Short Putts

Lately, the tv analysts have been making a big deal out of the short putts missed by Boo Weekley and Heath Slocum in recent tournaments. They want to try to make a big news story out of this, as if it's never happened before or has never happened so frequently. I remember last fall that Loren Roberts missed a short putt to win $1 Million. They didn't keep harping on that for weeks on end. I think it's time to put the Weekley and Slocum putts to bed and move on.

Arnold Palmer Invitational, Final Round

It seemed like it was Vijay's day out there today. He won today with Rocco finishing second and Vaughn Taylor in third. Sergio had a few bad holes coming in. I would have liked to have seen someone other than Vijay win since he'd already one once this year, but at least it wasn't Tiger. Tiger, by the way is continuing with the current streak he's on - his losing streak. I think the most satisfying thing I've taken out of this final round is Vaughn Taylor's performance. I was more than pleased to see him finish better than Tom Lehman. Just a gentle reminder to 'Captain Tom' that he didn't treat Taylor right during the Ryder Cup.

Golf Channel's Post Game Report: Well, it's Brandel's turn to be spotlighted here for his comments. He said Tiger Woods drove it well in last year's PGA Championship. The two spectators he hit with his wayward drives would have to differ with Brandel's memory of that event. And Brandel also said he hadn't heard one player complain about how the courses have been playing. Well, Brandel obviously didn't see Dean Wilson's comments as aired on the Golf Channel.

Arnold Palmer Invitational, Round 3

Vaughn Taylor's in the lead, Paul Casey surged then backed off, and Rocco had a bad day. Tiger made no move at all, heehee. Ben Curtis is in a good position going into the final round.

Off Topic: The Casino Royale movie was good. In the book, Vesper leaves Bond a letter and kills herself. I didn't read the whole book because it was very, very boring, but I don't think the whole 'her boyfriend was kidnapped' thing happened in the book. I think she was just a double agent in the book. M stole the show in the movie though. A personal note to me: Remember to turn off the screen saver if I'm watching a movie on the pc. I don't mind seeing the pictures of the Valderrama golf course that I have as part of my screensaver, but not when Bond is wearing his bathing suit. And for the guys out there - you all might want to skip the Bond torture scene when you watch the movie. I could have done without seeing that.

Golf The Musical

Fore! 'Golf the Musical' way out of bounds

BY PAM HARBAUGH
FLORIDA TODAY

When it comes to reviewing "Golf the Musical," there is an entire fairway of puns to plow, but the bottom line is the show is not up to par. However, the back nine, er, second act, is humorous.Starring four singing, dancing, joking performers dressed in various forms of golf attire standing in front of a large photograph of a golf course, the show is a musical revue. It is not a musical, which is supposed to have something called a "book," as in story line, characters, setting, etc.
............................ CLICK HERE TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE ..............................

Rock On Rocco!

I know, that title wasn't original, but hey, at least I came up with something. Rocco Mediate is leading after a second round 65 today at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It is so great to see Rocco doing so well. I just caught a small portion of his press conference and he was very emotional about it. I hope he continues to do well this week and for the rest of the year. John Rollins and Paul Azinger also shot 65s today, the low rounds of the day it looks like. I don't know what the cutline will be but it's almost certain that unfortunately Jose Maria will miss it. Last year's winner, Rod Pampling is likely out as well. Sergio didn't do as well as he could have, but it was under par again today which is good. Paul Casey didn't make a move today but is still in a good position, especially with Tiger falling behind with his bad round today. Vaughn Taylor didn't do so well today either but still managed to only drop one shot today and is currently -5.

As for me, I did watch some of round 2 coverage today. Last night I watched the extra features dvd of the Casino Royale DVD set. The stunts they showed were pretty cool. Real stunts, not blue or green screen fake stuff.

A Very Excellent Interview with Sergio Garcia

By Dave Shedloski
PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent

ORLANDO, Fla. -- If you think it's hard to believe that Sergio Garcia is in his ninth year as a professional golfer, then try to imagine how the still-young but ever-wiser Spanish sparkplug feels.

"It's quite funny," Garcia mused Thursday after his opening 66 in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. "I look back and I think ... it feels like I was 19 three years ago, but I've been out here almost nine years now. It feels like three years ago I just started, so it's gone really quickly."

....................................... CLICK HERE FOR THE WHOLE INTERVIEW .......................................

(about Bayhill)

"Anything that premiums accuracy off the tee, I think it's great. I've always said it; I enjoy the tournaments where the winning score is somewhere between 5 and 6 under and maybe 12 (under). Those, to me, are the best challenges for us, because you have to play well. It's not just a putting contest. It's nice to see the courses shaped up this way."

The courses have shaped up this way for several weeks now. PGA TOUR tests have been consistently more difficult, particularly during the Florida Swing. Garcia just smiled at that observation.

"Who cares? The game was not meant to be easy."

Heaven Help Me

I'm watching Oprah instead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I can't stand it. It isn't enough that Tiger Woods will be the only person they show tomorrow when he plays in the afternoon, but they have to show every shot he makes in comparison to Phil Mickelson's today. They won't be showing Phil like that tomorrow afternoon. I just checked the leaderboard. I didn't even know Vaughn Taylor is tied with Woods. And I didn't know that Sergio is at -4. There's a lot they could be reporting on and showing but instead they show only Tiger (with a little bit of Phil thrown in just to put Tiger in an even more glorious light). Woods wasn't the only person 'invited' to the Invitational. The Golf Channel needs to do a much better job in reporting golf in total, not just one person's every move. After all, I don't think it's called the Tiger Woods Channel.

At least I got the Casino Royale DVD today. I can watch that tonight instead of the re-air.

Someone Get Me a Band Aid for My Bleeding Heart

It's such a shame, really. I was watching Golf Central and apparently some players don't like the fact that the courses are getting tougher. Add the proposed USGA equipment changes in and these poor players might actually have to work a little harder to earn their millions.

Hmm.... they could be in Iraq getting shot at every day. They could be flipping hamburgers at a McDonalds. They could be working in a WV coal mine with bad safety equipment and little or no safety training.

"These Guys are Good"

Well, some of them are definitely good at being spoiled.

Here's a thought the whiners might not have had: Maybe Jack and Arnold are making the courses tougher to try to show the USGA that equipment changes aren't the only option out there to try to keep the game reined in. Maybe they are trying to actually SAVE some of the equipment attributes that the USGA is leaning toward addressing.

Singapore Masters

The coolest thing about the Singapore Masters - the shadows of the air planes flying over the course. You don't even see Blimp Shadows like that.

Manufacturing Stories

Yes, Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley attended the same high school. But that's almost the only comparison that could be made between last week and this week. Slocum wasn't leading and didn't lose the tournament on a 3 ft putt. (He missed a playoff on a 3ft putt - closer to 4 ft than Boo's last week.) The media, however, would love to draw comparisons and did.

Congratulations to Mark Calcavecchia for winning the PODS Championship.

Singapore Masters

This tournament is being held at a place called Laguna National G & CC. Today, Renton Laidlaw called it Laguna Beach. I didn't know he watched MTV.

Carlos Rodiles, I believe, is the only spaniard playing there on the weekend. But the name of the week goes to Iain Steel, who sounds like a secret agent or a private eye.

PODS Championship - Saturday

Just a couple of things tonight on today's coverage:

Greatest quote from Johnny Miller this year (paraphrased): "Chris DiMarco hates my analyzing, he's really going to hate me now." LOLOL!!! (I say paraphrasing because I couldn't remember if it was analyzing or commentating or what word Miller used there, but he was analyzing DiMarco's swing.)

Proof that the Analyst Jinx is a true phenomenon: Twice now the analysts have commented on how great Billy Andrade is at putting, and twice Andrade has missed the putt.

Controversy and Conspiracy Theories

On the Post Game show tonight on the Golf Channel, they reported that some players are not happy with the rumor that Tiger's July 4th tournament could be an Invitational.

Conspiracy Theory: Would people who control the invites to these Invitational events manipulate the invite process to protect certain players with regard to Fed Ex Cup points or World Rankings Points? Or Win Streaks?

Philosophical Question: Should Invitationals count toward official money, world rankings, and Fed Ex Cup points since not everyone gets an equal chance to participate?

The Weaseling Continues

The Golf Channel, in promoting their coverage of Palmer's tournament next week, actually said that Tiger would be there working to begin a new Win Streak.

Give me a break!

This is so ridiculous.

The Pods Championship

For the second week in a row, the leading score hasn't really moved in the first two days. People just changed positions. At least it isn't that discouraging for fans of players who are 4 or 5 shots back. It means they are still in it.

Some observations:

I love listening to Bob Murphy. He's so folksy that you can't imagine him saying anything negative about anyone. And they could be having a major hurricane in Florida and Bob would find some way to put a happy spin on it. It was a really nice way to end my work week.

Some players to mention: Vaughn Taylor -4, Daniel Chopra -4, Arron Oberholser -3, Billy Andrade -3, George McNeill -2, JB Holmes -2, Sergio Garcia -1, Peter Lonard +1, Brad Faxon +2.

John Daly and Fred Funk have withdrawn due to their injuries. I can understand why Daly would show up to play, the tournament was nice enough to give him a sponsor's exemption and Daly was good enough to show up and try. But Fred needed to just stay home and work on the back. I think he said he was feeling great when the tournament started, but really, he should have taken the week off. It's not like he needs the money or anything.

Sergio's leading in greens in regulation this week so far. Thursday's stats were better than Friday's.

And finally, the Golf Channel had the decency to show Kirk Triplett today on the coverage. They should since he does commercials for the title sponsor. Kirk had to figure he'd get star treatment this week. I wonder if the Pods People are doing anything special for him.

Blogger Had a Hiccup

I guess some comment spammers got lucky with the magic verification words - there were 10 spam comments on one of my posts. I had to delete them, although one, Moreaboutdogs, I was tempted to visit, given my fondness for dogs. But with my luck, it wouldn't be canines, but the Randy Jackson - American Idol variety.

Callaway Commercial

Have you all seen the new commercial where the narrator says that since using their driver, Annika Sorenstam and Phil Mickelson have won 12 majors and shot rounds of 59? The key phrase being "shot rounds of 59". When did Mickelson shoot his 59? Or has Annika shot two or more rounds of 59? I swear the commercial said plural - rounds of 59.

A Touching Interview

Did anyone else see Mike Ritz' interview with Mark Wilson's caddie on Golf Central this evening? That nearly brought tears to my eyes. He said all he'd ever dreamed of was getting his flag for caddying for a winning player. If I'd seen this a couple weeks ago right after Phoebe passed away, I would have been crying buckets.

And Jose Coceres has to be one of those guys who wins fans everywhere he goes. He's having a great year so far and it's so neat to see him so spirited.

You have to feel for Boo Weekley. You can tell he's disappointed but still he's got that good ole boy smile and roll with the punches attitude.

And Camilo Villegas needs to take this knack he has for great playing in Florida and bring it to other states. Hopefully, he'll be winning soon on the PGA Tour.

Honda Classic Winner

Okay so even though I found out who won the event, Mark Wilson, I am still watching the playoff. It was either this or Oprah since the golf channel had informercials on. Definitely, watch golf before Oprah. Especially Camilo :)

Pierre Fulke Retires

I haven't seen anyone else blog about this yet, so I will. Former European Ryder Cup member Pierre Fulke has decided to retire from playing golf. According to this story on BBC Sport, he is exploring other avenues in golf, such as golf course design.

A Day for Playoffs

Anton Haig won the Johnnie Walker Classic in a playoff and the Honda Classic still isn't decided as four players will continue a playoff tomorrow morning. This was a great day for golf with a lot of suspense to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats. Anton Haig is only 20 and this is his first win. It's always good to see a first time winner.

As for the Honda Classic, I don't know who to root for to win. I like Camilo and he would be a first time winner. Mark Wilson made a really big clutch putt in the first playoff hole to stay in it, making him someone you'd want to cheer for. Then you have Boo Weekley who's looking for redemption for the three putt on the 18th in regulation play. And finally, there's Jose Coceres who at 43 years old is someone anyone should be rooting for to win. Plus I like how he just makes up his mind and plays without a lot of waffling.

I guess I'll be recording the playoff tomorrow. It's supposed to start at 8:30am eastern time on the Golf Channel.

Maintenance

I added the Babelfish translate this page feature to the blog. It's at the end of the sidebar on the right. And I added the Sergio Garcia blog to the blogs of note section.

Found a New Blog

While doing a google search on Sergio Garcia, I found the following blog. You might need a translator like Altavista's babelfish to read it.

Sergio Garcia

The Johnnie Walker Classic

I got to watch some of this today. Apparently Retief Goosen was expected to be a factor, but as yet, he hasn't been real close to the lead. Adam Scott is playing there this week and hasn't had much luck. There are a couple of Spaniards playing there this week, Rafael Cabrera Bello and Ignacio Garrido, currently 50th and 62nd respectively.

I'm just glad I got to see the course and all the scenery pictures. One of the best parts of watching the European Tour coverage is seeing what all the different countries are like.

Honda Classic: A True Contest

Well, no runaway leaders this week which makes for a more interesting tournament to watch. And I like the fact that they made the course a par 70 for the tournament. Let the players have all their high tech equipment. They need all that plus talent to play well this week.

So far there's only one thing annoying me: the overuse of the phrase 'the bear trap'. I get it. By now, we ALL get it.

And I noticed in the hit counter stats that someone came here looking for a reason for Nick Faldo's absence from the Golf Channel's coverage of the Honda Classic. I haven't seen anything official, but my personal suspicion is that when Johnny Miller covers the weekends, we probably won't be seeing Nick Faldo on Thursday or Friday. I think there was one exception which was the Matchplay, but with other tournaments that NBC provided weekend coverage for, I'm pretty sure we didn't see Faldo. Which would mean Faldo would be free for post game and pre game shows on the Golf Channel. There's no reason why Faldo Fans should be deprived of his ..... well, you get the point.

A Simple Request

Now I know why I keep seeing references to this new blog everywhere I surf. I got a very pleasant email from Travelling Golfer asking that I spotlight the following blog. So, here it is:

The Wedge Guy

Time for only 3 Majors?

I just heard Mark Lye on the Post Game show say that short hitters like Fred Funk shouldn't even play Augusta National because short hitters can't compete against the Tigers, Ernies and Phils on that course. Apparently, Augusta National has found a new form of exclusionism (read into that what you will). The US Open is tough, but Corey Pavin won that tournament and he isn't the longest hitter out there. I say it's time to demote the Masters if the tournament doesn't want to offer a fair test for all types of professionals, not just the biggest moneymakers.

Sean O'Hair, Thespian

Every time I see the Fed Ex Cup commercial with Sean O'Hair quoting poetry I am reminded of a young Jan Michael Vincent. You all should check out his early work like The World's Greatest Athlete or my favorite Charles Bronson movie, The Mechanic. Then compare Vincent to the O'Hair commercial.

July 4th News

I just heard on Golf Central that the PGA Tour has come up with a replacement for the International which would be played in Washington DC. And surprise, surprise, Tiger Woods is a factor. His Foundation is to benefit greatly from this deal.

Remember on Feb. 7th when I said the following:
"My own conspiracy-laden opinion: Just how hard did Finchem work to save the International if he was working on the replacement at the same time? After reading Greg Norman's book and reading other anecdotes about Finchem, I don't know if I trust him."

I think my cynicism is justified. That poor old man in Denver was sold out by the Tour who continues to milk Tiger for all he's worth.

Lucky for me that Wimbledon is contested during the July 4th week. I'll be watching that unless Sergio and Jose Maria are both playing this new golf tournament. And even then, I might not watch.

Final Results

Henrik Stenson won the matchplay. Geoff Ogilvy ended up second and Trevor Immelman defeated Chad Campbell to take third. All in all, I can't say I'm disappointed in the results, but I would have liked to have seen Geoff Ogilvy win.

And the weaseling has begun. Jimmy Roberts spent who knows how long trying to convince us that even when Tiger loses, he still wins. Blah, blah, blah. It seems as if NBC may be feeling the self imposed heat from a Tigerless weekend and couldn't go an hour without mentioning him. They really do need to stop doing that and start building up the rest of the players. Tiger won't be there forever.

I think the most important observation to make with regards to the Matchplay is that lack of American presence at the end. Americans play matchplay every year, either Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup, and still they seem weak. Paul Azinger really has his work cut out for him in 2008.

Ball mark ???

Everyone seems to be making veiled comments about Tiger's excuse of 'forgetting' to fix the ball mark on that putt he missed. I get the impression that these announcers aren't buying it. As I'm not a golfer, I can only go by what I see, what I hear, and what I know about what I see and hear and who I see and hear it from. And believe it or not, I have to believe Tiger's account of the event. I don't think he's the kind of person to invent a bad excuse. He'd make up a really good one. Plus, Johnny Miller said he could see how there may have been some difficulty due to how the grass had been mowed.

Personally, I think people are focusing on the ball mark a little too much. Bottom line is, if it all came down to just that one putt, then Tiger messed up somewhere along the way in getting to that point. He shouldn't have had to rely on that one putt to win and the fact that he did means that he had already lost the match.

matchplay

So, the two players Faldo and Miller picked are in the final. I can't remember which analyst picked which player, but Stenson and Ogilvy will be squaring off tomorrow for the win. As for who I pick - I like Stenson, but Geoff Ogilvy's daughter is named Phoebe so I'm going with him. And for the consolation match I'm picking Immelman. Which probably means Chad Campbell will win. I am a horrible jinx.

Still Missing Phoebe...

But I just watched Tiger lose to Nick O'Hern so I have to post. Yippeee!!! The faux win streak is over! Let the weaseling begin. The media will try everything to make excuses or flat out lie to the public but the plain truth is that he lost, lost, lost.

And I just want to say that I've been watching the Matchplay this week and I've been very, very happy to see Justin Rose doing so well. He is such a nice guy and he deserves his success. And I'm glad to see Paul Casey doing well. He might win this thing.

Sad to see Sergio, Jose Maria and Miguel lose out early. But Sergio did have a 6th place finish last week so he's still playing better than he has all year.

Sergio's new Michelob Ultra commercial is so funny. I love the tranquilizer tees.

I was watching the LPGA coverage and I got to thinking: Why is it they can find T-shirts with real sleeves, but when I got to walmart, I can only find T-shirts with virtually no sleeves. I have flabby skin that I want to hide, dang it! The golfers can wear tank tops, they're in great shape. Give me the real T-shirts.

Now, an update on my tragedy - I still miss Phoebe. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were really hard for me. I'm still hugging a stuffed animal at night while I'm sleeping. And I'm spending much more time paying attention to Steffi and Fritz, my other two dogs. I'm glad I don't let the dogs sleep with me or it would be even more unbearable. I guess you could say something positive came out of this. My parents have been more supportive and more emotional to me than they have ever been before. I've never had this kind of attention from them. We are not a close, huggy family. I have written a want ad and I'm putting it in the buy/sell/trade publications in my area and on the local radio show. I found an ad for a female chihuahua puppy for sale, but when mom called she found out it had already been sold. But the seller has another chihuahua who will be having puppies in about 6 weeks so I'm on a list for those puppies if there are any females in the litter. So, at the least I could be getting a puppy by about the first week of June.

Back to Golf for a second: Who is Grant Boone? He's covering the Fields Open and I've never heard of him.

And finally, A BIG, BIG, BIG THANK YOU to everyone who expressed their sympathies to me about the loss of Phoebe. I really am fortunate to have so many wonderful friends supporting me at this time. You guys are terrific!

Hiatus

I may be taking a break from posting for a while. My wonderfully perfect, most loving little Phoebe (my chihuahua for you new readers) passed away this morning. The vet didn't offer a diagnosis, but her symptoms were consistent with Parvo or this other disease that my friend Polly researched on the web for me. Phoebe had been vaccinated for parvo but maybe it didn't work. I've posted the whole story on my Miranda's Window Dressing blog if you want to go there to read the details. You know how people on the day time talk shows will say that it helps to tell your troubles to people and get things out - well it's not helping me. It's just making me cry more. So, when I'm able to take some joy from golf watching again, I'll be back.

It's About Time

Sergio has finally put together two good rounds. He's currently at 7 under par at the Nissan Open. Retief Goosen had a hole in one in round two. I haven't found out yet if he's won a car. The announcers never tell us about that and that's the most exciting part. They are still playing the second round out there in California, or else they have to finish up tomorrow. I'm not sure. The second I got the PGA Tour website to load, my pc crashed and rebooted. There's just something about all that annoying video and audio crap on that website that my dial up connection doesn't like.

I heard on the Post Game show I think that Phil has won 16 times in California. He's only won what - 30 tournaments? That's comparable to the stat that Tiger wins something like 40% of his tournaments on the same courses. There's something wrong with the world ranking system when players can be this restrictive in their presence within the professional golfing world and still be ranked so high.

Will It Count?

If Tiger loses the Accenture Matchplay, will it end the win streak? I'm betting if he loses, the media will say it doesn't count because it isn't a stroke play event. They will come up with some excuse.

Annoying

I'm listening to the SBS LPGA event on the golf channel while I'm surfing the web. I'm getting really annoyed at the announcer who keeps quoting the SkyCaddie. I know SkyCaddie is a sponsor of the coverage, but I just think its cheesy to actually be using the skycaddie during the event. If Footjoy was a sponsor of the coverage would the announcer say "I'm enjoying this 18 hole walk in my great new pair of Footjoys, available in every color, even passion pink?"

What was that Jim Carrey movie where he lived in the tv world and there was product placement going on all around him?

Going Low

It seems like every tournament this year, either on the US tour or the European Tour has had a first round leader who's shot a really, really low round. While it's great to see those players doing well, it does depress me to see that because that means the rest of the players have just that much more to overcome if they expect to challenge and win. And you can't even rely on the usual theory that a low round is followed the next day by a high round. I would rather see a tightly bunched leaderboard after the first day.

Just in Time for Valentine's Day

No time for the birdies

Sunday, February 11, 2007

By Paul Ferguson

He's one of Northern Ireland's most eligible bachelors.

At 27, Portrush golfer Graeme McDowell seems to have it all.

A blossoming professional career, bulging million dollar bank balance, two luxury homes either side of the Atlantic and a family who love him dearly.

But as St Valentine's Day approaches there's no sign of a girl on his arm.

That's what BBC Northern Ireland sports presenter Stephen Watson found out while filming a special up close and personal documentary about the likeable Co Antrim man.

Click HERE for the Whole Article

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am

I've really had a problem with the CBS coverage this weekend. And that problem is basketball. If they say the golf coverage begins at 3pm, then it should begin at 3pm. They should not finish one basketball game and then switch over to another basketball game. This has been a problem with networks for years - golf not getting the respect it deserves. This problem would be solved if basketball would actually adhere to the time frames. But, no, they have to have time outs and they have to stop the clock everytime someone touches the ball.

Oh, Phil Mickelson won. I normally don't comment on the families, but his little boy needs a haircut. He's a cute little boy, but I had to be told that this was his little boy. It must be that 'first haircut' thing that parents go through.

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am

Today Jose Maria shot a 69 to get to 6 under par. That's really good. Did we see him? No. We saw the celebrities. Couldn't they have skipped just ONE of the many, many Danny Ganns performances and showed Jose Maria? I think Danny is related to that Lance Barrow considering how much camera time the guy got.

I can't report on things like round of the day because they are still playing. So, here are a few scores for you: Corey Pavin shot -5 today. John Mallinger and Kevin Sutherland are chasing Phil Mickelson and are currently just one shot back. Tom Watson is still playing well and is currently tied for 12th. Brett Quigley, Dean Wilson, Camillo Villegas are all playing well this week.

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am

I watched some of this today. I was treated to an interesting exchange between David Feherty and Nick Faldo. Feherty was describing Nick as sculpted and Nick said "don't stop there." Kelly jumped in and said "please stop there." I was with Nick on this one. I don't mind hearing about his sculpted.....

And what's with the seating arrangement? In Hawaii, Nick and Kelly seemed to be seated evenly. This time, Kelly looks like she's sitting at the kiddie table. Can't they raise her chair up an inch or two? That's going to bug me if they don't fix it.

And I got to see Jose Maria Olazabal again today. That made me happy.

Who Will Be the First?

Who will be the first to suggest that Tiger is skipping the Nissan Open in an effort to preserve his faux winning streak since he's never won there? It won't be me because I read it on another website yesterday while I was googling.

This is good news for me. I get another week of enjoyable golf watching. The only downside is that Sergio's not been playing well and that will probably continue next week. But who knows, maybe he will be inspired by his first tournament in the US this year and do well.

A New Friend

A fellow by the name of Nolan Matthias was nice enough to leave a comment on one of my previous posts. So, I checked out his website. You should check it out too. It's very thought provoking, in that way that I had to think in my Essentials of Leadership class in college. I still have that Steven Covey book around here somewhere.

Check out Nolan's website HERE.

A Shorter Version of Golf???

BBC News reports:

A new version of golf has been launched with the hope of making the same impact as Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens.

In PowerPlay Golf, each green has two holes instead of one, with a black flag denoting a more difficult pin placing and a white flag the easier one.

Over nine holes, players have to make three powerplays where they have to go for the harder option.

Click HERE for the rest of the article

My View: The only thing shorter is only playing 9 holes. If I played this I would take hours trying to decide which pin to go for. Keep in mind, I did take about 4 months to decide whether or not to buy a $7.00 purse.

Sad News

The International is no more. It came out today that the Denver tournament could not find a title sponsor and will not be contended this year. According to news articles, Tim Finchem has been working on a replacement tournament to fill the void. You can read about the end of the International by clicking HERE.

My own conspiracy-laden opinion: Just how hard did Finchem work to save the International if he was working on the replacement at the same time? After reading Greg Norman's book and reading other anecdotes about Finchem, I don't know if I trust him.

What I will miss most: Castle Pines is one of the most beautiful courses I've ever seen. I doubt there are more than 3 or 4 courses out there that could top it.

Stats Out of A Hat

I'm watching the replay of the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic while waiting for Digging for the Truth to start on the History Channel. Some idiot emailed the announcers and said that 90% of Americans want to see every shot Tiger Woods plays and the other 10% are just mad because he's breaking records. I would love to see the study this idiot is quoting when he writes emails like this.

Just in case Renton Laidlaw and Warren Humphreys read this: I do not want to see Tiger Woods. I do not want to see his wayward drives, his ball hitting spectators, his missed putts, his expletive-laden tantrums when his multi-million dollar golfing technique only results in a birdie and not an eagle. I am completely and utterly sick of seeing the media suck up to him even to the point of promoting this faux winning streak. I could care less about records being broken. I wasn't around when the 11 straight was set. I wasn't around for the 18 majors record. Records don't mean anything to me. A tournament is more than just one player and all the players should be shown.

Brett Quigley Interview

I found a good interview with Brett Quigley when I googled his name. Check out the interview by clicking HERE.

Feliz Cumpleaños

Happy Birthday on February 5th to Jose Maria Olazabal!!!

Next Tournaments to Watch

On the PGA Tour: The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Alejandro Canizares is playing again this week. Others in the field include: Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal, Brett Quigley and Camillo Villegas (with the contest winning caddie).

On the European PGA Tour: The Maybank Malaysian Open. Players who may be participating include: Lee Westwood, Michael Campbell, Darren Clarke, Andres Romero, Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, and Prom Meesawat who did so well at the Dubai Desert Classic.

On the Champions Tour: The Allianz Championship. Looks like all the top guys will be there. I didn't see Hale Irwin's name on the list however. But Alejandro's daddy, Jose Maria Canizares is playing.

Looks like a good golf watching week. If you can ignore the celebrities at the Pro-Am.

FBR Open

Aaron Baddeley won today. He played really well all four days. Jeff Quinney played really well for 3 and three fourths days. He had a two shot lead for a while but had a few bad holes coming in. One of the announcers on NBC compared Quinney's round to that of Phil Mickelson's final round US Open last year. I think that was unfair. Mickelson had considerable winning experience behind him when he collapsed. Quinney is still a rookie. Brett Quigley played well once again. And Bart Bryant was in the mix too. John Rollins is still playing well. That'll show all those naysayers who criticized his Ryder Cup points for winning the BC Open.

Found this on NBC Sports.com

Two winning streaks not worth comparing

Excerpt Below:


"The most glaring difference, however, is the duration.

Starting the first week of March, Nelson won his first five tournaments in five weeks, and there wasn't another tournament on the schedule until the Montreal Open the second week in June. The only tournament he skipped during the streak was the St. Paul Open a week after the PGA Championship. He missed that week because of a back injury. Small wonder.

The 11th and final victory in Nelson's streak came Aug. 4 at the Canadian Open.

"As you can imagine,'' Nelson wrote, "though I was playing very well, I was also getting very tired.''

Nelson won 18 times that year, a record Woods might never break because he might not even play 18 times in a year.

When he skipped the Tour Championship last year, Woods said he was exhausted playing seven tournaments in nine weeks."

Woods' Streak Continues

His Losing Streak. Three straight Non-US Events. First was the HSBC Champions in which Y.E. Yang won. Second was the Dunlop Phoenix where Padraig Harrington won. And third is the Dubai Desert Classic which Henrik Stenson just won.

You know when the Nationwide Tour players made the comment that theirs was the Second Best Tour in the world? Well, maybe they were thinking second to the European Tour. Since it's the European Tour that seems to have the competition and the courses that succeed in beating Woods like the US Tour can't.

Finally!!! Thank you NBC!!!

I've waited nearly two weeks to see Jose Maria Olazabal and I finally got to see him today. NBC started the show with him on 16. I'm speaking of the FBR Open coverage of course. Jeff Quinney is once again playing very well, like he has for the last couple of weeks. He's currently got a 2 shot lead over Aaron Baddeley. Brett Quigley is currently in 3rd. Along with Baddeley's 7 under par round, Troy Matteson also had a round of -7. Alejandro Canizares was only one under par on the day. Hopefully, he will have a good round tomorrow. I look forward to seeing tomorrow's final round.

Off Topic: with the wind chill tonight, they are expecting temperatures to feel like -15 degrees. There's a good possibility that my water will freeze. This concerns me a bit. Have I mentioned how much I hate the Winter Season? I would bring in my cats, but they won't want to stay in the house. I had them in this morning and after a little while they wanted out. There are all kinds of snuggle spots all over the farm the cats can crawl into to keep warm.

FBR Open

Dudley Hart opened with a 64. A whole slew of people are one back, at -6 including Paul Azinger. The announcers on the Golf Channel kept hyping Chris DiMarco, saying he's going to catch Dudley Hart and 'here he comes'. Well, DiMarco ended up -3 with a bogey on 16 and a double on 17. I hate it when the announcers try to create the story instead of reporting on the story they've got. They tried to set it up as DiMarco's hot week or something.

I wondered when I looked at the list of the field why Alejandro Canizares was playing there this week. Now I know. He attended college in Arizona.

Jose Maria Olazabal is even par so far. George McNeill is -1, Fred Couples and Lucas Glover are also even par, and Phil Mickelson, John Daly, Brad Faxon, and Lee Janzen are +1.

There are a lot of really good players in the field this week. Everyone should watch this rather than the thing over in Dubai.

A New Blog In the Blogs of Note Section

The Armchair Golfer sent me a very entertaining email. So, I added a link to his blog to the Blogs of Note Section. Check it out there or HERE.

This Can't Be Good

My only comment: It's best to keep work and personal life separate.


Click on the news below to go to the website and read the whole article.

London - Former world number one Greg Norman is to team up with Sergio Garcia and leading designer Pete Dye to create Dubai's first links-style course.

A Glimpse into the Tennis World

There is a really good article about Fernando Gonzalez, finalist in this year's Australian Open. The name of the article is "Federer Beatable, Says Gonzalez" if that's a hint. He made a lot of interesting quotes in this article. Check it out.

FBR Open

The tour is in Arizona this coming week for the FBR Open, renowned for its rowdy galleries. Players scheduled to participate include: Paul Azinger, Alejandro Canizares, Fred Couples, John Daly, David Dubal, Brad Faxon, defending champion J. B. Holmes, Davis Love, Jose Maria Olazabal, Brett Quigley, and Steve Stricker. NBC will be calling the event on network tv Saturday and Sunday.

Found a clever article about the FBR Open at www.azcentral.com.

Qatar Masters Final Round

Retief Goosen won with a score of -15. Nick O'Hern finished one shot back and Ernie Els finished -13. Andres Romero -11. American Edward Michaels -6 and Amateur Seve Benson from England finished +1.

Spaniard Watch:
Sergio -7 (with a final round 67 - finally a good round)
Miguel Angel Jimenez -7
Alvaro Quiros -4
Alejandro Canizares -6
Jose Manuel Lara -2
Gonzalo Fernandez Castano +6

Coincidence??

Chile has Professional Tennis Player Fernando Gonzalez

Spain has Professional Golfer Gonzalo Fernandez Castano.

Both sports now have one tongue-tied fan.

Qatar Masters Round 3

Retief Goosen, Richard Green and Nick O'Hern are all tied for the lead going into the final round at -12. American Edward Michaels and Henrik Stenson are next at -10. Andres Romero is -8. The next installment of Spaniard Watch will be after the final round. Miguel Angel Jimenez fell back a bit today with a 73. I'm excited about Edward Michaels. I don't know much about him. They said on the coverage that he plays the Asian Tour, had shoulder problems and is playing on a medical exemption. Sounds like the kind of guy you want to see do well when he has the chance.

Buick Invitational Round 3

I don't think Brandt Snedeker, Kevin Sutherland, or Andrew Buckle care that Tiger Woods is in the field. So many of the media keep trying to perpetuate this notion that Tiger intimidates competitors. Snedeker and Buckle could have folded easily but kept working at it and stayed in the lead by the end of the round. And Sutherland made a birdie to get into the final group. I'm not going to try to pick a winner or anything. Whenever I do, some one else wins. So, I will just say that with so many good players within 3 or 4 of the lead, the final round should be highly competitive.

As for the announcers today. Peter Kostis actually got to interview Tiger today. Wow. I guess Tiger's over his primadonna tantrum that started when Kostis criticized his swing a few years ago. It was great to hear David Feherty again after so long. Jim Nantz wasn't a bit afraid (unlike Kelly and Jerry from the Golf Channel) to say that Tiger topped his second shot on 18 yesterday. That was good. Nick and Ian Baker-Finch were great today as well.

They are still touting the whole Tiger Win Streak thing. It's amazing how people still buy into that. It isn't like he won six straight weeks in a row. That would be something to brag about. But Tiger one a couple, then lost one or two in Europe, then he may have won another, then lost some. Maybe someone else will win tomorrow and the media can finally stop trying to cash in on this pseudo-statistic. This is like me saying that I am an undefeated Trivial Pursuit player. I played three times in college and won three times. That was about 15 years ago. But I'm still undefeated. It doesn't matter how much time has past and how little I've played the game. I put all those other Trivial Pursuit players who don't win to shame.

Buick Invitational

After two rounds, Brandt Snedeker is in the lead at -13, followed by Charles Howell III at -10. Brett Quigley is -6, Ian Poulter is -4 and David Duval is -3. Heartbreaker of the Day: Jose Maria Olazabal misses the cut with a 65-79.

I got to see a little bit of the Golf Channel's coverage of the 2nd round today. How much do I love Nick Faldo???? He wasn't a bit afraid to say Tiger topped his shot on the 18th. Heeheehee. Faldo asked Kelly if she'd ever seen him do that and she quietly said 'no'. Then, Faldo asked Jerry if he'd ever seen that, and he, in a rather subdude voice, said 'never'. You could tell that Kelly and Jerry weren't sure if they were going to say anything the least bit negative about THE Tiger Woods. And you had to wonder if Nick wasn't testing the other announcers to see what they would say. Faldo had no fear. After Tiger had spoken to Jerry, Kelly said he had made a mess of things at the end. But it took her a while to call it like it was.

And how about how many Q School and Nationwide players from last year made the cut? That's something else. I think I'll have to go back to my Q-School post and see which players I was impressed with and start following them.

Qatar Masters

Retief Goosen is tied for the lead with Richard Green at -11. Miguel Angel Jimenez, who is having a really good two weeks, is -8. A surprise - Paul Casey missed the cut, as did Darren Clarke.

Rest of Spaniard Watch (Miguel is mentioned above):
Alejandro Canizares -5
Alvaro Quiros -4
Sergio Garcia -3
Jose Manuel Lara Even par
Ignacio Garrido +2 missed the cut.

Final Round Thoughts

Paul Casey came from behind to win in Abu Dhabi. Miguel Angel Jimenez finished T2. Sergio didn't make it into the top ten, but he did improve from yesterday and he did have 4 rounds at par or better.

At the Bob Hope, Justin Rose was in it right til the end but missed out on a playoff with the way he played the 18th. John Rollins and Charlie Hoffman did make it into a playoff and Charlie got the win. Jeff Quinney won a car for a hole in one. A couple of comments: John Rollins got a lot of negative thoughts attached to him last year for earning all those Ryder Cup points for his win at the B.C. Open. It's good to see him in contention at such a prestigious event. Maybe all those Points Whiners will rethink some of their comments. I didn't see them out there this week in contention. This is Charlie Hoffman's first win so if I was pulling for anyone other than Justin it would have been him. Plus, he had some great shoes on. And as for the hole in one - the announcers kept replaying it and talking about his score in the tournament but they took forever to tell us that Jeff had won a car and what kind of car it was. That's the exciting part about a hole in one.

Now I have a hard decision to make - do I watch the Champions Tour event in wonderful Hawaii, watch the Australian Open tennis coverage in blistering hot Australia, or Digging for the Truth on the History Channel? I have a feeling I might be channel surfing tonight.

Off topic: We got snow today (Booooo!!!!!). I was out shoveling about 3 inches of snow off my quarter of a mile long driveway and I am so sore and tired now. It was really depressing because it was still snowing while I was out there. I figured it would be easier for tomorrow's upper 30s temperatures to melt off the additional inch rather than 4 total inches. Have I mentioned on this blog how much I hate snow? I really, really hate snow. The weather for the rest of the week doesn't look all that great. I have a feeling I might end up carrying milk and other groceries up to my house while I leave my car parked at the main road. That will be a first for me. The one positive thing about that is that it's an extra workout.

Saturday in Golf

Spaniard Watch is loving Miguel Angel Jimenez this week. It's about time he got back into contention. I don't have anywhere to go tomorrow, so hopefully I will be able to just sit down and watch the final round of the Abu Dhabi tournament.

Justin Rose had a so-so day at the Bob Hope. At one time he had a 5 shot lead, but when the players are playing 4 courses, you can't rely on the leaderboards that much on Saturday. Tomorrow, everyone plays the Classic Club and I agree with Justin that he will have an advantage for having played the course today. I also hope that today was Justin's typical fourth/final round hiccup that has prevented him from winning on the US tour in the past. If he gets that out of the way, maybe he will play great tomorrow and come away with a win. I also like Lucas Glover up there at the top too.

The Champions Tour looks to be a hotbed of competition this week. Several players within a couple shots of the lead and all the players are tough. Even Hale Irwin's in contention, something we haven't really seen for a year or so. I plan to check out this thing about the Titanic on History International and if it isn't any good, I'll probably come back to the Golf Channel to see more of the Champions Tour event.

A First For Me

I've created a Top 10 list of reasons why the new TV deal with the Golf Channel is good. I'm not saying the list is funny.

10. Less re-runs of old events and infomercials
9. More interviews with and features on the players
8. Your Game Night now starts at 10pm, my bedtime
7. No delays of airing the coverage because of football and basketball running over
6. No Law & Order opening scenes when the golf coverage ends
5. Counting how many times Aimpoint is right and Winzone is wrong
4. No ESPN Carl and his bad impressions of Terry Gannon
3. More Nick Faldo
2. Nick and Kelly's commentary sounds like they are calling the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - and who doesn't love a parade?

and the #1 reason why the TV Deal with the Golf Channel is good:

3rd graders everywhere will get into trouble at school after using Rocco's imaginative names for golf shots in everyday conversation on the playground.

Spanning the Globe

I haven't had much time to do the research necessary to comment fully on round 2 of Abu Dhabi or the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, but here are a couple of thoughts: Sergio was even par on the day. Not so bad when you think about his game, but not good when you think about the tournament. He's got to do better on the weekend so he can start the year off well. Miguel Angel Jimenez made a move today. Good for him.

As for the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic; Justin Rose continues to play great. I'm so happy for him. He is a very nice guy. I haven't met him, but he did personally respond to a fan email I sent him. He deserves a lot of success out there. Phil Mickelson hasn't made a move yet. You have to wonder just how much work he did during his off season. Yes, he's a lot fitter, but you'd expect after such a layoff, his game would be dynamically good. But so far, we haven't seen that. That's another thing that's kind of gotten me disappointed - Sergio had several weeks to work on his putting, but from what I saw yesterday, he's still sticking with what he did last year - crouching, stiff as a board, for seemingly forever before hitting the putt. Hopefully that will pay off for him and he will get a win or two this year.

And the Champions Tour begins its season tonight in Hawaii. I wish I was in Hawaii. But that's no surprise. Anyone who reads this blog with any regularity knows I have a fondness for the island paradise.

Round 1: Worldwide

First Up: Abu Dhabi

Phillip Archer shot a -9 to take the lead with Nick Dougherty, Retief Goosen and Henrik Stenson at -6. Padraig Harrington was 4 under par. Defending Champion Chris DiMarco is at -3. Paul Casey and Andres Romero are 1 under par and a bit of a surprise - Johan Edfors +9.

Spaniard Watch at Abu Dhabi: Alejandro Canizares +3, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano +1, Ignacio Garrido - Even par, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Juan Parron -1, Alvaro Quiros -2, Jose Manuel Lara +5 and finally..... Sergio -4. Saw his new outfit - I thought he looked good. One of the best things about the start of a new golf season is seeing what everyone's wearing.


Next: Bob Hope Chrysler Classic

Last time I checked: Scott Verplank -13 (could change), Justin Rose -12, Matt Kuchar -10, Lucas Glover -7, Dean Wilson and David Duval -6, Mickelson was at -4 according to the golf channel, Will MacKenzie -3 and Paul Azinger - even par.

David Duval was only -1 today. Hopefully he'll rebound and do great the next three days. One of my favorites, Justin Rose, is doing really great. Good for him!

............... Now, I'm off to watch the Abu Dhabi coverage I recorded today...............

January 2007 Issue of National Geographic

In the January 2007 issue, there are two interesting somewhat golf-related articles. One is a feature on Dubai (mega dollar golf city) and the other is an article about a golf resort being planned near Victoria Falls which will be right in the middle of an elephant crossing.

I recently ordered a subscription to National Geographic after watching the Gospel of Judas documentary on tv last month. When I was younger, I had a brief career desire to become a photojournalist for National Geographic. Too bad I'm not that good at taking pictures.

All Aflutter

Abu Dhabi's coverage starts tomorrow. I can't wait to see how everyone does, and yes, I'm hoping for big things from Sergio. I watched the European Tour Weekly show and it looks really warm over there. It will be nice to watch the coverage and think that I could be that warm too. Like the other night when I watched the Australian Open tennis and it was a toasty 120 degrees on the court. Of course, when it gets 90 here in the summer, I'll be writing about how wonderful it is to have 6 fans going at the same time here in the house.

Bob Hope Chrysler Classic

Phil Mickelson began his year today with a 2 under par round. He does look fitter than last year. I don't like him much, but I do like the new fitness factor. It makes me think of my boss who tried to lose weight with nutrisystem instead of just getting off the rear and working out.

David Duval had a really good round today. Everyone at the golf channel talked about him like he's made some kind of big time comeback. I hope that wasn't a kiss of death for him this week. He should have really great memories of the tournament and hopefully that will help him finish great.

The Golf Channel had a lot of technical issues today. Mics cutting in and out, pictures screwing up. I hope they fix that soon. I would hate to have to put up with that all season.

And the weather. Oh, it's so cold in California. Oh, poor, poor people. It's cold here too but I can't just jet off to some warm weather locale like the players out there. The local weather person here likes to show the temperature in Caribou, Maine each morning. I think this morning it was 16 below or something. Talk to those people about how cold it is.

Hall of Fame Ballots

Courtesy: Hall of Fame Magazine Website


HOFMAG.com Staff

St. Augustine, Fla. (January 16, 2007) – The World Golf Hall of Fame has released the 2007 PGA TOUR and International ballots to the respective voting bodies comprised of golf journalists, historians and dignitaries from around the globe. The ballots are due Friday, March 2 and announcements for the 2007 Class will be made later this Spring.

Of the 20 candidates on the PGA TOUR ballot, the top returning finishers from 2006 include Curtis Strange (50%), Craig Wood (37%) and Hubert Green (36%). The International ballot, which has 11 candidates, will again include last year’s vote leaders Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki (46%), Jose Maria Olazabal (32%) and Sandy Lyle (30%). The complete list of 2007 PGA TOUR and International candidates is below, as are the percentages from the 2006 ballot results.

“Each year we look forward to releasing the ballots as it signals the first step in determining new members of the World Golf Hall of Fame,” said Jack E. Peter, the Hall of Fame’s Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “We appreciate the voting bodies’ participation in this important process.”

David Toms is the only new addition to the PGA TOUR ballot. Toms, who turned 40 earlier this month, qualified for the ballot with his 12 PGA TOUR victories, including the 2001 PGA Championship. There were no new additions to the 2007 International ballot.

The Class of 2007 is expected to include Se Ri Pak, who has met the LPGA points criteria and is scheduled to fulfill the final requirement for Induction—10 years on the LPGA Tour—when she plays in her 10th event this season.

International ballot voters have the ability to nominate candidates for the Lifetime Achievement category and the World Golf Hall of Fame Advisory Board can nominate for the Veteran’s category. Both discretionary categories will be determined by the World Golf Foundation Board of Directors Selection Committee.

The 2007 World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is scheduled for Monday, November 12 at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla.


PGA TOUR Ballot
2007 Candidates

Miller Barber
Bob Charles
Fred Couples
John Daly
Doug Ford
Hubert Green
Don January
Tony Lema
Davis Love III
Harold McSpaden
Mark O’Meara
Denny Shute
Macdonald Smith
Dave Stockton
Curtis Strange
David Toms
Ken Venturi
Lanny Wadkins
Craig Wood
Fuzzy Zoeller

2006 Results

Larry Nelson 65%
Henry Picard 53%
Curtis Strange 50%
Craig Wood 37%
Hubert Green 36%
Lanny Wadkins 34%
Denny Shute 30%
Doug Ford 22%
Bob Charles 21%
Fred Couples 18%
Tony Lema 18%
Mark O'Meara 16%
Davis Love III 15%
Ken Venturi 15%
Don January 13%
Macdonald Smith 12%
Fuzzy Zoeller 10%
Harold McSpaden 6%
Dave Stockton 6%
Miller Barber 4%
John Daly 3%



International Ballot
2007 Candidates

Peter Alliss, England
Max Faulkner, England
Sandy Lyle, Scotland
Graham Marsh, Australia
Colin Montgomerie, Scotland
Kel Nagle, Australia
Christy O’Connor Sr., Ireland
Jose Maria Olazabal, Spain
Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki, Japan
Norman Von Nida, Australia
Ian Woosnam, Wales

2006 Results

Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki 46%
Jose Maria Olazabal 32%
Sandy Lyle 30%
Kel Nagle 29%
Christy O’Connor, Sr. 26%
Graham Marsh 24%
Ian Woosnam 21%
Colin Montgomerie 16%
Peter Alliss 13%
Norman Von Nida 10%
Max Faulkner 7%

Australian Open Tennis

It's 120 degrees on the court. The chair umpire is under a canopy. The ball boys and girls and the lines judges are under cover. The players, however, are in full sun. That's just not right.

That Guy's Doing My Dream Job Again

I'm watching Playing Lessons From the Pros and this one features Fred Couples. Again, there is someone there handing him golf balls. This time it's probably his caddie, but like I said when I got back from the golf tournament in August, that's the job I want. Bridgestone People - email me. I'm good employment material. Really.

Here's Something New

Courtesy: European PGA Tour Website

Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Hole-in-One Prize

The Commercialbank Qatar Masters is boasting a unique hole-in-one prize with a $150,000 luxury cruiser on offer to the first player ace the par three 17th hole at Doha Golf Club when the tournament takes place from January 25-28.

For the first time in the event’s ten-year history, Alfardan Marine has come on board to offer a 26-foot Doral Monticello luxury cruiser for the first player able to hole his tee shot on the par-three 17th hole .

Further sponsorship announcements align two of the Gulf state’s strongest corporate brands, with Qatar Airways appointed the official airline for the Commercialbank Qatar Masters.

The agreement means Qatar Airways will play a key supporting role to the event’s title sponsor, the Commercialbank of Qatar, when £2.2 million event, co-sanctioned by The European Tour and the Asian Tour, is staged at Doha Golf Club later this month.

A further boost to the tournament is the announcement that the InterContinental Doha, one of Qatar’s award-winning five-star hotels, has been appointed Official Hotel for the tenth Commercialbank Qatar Masters.

Conveniently located within ten minutes of the major central business district, the diplomatic area, the city centre and Doha Golf Club, the InterContinental Doha combines heritage and luxury with contemporary comfort. To be found in the prestigious West Bay area overlooking the blue waters of the Gulf, the hotel boasts the largest free-form swimming pool and longest private beach in the city

The 2007 Commercialbank Qatar Masters will see a field of 120 golfers – including household names such as Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Chris DiMarco – in action at the Doha Golf Club.

It Pays to Read the Instructions

As some of you might know, in 2005 I lost a bunch of weight by working out and dieting. Well, after I went to the Bridgestone Invitational last year, I started eating everything in sight and that lasted throughout the rest of the year and resulted in a weight gain of about 20 to 25 pounds. So, last week, I got back on the treadmill and the diet. Almost immediately I got bored with the selection of dvds I have to watch while I'm walking off 300 calories at a time. I'm really into travel shows right now, like Rick Steves' Europe and Globetrekker, but I only have a few of those official dvds. I do, however, have episodes of Globetrekker recorded by my dvd recorder. Some of them wouldn't play in my dvd player that I have in front of the treadmill. I first thought the dvds were just worthless, but after reading the instruction manual for my dvd recorder, I learned that if I chose to finalize the dvd, then it would probably play in other players. I spent some time this afternoon finalizing several home-recorded dvds - episodes of Globetrekker and, relevant to this blog, rounds of golf that I've recorded in the last year or so. So, now I can watch European Tour golf while I'm working out - which is kind of like watching a travel show.

On to Abu Dhabi

While later this week the U. S. sees the next stop on the PGA Tour in California with the Bob Hope event, I am more interested in the European Tour's Abu Dhabi tournament. In it's second year, Abu Dhabi will offer a very competitive line up with the likes of Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, Retief Goosen, Robert Karlsson, Andres Romero, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Johan Edfors and defending champion Chris Dimarco. And as for Spaniard Watch, we should be seeing Sergio Garcia, Jose Manuel Lara, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Gonzalo Fernandez Castano, recent winner Alvaro Quiros, and Alejandro Canizares. I will probably record the first two rounds of this event and skip the second and third rounds of the Bob Hope coverage to watch this in the evenings.

Sony Open Final Round

When the coverage began at 7pm, I looked at the leaderboard and thought that Paul Goydos could sneak in there and steal the win from Luke Donald and Charles Howell III. Neither Donald nor Howell has a good track record with final rounds and closing the deal and Paul has demonstrated recently that he can make a charge. Midway through the final round, the Golf Channel folks showed the very coveted WinZone percentages and no where in sight was Paul Goydos. It's interesting that for all the millions of calculations that WinZone is supposed to be doing, I had more foresight than it did. Of course, part of my inkling came from the "if Luke can't win, then I pick Goydos" philosophy.

Other notes: Tadd Fujikawa continued to thrill the crowds and I'm sure it was a big thrill for him to play with Jim Furyk today. Paul Azinger had a bad day. But, on the flip side, Geoff Ogilvy had a really good day. Doug Labelle II shot a 65 to finish T4. As for the Golf Channel Coverage - Last week Faldo was a little conservative but this week, he relaxed more and was more entertaining. Heaven knows what he'll be like by Masters time.

Ariel Canete Wins in South Africa

Courtesy: European PGA Tour Website

Argentina’s Ariel Canete captured his maiden European Tour title in impressive fashion, closing with three birdies in the final four holes to become the inaugural winner of the Joburg Open. The 31 year old former Challenge Tour graduate closed with a round of 67 over the East Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club for a total of 19 under par 266, two strokes clear of South African Andrew McLardy in second place.

On lifting the winner's trophy Canete completed another success story for The European Tour and its policy of giving its members as many playing opportunities as possible. Having finished 146th on the Order of Merit in 2006 and then failing to regain his full playing privileges when he finished 53rd at the Qualifying School in San Roque in November, Canete started the new season with two appearances on the Challenge Tour.

Then came along the Joburg Open and its 200 strong field, which gave many of the less established European Tour players a valuable start. Opportunity knocked and the Argentine answered the call in commanding fashion, producing four rounds in the 60s to seal the biggest win of his career and, more crucially, earn a three year exemption to The European Tour International Schedule.

"I was in Argentina and it was the holidays. My category has not been so good and I was sitting there doing nothing. I thought to myself let’s go to South Africa and give it a try, you never know. Now I am very, very happy," said Canete.

"I putted really well all week. The lines always seemed very clear in my mind while my South African caddie helped a lot with club selection, as the ball travels farther here than it does at home in Argentina."

Canete, who led by one stroke going into the fourth round, bogeyed the par three second hole but then picked up two birdies on the front nine and three coming in to finish on 19 under par.

He sealed his victory with a brilliant up-and-down from a greenside bunker for birdie on the 18th, which gave him a two stroke cushion over McLardy, who equaled his best performance on The European Tour International Schedule following his runner-up spot in Madeira in 2005.

Another South African, Hennie Otto, was alone in third place on 16 under par after shooting a 67. Compatriot Alex Haindl briefly threatened the leaders, before bogeys on the 14th and 17th saw him finish on 13 under, along with countryman Mark Murless.

Earlier in the day Haindl had been one of the biggest movers when 36 players returned to complete their third rounds after Saturday’s play was terminated in the early afternoon by lightning and thunderstorms.

The 23 year old South African, who is 19th on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, put himself into contention with a 66 while Canete and McLardy both completed 65s to go into the final round first and second on the leaderboard, which was exactly where they would finish.

The Monkey Pod Tree

From this website

Leguminosae -- Legume family

Roger G. Skolmen

Monkey-pod (Pithecellobium saman), samán in Spanish, is a fast-growing tree that has been introduced to many tropical countries throughout the world from its native habitats in Central America and northern South America. Although generally planted as a shade tree and ornamental, it has been naturalized in many countries and is greatly valued in pastures as shade for cattle. Short-boled, with a spreading crown when open grown, it forms a long, relatively straight stem when closely spaced. Its wood is highly valued in some locations for carvings and furniture (7).

The most widely used common name for the species is raintree, from the belief that the tree produces rain at night. The leaflets close up at night or when under heavy cloud cover, allowing rain to pass easily through the crown. This trait may contribute to the frequently observed fact that grass remains green under the trees in times of drought. However, the shading effect of the crown, the addition of nitrogen to the soil by decomposition of litter from this leguminous tree, and possibly, the sticky droppings of cicada insects in the trees all contribute to this phenomenon (3). The Hawaiian common name, monkey-pod, is used here because it is a logical derivation of the scientific name Pithecellobium (monkey earring in Greek). Besides monkey-pod, raintree, and saman, which is its name throughout Latin America, the tree is called mimosa in the Philippines.

Special Uses

The pods contain a sweet edible pulp that supplies nutritious food for animals. Children also chew on the pods, which have a licoricelike flavor (3). Monkey-pod has long been a favorite of plant physiologists for studies of nyctinastic leaf movements (9).

Although the tree is commonly used as a shade tree in parking lots, it is undesirable for this purpose because of the sticky flowers, gum, and seed pods that fall from it during much of the year.

Monkey-pod wood has been reported as hard and heavy (12), and difficult to work (3,4). Actually, in Hawaii and elsewhere in the Pacific where it has been used much more extensively than in its native habitat, the wood is considered easy to work, particularly because low shrinkage during drying allows it to be machined while green. Articles made from green wood can be dried without serious drying degrade (10). In Hawaii, monkey-pod has been the premier craftwood used for carved and turned souvenir bowls since 1946. As labor costs increased, however, the industry spread to the Philippines and Thailand, which now supply most of the monkey-pod bowls for which Hawaii is famous.

Round 3 Sony Open

Charles Howell III is in the lead at 13 under with Luke Donald just one shot back. Steve Stricker is 9 under. Paul Azinger is -8. Tadd Fujikawa is -7, Will MacKenzie is -3 after having a real bad day, and George McNeill, Q School Winner, is -4.

Paul Azinger spent a little time in the booth after his round and it was very entertaining.

I've never heard anyone talk about a tree as much as Rolfing does that monkey pod tree. I'm going to have to research this tree.

The Dating Game

I just saw something during the Round 3 coverage of the Sony Open that I just have to comment on. It was a little clip of Luke Donald talking about how his friends might perceive him. The Golf Channel I'm sure thought this was a good idea, but Luke's answer sounded like an introduction of Bachelor #1, #2 or #3 on the Dating Game. I doubt if he intended it to come out that way and he was just providing an honest answer to a question the Golf Channel asked him so you could hardly blame Luke. Gee, once again I can tie blame for something to the media.

And just another comment about Luke, I think his putting is off today. The last few months, ever since the Ryder Cup actually, I've been thinking that his putting has been stellar. But I think he's missed a few today.

Hit Counter Tidbit

I checked the hit counter to see who'd been to the blog today. Apparently someone searched google images and somehow got to my blog from the following search: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dailyherald.com/dow_photos
/3/tigerhunt_10OT_2006Unk.jpg&imgrefurl=http://evenparround.blogspot.com/
2006_08_01_evenparround_archive.html&h=367&w=290&sz=76&hl=en&start
=43&tbnid=0LD2q.

Curious to know what this dailyherald.com had to do with my blog, I tried going to the dow_photos blah, blah address and got a page not found message. So, I went to just daily herald part of the address and found out it's a Chicago news website. And that they charge you for just about everything. I hope they aren't charging people for pictures I took when I went to the golf tournament. People can come here and get them for free (well, they have to use their own printer and ink).

Sony Open Round 2

The big news is that of Tadd Fujikawa's 66 to make the cut by 3 shots. I didn't see it happen last night. I saw it on Golf Central this morning. That's great for the 16 year old amateur who is currently tied for 25th. Other happenings, Luke Donald and Paul Goydos are leading, Chad Campbell and Will MacKenzie are right in there.

Leaderboards

I wanted to see the leaderboard for the Sony Open, so I went to the pga tour's website. I kept getting "this document contains no data" pop up boxes every few seconds. So, I gave up trying to get the scores there and went to the Golf Channel's website. There, the page kept refreshing and I couldn't get it to go anywhere but the first page of the leaderboard. Finally, I was able to go to the last page of the board, but I wanted to see all the scores. Not page by page. And it's pointless to expect full field scores during the coverage tonight. As I noted last week, they kept saying they would show full field scores but kept leaving off Ben Curtis.

Oh, and did anyone see the little, and I mean little, graphics last night during round one - at the top of the screen the Golf Channel showed two players' scores at a time. Unfortunately, you need a 52 inch screen for the graphics to be big enough to actually read.

It's obvious that both the pga tour and the golf channel expect their audiences to have tons of money - enough for broadband internet connections and big screen hd tvs.

At the Joburg Open

A bunch of people I haven't had the opportunity to watch are doing well in this tournament. Jaco Van Zyl, one of the American Q-School darlings, is playing. And as for Spaniard Watch: Manuel Quiros, Carl Suneson, and Alvaro Velasco are in the field. I have to learn these new players - I'm a bit confused as I know there's also an Alvaro Quiros who won a few weeks ago.

Sony Open

Round 1 coverage was pretty good. We got some closer looks at the players, and Faldo was hilarious. Will MacKenzie's presence in the booth for an interview was very enjoyable. I don't know if I like this WinZone thing. It pretty much rules out a surprise winner and just plays the odds. At one point, they said Vijay was in 54th position but he was ranked within the top 5 in the WinZone. How is this any different from the commentators just sucking up to the big names like they did last year? And Michelle Wie played again. I understand people are once again whining that she's taking their spot. What makes these people think Sony would have extended an invitation to them anyway? Talk about egos. Where is the whining over John Daly taking their spot? He got an exemption too.

Fantasies

I went to the PGA Tour website and there I found some links and writings on fantasy golf. One such link is called Total Fantasy. I don't think I'll expound on my golf fantasies. But it did get me to thinking.......................

Fantasies

I went to the PGA Tour website and there I found some links and writings on fantasy golf. One such link is called Total Fantasy. I don't think I'll expound on my golf fantasies. But it did get me to thinking.......................

Happy Birthday Sergio!!

Or, as altavista's babel fish translator says:

Feliz Cumpleaños

Final Round Mercedes Benz Championship

Well, Vijay Singh won. Adam Scott gave him a good challenge though. And Will MacKenzie continued to entertain and show some infectious, but not nasty, emotion. As for the Golf Channel coverage - I really think they should consider swapping Dottie Pepper for Judy Rankin. And I do have a problem with the announcers calling Vijay the 'King of Kapalua'. I'd say someone who won the tournament three years in a row is a king. Vijay is maybe a viscount.

Possible Return Trip

I asked my mom today if she would like to dog sit again this year. So far it's a tentative yes, which means I might be going back to Akron this summer to see the golf again. I'm excited at the possibility.

Mercedes Benz Championship Round 3

1. Luke Donald is wearing really pretty shirts. Nice colors.

2. Dean Wilson was under par for his third round. Hopefully he will have another good round today.

3. The Golf Channel announce team kept saying "Let's look at all the scores" but they would constantly leave off Ben Curtis. Just because he's last and would require another page of the leaderboard doesn't mean they can forget him. So, since the Golf Channel didn't bother to acknowledge him, I will: BEN CURTIS, BEN CURTIS, BEN CURTIS, BEN CURTIS, BEN CURTIS, BEN CURTIS, BEN CURTIS, BEN CURTIS, BEN CURTIS, BEN CURTIS.

4. Hopefully Adam Scott, Trevor Immelman, J. B. Holmes and Will MacKenzie will make the final round really exciting. They will need low scores, some really low scores.

Sergio

Twice now I've heard the Golf Channel 'analysts' criticize Sergio for dropping to #11 on the World Rankings and suggest that it's his putting that's at fault. No one has stated the obvious: Sergio hasn't played golf but these other players have. So, naturally the other players would leap frog over him. Kind of like how Jim Furyk is #2 in the world right now because Phil doesn't play after September.

Just another example of the media trying to make the news instead of reporting it.

Mecedes Benz Championship

I've been watching the Golf Channel's coverage for the last couple of days. My very first observation was: Rich Lerner sounded like he should be calling the action at a dog show on Animal Planet. Does anyone else get the impression that the coverage is more detached from the players than on the other networks? I don't know if they don't have their cameras close enough to them, or if they don't have the sound on or what, but I feel like I'm watching some European Tour event. Friday's coverage was a little better than Thursday's in this respect. Let's talk for a second about the Pat Green song. I have never really been a fan of his and last year, the Nationwide Tour coverage played his music so much that I got pretty tired of it. I don't know what will happen if I have to listen to Green every week for 30 weeks or more. I'm enjoying Rocco Mediate's efforts. He's very entertaining. I like that there's no barrier for him between the tv people and the players. All the commercials about the 'team' the Golf Channel assembled - Faldo, Kelly, Lerner and Nobilo - I was very disappointed to not hear Nobilo covering the event. He's doing the Post Game Show. Why is he part of the commerical and part of the 'team' when he's not in Hawaii with the rest of them? And a comment on AimPoint, the high tech purple dotted visual aid for showing the line of putts - I like it but I don't think I want to see it on every putt. So, far they are doing a pretty good job of deciding when to use it.

As for the event itself: I don't want anyone to say that an event needs a Tiger Woods or a Phil Mickelson. This week we have Vijay, Trevor, Will, J.B., and a bunch of other exciting players to watch. Anyone who likes golf would love this tournament this week. The one down side is that Arron Oberholser had to withdraw. Maybe he will stick around in Hawaii for a while though and enjoy the view. I would if I was there.

I saw something on another blog about how the Golf Channel doesn't reach as many tv viewers as ESPN or ABC. Well, for my satellite dish provider, I have to pay $58.00 a month to get the Golf Channel as opposed to about $22.00 a month for the package that includes ESPN (the local channels I get free with an antenna). It isn't so much a matter of no one's watching the network, it's that it's too expensive to get for a lot of people. Hopefully, this year, the Golf Channel will do away with a lot of the infomercials now that they will have more golf coverage to air and people will tune in to see something other than testimonials for the Q-Link. It isn't like there isn't a golf tournament going on somewhere in the world every week they could be covering.

10,000 Hits

Even Par Round has achieved a milestone - 10,000 hits according to my counter. Granted some of those are mine. I'm awfully proud of my little blog and like to look at it. Plus, I get to all the other golf blogs I read by using my Blogs of Note section. But, despite that, 10,000 is still a pretty high number. It took about 3 years for my Window Dressing blog to reach that count. Maybe I should talk about those fake pictures of a certain pro golfer's house on my other blogs to increase viewership. LOL


I was disturbed however to see that my 11/19/06 blog post about Julieta Granada's win at the ADT Championship has recently been placed in the archives with the date of November 1990. I think Julieta was maybe 3 years old in 1990. I was a senior in high school in November 1990. Bad year for me - I single handedly killed a tradition of having three speakers at graduation. I was the last 3rd speaker my high school had. After about a half an hour trying to find the contact blogger support page, I finally told them about this error and asked them to either fix it or tell me how to fix it. I don't hold out much hope of getting a response. They don't email you back. In fact they probably want me to to convert to the 'new' blogger that just came out of Beta. I'm waiting to see what bad things are happening with that beta thing before I convert my blogs. I may convert in a couple of months once I'm sure all the other bloggers have found most of the bugs and they've been fixed. I did take the precaution of changing my password now that I've seen this unexplained change in my blog.

Fed Ex Cup

The show Inside the PGA Tour is on right now on the Golf Channel. It featured some golfers saying that the Fed Ex Cup would make it possible for the top players to play each other more often. Well, that's working well so far (heavy with sarcasm). Tiger and Phil are both skipping the Mercedes Benz Championship this week. I don't think the Fed Ex Cup will make any difference to the Tour or the players. We'll probably see the same 30 guys at the end of this year that we saw at the end of last year. If they really wanted to make it exciting and create a shake-up within the golf world, then they should award extra points to the winner of a tournament if he is someone outside the top 50. Bring some of the breakout golfers into the mix. If they don't and they continue to just suck up to players like Tiger and Phil, then what's going to happen when those guys decide they don't want to play any longer? It will be a very dark time in American Golf.

My New Year's Day

I spent a big chunk of my New Year's Day at my parents' house with my niece, nephew and brother-in-law who came up from Florida for Christmas. My sister stayed behind to work and to have some me time for herself. Me time is very important. I have had over a year of it and I'm still not satisfied. Anyway, my brother-in-law tried his very best to get me to agree to come for a visit this spring and attend the Players Championship. They live in Jacksonville which isn't far away from the PGA Tour headquarters and the World Golf Hall of Fame. He almost had me convinced to do more than visit. He said I could visit for two weeks, to which I said if I stayed that long, I'd be turning in job applications at the World Golf Hall of Fame and the Tour Headquarters. He said that was fine since there's a house down the street from them that's for sale. I asked if it had a fenced in yard for my dogs and yes, it does. Added to all of that the fact that it doesn't snow there, and it's a very compelling argument. But, I am notorious for not making decisions and letting opportunities pass me by so odds are I'll let this one pass me by too.