Round Up

Bubba Watson won his first tournament ever as a pro today at the Travelers Championship. Good for him. He's a good guy who plays golf with a "hold my drink and watch this" attitude which is way more fun for the spectators than the "ooh, better play it safe and protect my fed ex cup points" approach.

The European Tour saw a first time winner today too in David Horsey. Congratulations to him too.

Interestingly, both tournaments had third round leaders who fell back in the final round.

And according to this article, Jose Maria Olazabal plans to play in the French Open. I really hope he can put his ailments behind him and play well. Golf misses the two time Masters winner and Ryder Cup legend. So do I.

US Open

Congratulations to Graeme McDowell on his US Open win. I didn't watch any of the tournament but did check out the scores periodically last night. It was great seeing two European Tour guys at the top of the board in McDowell and Havret.

Good Luck With That...

I just read this little blurb that said Colin Montgomerie is planning on giving Sergio Garcia a Ryder Cup Pep Talk. This on the heels of Sergio 'reportedly' stating that if he didn't feel his form was good enough for the Ryder Cup would consider not accepting a wild card if offered one.

Is Colin Montgomerie the right guy to give anyone a pep talk? I don't think I've ever seen him happy. Well, he probably was the day they gave him the Ryder Cup Captaincy. But Pollyanna he isn't.

Personally, I think it's just fine if Sergio does in fact opt out of the Ryder Cup if he feels his level of play is not the best. Maybe Martin Kaymer might actually get on the team this time after being a little snubbed last time (yes, I know he was invited to watch the event. That's like inviting Miss America's first runner up to come and watch Miss America participate in a photo shoot with Brad Pitt.) Frankly, it's a sign of just how much the Ryder Cup means to Sergio if he makes way for someone playing better to participate. The important thing is for the team to win, not so much for this player or that player to participate.

Olazabal Wins Again!

Here's a brief report on Jose Maria Olazabal's success at the Wentworth Pro-Am. I am so happy that he found some success this week while battling his ailments.

Maybe It's About Job Satisfaction

I found out this morning that Hank Haney has 'resigned' as Tiger's coach. There's a lot of speculation floating around on the web, along with a lot of negative comments. Well, here's my take on it: How much satisfaction can Hank Haney actually get from working with Tiger Woods? The guy's the #1 player in the world. There isn't a lot of room for improvement there. I think Haney actually got some 'hey this feels great' emotions from working with Barkley and Romano and he's probably decided that he would rather work with really bad players so he can see that what he does is making a difference. Unfortunately, during his time with Tiger, Haney never did stop Tiger from hitting the gallery folks in the head with the golf balls. I may still need a helmet if I go to Bridgestone this year and Tiger shows up.

A Very Popular Win

I got to watch both the third and fourth rounds of the Players Championship this week and I was fortunate to see Tim Clark finally get a US PGA Tour win. And what a win it is - the Players Championship. Tim played great all day, as did Robert Allenby who had a chance to win the tournament too. Lee Westwood had another tough final round and wasn't able to finish off the tournament the way he wanted to.

I had a lot of fun watching this event this year. There were a lot of good stories to keep an eye on. And I didn't hear very much about Tiger all weekend. Yes, he withdrew today with an alleged injury, but NBC didn't harp on it. They noted it and then moved on to cover the golf. NBC has the best golf coverage with the Golf Channel's European Tour announcers coming in second.

Checking out the Golf Channel's postgame coverage now. They are trying to cover the actual golf news but they did take some time to discuss Tiger's situation. It's funny how some of them are acting like Tiger betrayed them by not disclosing this injury sooner. LOL. They were very willing to do whatever Tiger wanted before the scandal. They never posed tough questions to him and never challenged him in any way. Now they think he somehow should have to answer to the media for everything. The media helped create the Tiger Woods persona they are now criticising. I think they should accept that and not act like victims whenever Tiger decides to keep some things private.

Masters Thoughts

There shouldn't be too many of these thoughts since I only watched the last 40 minutes or so. I checked the leaderboard and saw that Anthony Kim was already in the clubhouse at -12 so I knew Tiger wasn't going to win and could then watch the rest of the tournament.

Unfortunately, I tuned in just before they interviewed Tiger. So, I had to switch the channel and ended up watching a little bit of Judge Judy. Which is pretty funny when you think that maybe what Tiger needs is Judge Judy yelling at him.

Where did Phil Mickelson find all of those putts? He wasn't putting like that earlier in the year. I watched the highlights of his round and it seems like this tournament/round was just meant to be for him. No bogeys and some amazing recovery shots.

Wonder if Lee Westwood had a chance to talk to Phil about his choice of wedges since Westwood had plenty to say about it earlier in the year when the whole groovy groove thing was going on.

It is fitting that Phil should win since he has such a wholesome family and relationship with his wife. This is the statement that the PGA Tour needs to be making to the world, especially the mainstream media who would have never covered any golf if it hadn't been for scandal.

And I have to single out Fred Couples 6th place finish and Matteo's low amateur honor. How great are those accomplishments?

Hey, Me Too

I just read this article which reports Jose Maria Olazabal will miss the Masters this year due to his rheumatism problems. I'll be missing the Masters too but for a different reason. I have no plans to watch Tiger play. And Olazabal may actually be one of the lucky golfers by not being there to have to deal with the media circus that will undoubtedly converge on Augusta. The non-sports media may not be allowed on the grounds, but the Masters people can't control the whole town and surrounding areas. I'm sure the golfers competing this year will have to deal with a bunch of media nonsense.

And really, is the Masters really the best time for Tiger to return? Women go there to protest the unequal treatment of not being allowed to play the course. Tiger's not exactly Mr. Respect the Woman these days. I can't see this going well. Good thing I'll be missing it.

Great News!!!

No, not that news that was announced today on major tv networks.

I'm talking about the news I just read about Sergio Garcia. He's going to play the Greenbrier Classic this year! Yes indeed, Sergio's coming to WV!

Now, do I go to that tournament, somewhere I've never been and would undoubtedly get lost, or do I go to Bridgestone again?

I may not go anywhere if I can't get a dog sitter.

Out of Touch

I didn't watch any golf this weekend. I heard that it was raining in both PGA Tour events and I didn't want to be depressed by the rain. My mind is already on summer and warm, sunny weather.

An Update on Seve

I found this article that contains an update on Seve Ballesteros. Apparently there is going to be a special 4 hole event on the eve of this year's British Open in which Seve plans to take part. I hope he continues to do well with his health and I hope he does well at this special event.

Wow, How Cranky

I was watching the Honda Classic on the Golf Channel earlier and was surprised at how bitter and cranky Brandel Chamblee has become. He used to be more personable. Graeme McDowell called a penalty on himself and Brandel still chastised him. I don't know what's wrong with him but he needs to find some happiness in his life.

Olazabal and McGinley Health Concerns

I just read a column from a British Online News website that discussed Jose Maria Olazabal's and Paul McGinley's health problems and how they could impact their chances at captaining future Ryder Cup teams. Olazabal is apparently still battling tendonitis brought on by his rheumatism and Paul McGinley is recovering from a knee surgery. The idea being that the captain would be chosen because he has a close relationship to the players and these two wouldn't be on tour playing due to their injuries. I hope both recover and get back out on the course. The column also suggests that Colin Montgomerie would have a problem with Ian Poulter being on his Ryder Cup team since some people think they don't get along. I really think this Ryder Cup is going to go America's way. And I'm a true European Team fan.

I would provide a link to the column but it goes on to speculate on Tiger Woods and I'm not going to promote that. You all can google it and find the column if you want to read more.

Another NBC Criticism

Back in time, after 9-11, the media repeatedly showed the WTC attack video until finally they, or public backlash, decided that it was not in good taste to keep showing the video that recorded so many lives lost. This weekend, NBC brought the footage out and showed it repeatedly during a feature on Newfoundland.

I bring this up because NBC has been making a big effort to tell the viewers that they aren't going to show the luger death video whenever they talk about him (of course this was after several airings in the first day or so after the incident). I wonder just how long NBC's decorum will last this time. Probably until 2014.

They say time heals all wounds. Unfortunately, it also seems to nullify some promises too.

Darn the Stats

I heard on PGA Tour Radio Network today that if Rickie Fowler wins this week he will be the youngest winner on Tour, setting a new record and knocking Tiger off that particular podium. I didn't like Fowler much before, but I might have to cheer for him this week just to see a Tiger record fall.

A Criticism of NBC

I've been watching the Olympics these past couple of weeks and there's been plenty of opportunity to study the NBC coverage of sports and mainstream news. The biggest criticism I have is about the one story they didn't seem to cover at all. The death of actor Andrew Koenig in Vancouver. This happened right in NBC's current backyard and it seemed as though they completely ignored it. For days leading up to the announcement of the actor's death, his parents and friends were pleading with him to contact them. Perhaps if someone from, say a world-wide media powerhouse, would have focused on this story maybe it could have had a different ending. We will never have an answer to that.

Contrast the Koenig story with a story that broke a little over a week ago - that of Tiger Woods' announcement. For this story, NBC interrupted their Olympic coverage and continued rehashing the 'non-statement' for a couple of days afterward.

For centuries people have debated the question: How much is one man's life worth? According to NBC it seems to be not as much as one man's sex life.

Accenture Matchplay

I watched the final today between Ian Poulter and Paul Casey. It was a good final and had some great moments. The consolation match offered little consolation for Sergio as Camilo Villegas won. Some of the things I could have done without - the cold weather this morning. I don't want to see golfers wearing cold weather gloves while on the course. I could do without the desert. One of the reasons I started watching golf was all of the beautiful green grass on the courses.

Some may criticize Sergio for his lackluster performance in the last two matches he played. But, Paul Casey didn't blow anyone off the course in his last two matches either. Only they will know what happened in their matches though. Those of us watching on tv can only guess, and I prefer not to guess at all. Of course it could be said that Ian Poulter is just having a really, really great week. Nothing wrong with giving him his due.

The best statement of all coming out of this tournament is the fact that the top four players at the end of the week were all Non-Americans. Hopefully this is a good omen for the next Ryder Cup and the next Presidents' cup.

Need More Receivers

I need more satellite dish receivers in the house so I can record the Olympics on one, Top Gear on one and watch the Accenture World Matchplay. 4-5pm is going to be tough today. Top Gear vs Sergio. Maybe the local channel will help out by interrupting the golf to air some stupid basketball game. I think I might have to just write down the description of the Top Gear episode and then keep an eye out for a re-run later.

Checking In

I guess the biggest news of the golfing day is the Tiger Woods statement. I was watching the Olympics coverage today and they kept talking about how people felt Tiger was taking attention away from the Olympics and that he shouldn't have done that. Well, if the media wouldn't cover him, then the attention would be on the Olympics. It was so stupid how NBC people were complaining but still showing clips from Tiger's announcement. I'm reminded of the old saying from the '60s: "If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem."

More golfing news: Sergio Garcia has made it to the 4th round in the Accenture Matchplay event. He defeated his friend Tim Clark today and when last I heard anything on the PGA Tour network, he was set to face either Oliver Wilson or Luke Donald in the next round. A Garcia-Donald match would be worth watching. Paul Casey is also still in the event.

Olympics: The current controversy is in men's figure skating. The Russian competitor feels strongly that the quad jump should be a requirement for a Gold medal. The guy who won the Gold medal, the US guy, says that if skating was about jumps, then the judges would give you ten seconds to do the best jump you could and there wouldn't be a program with all of the different elements included. I have to agree with the US guy. Not that it's a bad thing to have the quad jump. But there are spins, footwork, and spiral sequences also and those have to be executed well too. It would be like turning golf into a long drive contest and not an 18 hole round of golf.

I've been recording a lot of Olympic coverage this week. Since I go to bed at 9pm, I end up missing out on things like the skating competition. So, I've recorded Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights' coverage. I missed Wednesday because I had to record the TNT show Leverage. I don't know when I'll be able to watch all of this stuff. There's still so much to watch this weekend too.

Interesting timing - House Hunters International on HGTV tonight is showing either the Dominican Republic or Haiti. I missed out on which side of the island they are on. But it's interesting that this is on after the earthquake.

Good Week for Golf

I just read on Facebook that David Duval finished tied for second in his event and that Fred Couples won on the Champions Tour. Yay to both! I really hope Duval can play this well all year long.

Now, back to the Olympics..........