here's the blurb and the book info:
The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations
Edited and Introduced by Jim Apfelbaum
Foreword by Arnold Palmer
$24.95 Hardcover with jacket
800 pages / 7 x 9¼ / ISBN13: 9781602390140
An inspiring collection of wise, and wisecracking, quotations from golf's greatest players—an amazing gift for any golfer.
An adage about sports writing says, "The smaller the ball, the better the writing." The 3,000+ quotations that make up The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations prove that saying true. Quotes range from the hilarious ("It took me seventeen years to get 3,000 hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course"—Hank Aaron) to the thought-provoking ("The most important shot in golf is the next one"—Ben Hogan).
These are just some of the names included:
Mitch Albom / Winston Churchill / Bing Crosby / John Daly / Dwight D. Eisenhower / John Feinstein / F. Scott Fitzgerald / Raymond Floyd / Gerald Ford / Ernest Hemingway / Ben Hogan / Bob Hope / Samuel L. Jackson / Bobby Jones / Michael Jordan / Bill Murray / Byron Nelson / Jack Nicklaus / P.J. O'Rourke / Harvey Penick / George Plimpton / Rick Reilly / Frank Sinatra / Annika Sorenstam / John Updike / Kathy Whitworth / Tiger Woods…and hundreds more!
This is the ultimate gift book for every golfer—and everyone who's lucky enough to own it will browse through again and again.
Here's the blurb and the book info:
The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations
Edited and Introduced by Jim Apfelbaum
Foreword by Arnold Palmer
$24.95 Hardcover with jacket
800 pages / 7 x 9¼ / ISBN13: 9781602390140
An inspiring collection of wise, and wisecracking, quotations from golf's greatest players—an amazing gift for any golfer.
An adage about sports writing says, "The smaller the ball, the better the writing." The 3,000+ quotations that make up The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations prove that saying true. Quotes range from the hilarious ("It took me seventeen years to get 3,000 hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course"—Hank Aaron) to the thought-provoking ("The most important shot in golf is the next one"—Ben Hogan).
These are just some of the names included:
Mitch Albom / Winston Churchill / Bing Crosby / John Daly / Dwight D. Eisenhower / John Feinstein / F. Scott Fitzgerald / Raymond Floyd / Gerald Ford / Ernest Hemingway / Ben Hogan / Bob Hope / Samuel L. Jackson / Bobby Jones / Michael Jordan / Bill Murray / Byron Nelson / Jack Nicklaus / P.J. O'Rourke / Harvey Penick / George Plimpton / Rick Reilly / Frank Sinatra / Annika Sorenstam / John Updike / Kathy Whitworth / Tiger Woods…and hundreds more!
This is the ultimate gift book for every golfer—and everyone who's lucky enough to own it will browse through again and again.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Sunday Wrap-up
Lee Westwood won in Europe today at the Belfry. Ian Poulter came in second. Stephen Dodd won a Jaguar for being closest to the pin on one of the holes.
In America, Steve Flesch won today. It's his second win of the season. A lot of focus on the top 125 and people trying to get their cards. Kelly Tilghman put me to sleep with her voice. Seriously, I took a nap earlier and got up to watch the final round. About an hour later, I had to take another nap.
On the Champions Tour, Mark Wiebe won the SAS championship. He's a rookie this year and he is now exempt through next year.
In America, Steve Flesch won today. It's his second win of the season. A lot of focus on the top 125 and people trying to get their cards. Kelly Tilghman put me to sleep with her voice. Seriously, I took a nap earlier and got up to watch the final round. About an hour later, I had to take another nap.
On the Champions Tour, Mark Wiebe won the SAS championship. He's a rookie this year and he is now exempt through next year.
Updated Link
I updated the sidebar link to the Presidents Cup - it now says 2007. And I've added a link to the Seve Trophy website (the contest of Great Britain and Ireland vs. Continental Europe).
It appears that Rory Sabbatini and Geoff Ogilvy are rookies on the International team.
On the U.S. side, the rookies are: Woody Austin, Lucas Glover, and Hunter Mahan. The website is interesting in that for Glover and Mahan, their profiles say "Country: US" instead of "Birthplace". They are on the U.S. Team - of course their country is the U.S. Could the operators of the website not find out where these two guys were born? I'm sure it's in a media guide somewhere.
I don't know how much of this I will watch. The Seven Trophy is also being contested this coming week. Some particpants in the Seve Trophy: Paul Casey, Justin Rose, Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Gonzalo Fernandez Castano, Soren Hansen.
I think I'd rather watch the Seve Trophy.
It appears that Rory Sabbatini and Geoff Ogilvy are rookies on the International team.
On the U.S. side, the rookies are: Woody Austin, Lucas Glover, and Hunter Mahan. The website is interesting in that for Glover and Mahan, their profiles say "Country: US" instead of "Birthplace". They are on the U.S. Team - of course their country is the U.S. Could the operators of the website not find out where these two guys were born? I'm sure it's in a media guide somewhere.
I don't know how much of this I will watch. The Seven Trophy is also being contested this coming week. Some particpants in the Seve Trophy: Paul Casey, Justin Rose, Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Gonzalo Fernandez Castano, Soren Hansen.
I think I'd rather watch the Seve Trophy.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Insulting
I just read the article on Seve Ballesteros in the October issue of Golf Magazine. Unlike the honest but respectful article written about David Feherty's troubles with depression, this article on Seve was pretty insulting, suggesting repeatedly that he is, for a lack of a better description, washed up. Even going so far as to suggest some illness he suffered in June was perhaps attempted suicide. Seve denies that and his manager reported that the visit to the hospital was related to an irregular heartbeat.
The tone of this article was depressing, snarky, and just plain rude. Rather than the Goodbye to a Legend article I was expecting, what I got was a mean-spirited look at one of Golf's greatest players.
Next time Golf Magazine wants to interview a legend, they can hire me to do it. I'd even write a respectful article about Tiger Woods.
The tone of this article was depressing, snarky, and just plain rude. Rather than the Goodbye to a Legend article I was expecting, what I got was a mean-spirited look at one of Golf's greatest players.
Next time Golf Magazine wants to interview a legend, they can hire me to do it. I'd even write a respectful article about Tiger Woods.
Saturday Notes
1. It was Mike Ritz who said during one of the updates that Ian Poulter had been on last year's Ryder Cup team. Wrong.
2. Why do the PGA Tour events have to change their names? I have no idea what these tournaments were called last year. How am I supposed to have memories of last year's events which will make me want to watch this year, if I don't know what these tournaments used to be?
3. Watched the European Tour coverage today. A lot of checkered pants.
I like this Tiger-Free part of the season. Don't know if I'll watch the PGA tour today. Jeff Gove is in contention but I believe he may have been one of the belly-aching whiners complaining about Michelle Wie at the John Deere Classic. I know I commented on that incident, I'll have to search my blog to see if I can find it.
2. Why do the PGA Tour events have to change their names? I have no idea what these tournaments were called last year. How am I supposed to have memories of last year's events which will make me want to watch this year, if I don't know what these tournaments used to be?
3. Watched the European Tour coverage today. A lot of checkered pants.
I like this Tiger-Free part of the season. Don't know if I'll watch the PGA tour today. Jeff Gove is in contention but I believe he may have been one of the belly-aching whiners complaining about Michelle Wie at the John Deere Classic. I know I commented on that incident, I'll have to search my blog to see if I can find it.
Friday, September 21, 2007
A New Website for Peter Jacobsen
Check out Peter Jacobsen's new website. He says it replaces his blogger blog. Those of us on Blogger are saddened to see that he has left us, but let's support his new website.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
New Blog & Website
Check out: The Society of Secret Golfers. The blogger is prolific and has some interesting points of view and there's a forum for members to discuss a variety of topics. I will have to dig deeper into this website as there are several mentions of Sergio and I'm not altogether convinced if they are good or bad references :)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Good News
Sergio is all the way up to 8th in the world now! Yay! I don't know how he did it. It seems like he had only about three good tournaments so far this year. Instead of calling him El Nino, they need to call him El Mago (according to Babelfish that's spanish for The Magician).
Sunday, September 16, 2007
It's Over
Now that the Tiger Woods Retirement Fundraiser (aka The Fed Ex Cup) is over, maybe I'll get to see Sergio play in Spain. I think there are two or three tournaments in Spain coming up, including the European Tour Championship.
LPGA Notes
I watched some of the Solheim Cup today. I got the sense that things are much more hostile for the women than they are for the men of the Ryder Cup. Dottie Pepper kept talking about agreements and rules and such as if every little thing has to be spelled out or else all heck breaks loose. Women fight over the littlest thing? Crazy, I know. Where do people get these ideas? The Americans won the Solheim Cup and I'm sure there will be many people writing about what the American men can learn from the American women. I'm not going to get into that. The biggest thing I want to talk about is Suzann Petterson and her caddie. Her caddie puts his hand on the side of her face to help her with alignment in her practice swings. I'd like to see Mark Calcavecchia's caddie try that. This is the biggest problem I have with the LPGA Tour. The caddies help the women way too much on lining up their shots and stuff.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Pointless Sounds Right
I was in the kitchen washing dishes and listening to the Champions Tour coverage. They asked some of the Champions Tour players about the Fed Ex Cup. The announcer said about the "Points List". Sounded like pointless to me. Anyway, one of the players said that they should make the playoffs a three tournament event because of these guys who don't play four in a row, you know, guys like Tiger and Phil (1 and 2 in the world). Yeah, those two are at a BIG disadvantage, they should throw them a bone. Not.
It is utterly ridiculous that all of these players are even suggesting that the PGA Tour schedule should be tailored around a player's willingness to play. First of all, if you're going to 'win' $10 million, then you should be made to work a little extra for it, put some effort into it, conquer something for Pete's sake. Tiger should be forced to play all 4 events if he wants to win. As should Phil and any other player who just can't play four weeks in a row. Secondly, if we're just going to throw $10 Million away on a 'mmm, I'll play if I feel like it" approach, then why not have appearance fees for all US PGA Tour events? It's obvious some of the players don't seem to want to work for money, so just give it to them. They can appear for one round, get their fee, withdraw, and then take their rest. I mean, we just can't expect them to work four whole rounds in a row. That's just too gruelling for these elite pro athletes.
Sure, it might bankrupt the sponsors and fans won't want to buy tickets or watch tv coverage, but as long as the players are rich-uh, I mean happy, that's all that matters.
It is utterly ridiculous that all of these players are even suggesting that the PGA Tour schedule should be tailored around a player's willingness to play. First of all, if you're going to 'win' $10 million, then you should be made to work a little extra for it, put some effort into it, conquer something for Pete's sake. Tiger should be forced to play all 4 events if he wants to win. As should Phil and any other player who just can't play four weeks in a row. Secondly, if we're just going to throw $10 Million away on a 'mmm, I'll play if I feel like it" approach, then why not have appearance fees for all US PGA Tour events? It's obvious some of the players don't seem to want to work for money, so just give it to them. They can appear for one round, get their fee, withdraw, and then take their rest. I mean, we just can't expect them to work four whole rounds in a row. That's just too gruelling for these elite pro athletes.
Sure, it might bankrupt the sponsors and fans won't want to buy tickets or watch tv coverage, but as long as the players are rich-uh, I mean happy, that's all that matters.
How Wonderful
I just have to say how wonderful it is to have LPGA golf all morning and European Tour golf in the afternoon opposite the PGA Tour Tour Championship. I don't have to watch yucky Tiger at all.
New Blog
Got an email from Mike Pederson asking that I check out his blog. Looks like there's a lot of content on this blog that many people would find useful. So, here it is: Perform Better Golf.
You should check it out. He's obviously invested a lot of time and effort in it.
You should check it out. He's obviously invested a lot of time and effort in it.
Open Letter to Jose Maria Olazabal
Dear Jose Maria,
You're not missing anything here in America with the Fed Ex Cup. It appears the sum and total effect of the Fed Ex Cup on the PGA Tour will be to make Tiger richer. Like he, the other golfers, or the fans, needed that. You were very smart to decide to just rest up that knee. While I miss seeing you, I'm hoping to see you soon somewhere on the European Tour.
Your honorary puppy, PJ, is doing well. Although we have had a few problems with the puppy pad training, she is quickly learning that if she uses her puppy pad, I will give her a treat. Just like a female to respond to gifts.
In closing, I would just like to say that I look forward to watching the WGC World Cup event staged on your course at Mission Hills in China later in the year. As it's a sure bet Tiger won't be there, the entertainment factor for me will very high.
Your Big Fan,
Miranda
You're not missing anything here in America with the Fed Ex Cup. It appears the sum and total effect of the Fed Ex Cup on the PGA Tour will be to make Tiger richer. Like he, the other golfers, or the fans, needed that. You were very smart to decide to just rest up that knee. While I miss seeing you, I'm hoping to see you soon somewhere on the European Tour.
Your honorary puppy, PJ, is doing well. Although we have had a few problems with the puppy pad training, she is quickly learning that if she uses her puppy pad, I will give her a treat. Just like a female to respond to gifts.
In closing, I would just like to say that I look forward to watching the WGC World Cup event staged on your course at Mission Hills in China later in the year. As it's a sure bet Tiger won't be there, the entertainment factor for me will very high.
Your Big Fan,
Miranda
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Another Reason
If you've been a follower of this blog, you'll know I've mentioned several times that I pay $67.00 a month for the Golf Channel. Well, starting this week, that price has been discounted because I have another reason to pay $67.00 a month for the satellite dish package I have. That reason: The Fine Living Channel is airing Martha Stewart's new shows one day later at 8pm Eastern. I'm so excited. I can now see the first 20 minutes of all her shows. I usually get off from work at 4pm and miss the first 20 minutes by driving home. Her show airs locally at 4pm. So, now I can see what I've been missing. The other day I got to see Jennifer Garner's dog. Sure, I could 'save' money and just record Martha's shows on the local channel and watch them later, but as I never watch what I record and the dvds just pile up, that option just doesn't work for me.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
The Lucky Losers
I have compared the Moneyleader list to the Fed Ex Cup Tour Championship list. The result - Here are the four lucky losers who got into the Tour Championship based on the Fed Ex Cup points that aren't in the top 30 on the Moneyleader list:
Jonathan Byrd
Tim Clark
Camillo Villegas
Heath Slocum
Who did they replace?
Luke Donald
David Toms
Henrik Stenson
Jerry kelly
When was the last time someone from the last 6 spots won the Tour Championship?
I predict the winner of the Tour Championship won't be Tiger Woods. He never plays that tournament which means he either doesn't like the course, or he gets his butt handed to him on that course. The course is a par 70 and Tiger doesn't play par 70s well.
As for the "Race for the Fed Ex Cup" - it looks like a race between three people: Tiger, Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson. I hope Stricker wins it. He's the only one of the three who deserves it. He's played all three events leading up to the Tour Championship and I haven't yet seen a whining quote from him. If he plays all four tournaments and wins, then he should get more respect than anyone else on tour, definitely including Tiger.
Jonathan Byrd
Tim Clark
Camillo Villegas
Heath Slocum
Who did they replace?
Luke Donald
David Toms
Henrik Stenson
Jerry kelly
When was the last time someone from the last 6 spots won the Tour Championship?
I predict the winner of the Tour Championship won't be Tiger Woods. He never plays that tournament which means he either doesn't like the course, or he gets his butt handed to him on that course. The course is a par 70 and Tiger doesn't play par 70s well.
As for the "Race for the Fed Ex Cup" - it looks like a race between three people: Tiger, Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson. I hope Stricker wins it. He's the only one of the three who deserves it. He's played all three events leading up to the Tour Championship and I haven't yet seen a whining quote from him. If he plays all four tournaments and wins, then he should get more respect than anyone else on tour, definitely including Tiger.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
New Golf Book
James Wolfe has emailed me with news that he has a new golf book out called Little Balls, Big Dreams. It sounds like a pretty good story, but I'm more into romance novels and the "This is a love story. Love of golf. Family. Life." line that he cleverly inserted into that email just didn't do the trick for me :) But you all should check out his website and see if you'd be interested in his book.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Because They Know the Fed Ex Cup is A Dud
The PGA Tour.com website is not reporting accurate Fed Ex Cup points standings thru the Deutsche Bank tournament. The website SAYS the points are thru the Deutsche Bank event, but when the standings don't reflect Steve Stricker's WIN, then it's obvious that the PGA Tour Website is LYING. Why??? Maybe because Tiger isn't really at the top of the list, though the list they do have posted puts him there. You want proof? Here's what Copy and Paste shows:
 |
| Y-T-D statistics through: Deutsche Bank Championship Sep 03, 2007 |
| Rank This Week | Rank Last Week | Player | Events | Points | Last Week Finish Pos | YTD Victories | Top 10s |
| 1 | 1 | Tiger Woods | 13 | 30,574 | T2 | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | 2 | Vijay Singh | 23 | 19,129 | T60 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 3 | Jim Furyk | 19 | 16,691 | T55 | 1 | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Phil Mickelson | 18 | 16,037 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | 5 | K.J. Choi | 21 | 15,485 | W/D | 2 | 6 |
| 6 | 6 | Rory Sabbatini | 19 | 13,548 | T6 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | 7 | Zach Johnson | 19 | 13,341 | T30 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | 8 | Charles Howell III | 21 | 12,126 | T30 | 1 | 5 |
| 9 | 9 | Brandt Snedeker | 25 | 11,870 | T47 | 1 | 6 |
| 10 | 10 | Adam Scott | 15 | 11,196 | T17 | 1 | 5 |
| 11 | 11 | Scott Verplank | 18 | 10,691 | DNP | 1 | 8 |
| 12 | 12 | Steve Stricker | 19 | 10,621 | T9 | 6 | |
| 13 | 13 | Sergio Garcia | 15 | 10,547 | T17 | 5 | |
| 14 | 14 | Woody Austin | 22 | 10,483 | T30 | 1 | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | Hunter Mahan | 23 | 10,185 | CUT | 1 | 5 |
| 16 | 16 | John Rollins | 23 | 9,708 | T47 | 4 | |
| 17 | 17 | Boo Weekley | 23 | 9,591 | T41 | 1 | 4 |
| 18 | 18 | Aaron Baddeley | 18 | 9,402 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| 19 | 19 | Ernie Els | 13 | 8,980 | DNP | 4 | |
| 20 | 20 | Mark Calcavecchia | 20 | 8,966 | T72 | 1 | 4 |
| 21 | 21 | Padraig Harrington | 15 | 8,783 | CUT | 1 | 3 |
| 22 | 22 | Justin Rose | 12 | 8,698 | CUT | 6 | |
| 23 | 23 | Luke Donald | 17 | 8,676 | T60 | 5 | |
| 24 | 24 | Geoff Ogilvy | 18 | 8,623 | T6 | 5 | |
| 25 | 25 | David Toms | 19 | 8,251 | W/D | 7 | |
| 26 | 26 | Jonathan Byrd | 19 | 7,757 | T23 | 1 | 3 |
| 27 | 27 | Robert Allenby | 20 | 7,536 | 8 | 7 | |
| 28 | 28 | Stewart Cink | 19 | 7,080 | CUT | 5 | |
| 29 | 29 | Heath Slocum | 20 | 6,801 | T23 | 4 | |
| 30 | 30 | Stuart Appleby | 20 | 6,799 | CUT |
Saturday, September 01, 2007
A Comparison
I had some time, okay a lot of time given my dial up access, so I compared the PGA Tour Money List to the Fed Ex Cup points list (both are through the Barclay's Event). It's been my contention that the same top thirty on the money list will end up at the Tour Championship this year, just like always, despite the Fed Ex Cup points system. Well, I'm right except for 6 people (three spots on the list). Money list has Henrik Stenson, Jerry Kelly and Trevor Immelman in the top thirty and the Fed Ex Cup points list has Jonathan Byrd, Heath Slocum and Stuart Appleby. Stenson and Kelly are 31 and 32 on the points list, Immelman is 37. On the Money List, Byrd is 38, Slocum is 33 and Appleby is 31.
We have a couple more tournaments to go to see how it all turns out, but it will be interesting to compare the two lists the week of the Tour Championship. See if this Fed Ex Cup points system really makes a difference. It doesn't look like it does.
We have a couple more tournaments to go to see how it all turns out, but it will be interesting to compare the two lists the week of the Tour Championship. See if this Fed Ex Cup points system really makes a difference. It doesn't look like it does.
Skewed Reporting
This morning the Golf Channel will be providing updates every half hour on the grouping of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh - The Mediocre Amigos as I like to call them. Instead of the Golf Channel highlighting the golfers who are actually doing well this week (Camillo etc) they are choosing to cover these guys who were +1, -1, adn +4 at the 9am update.
Is it any wonder that I didn't watch yesterday's coverage of the tournament? These networks really need to get their act together or else they will end up alienating those viewers who want to see all the golfers instead of just the ones the networks make the most money off of.
And isn't this the tournament where Tiger gets skunked by the likes of Olin Browne?
Is it any wonder that I didn't watch yesterday's coverage of the tournament? These networks really need to get their act together or else they will end up alienating those viewers who want to see all the golfers instead of just the ones the networks make the most money off of.
And isn't this the tournament where Tiger gets skunked by the likes of Olin Browne?
Friday, August 31, 2007
Friday Round-up
Bernhard Langer debuted on the Champions Tour today. He bailed on the Fed Ex cup. Can't blame him.
Thomas Levet is leading over in Europe - at least the crawl at the bottom of the screen says he is.
Sergio had a -4 first round today.
I really, really hope that Jose Maria Olazabal gets healthy. I hate to think of him not being able to play.
Thomas Levet is leading over in Europe - at least the crawl at the bottom of the screen says he is.
Sergio had a -4 first round today.
I really, really hope that Jose Maria Olazabal gets healthy. I hate to think of him not being able to play.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
What Do You Think????
I'm watching the Tennis Channel and there was a clip of Ivan Lendl talking about coaches and players. The women's tennis federation allows coaches to come on court during changeovers and talk to their players. Lendl says all tennis players should be allowed this option. He says that Golfers Have Caddies so why can't tennis players have their coaches.
So, what do you think?? Are golf caddies on the same level as tennis coaches?? Let's see - Jimmy Conners won majors but I don't think Steve Williams has. Maybe caddies are closer to coaches on the women's tour when they line up the women on the tee but I have a hard time thinking of caddies as coaches. I don't see Maria Sharipova taking advice from some ticket holder in the crowd, but yet golfers can actually pull ticket holders out of the crowd to carry their bags if they find themselves without a caddie.
So, what do you think?? Are golf caddies on the same level as tennis coaches?? Let's see - Jimmy Conners won majors but I don't think Steve Williams has. Maybe caddies are closer to coaches on the women's tour when they line up the women on the tee but I have a hard time thinking of caddies as coaches. I don't see Maria Sharipova taking advice from some ticket holder in the crowd, but yet golfers can actually pull ticket holders out of the crowd to carry their bags if they find themselves without a caddie.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
When Incredibly Handsome Worlds Collide
The USA Network is covering the US Open tennis tournament. Tonight they showed........ Sergio Garcia AND Rafael Nadal in the SAME camera frame!
Women everywhere have to be swooning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Women everywhere have to be swooning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Stricker Wins
Good for Steve Stricker! He won the Barclay's Classic and he cried during his interview at the end of the coverage on CBS. Bless his heart. Can't wait to see him at the Presidents Cup.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
:(
Well, I read that Jose Maria Olazabal won't be playing this week. Apparently his knee injury is still an issue. I hope he gets better soon.
I haven't been following golf much this week. I'm working on another manuscript. I'm about 40 pages short of a decent word count so I'm having to add stuff. Not good for a girl who only reads dialogue and therefore has trouble writing those long, long pages of nothing but exposition. And I've been watching the Military Channel lately. Weird. But, it's Samantha Brown night on the Travel Channel, so I'll have something good to watch.
I haven't been following golf much this week. I'm working on another manuscript. I'm about 40 pages short of a decent word count so I'm having to add stuff. Not good for a girl who only reads dialogue and therefore has trouble writing those long, long pages of nothing but exposition. And I've been watching the Military Channel lately. Weird. But, it's Samantha Brown night on the Travel Channel, so I'll have something good to watch.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Learn Something New Every Day
As there's nothing else on tv, I'm currently watching world team tennis on the tennis channel. Anna Kournikova is playing. What did I learn today? That's she's won 16 WTA titles in her career (according to the Tennis Channel stat department). Everyone on the internet acts like she hasn't won anything.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Playoffs
Watching the CBS coverage of the Wyndham Championship this afternoon, I kept hearing the announcers say that the top 86 are guaranteed entry into the first two playoff events. Well, if they are guaranteed for the second one, why have a first playoff tournament? I didn't pay much attention to the playoff system when it was first introduced at the beginning of the year, but now that we are a few days away I have to say it's looking kind of stupid. They start out with Tiger having 100,000 points and those following him having something like 500 points less as they go down the line. What's the theory of awarding 100,000 points??? Do they get points taken away? There's an idea, for every cuss word uttered on TV, take some points away. For every member of the gallery Tiger, uh, I mean a player, hits with a golf ball, take some points away. Then I could see giving so many points to start out with. If there are 144 players in the first event, then why not give Tiger 144 and the next guy 143 and so on? In the end, the top 30 will be in the last tournament, whether they have amassed 1 Million points, or 1000. Is the plethora of points just a psych-out? Gee, they have so many points, they did really great. It looks to me like there are a lot of useless points just out there for looks and not for any real purpose.
I think a true playoff system would be if no one started out with points and they earned them as they went during the four playoff events. I don't believe they spot basketball teams and football teams points during their playoffs.
And this whole bye thing has got to go too. It happens in many sports, such as tennis, and they've created a bye system in this playoff system in golf. In tennis, the top seeds get a bye in the first round of some tournaments because they play every week and it's just so tough on the players (boohoo - the men already play best two out of three instead of 3 of 5 and they still want that extra break). This playoff system for the fed ex cup has created the same kind of thing where the top players (Tiger for instance) could skip one or more of the events and still win the thing. That has got to go. If they are going to award $10 Million, then the winner had darn well earn it. If not, then I could use a couple million, they can just give me some money while they're at it.
I think a true playoff system would be if no one started out with points and they earned them as they went during the four playoff events. I don't believe they spot basketball teams and football teams points during their playoffs.
And this whole bye thing has got to go too. It happens in many sports, such as tennis, and they've created a bye system in this playoff system in golf. In tennis, the top seeds get a bye in the first round of some tournaments because they play every week and it's just so tough on the players (boohoo - the men already play best two out of three instead of 3 of 5 and they still want that extra break). This playoff system for the fed ex cup has created the same kind of thing where the top players (Tiger for instance) could skip one or more of the events and still win the thing. That has got to go. If they are going to award $10 Million, then the winner had darn well earn it. If not, then I could use a couple million, they can just give me some money while they're at it.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Avoiding
Well, I haven't had much interest in golf this week. I checked out the leaderboards for this week's pga and european pga events to see who was playing and that was about it. Still sick of Tiger Woods and he isn't even playing this week. Why doesn't he just quit playing altogether? He only sucks the fun out of the sport.
Anyway, I couldn't let Friday slip away without checking GolfBlogger's website - he has the ridiculous item of the week on Fridays. You should check them out.
Anyway, I couldn't let Friday slip away without checking GolfBlogger's website - he has the ridiculous item of the week on Fridays. You should check them out.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
A Brief Respite
If you're looking for news folks that don't suck up to Tiger Woods, try BBC World News. This morning they aired comments from John Sendon. Yes, there are apparently other golfers playing in the PGA Championship this week. It surprised me too.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Doing Their Best
Well, everywhere I turn, I have to hear or see people talking about Tiger Woods. The Golf Channel has an All-Tiger Love Fest going on, only briefly interrupted by the Women's Amateur (I bet that niece, cousin, whatever she is is playing in that). CNN's crawl across the bottom of the screen's talking about him as is MSNBC and FOXNews. He's on the internet too. So, it would seem the media is doing their best to drive me to another Golf Boycot.
Today I've watched Futureweapons on the Military Channel, and the series premiere of the new Flash Gordon show on the SciFi channel, and Rick Steves on PBS. And for some reason they aren't showing the Montreal Tennis Tournament on tv today. I guess because Andy Roddick isn't playing today??? For the last two days, ESPN has only shown Roddick matches at that tournament.
Somewhere I predict there may have to be a media-backed cage match between Roddick and Woods.
I'm currently watching Bindi the Jungle Girl on Discovery Kids.
Today I've watched Futureweapons on the Military Channel, and the series premiere of the new Flash Gordon show on the SciFi channel, and Rick Steves on PBS. And for some reason they aren't showing the Montreal Tennis Tournament on tv today. I guess because Andy Roddick isn't playing today??? For the last two days, ESPN has only shown Roddick matches at that tournament.
Somewhere I predict there may have to be a media-backed cage match between Roddick and Woods.
I'm currently watching Bindi the Jungle Girl on Discovery Kids.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Shame, shame on the PGA of America
Let those poor golfers wear shorts!!!!!!!! It's way too hot for them to be out in the sun for 4 hours.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Check out Mike Ferry's Music
I got this nice email from Mike Ferry. He's a songwriter who writes 'geek rock for people who laugh' (his words). He's written a golf song and you can find it on itunes or here on his website. Someone will have to let me know how good it is. I have a dial up connection and pretty much can't listen to music or watch video online. But I only pay $16.95/month for what I do have so I'm not complaining too much.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
One and Only
My one and only golf observation this weekend is this:
Not a lot of Russians turned out to watch the Russian Open.
I haven't watched golf much at all this weekend. Yesterday, I meant to nap for an hour but slept for 3 and pretty much missed all the golf. Today, I was busy writing a love scene for a book I'm writing. Not the golf themed romance novel - I finished that one. This one is a new one about spies and newspaper reporters.
Not a lot of Russians turned out to watch the Russian Open.
I haven't watched golf much at all this weekend. Yesterday, I meant to nap for an hour but slept for 3 and pretty much missed all the golf. Today, I was busy writing a love scene for a book I'm writing. Not the golf themed romance novel - I finished that one. This one is a new one about spies and newspaper reporters.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Another Blog Added
Thanks to another friendly email I received, I've added the Bogey Killer Golf blog to the side bar as well. He even sent me a book about how to play golf. Since I don't play golf, I don't know how effective the book will be, but we'll see.
Adding a Blog
Thanks to a very nice email sent to me from the folks at In Golf We Trust, I will be adding their blog to the Blogs of Note section in the Side bar. Check them out.
Hmmm.... Has he been whining this week?
I just heard that Shaun Micheel is playing the Reno-Tahoe Open. Is he whining yet about not being at the WGC event? Yep. I just heard an interview with him and he's criticizing the Reno-Tahoe Open by saying he doesn't know if it's a good warmup for the PGA Championship. What is it with this guy that makes him think he's entitled to be in certain events? Sheesh. If you want to be there, then play well enough to qualify or earn the invitation. Simple as that. He's ranked 107th this week on the PGA Tour money list and the Fed Ex Cup points list.
Hey You Men Out There
I have a question for you. I've been watching those really annoying commercials for the D2 golf ball and that annoying guy who's doing all the commercials these days. I'm asking you men this: Do you feel inclined to buy the D2 golf ball after that really annoying guy tells you to 'man up'? It would seem pretty insulting if I was the guy they were trying to sell those golf balls to.
And I guess the makers of the D2 don't want women playing golf? What's the deal with that? Women really aren't going to buy the D2 after watching those commercials. To some women the phrase "man up" would mean something completely different.
And I guess the makers of the D2 don't want women playing golf? What's the deal with that? Women really aren't going to buy the D2 after watching those commercials. To some women the phrase "man up" would mean something completely different.
Thursday Golf Roundup
Lorena Ochoa leads at the Women's British Open at the *yawn* old course at St. Andrews. So much for Annika have special help in the way of Tiger's yardage book. Michelle Wie is EVEN par. Take that all you Wie haters.
Bridgestone Invitational: Hunter Mahan, Paul Casey and Rory "Tiger's Beatable" Sabbatini are leading at -3. Sergio had 29 putts and is +1. Jose Maria Olazabal is +7, almost last. I hope his knee is better and he's not in any pain. Jose Manuel Lara is playing in this event thanks to his first career win this year. He's +1 too.
Some other scores:
Andres Romero +1
Darren Clarke E
Justin Rose -1
Angel Cabrera +3
Anton Haig +7
Reno-Tahoe Open
Round 1 isn't complete yet, but Tadd Fujikawa is having a bad day. He's got a lot to learn but he was never going to learn it stuck in Hawaii. He needed to get out and play in these events. It isn't like his family could afford to come over here and play amateur events enough times a year for Tadd to get experienced.
Bridgestone Invitational: Hunter Mahan, Paul Casey and Rory "Tiger's Beatable" Sabbatini are leading at -3. Sergio had 29 putts and is +1. Jose Maria Olazabal is +7, almost last. I hope his knee is better and he's not in any pain. Jose Manuel Lara is playing in this event thanks to his first career win this year. He's +1 too.
Some other scores:
Andres Romero +1
Darren Clarke E
Justin Rose -1
Angel Cabrera +3
Anton Haig +7
Reno-Tahoe Open
Round 1 isn't complete yet, but Tadd Fujikawa is having a bad day. He's got a lot to learn but he was never going to learn it stuck in Hawaii. He needed to get out and play in these events. It isn't like his family could afford to come over here and play amateur events enough times a year for Tadd to get experienced.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Time Again for the Bridgestone Invitational
Well, it's that time again for the Bridgestone Invitational. I would have liked to have been there again this year, but will just have to make due with memories from last year. Well, memories from Tuesday thru Friday until just before Tiger got the favorable, corrupt ruling from the officials.
In honor of this week, take a look at the Even Par Round Archive from last year's tournament. There are pictures and my diary of the four days of the tournament I attended.
Other news: Boycott Tiger Fest and check out Tadd Fujikawa as he makes his pro debut at the Reno Tahoe Open. And the women are playing at St. Andrews this week. Is anyone sick of St. Andrews yet? I really think they are overplaying that course.
In honor of this week, take a look at the Even Par Round Archive from last year's tournament. There are pictures and my diary of the four days of the tournament I attended.
Other news: Boycott Tiger Fest and check out Tadd Fujikawa as he makes his pro debut at the Reno Tahoe Open. And the women are playing at St. Andrews this week. Is anyone sick of St. Andrews yet? I really think they are overplaying that course.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
British Open 2007
Well, it was disappointing to see Sergio lose. When he started making bogeys I decided I couldn't watch any longer so I turned the channel over to the golf channel. The infomercials were annoying so I turned the volume down. This turned out to be a good thing because I had to write a synopsis and query letter to send to publishers to submit my golf-themed romance novel to them - the silence allowed me to concentrate and get that done.
Results and Observations:
At least a European finally won so now they can all stop harping on the "when will a European win a major" topic.
Even with the belly putter, Sergio had two rounds with over 30 putts according to the Open leaderboard/statspage.
Andres Romero almost won the tournament. Good for him. Might have been nice to see back to back Argentinian major winners.
Miguel Angel Jimenez finished T12th.
I won't be able to watch the golf channel for a few days because everyone's going to be tearing Sergio apart over this final round performance. Hope there's something good on the Tennis Channel.
Speaking of the golf channel, they started advertising the PGA Championship this past week and said "watch Tiger go for his 13th major", so even the Golf Channel didn't think Tiger was going to win this week.
My other Picks:
Cabrera finished in 34th place at +3
Carl Petterson finished T45th at +6
Results and Observations:
At least a European finally won so now they can all stop harping on the "when will a European win a major" topic.
Even with the belly putter, Sergio had two rounds with over 30 putts according to the Open leaderboard/statspage.
Andres Romero almost won the tournament. Good for him. Might have been nice to see back to back Argentinian major winners.
Miguel Angel Jimenez finished T12th.
I won't be able to watch the golf channel for a few days because everyone's going to be tearing Sergio apart over this final round performance. Hope there's something good on the Tennis Channel.
Speaking of the golf channel, they started advertising the PGA Championship this past week and said "watch Tiger go for his 13th major", so even the Golf Channel didn't think Tiger was going to win this week.
My other Picks:
Cabrera finished in 34th place at +3
Carl Petterson finished T45th at +6
A Letter To Sergio Garcia
Well Sergio, here we are again. Another British Open and another non-win. This year was a different situation than last year. You had it in your grasp this year whereas last year, you would have had to play a phenomenal round to catch Tiger. So, what can you take away as positives this year? You finished second and in a playoff instead of T5 like last year. You led three of the four days. And you did what I asked last year - you separated yourself from Tiger Woods so I wouldn't have to watch him on tv, I could just watch you. And let's not forget the last time you played Carnoustie. This time has to make you feel really great compared to that.
I'm sure you have a laundry list of things you've learned from this final round so I'm not going to list any observations I may have made. Just know that when you get into contention again, I'll be there to cheer you on. Good luck next time.
I'm sure you have a laundry list of things you've learned from this final round so I'm not going to list any observations I may have made. Just know that when you get into contention again, I'll be there to cheer you on. Good luck next time.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Can He Count?
They just had a clip of Ernie Els on the Golf Channel and Els said "Sergio's going for his first major." Huh??? What was Sergio doing last year at the British Open in the final round with Tiger? What was he doing last fall at the PGA Championship? What was he doing in 1999 at the PGA Championship? I'd say Sergio's been going for his first major for the last 8 years. Els was trying to suggest that Sergio would be nervous because he's somehow inexperienced. But that's highly doubtful. If Els was confident in his game, he wouldn't be deflecting attention off himself and toward his competitors.
British Open 2007 Round 3
Started the day with an early trip to town for grocery shopping (and I read the last few pages of the Harry Potter book to see how it ends. I haven't read any of the others and I haven't seen the movies but since everyone's been talking about this last book, I just had to find out how it ends.)
After the third round:
Sergio is still in the lead at -9. Steve Stricker is three shots back at -6 and the next closest competitors are at -3. Before the round started I thought that -3 would be a good round today for Sergio. It would be low enough for him to stay in contention but not low enough to constitute one of those rounds where your next round would be hugely over par. I hope he had that one bad round of the tournament on Friday. People are talking about Stricker and thinking he has a good chance to win tomorrow. He has the best chance of anyone except Sergio, but Stricker shot a 64 today (a new British Open Record at that course). I wouldn't be surprised if he had a bad round tomorrow since golfers usually follow a good round with a bad one.
Let's talk for a minute about hitting people with golf balls. Yes, Sergio hit a man with his golf ball today. But Tiger did too. And that is pretty much an every tournament happening for Tiger. It seems like he hits someone at least once every tournament. Something really needs to be done to stop him. Everyone fussed over Sergio spitting in the cup a while back, but Tiger's out there potentially causing concussions with his bad drives and bad approaches to the green. Let me tell you, Gary Player really has his work cut out for him getting the PGA Tour to do something about drug use if they won't even stop Tiger from injuring spectators.
Other Players:
Miguel Angel Jimenez - saw a lot of him today. Unfortunately, he didn't play his best. He is currently tied for 10th at -2
Angel Cabrera - one of my picks to win. Currently at even par for the tournament.
Carl Petterson - my other pick is +5 and tied for 50th.
Justin Rose - is currently -1.
After the third round:
Sergio is still in the lead at -9. Steve Stricker is three shots back at -6 and the next closest competitors are at -3. Before the round started I thought that -3 would be a good round today for Sergio. It would be low enough for him to stay in contention but not low enough to constitute one of those rounds where your next round would be hugely over par. I hope he had that one bad round of the tournament on Friday. People are talking about Stricker and thinking he has a good chance to win tomorrow. He has the best chance of anyone except Sergio, but Stricker shot a 64 today (a new British Open Record at that course). I wouldn't be surprised if he had a bad round tomorrow since golfers usually follow a good round with a bad one.
Let's talk for a minute about hitting people with golf balls. Yes, Sergio hit a man with his golf ball today. But Tiger did too. And that is pretty much an every tournament happening for Tiger. It seems like he hits someone at least once every tournament. Something really needs to be done to stop him. Everyone fussed over Sergio spitting in the cup a while back, but Tiger's out there potentially causing concussions with his bad drives and bad approaches to the green. Let me tell you, Gary Player really has his work cut out for him getting the PGA Tour to do something about drug use if they won't even stop Tiger from injuring spectators.
Other Players:
Miguel Angel Jimenez - saw a lot of him today. Unfortunately, he didn't play his best. He is currently tied for 10th at -2
Angel Cabrera - one of my picks to win. Currently at even par for the tournament.
Carl Petterson - my other pick is +5 and tied for 50th.
Justin Rose - is currently -1.
Friday, July 20, 2007
R & A: Reprehensible and Amoral
Well, the holier than thou, sainted Royal and Ancient Golf Club rules people have apparently shown blatant favoritism to Tiger and Phil this week with questionable rulings. The Golf Channel has mentioned the questionable rulings and brought the word "favoritism" into it. Naturally, the R & A should know all the rules and make the right calls, but you'd at least think they would be favoring the Europeans and not the evil Americans. Show some Ryder Cup Blue Loyalty for Pete's Sake!
So, is this a case of inept rules officials working for THE Premier Rules Body in Golf, or favoritism?
And which one would the R & A prefer to be known for? Corruption or Ineptness?
So, is this a case of inept rules officials working for THE Premier Rules Body in Golf, or favoritism?
And which one would the R & A prefer to be known for? Corruption or Ineptness?
More on the British Open
Now that I've had supper, fed the dogs and cat and played with the puppies, I have more time to comment on the tournament.
Miguel Angel Jimenez is tied for 3rd after the second round. Spaniard watch should be pretty easy tomorrow since Sergio will be in the last group and Miguel in the second to last. Last year after the British Open, I posted a letter to Sergio in which I urged him to either play well when paired with Tiger or separate himself from Tiger so I could watch Sergio and not have to suffer with Tiger Suck Up time. Well, Sergio's doing his part to keep the coverage focused on him.
Rory McIlroy didn't have a good second round, but he's still in the tournament. He's the 18 year old Irishman who's turning pro. He said yesterday that he plans to play the European Tour for a couple of years before thinking about the American PGA Tour. I swear he looks 15. And if you had a chance to check out his swing, then you'll agree with me that it's pretty awesome.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Boo Weekley's designer camo/hunter look. Be honest, how many of you were looking for a big extended cab, red Ford 4WD pick-up with the gun rack in the back window? The Golf Channel missed a great opportunity to follow Boo around Scotland and get his impressions of the food and customs there. Boo's doing great at the British Open this year. I think he's the big surprise of the tournament. It might be worth it to hear Boo give an acceptance speech in Scotland after winning the Open. Just something to think about...
And related news, Jean Van de Velde apparently has Mono. That's really good news - it isn't anything more serious than that. A lady I work with missed two or three weeks with Mono and when she came back, she was still exhausted. So, I hope people out there aren't going to be taking this diagnosis lightly and start making fun of him or criticize him.
Miguel Angel Jimenez is tied for 3rd after the second round. Spaniard watch should be pretty easy tomorrow since Sergio will be in the last group and Miguel in the second to last. Last year after the British Open, I posted a letter to Sergio in which I urged him to either play well when paired with Tiger or separate himself from Tiger so I could watch Sergio and not have to suffer with Tiger Suck Up time. Well, Sergio's doing his part to keep the coverage focused on him.
Rory McIlroy didn't have a good second round, but he's still in the tournament. He's the 18 year old Irishman who's turning pro. He said yesterday that he plans to play the European Tour for a couple of years before thinking about the American PGA Tour. I swear he looks 15. And if you had a chance to check out his swing, then you'll agree with me that it's pretty awesome.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Boo Weekley's designer camo/hunter look. Be honest, how many of you were looking for a big extended cab, red Ford 4WD pick-up with the gun rack in the back window? The Golf Channel missed a great opportunity to follow Boo around Scotland and get his impressions of the food and customs there. Boo's doing great at the British Open this year. I think he's the big surprise of the tournament. It might be worth it to hear Boo give an acceptance speech in Scotland after winning the Open. Just something to think about...
And related news, Jean Van de Velde apparently has Mono. That's really good news - it isn't anything more serious than that. A lady I work with missed two or three weeks with Mono and when she came back, she was still exhausted. So, I hope people out there aren't going to be taking this diagnosis lightly and start making fun of him or criticize him.
British Open Round 2
My three picks are still doing well. Sergio is still in the lead at -6. Cabrera is T7 at -1. And Carl Petterson made the cut and is currently T42.
Hooked on Golf Blog (link in the sidebar under blogs of note) is reporting that Tiger Woods said the F-Word very loudly today and it was picked up very clearly by the network. It's good to know that little Sam is going to pick up these great habits from the world's #1. I can just imagine how many times her pre-school teachers will ask the Woods Parents for conferences over her language skills.
Some who missed the cut:
Henrik Stenson
Colin Montgomerie
David Toms
Phil Mickelson
Brett Quigley
Matt Kuchar
Davis Love III
Yep, some people's picks to win missed the cut. And what exactly has Davis Love been doing this year?
Hooked on Golf Blog (link in the sidebar under blogs of note) is reporting that Tiger Woods said the F-Word very loudly today and it was picked up very clearly by the network. It's good to know that little Sam is going to pick up these great habits from the world's #1. I can just imagine how many times her pre-school teachers will ask the Woods Parents for conferences over her language skills.
Some who missed the cut:
Henrik Stenson
Colin Montgomerie
David Toms
Phil Mickelson
Brett Quigley
Matt Kuchar
Davis Love III
Yep, some people's picks to win missed the cut. And what exactly has Davis Love been doing this year?
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Player Fallout
Tonight on the Golf Channel they showed some comments by Reteif Goosen and Ernie Els regarding Player's claims that he knows of a player on tour who's taking performance enhancing substances. While both Goosen and Els both said that testing was fine with them, Els took some effort to dismiss the notion that performance enhancing drugs could aid a golfer. Els and Goosen seemed very upset that Player had made his statements on the eve of a major championship.
My say: When you have top players saying 'oh, drugs can't help a golfer play better' then no one else is going to support drug testing. At least Tiger Woods has spoken out in favor of drug testing. Player probably figured that as long as you have the Ernie Els' of the world discounting the effects of drug use in player performance, then he would have to be even more dramatic to get his point out there so that people will listen.
I'm disappointed in Retief Goosen especially. He seemed angry about Player's comments. I dare Retief Goosen to look at a picture of 7 year old Daniel Benoit and then say Player was out of line.
My say: When you have top players saying 'oh, drugs can't help a golfer play better' then no one else is going to support drug testing. At least Tiger Woods has spoken out in favor of drug testing. Player probably figured that as long as you have the Ernie Els' of the world discounting the effects of drug use in player performance, then he would have to be even more dramatic to get his point out there so that people will listen.
I'm disappointed in Retief Goosen especially. He seemed angry about Player's comments. I dare Retief Goosen to look at a picture of 7 year old Daniel Benoit and then say Player was out of line.
Yiipppeeeeeeeee!!!!
Sergio's leading after round 1 of the British Open!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angel Cabrera is T3 at -3
Carl Petterson is T13 at -1
My picks are doing pretty well so far.
Other notables:
Miguel Angel Jimenez -2
Amateur Rory McIlroy -3
Boo Weekley -3
Brett Quigley +1
Paul Casey +1
Check out the Leaderboard. A lot of good stories coming from there.
Angel Cabrera is T3 at -3
Carl Petterson is T13 at -1
My picks are doing pretty well so far.
Other notables:
Miguel Angel Jimenez -2
Amateur Rory McIlroy -3
Boo Weekley -3
Brett Quigley +1
Paul Casey +1
Check out the Leaderboard. A lot of good stories coming from there.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
U.S. Open 2009
A little while ago, the Golf Channel aired a commercial for Tiger Woods and the PGA Championship coming up in August. We haven't even watched the British Open and they are already plugging the PGA Championship and of course Tiger Woods. Of course, it isn't like they are going to be able to have much Tiger Time in the next few days with the British Open coverage airing on other networks. They have to get their Tiger Quota somehow so they are advertising the next major. What happens if Tiger doesn't win the British Open this week? We viewers will be treated to promos for every major coming up for the next two or three years in the next few weeks until the PGA Championship begins. Because as you know, the PGA Tour and the Golf Channel stand for All Tiger All the Time. Who cares about the rest of these guys who can play.
Enough!!
Enough with the Jean Van de Velde talk. The man has some scary mystery illness that is probably terrifying for him and all these people on the Golf Channel can do is talk about his collapse at Carnoustie and even show a clip of Curtis Strange calling it 'stupidity'. Gee, he obviously has no compassion for a fellow human being. You have to wonder at these people who instead of moving on and embracing the present and the future, would prefer to wallow in the past.
Another Visit to the Steroids Topic
After the release of the toxicology reports on wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and child, we get this news article featuring Gary Player who claims that steroids have indeed infiltrated the world of golf. Again, I urge people to support a drug testing policy for pro golfers. It isn't just a concern for fair play, it's a concern for the lives of the players, their loved ones, and innocent bystanders who might just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So many things can happen when people take drugs they don't need - dangerous drug interactions, allergic reactions, harmful effects on possible undiagnoses health conditions, and all these can lead to the injury or deaths of innocent people - think of what would happen if one of these interactions/reactions happened when the drug user was driving a car on a busy highway. And really, if American high schools can test their high school athletes, then pro golfers shouldn't be so terrified of it. The biggest protest I hear is that it will make the PGA Tour look like they have a problem if they institute a testing policy. Gee, I don't automatically think the high school kids are all on steroids when I hear that they are tested.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Dark Side of the Open
Yes, there is an insidiousness that seeps out through the cracks of the famous stone bridges and castles every year when the Open comes along. It plagues the average golf fan and forces many a tv viewer to turn the channel in disgust. With the aid of stern drink, this evil takes hold and seeks to outshine the gleam of the well-polished Claret Jug. What is this sinister foe?
Woefully bad fake Scottish accents. Everyone has to try it. I'm surprised Boo Weekley hasn't attempted a Sean Connery imitation yet.
Woefully bad fake Scottish accents. Everyone has to try it. I'm surprised Boo Weekley hasn't attempted a Sean Connery imitation yet.
Monday, July 16, 2007
British Open Picks
Right at the outset, just know that I have no expectation that these picks will actually win or even finish well this year. I figure since I got lucky with my US Open dark horse pick, I have no luck left. Considering I got stuck on 4 months of jury duty right after that, I think it's safe to say that any luck I might have had was indeed used on Angel Cabrera. I hope he appreciates it.
Anyway, here are my picks for The Open:
Winner: Angel Cabrera. Why not go with what works? It's a tough course and he's a tough player.
Contender: Carl Petterson. I have this notion that Carnoustie might not care about someone's high-priced technical golf swing. It might love a player instead of a student, i.e. someone who just plays rather than someone who's worried about his alignment or swing plane. And he played well last year at The Open and last week at the John Deere.
Dark Horse: Ta-da!! Finally he makes an appearance in the picks - I'm picking Sergio Garcia for a dark horse winner. In the last 6 years, he's had 5 top ten finishes, with the last two years finishing T5. Not that I think he will win, I just don't have that feeling about him. His whole game's been off this year, not just the putting. But we'll see.
Anyway, here are my picks for The Open:
Winner: Angel Cabrera. Why not go with what works? It's a tough course and he's a tough player.
Contender: Carl Petterson. I have this notion that Carnoustie might not care about someone's high-priced technical golf swing. It might love a player instead of a student, i.e. someone who just plays rather than someone who's worried about his alignment or swing plane. And he played well last year at The Open and last week at the John Deere.
Dark Horse: Ta-da!! Finally he makes an appearance in the picks - I'm picking Sergio Garcia for a dark horse winner. In the last 6 years, he's had 5 top ten finishes, with the last two years finishing T5. Not that I think he will win, I just don't have that feeling about him. His whole game's been off this year, not just the putting. But we'll see.
Seve Retires
A really good article about the retirement of Seve Ballesteros can be found here.
I think anyone should be allowed to choose their own path no matter what others think. A lot of people are sad or disappointed that Seve is retiring at such a young age, but it's his life and he knows best what he wants to do with it. I feel strongly about this kind of thing. When I graduated from high school people expected great things from me. But I just wanted enough money to meet my needs and give me just a few of my wants. And I didn't want to sell my youth to get it. So instead of passing the CPA exam and working for some high-powered accounting firm, I took a low paying accounting assistant job in which I would pretty much only work 40 hours a week. Sure, I may not have much money, but my quality of life I think is better for it.
This is another reason why I support Tadd Fujikawa's decision to turn pro. Just because everyone else has an opinion, doesn't mean they are right. And I would like to point out that this article about Seve mentions that he turned pro at 16. Gee, anyone out there think he should have waited?
I think anyone should be allowed to choose their own path no matter what others think. A lot of people are sad or disappointed that Seve is retiring at such a young age, but it's his life and he knows best what he wants to do with it. I feel strongly about this kind of thing. When I graduated from high school people expected great things from me. But I just wanted enough money to meet my needs and give me just a few of my wants. And I didn't want to sell my youth to get it. So instead of passing the CPA exam and working for some high-powered accounting firm, I took a low paying accounting assistant job in which I would pretty much only work 40 hours a week. Sure, I may not have much money, but my quality of life I think is better for it.
This is another reason why I support Tadd Fujikawa's decision to turn pro. Just because everyone else has an opinion, doesn't mean they are right. And I would like to point out that this article about Seve mentions that he turned pro at 16. Gee, anyone out there think he should have waited?
Sunday, July 15, 2007
John Deere Classic
I had hoped Tim Clark would win today. At one time he had a 4 shot lead, but Jonathan Byrd came up on him and Clark made a couple of bogeys coming in. Well, Byrd's never been to the British Open and now he gets to go, so that's good for him.
Scottish Open
Well, I had a difficult time this morning trying to decide who to root for. I'm not a fan of the French but I'm not a big fan of Phil Mickelson either. Frenchman Havret ended up winning in a playoff over Mickelson and that seems to set well with me. Havret wasn't already in the Open so it's good that he gets the exemption. And of course, I can't avoid mentioning that Mickelson could have won the tournament outright but for a bogey on 18. I'm sure that's going to get some attention thanks to his Winged Foot performance.
Sergio was doing well until he finished bogey, double bogey. I am tempted to consider him for one of my British Open picks but I don't know how this finish will play on his confidence.
Sergio was doing well until he finished bogey, double bogey. I am tempted to consider him for one of my British Open picks but I don't know how this finish will play on his confidence.
Sergio Garcia Interview
I read this interview with Sergio Garcia just now. Apparently, he is slightly injured, but according to the article, it shouldn't bother him when he's playing golf.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Jose Maria Still Injured
According to this article, Jose Maria's knee is still giving him trouble and the British Open is questionable at this point. I hope he gets better. I haven't seen anything that says what the exact problem is though. I would like to know what's wrong and what could be done to fix it.
Tadd Fujikawa Turns Pro
Well, aside from Tadd, I think I'm the only one who's enthusiastic about him turning pro. I think he should. Remember where Tadd comes from - when he was born, doctors didn't expect him to live. Why would he postpone his dream? Every minute of every day is precious to him and if he wants to pursue his dream then he should. Tadd undoubtedly has a sieze the day kind of spirit that reaches out to life and grabs it by the throat and shakes it likes a ragdoll. He wouldn't be happy going the boring, sensible route and graduating from high school, going to college, blah, blah. And he's young enough that if he doesn't have success of some kind in a couple of years, he can go to college if he wants to and not miss a beat. The way I see it, he has two obstacles to overcome: 1) negativity from everyone saying he's too young. 2) he will either end up never married, or married 8 times due to the fact he won't have the opportunity to find a nice wholesome girl like he would if he went to college.
I hope the media and the tour players and the fans will try to limit the negativity. If they are really worried about Tadd then they should do everything they can to support him in his decision. If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem. If they aren't going to be supportive of him, then they have to take some of the responsibility if he suffers a disastrous blow.
I hope the media and the tour players and the fans will try to limit the negativity. If they are really worried about Tadd then they should do everything they can to support him in his decision. If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem. If they aren't going to be supportive of him, then they have to take some of the responsibility if he suffers a disastrous blow.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Winnie Has Disgraced Her Honorary Daddy
Winnie, my long haired chihuahua, has disgraced her honorary daddy, Sergio Garcia. This evening Winnie, PJ and I were playing while the Golf Channel was playing on tv. Then, Tiger Woods Fed Ex Cup Playoffs commercial came on - the one where he's whistling the Eye of the Tiger song. Well, Winnie stops playing and watches the commercial. Every time it's shown. She's not supposed to like Tiger. Or his whistling. I will have to work on some training.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Baby News
Not getting the same amount of press as Tiger, Henrik Stenson and his wife brought a little bundle of joy into the world, a daughter named Lisa. I tried to find an article about just the Stensons and the baby, but all I could find were articles about all the people who are skipping the European Open this week. So, check out this article. A side note: the article committed a major sin - mentioned Sergio and marriage in the same sentence. Don't worry Sergio fans, they were talking about Luke Donald.
Celebrating July 4th
Today, in honor of July 4th and the celebration of America's independence from England, I declared my independence from bath tub soap scum. Yes, it was a hard fought war with toxic tub cleaner raining down on the enemy, but in the end, freedom prevailed. Clean at last, Clean at last.......... you get the idea.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Another First Time Winner
Brian Bateman won the Buick Open today with a birdie on the 18th, beating out a couple of others who were tied and waiting in the clubhouse to see if there would be a playoff. Exciting ending to a really interesting tournament.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
The Curse is Transferable
I think my Jim Furyk curse has been transferred to Brett Quigley since they were paired together today. You know my curse - the one in which every time I pick Furyk to win, he misses a cut or something equally as terrible happens. Well, it was Brett's turn today as he shot a 75.
On the good side, this tournament is tons more exciting than it would have been if Tiger was playing. If he was playing, the announcers and pundits would have already given him the win and the coverage would be one long tribute to him. With him gone, all these players are out there within just a few shots of the lead with good chances tomorrow to win. You've got players going low every day, this day's low round was Jesper Parnevik's 64.
On the good side, this tournament is tons more exciting than it would have been if Tiger was playing. If he was playing, the announcers and pundits would have already given him the win and the coverage would be one long tribute to him. With him gone, all these players are out there within just a few shots of the lead with good chances tomorrow to win. You've got players going low every day, this day's low round was Jesper Parnevik's 64.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Buick Open
Brett Quigley is tied for the lead!!!! So, you know who I'm cheering for this weekend.
Kenny Perry shot a 63 and putted very, very well, something like 21 or 22 putts. He will be renewing the discussion on whether or not the belly putter should be banned. My view: if you look at all the golfers who use them and their putting stats, I don't think they putt better than anyone else. If they did, then these guys would be winning a lot more than they do.
The announce people: they can't let one day go by without mentioning Tiger Woods. Isn't it enough that they show his Buick commercials during the tournament? Isn't it enough that they are promoting next week's tournament? Give it a rest, people. I swear, in 40 years, they will be saying, "40 years ago Tiger Woods played here. Let's dust off the archival footage of Tiger because this guy currently on the tee may be able to drive the ball 525 yards on this 850 yard par 5, but he's no Tiger Woods."
Kenny Perry shot a 63 and putted very, very well, something like 21 or 22 putts. He will be renewing the discussion on whether or not the belly putter should be banned. My view: if you look at all the golfers who use them and their putting stats, I don't think they putt better than anyone else. If they did, then these guys would be winning a lot more than they do.
The announce people: they can't let one day go by without mentioning Tiger Woods. Isn't it enough that they show his Buick commercials during the tournament? Isn't it enough that they are promoting next week's tournament? Give it a rest, people. I swear, in 40 years, they will be saying, "40 years ago Tiger Woods played here. Let's dust off the archival footage of Tiger because this guy currently on the tee may be able to drive the ball 525 yards on this 850 yard par 5, but he's no Tiger Woods."
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Get Well Wishes
According to this article, PJ's (my puppy's) honorary daddy, Jose Maria Olazabal, has suffered some sort of knee injury and had to withdraw from the European tour event this week in France.
So, get well Jose Maria. Hope to see you at the British Open.
So, get well Jose Maria. Hope to see you at the British Open.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The PGA Tour and Drug Testing
I haven't had much of an opinion on this issue. That is, until now. As I posted yesterday, it was reported that pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and their son were found dead in their Atlanta home. Now, reports on the internet are saying that Benoit strangled his wife, smothered his son and then hanged himself and these reports claim that investigators are looking into what role steroids could have played in this tragedy. I haven't seen any news reports that definitively state that drugs were involved, but there has been a long listory of drug and steroid use in pro wrestling which has led to many deaths of wrestlers. Yesterday my post said I hoped these deaths would be the result of some blameless cause like carbon monoxide poisoning. That's because I am so tired of hearing about wrestlers and drugs and steroids. I started watching wrestling when I was about 10 or 12 years old and every time I hear one of these stories, it breaks my heart because I know how I felt watching wrestling as a kid and I know what the kids today who look up to these performers are feeling after hearing about the tragic deaths of Benoit and his family.
Even if there is no current problem with drug or steroid use in golf, I believe testing should be instituted. This way, children watching golf and looking up to the players won't have to experience what the kids who follow wrestling are feeling today. You might say, but wrestlers are big guys, they have muscles, steroids are a logical expectation and no one should be surprised. Well, Benoit had a gym in his home. He had no reason to take steroids. Many of these wrestlers work out every day. So, to say golfers have no reason to take steroids or drugs? Well, that argument doesn't really hold water with me.
Do I think a golfer's performance would be enhanced by taking a substance that would be banned with a testing policy? Maybe not. But I call your attention to a news story I heard on CBS News and then later read about on the internet. A cross country runner died of an overdose of an ingredient found in ben-gay and other topical pain medications. Does anyone expect to die from rubbing a lotion on your aching back? With a drug testing policy in place, maybe something like this could be prevented if the toxic ingredient would happen to show up during the test.
I think people need to look beyond the shame factor of drug testing and explore all the benefits a sound testing policy could provide. Lives could be saved and not just the athlete's.
Even if there is no current problem with drug or steroid use in golf, I believe testing should be instituted. This way, children watching golf and looking up to the players won't have to experience what the kids who follow wrestling are feeling today. You might say, but wrestlers are big guys, they have muscles, steroids are a logical expectation and no one should be surprised. Well, Benoit had a gym in his home. He had no reason to take steroids. Many of these wrestlers work out every day. So, to say golfers have no reason to take steroids or drugs? Well, that argument doesn't really hold water with me.
Do I think a golfer's performance would be enhanced by taking a substance that would be banned with a testing policy? Maybe not. But I call your attention to a news story I heard on CBS News and then later read about on the internet. A cross country runner died of an overdose of an ingredient found in ben-gay and other topical pain medications. Does anyone expect to die from rubbing a lotion on your aching back? With a drug testing policy in place, maybe something like this could be prevented if the toxic ingredient would happen to show up during the test.
I think people need to look beyond the shame factor of drug testing and explore all the benefits a sound testing policy could provide. Lives could be saved and not just the athlete's.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Time To Officially Celebrate
I got the official registration certificates from the CKC today. So, let's officially celebrate the registration of Winnie Garcia and Phoebe Josefine Maria Olazabal (PJ for short).
Another Questionable Statement
Andrew McGee just said that it's unheard of on the PGA tour for a sponsor's exemption to almost win a tournament. Let's go back to 2005 and remember Jason Gore at the 84 Lumber Classic, shall we?
Ups and Downs
UP: Tiger has reportedly posted pictures of his family on his website. I haven't been there but I did see a couple of pictures on Golf Central. I like how he and his wife included the dogs in the family photos.
DOWN: I'm heartbroken to find out that another pro wrestler has died, and this is apparently NOT part of any storyline. According to the WWE website and several other wrestling websites found using google news searches, Chris Benoit, his wife and his son were found dead in their Atlanta home. It's been reported on some websites that Benoit missed Saturday's and Sunday's matches to go home so something must have been going on. I don't mean to sound cold, but when I heard about this I was so hoping the cause would be something innocent like carbon monoxide poisoning. I am so tired of hearing about overdoses and drug related deaths and deaths brought on by years of steroid use. I don't know what the cause of death will be in this case, but whatever it is, the wrestling world has lost not one but two legendary performers in Chris Benoit and Woman.
DOWN: I'm heartbroken to find out that another pro wrestler has died, and this is apparently NOT part of any storyline. According to the WWE website and several other wrestling websites found using google news searches, Chris Benoit, his wife and his son were found dead in their Atlanta home. It's been reported on some websites that Benoit missed Saturday's and Sunday's matches to go home so something must have been going on. I don't mean to sound cold, but when I heard about this I was so hoping the cause would be something innocent like carbon monoxide poisoning. I am so tired of hearing about overdoses and drug related deaths and deaths brought on by years of steroid use. I don't know what the cause of death will be in this case, but whatever it is, the wrestling world has lost not one but two legendary performers in Chris Benoit and Woman.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
A Look At The European Tour
Niclas Fasth won today in Germany. Bernhard Langer tried to win the event, the only event he hasn't won in his home country, but finished T2 with Portugal's Jose Filipe Lima.
Sam Torrance won on the European Senior Tour. And name of the week is courtesy of the Challenge Tour: Robert Dinwiddie.
Sam Torrance won on the European Senior Tour. And name of the week is courtesy of the Challenge Tour: Robert Dinwiddie.
Exciting Finish to the Travelers Championship
It came down to Hunter Mahan and Jay Williamson and a playoff. At stake: A win on the PGA Tour and an exemption into the Masters next year. By the start of the playoff, Mahan had secured the Fed Ex cup points for first place since Williamson wouldn't be able to collect those (he's a non-member of the tour) and Williamson had essentially locked up his playing privileges for next year with what he would be making for finishing at least second.
Hunter Mahan hit two of the most incredible shots into the 18th green, both in regulation and in the playoff, and made you wonder if he couldn't be a sneaky captain's pick for either the Presidents Cup this year or Ryder Cup next year. If he can go for the pin with that much on the line and get inside Williamson both times, then he's needed for any matchplay event out there.
Mahan finally pulled out the win with the first playoff hole. His first win on the PGA Tour.
My thoughts: I think it ended the way it should have. A win is a win and Williamson had already won an event this year on the Nationwide Tour. It's fair that Mahan gets a win. And Williamson made enough to get his card so his life is turning out well. Also, Mahan has been out on the PGA tour for a number of years, paying his dues. He deserved his win today. Not to mention he finished T2 last year at this event and it seemed appropriate to take the win this year. Plus, Mahan shot a 65 in the final round and Williamson a 66.
Hunter Mahan hit two of the most incredible shots into the 18th green, both in regulation and in the playoff, and made you wonder if he couldn't be a sneaky captain's pick for either the Presidents Cup this year or Ryder Cup next year. If he can go for the pin with that much on the line and get inside Williamson both times, then he's needed for any matchplay event out there.
Mahan finally pulled out the win with the first playoff hole. His first win on the PGA Tour.
My thoughts: I think it ended the way it should have. A win is a win and Williamson had already won an event this year on the Nationwide Tour. It's fair that Mahan gets a win. And Williamson made enough to get his card so his life is turning out well. Also, Mahan has been out on the PGA tour for a number of years, paying his dues. He deserved his win today. Not to mention he finished T2 last year at this event and it seemed appropriate to take the win this year. Plus, Mahan shot a 65 in the final round and Williamson a 66.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
For Those Who Might Be Interested
Dish Network is currently having trouble with the local channels. So, now there are a bunch of channels I'm paying for that I can't watch. And to top it off - I didn't want the local channels to begin with. I have an antenna. Dish Network made me take the local channels.
Wrestling the Wrist Issue
I got to thinking about all the wrist injuries in the news lately: Michelle Wie, Phil Mickelson, some guy at the PGA of America thing, Paula Creamer had one last year. I think Jim Furyk had problems a while back. Remembering back to the early to mid 1990s when I used to watch golf before my boycott, I don't recall anyone having wrist injuries. In fact, I don't recall anyone having any serious injuries at all, except for back injuries of course. So, here's what I'm wondering:
1. Are players today too greedy and are trying to play more risky shots?
2. Could physical fitness be the problem? Are the players' workouts creating some sort of imbalance that's putting more pressure on their wrists?
3. Could improved technology be tricking the players into believing that their great hybrid clubs can produce miracle shots with little or no effort thus making the players careless in their execution or shot selection?
1. Are players today too greedy and are trying to play more risky shots?
2. Could physical fitness be the problem? Are the players' workouts creating some sort of imbalance that's putting more pressure on their wrists?
3. Could improved technology be tricking the players into believing that their great hybrid clubs can produce miracle shots with little or no effort thus making the players careless in their execution or shot selection?
Friday, June 22, 2007
2007 PGA Professional National Championship
I was very excited to find out that West Virginia's Barry Evans was in a tie for 4th after his 13th hole on day 2 of this event. He has a good chance to do well this week and earn a spot at the PGA Championship later in the year. To find the pros from your state, click here.
Back to an Old Hobby
Due to recent technical difficulties with my computer, I bought a 2 gb flash drive and saved all my important stuff on it - pictures, internet bookmarks, and my golf themed romance novel I was writing last year. Well, that, and this year's U. S. Open, got me to thinking that I should get back to working on that novel, so I am. I've finally typed all the chapters and have them printed out and I've proofread the first 9 chapters. Chapters 10 through 15 will need some massive re-working, but hopefully I can make it decent.
The technical difficulties? I got this error message that said "disk boot failure. insert system disk and press enter." Well, I thought my computer had crashed. But mom and dad said they thought that they had gotten that message on mom's e-machine right after they just bought it. They had unplugged all the cords from the CPU and were ready to take it back, but dad had to try one more time and plugged it back up. It worked. So, if anyone ever gets that error message, just unplug everything and wait about a half an hour and then plug it all back up. See if that works. It worked for me.
The technical difficulties? I got this error message that said "disk boot failure. insert system disk and press enter." Well, I thought my computer had crashed. But mom and dad said they thought that they had gotten that message on mom's e-machine right after they just bought it. They had unplugged all the cords from the CPU and were ready to take it back, but dad had to try one more time and plugged it back up. It worked. So, if anyone ever gets that error message, just unplug everything and wait about a half an hour and then plug it all back up. See if that works. It worked for me.
Hmmm.....
Well, Dish Network claims they have no control over commercials. They blame the Golf Channel for the near constant interruptions in their programming by those commercials. If it continues today I will have to email the Golf Channel and complain that I'm paying $67.00 a month for a channel I can't watch.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Follow Up to the Previous Post
AT 8:30pm eastern, the golf channel programming was interrupted approximately 4 times in the span of about 10 minutes by commercials. Some of them were commercials advertising Dish Network pay-per-views. So, I have concluded that this is a Dish Network problem. As a result, I sent a complaint email to Dish Network telling them that I didn't appreciate paying $67.00 a month for a channel I can't watch because the programming is being overridden by commercials. And I asked them if there was anything that could be done to make sure that commercials were only shown during the regularly scheduled commercial breaks. This was not a one-time glitch, as I noted previously, this has been going on for a few days that I know of. Maybe longer and I just didn't notice before.
Stealing An Idea from the Armchair Golfer
Miranda Allen Misquotes Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel:
"We welcome you back to our first round coverage of the Travelers Championship where we have been constantly interrupted by the same Maxaderm male enhancement commercial. I have it on authority that members of the control room, having finally gotten that phone number written down, are being fired even as we speak. They may not need a prescription, but they will be given a pink slip. Now out to the 13 th hole and ............."
Blogger's Note: I don't know if everyone else experienced this or if it was just Dish Network customers, but the golf coverage was interrupted three times in something like 2 minutes with that stupid commercial today. And that isn't the only time that commercials have interrupted their programming. Morning reairs of Golf Central were also victimized by Buy.com commercials. It's getting really annoying.
"We welcome you back to our first round coverage of the Travelers Championship where we have been constantly interrupted by the same Maxaderm male enhancement commercial. I have it on authority that members of the control room, having finally gotten that phone number written down, are being fired even as we speak. They may not need a prescription, but they will be given a pink slip. Now out to the 13 th hole and ............."
Blogger's Note: I don't know if everyone else experienced this or if it was just Dish Network customers, but the golf coverage was interrupted three times in something like 2 minutes with that stupid commercial today. And that isn't the only time that commercials have interrupted their programming. Morning reairs of Golf Central were also victimized by Buy.com commercials. It's getting really annoying.
Great Expectations
It seems many people, including Nike/Buick, think that Tiger's little girl will be a golfer when she grows up.
Here's my question: What if she takes after mom and becomes a model? No one's really discussing that.
Here's my question: What if she takes after mom and becomes a model? No one's really discussing that.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
CVS/Caremark Charity Classic
Stewart Cink and JJ Henry won the event. Brad Faxon, a favorite of this blog, came in second with his partner Zach Johnson.
The secondary story: The Golf Channel was doing their best to pair up Camillo Villegas and Natalie Gulbis on a romantic level. They kept pointing out that the two were born on the same day, just a year apart, etc. They also said that the two had won 'about' the same amount of money in their careers. Well, there's 'about' a $500,000 difference I think. So, if that doesn't matter to the Golf Channel, then they can just send that $500K to me :)
Faxon's going to have to take us on a tour of his house next year. They keep telling us about his house there at the course but we don't get to learn anything about it. Maybe with the tour, Brad can point out a lamp or something and say "This will be auctioned off on Ebay to benefit the charity." That would be cool.
The secondary story: The Golf Channel was doing their best to pair up Camillo Villegas and Natalie Gulbis on a romantic level. They kept pointing out that the two were born on the same day, just a year apart, etc. They also said that the two had won 'about' the same amount of money in their careers. Well, there's 'about' a $500,000 difference I think. So, if that doesn't matter to the Golf Channel, then they can just send that $500K to me :)
Faxon's going to have to take us on a tour of his house next year. They keep telling us about his house there at the course but we don't get to learn anything about it. Maybe with the tour, Brad can point out a lamp or something and say "This will be auctioned off on Ebay to benefit the charity." That would be cool.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Media's Sucking Up to Tiger Again
The Golf Channel keeps saying Tiger finished second at the US Open. Well, actually he finished TIED for second. There's a pretty big difference there. Second alone means there was only one man you couldn't beat. TIED for second means there were two men you couldn't beat. And that other guy was Jim Furyk. I'm sure he appreciates being shoved aside and forgotten.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Not To Be Overlooked
Carl Suneson, of Spain, won in France today. It was his first win and he's waited 18 years to get it. You have to admire his dedication to the sport. Check out a news article here.
Cabrera Wins The US Open!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And guess who had him as her sleeper/dark horse pick! Me!!!
Unfortunately, I found that I couldn't watch the whole round today. I was too anxious. And every time I turned the tv over to NBC, they just happened to be showing Tiger Woods. Gee, how could that happen? So, I stayed online today and kept the leaderboard up to check on the progress.
And didn't I mention in yesterday's post that Cabrera had gotten his bad round out of the way and that he could have a good round today the same way he bounced back at Wentworth?
Some notes about the final round: There were only two players under par in the final round, Cabrera and Anthony Kim. Lee Janzen finished T13. Hopefully this will help him with his card this year. As I remember it, he finished out of the top 125 last year. Some players who had better rounds today than yesterday: Cabrera, Fasth, Toms, Dougherty, Verplank, Kelly, Pablo Martin, Olazabal.
Bottom line: I always want the guy who's never won to win something. Share the wealth, so to speak. So, it's really great that Angel Cabrera won. Plus, he's so animated that he's a lot of fun to watch. And his caddie isn't bad to look at.
Question left unanswered: Does Cabrera like his nickname "El Pato"?
Unfortunately, I found that I couldn't watch the whole round today. I was too anxious. And every time I turned the tv over to NBC, they just happened to be showing Tiger Woods. Gee, how could that happen? So, I stayed online today and kept the leaderboard up to check on the progress.
And didn't I mention in yesterday's post that Cabrera had gotten his bad round out of the way and that he could have a good round today the same way he bounced back at Wentworth?
Some notes about the final round: There were only two players under par in the final round, Cabrera and Anthony Kim. Lee Janzen finished T13. Hopefully this will help him with his card this year. As I remember it, he finished out of the top 125 last year. Some players who had better rounds today than yesterday: Cabrera, Fasth, Toms, Dougherty, Verplank, Kelly, Pablo Martin, Olazabal.
Bottom line: I always want the guy who's never won to win something. Share the wealth, so to speak. So, it's really great that Angel Cabrera won. Plus, he's so animated that he's a lot of fun to watch. And his caddie isn't bad to look at.
Question left unanswered: Does Cabrera like his nickname "El Pato"?
Obscure Pondering
While watching the US Open coverage yesterday, the announcers referred to a player from Scotland and called him a Scot. Well, it got me to thinking, if a person from Scotland is a Scot, then why isn't a person from Maryland called a Mary?
On Leaderboards
I wanted to check out the leaderboard for the US Open today so I went to the PGA tour website and looked at their leaderboard. They hadn't updated it and players had been on the course for about 45 minutes. So, I went to the US Open website and consulted their leaderboard. It showed me that the players had indeed started their rounds and were actually playing the final round. I guess the PGA tour's opinion is that the tournament doesn't start until Tiger starts playing or something. I don't know about other fans, but I want to check out the early players to see how the course is playing today so I can have some expectations for the afternoon.
Bottom Line: The PGA Tour website sucks. If you want to know the scores, check out the official US Open Website.
Bottom Line: The PGA Tour website sucks. If you want to know the scores, check out the official US Open Website.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Scary Lexus Commercial
Have you see the Nick Watney/Lexus commercial in which the legends of golf appear? It's scary. Especially after Watney leaves the car and you see one of the legends players smiling into the mirror.
A cuter commercial is the Baby Woods Nike Golf commercial in which the Nike guys are making a set of clubs for the baby.
A cuter commercial is the Baby Woods Nike Golf commercial in which the Nike guys are making a set of clubs for the baby.
Round 3: US Open
How are my picks doing after round 3? Sabbatini is back in the pack, Pablo Martin is back in the pack, Justin Rose is tied for 3rd and Angel Cabrera has had his bad round of the tournament and is 4 shots off the lead.
Aaron Baddeley has a 2 shot lead going in to the final round tomorrow and will be paired with Tiger Woods.
What's going to happen tomorrow? Well yesterday I was willing to consider those 2 to 3 shots off the lead as contenders and that list is: Baddeley, Woods, Ames, Casey, Rose, and Watson. Despite what Johnny Miller said (that the +8s might have a chance) I wonder if 4 shots back is too far back, but those there are Cabrera, Stricker and Furyk.
Thoughts: Cabrera had his bad round today so he might come out and do really well tomorrow. At Wentworth, he shot a 76 in the third round and came back with a 70 in the final round. It would be neat to see Ames win so he could remind Woods of the 9 and 8 thing. hee hee. But I would like to see Baddeley, Casey or Rose win. But if Justin Rose wins, then my pick for him to be the runner up won't hold. I'm willing to be wrong in that case. Justin Rose is a favorite of this blog because he was nice enough to respond personally to a fan email I sent him.
Just to point out something: Baddeley is under 30. Casey is just under 30. Rose is under 30. Watson is under 30. I don't want to hear about how there are no young players out there to challenge Tiger.
Media criticism of the day: On the 8th hole, Bubba was in the lead. The announcer guy said "If he keeps playing well, he might have a spot in the final group with Tiger." Tiger wasn't in the lead, it was completely inappropriate to disregard all the players playing in the tournament and just promote Tiger to the final round. It was way too early in the round to just say all those players weren't going to make it. Because you know what? Aaron Baddeley did. These announcers are supposed to be experts on golf. Well, gee, anyone can sit there with a microphone and say Tiger's going to be in the final group. Doesn't take any experience at playing golf for that. They might as well hire rejects from The Apprentice to cover golf events for NBC.
Not watching the Live From coverage on the golf channel. They too will be sucking up to Tiger for the entire time, except for the brief respite people will get when they air Megan West's Pittsburg tourist features.
Tennis is supposed to be on tonight. I'll have to watch Andy Roddick. He drives me nuts (I swear he needs ADHD medicine), but he's better than Tiger Fest.
Aaron Baddeley has a 2 shot lead going in to the final round tomorrow and will be paired with Tiger Woods.
What's going to happen tomorrow? Well yesterday I was willing to consider those 2 to 3 shots off the lead as contenders and that list is: Baddeley, Woods, Ames, Casey, Rose, and Watson. Despite what Johnny Miller said (that the +8s might have a chance) I wonder if 4 shots back is too far back, but those there are Cabrera, Stricker and Furyk.
Thoughts: Cabrera had his bad round today so he might come out and do really well tomorrow. At Wentworth, he shot a 76 in the third round and came back with a 70 in the final round. It would be neat to see Ames win so he could remind Woods of the 9 and 8 thing. hee hee. But I would like to see Baddeley, Casey or Rose win. But if Justin Rose wins, then my pick for him to be the runner up won't hold. I'm willing to be wrong in that case. Justin Rose is a favorite of this blog because he was nice enough to respond personally to a fan email I sent him.
Just to point out something: Baddeley is under 30. Casey is just under 30. Rose is under 30. Watson is under 30. I don't want to hear about how there are no young players out there to challenge Tiger.
Media criticism of the day: On the 8th hole, Bubba was in the lead. The announcer guy said "If he keeps playing well, he might have a spot in the final group with Tiger." Tiger wasn't in the lead, it was completely inappropriate to disregard all the players playing in the tournament and just promote Tiger to the final round. It was way too early in the round to just say all those players weren't going to make it. Because you know what? Aaron Baddeley did. These announcers are supposed to be experts on golf. Well, gee, anyone can sit there with a microphone and say Tiger's going to be in the final group. Doesn't take any experience at playing golf for that. They might as well hire rejects from The Apprentice to cover golf events for NBC.
Not watching the Live From coverage on the golf channel. They too will be sucking up to Tiger for the entire time, except for the brief respite people will get when they air Megan West's Pittsburg tourist features.
Tennis is supposed to be on tonight. I'll have to watch Andy Roddick. He drives me nuts (I swear he needs ADHD medicine), but he's better than Tiger Fest.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Father's Day Coming Up
Fans of this blog know I don't like Tiger Woods. But this guy from Fanscape.com emailed me and asked if I would suggest the EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 Mobile Game. I'm sure this website will suggest other gifts too. I hope. But check out http://www.fanscape.com/blog or www.eamobile.com/tiger
Round 2: US Open
Still looking smart with Angel Cabrera still in the lead at Even par. Of my 4 picks, all 4 made the cut (all the players aren't in yet, but it looks like +10 will be the cutline), and two have a good chance to win (Cabrera and Rose).
Yesterday I said those at +2 or worse probably didn't have a chance to win. Now, after round 2, I think that those currently at +4 or better have a chance to win. That's within 4 shots of the lead and with Paul Casey's 66 today, I think it's a good estimate. So, here's the list of those +4 or better:
Cabrera
Watson
Ames
Baddeley
Rose
Fasth
Casey
Pernice Jr
Petterson
Snedeker
Toms
Verplank
Those above who were +1 or better yesterday: Cabrera, Watson, Rose, Fasth, and Snedeker. It will be interesting to see if any of these five players will be within 2 or 3 shots of the lead after Saturday's round.
Announce Team Criticism: ESPN people made excuses for Tiger Woods. They said Tiger hit 5 fairways today, THEN said "that's misleading because some of his shots ended up in the intermediate cut of rough." HELLO!!! Rough is Rough, the stat did not lie. As they say, you're either pregnant or you're not. He's either in the fairway or he isn't. If you ask anyone at the USGA, they will tell you that the intermediate cut is considered rough. And if it isn't rough enough, I'm sure they will let it grow and not cut it. Next year's US Open's intermediate cut will be 3 or 4 inches high if the USGA hears the announce crew suggesting that the intermediate cut isn't rough enough and doesn't penalize.
As for Spaniard Watch: Jose Maria and Pablo Martin advanced, Sergio did not. Although, Sergio did improve from his round yesterday so he has something positive to take away from these two rounds.
I have been listening to the Golf Channel and Steve Sands asked some course guy if the course was dangerous to golfers (in the wake of Mickelson's comments about injuries and ending careers and such). My view: If you keep it in the fairway and hit greens, the course isn't a bit dangerous. If you hit it in the rough, then there are options with varying degrees of difficulty. It's the decision of the player that makes the course harmful. Not the course.
Yesterday I said those at +2 or worse probably didn't have a chance to win. Now, after round 2, I think that those currently at +4 or better have a chance to win. That's within 4 shots of the lead and with Paul Casey's 66 today, I think it's a good estimate. So, here's the list of those +4 or better:
Cabrera
Watson
Ames
Baddeley
Rose
Fasth
Casey
Pernice Jr
Petterson
Snedeker
Toms
Verplank
Those above who were +1 or better yesterday: Cabrera, Watson, Rose, Fasth, and Snedeker. It will be interesting to see if any of these five players will be within 2 or 3 shots of the lead after Saturday's round.
Announce Team Criticism: ESPN people made excuses for Tiger Woods. They said Tiger hit 5 fairways today, THEN said "that's misleading because some of his shots ended up in the intermediate cut of rough." HELLO!!! Rough is Rough, the stat did not lie. As they say, you're either pregnant or you're not. He's either in the fairway or he isn't. If you ask anyone at the USGA, they will tell you that the intermediate cut is considered rough. And if it isn't rough enough, I'm sure they will let it grow and not cut it. Next year's US Open's intermediate cut will be 3 or 4 inches high if the USGA hears the announce crew suggesting that the intermediate cut isn't rough enough and doesn't penalize.
As for Spaniard Watch: Jose Maria and Pablo Martin advanced, Sergio did not. Although, Sergio did improve from his round yesterday so he has something positive to take away from these two rounds.
I have been listening to the Golf Channel and Steve Sands asked some course guy if the course was dangerous to golfers (in the wake of Mickelson's comments about injuries and ending careers and such). My view: If you keep it in the fairway and hit greens, the course isn't a bit dangerous. If you hit it in the rough, then there are options with varying degrees of difficulty. It's the decision of the player that makes the course harmful. Not the course.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
A Warm Hello To Old Friends
It was nice to see and hear Andy North, Judy Rankin, Terry Gannon, and Mike Tirico again when watching golf on ESPN. I even like Chris Berman. He reminds me of that guy that plays on the Sopranos, only Chris is happy and I think well-adjusted.
I Look Pretty Smart Right Now
After the first round of the US Open, here's how my picks stand:
Rory Sabbatini +3
Justin Rose +1
Pablo Martin +1
Angel Cabrera -1
All but Sabbatini are T6 or better (odd to say tied for 6th when there are about 15 players at +1).
My opinion: those +2 and over are too far back to win. This isn't a course you can make up ground on.
Jose Maria Olazabal did really, really great with an Even Par Round today.
Check out the old guys who are +1 or better: Cabrera, Olazabal, Funk, Olin Browne, Vijay.
Who's leading the tournament? Nick Dougherty, from England, and under 30. I swear the media should be doing handstands. A European and Under 30. That's the two things they've been harping on for the last three or four years. "Americans win everything and What young gun will challenge Tiger".
Rory Sabbatini +3
Justin Rose +1
Pablo Martin +1
Angel Cabrera -1
All but Sabbatini are T6 or better (odd to say tied for 6th when there are about 15 players at +1).
My opinion: those +2 and over are too far back to win. This isn't a course you can make up ground on.
Jose Maria Olazabal did really, really great with an Even Par Round today.
Check out the old guys who are +1 or better: Cabrera, Olazabal, Funk, Olin Browne, Vijay.
Who's leading the tournament? Nick Dougherty, from England, and under 30. I swear the media should be doing handstands. A European and Under 30. That's the two things they've been harping on for the last three or four years. "Americans win everything and What young gun will challenge Tiger".
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