First of all in a busy Sunday, Monty has named Eduardo Molinari after he went out and beat his brother to win the Johnnie Walker at Gleneagles. He also named Luke Donald which is a bit of a surprise and Paddy Harrington as I suggested yesterday. Tough choices for sure, Justin Rose and Paul Casey are left out as is my favourite pick Bernhard Langer who only went out and won the Boeing Classic in Seattle, just to underline the fact that his game continues to sparkle.
So the Euro team is Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter,Ross Fisher, Francesco Molinari, Peter Hanson, Miguel Jimenez, Luke Donald, Eduardo Molinari and Paddy Harrington..
Paddy gets in due to his 3 majors, his stature in world golf and his gutsy and tenacious matchplay ability. Eduardo birdied the last 3 holes to win the Johnnie Walker and that coupled with the fact that he and his brother are defending World Cup champions made this an easy one and Luke Donald is 6 and 1 in 7 Ryder Cup matches and like Jim Furyk for the US team he is easy to match up with because he is nearly always in the fairway and has a spotless short game.
Justin Rose is first alternative if Westwood falters and Sergio will have a role as a 4th captain, he requested a role with the team in that capacity.
LPGA
Michelle Wie led from start to finish to win the CN Canadian Open after shooting -2 70 -12 total. It has turned around a very mediocre year, her previous best was a T3, it is her 2nd LPGA win. She was good enough to hold off defending champ Suzann Petterson who has now been 2nd six times this year.
Ai Miyazato will retain her #1 ranking after finishing T15.
65,000 showed up to watch for the week and Lorie Kane finished well for them, T11 after a sparkling 67 -5 total
Adrienne White 54 and Lisa Meldrum T60
Aussie Rachel Hetherington retired at 38 after 14 years and 8 wins and in a nice touch Marlene Streit and Sandra Post were honoured. The Marlene Streit medal will be presented to the low amateur and the Sandra Post award will go to the low Canadian pro which was Lorie this year.
PGA Tour
First since you are asking Tiger shot -4,67 to T12 and move up to 65 in Fed Ex points, now the story of the day
Martin Laird came to the 72nd with a 1 shot lead over Matt Kuchar who had finished with a -5,66.
Laird 3 putted from 25 feet !! after running his lag 8 feet long
Kuchar stiffed a 7 iron to 30 inches on the first playoff hole to take all the baubles including #1 status in Fed Ex points and a #10 world ranking. It's his 3rd win.
Stricker (66) and Streelman (68) were T3 at -10
Canucks... Stephen Ames T36 (72) and is moving oon to next week 65th in Fed Ex points.... Graham DeLaet MC and will finish around 124 in Fed Ex so is out of the playoffs..
CHAMPIONS TOUR
" I'm playing as well now or better than I ever have, my caddie says he's never seen me drive the ball so well" said Bernhard Langer after pulling away from Nicky Price to win the Boeing Classic by 3 shots. His -3, 69 -18 ties Lorne Roberts tourney record and it's his 5th win of the year including 2 majors !!
Freddie Couples had a lot of home town support and he finished with a -5 67 -9 total in 3rd spot...
NATIONWIDE TOUR
I mentioned David Hearn yesterday as he was T5 in Knoxville
He closed with 71 -14 total T12 and is now 21st on that money list
Chis Kirk won it at -20 just in case you were curious...
Bryan Angus bryanangus4@gmail.com
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Wie and Shin survive rain and bugs,..Molinari's in the final pair at Gleneagles
One of the joys of winter in Winnipeg, and there aren't many is that there are no bloody mosquitoes !!
By the time the women and spectators got home from St Charles CC yesterday, I think they would have been happy to play in late November. Calm winds and steady rain on the tree lined course had the bugs out in full force... " Actually they tried to kill me' said co leader Jiyai Shin (69)... " They were really bad in the rough but a bit better around the greens" said Michelle Wie who hung in at 72 to tie with Shin at -10 for a 4 shot lead over a pair of South Koreans, Na Yeon Choi (71), Jee Young Lee (71) and Suzann Peterson (72)
Paula Creamer under medication for food poisoning was actually lying down on the fairway while waiting. She was so sick she was just letting the mosquitoes bite her. " That was definitely the worst I've ever experienced' said Morgan Pressel who shot 74 to drop to a T9.
The wind (30kph) and a high of 25 with just 25% chance of rain should blow the bugs away today.
Canucks.. Lorie Kane (68) T26, E.. Lisa Meldrum (71) T40... Adrienne White (75) T52..
EUROPEAN TOUR
Play is underway right now at Gleneagles in the beautiful hills of Perthshire, 10 minutes from where I was born and trust me folks your golfing career is not complete until you save up all your spare change ( then some) and play the Gleneagles courses along with all the rest you know and many you don't in Scotland.
Unless you are really flush you may want to stay off property, but if you do stay the round will cost around $150 bucks, which is less than dinner in the dining room will be !!!!
The big story is the Molinari brothers (Italy) playing together in the final pairing. Frankie (Francesco) the younger has already qualified for the Ryder Cup team is leading at -10 and older brother Eddie (Eduardo) is hoping to be a captain's pick is at -9.
If you are wondering if they can play together as a team ?? just remember they won the World Cup last year in China. Monty will pick Eduardo unless he goes out today and shoots 83 !!
I think Monty will pick E Molinari, Paddy Harrington and Justin Rose who has been on fire until recently and shot 65 yesterday at the Barclay's to T6.. Expect the announcement around 2pm EST today
PGA TOUR
Brandel Chamblee who by large I enjoy on the Golf Channel said " with all due respect to the rest, every one's eyes will be on Tiger today" (meaning Saturday).
Well mine weren't but if yours were,you saw him hit his opening tee shot 40 yards left of the fairway into a car park and take a triple (7) on his opening hole. He fought back, making birdies on 17 and 18 for +1 72, and is out of contention 9 shots back.. More importantly he is 112 on the Fed Ex points list and only the top 100 go on to the Deutsche Bank next week, so he still has a chance,but his play isn't exactly inspiring Corey Pavin I would think.
Martin Laird, a fellow Scot who plays mostly in the States, and poorly I might add, was at -4 thru5 holes on his way to -6, 65 and a 3 shot lead -12 (201) over Dustin Johnson -7,64 who despite that penalty from the "bunker" that cost him the PGA has been playing brilliantly for most of this year and he will be in the final pairing for the 2nd week in a row. Jason Day (70) is tied with Johnson at -9 (204)
At stake for Laird if he can win ???? #1 in the Fed Ex standings, a spot in all 4 majors, a main contender for the $10m Fed Ex prize, not to mention full exemption on the PGA Tour. !! No pressure !!
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Just a quick note that David Hearn shot 66 yesterday and is just 3 shots off the lead T5 at the Knoxville Open so good luck today David, who was playing so well earlier this year he got into the T25 on the money list and automatic exemption to the show next year !!
I am heading up to Lake Coochaching for my annual 3 days of feeding the perch !! but will take my laptop to keep in touch. I hope to go and see all the improvements I hear they have made at Hawk Ridge, who have always had some of the finest greens in cottage country
Bryan Angus (bryanangus4@gmail.com)
By the time the women and spectators got home from St Charles CC yesterday, I think they would have been happy to play in late November. Calm winds and steady rain on the tree lined course had the bugs out in full force... " Actually they tried to kill me' said co leader Jiyai Shin (69)... " They were really bad in the rough but a bit better around the greens" said Michelle Wie who hung in at 72 to tie with Shin at -10 for a 4 shot lead over a pair of South Koreans, Na Yeon Choi (71), Jee Young Lee (71) and Suzann Peterson (72)
Paula Creamer under medication for food poisoning was actually lying down on the fairway while waiting. She was so sick she was just letting the mosquitoes bite her. " That was definitely the worst I've ever experienced' said Morgan Pressel who shot 74 to drop to a T9.
The wind (30kph) and a high of 25 with just 25% chance of rain should blow the bugs away today.
Canucks.. Lorie Kane (68) T26, E.. Lisa Meldrum (71) T40... Adrienne White (75) T52..
EUROPEAN TOUR
Play is underway right now at Gleneagles in the beautiful hills of Perthshire, 10 minutes from where I was born and trust me folks your golfing career is not complete until you save up all your spare change ( then some) and play the Gleneagles courses along with all the rest you know and many you don't in Scotland.
Unless you are really flush you may want to stay off property, but if you do stay the round will cost around $150 bucks, which is less than dinner in the dining room will be !!!!
The big story is the Molinari brothers (Italy) playing together in the final pairing. Frankie (Francesco) the younger has already qualified for the Ryder Cup team is leading at -10 and older brother Eddie (Eduardo) is hoping to be a captain's pick is at -9.
If you are wondering if they can play together as a team ?? just remember they won the World Cup last year in China. Monty will pick Eduardo unless he goes out today and shoots 83 !!
I think Monty will pick E Molinari, Paddy Harrington and Justin Rose who has been on fire until recently and shot 65 yesterday at the Barclay's to T6.. Expect the announcement around 2pm EST today
PGA TOUR
Brandel Chamblee who by large I enjoy on the Golf Channel said " with all due respect to the rest, every one's eyes will be on Tiger today" (meaning Saturday).
Well mine weren't but if yours were,you saw him hit his opening tee shot 40 yards left of the fairway into a car park and take a triple (7) on his opening hole. He fought back, making birdies on 17 and 18 for +1 72, and is out of contention 9 shots back.. More importantly he is 112 on the Fed Ex points list and only the top 100 go on to the Deutsche Bank next week, so he still has a chance,but his play isn't exactly inspiring Corey Pavin I would think.
Martin Laird, a fellow Scot who plays mostly in the States, and poorly I might add, was at -4 thru5 holes on his way to -6, 65 and a 3 shot lead -12 (201) over Dustin Johnson -7,64 who despite that penalty from the "bunker" that cost him the PGA has been playing brilliantly for most of this year and he will be in the final pairing for the 2nd week in a row. Jason Day (70) is tied with Johnson at -9 (204)
At stake for Laird if he can win ???? #1 in the Fed Ex standings, a spot in all 4 majors, a main contender for the $10m Fed Ex prize, not to mention full exemption on the PGA Tour. !! No pressure !!
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Just a quick note that David Hearn shot 66 yesterday and is just 3 shots off the lead T5 at the Knoxville Open so good luck today David, who was playing so well earlier this year he got into the T25 on the money list and automatic exemption to the show next year !!
I am heading up to Lake Coochaching for my annual 3 days of feeding the perch !! but will take my laptop to keep in touch. I hope to go and see all the improvements I hear they have made at Hawk Ridge, who have always had some of the finest greens in cottage country
Bryan Angus (bryanangus4@gmail.com)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Foley's tip has Tiger "striping" the ball again.
Sean Foley has got Tiger driving the ball beautifully again, but he can't make putts for him.
Friday at the Barclay's he made 4 bogey's on his back nine to shoot a +2, 73 to slip to -4 and fall 4 shots behind leader Jason Day.
Foley's tip ?? He has Tiger making a steeper shoulder turn,which puts the club in a better spot at the top enabling him to swing much more down the line. As a result he has now hit 25 fairways in a row, the most in his life, and as he said in the press room afterwards, " I hit the ball as well today as I did yesterday, but made some bad chips and bad putts."
So Jason Day with 2 67's leads at -8. He is yet another really good Aussie, has won already this year and is just 22.
You may remember Kevin Streelman from his late run in the Fall Series last year. His parents live near the course, his grandparents are buried in the cemetery by the 7th hole, he says the course is special for him and 2 years ago he nearly won this. He shot 63 and is at -7 along with Vaughn Taylor (70)
Paddy Harrington, hoping to get picked by Monty for the Ryder Cup made his move with a -3 68 and he is in a group at -5, 137.
Phil Mickelson shot 72, 74 to miss the cut +4,145, and may have missed any chance of becoming the world's #1 this year. He will drop to 10th in the Fed Ex standings and was not planning on playing the BMW in 2 weeks, that may all change depending on what happens this week and next week in Boston.
Mickelson did not talk to the media but his PR dept issued a statement saying "I will spend the next 5 days trying to get things straightened out. I did not drive the ball well this week.."
LPGA
So can someone help me ? I watched the women in Winnipeg on the golf channel in the early hours of Friday morning and wrote about it yesterday. I couldn't find any coverage yesterday, so I checked with Golf Canada.
The Golf Channel is covering it in the US only yesterday, today and tomorrow, with CBC televising over the weekend from 1-5pm, obviously they asked for exclusivity. So why was round 1 on ??
So I can tell you Michelle Wie shot -3, 69 to stand alone at -10
South Korean Jiyai Shin shot a -5, 67, she is 2nd at -7
Morgan Pressel and Suzann Pettersen are next at -6.
3 Canucks made the cut..Adrienne White shot -4,68 and is T24. Lisa Meldrum shot -2,70 and is T43. Lorie is T59 at +4 which is right on the cut line.
73 players made the cut.
I will say it's great to see how well the people of Winnipeg have turned out to support this tournament, several of the women have commented publicly about that.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Nick Price leads the Boeing Classic out in Freddie Couples backyard near Seattle.He shot -9,63
Tom Pernice is 2nd at -8 with Hal Sutton next at -6
Freddie is in there at -4.
Bryan Angus
Friday at the Barclay's he made 4 bogey's on his back nine to shoot a +2, 73 to slip to -4 and fall 4 shots behind leader Jason Day.
Foley's tip ?? He has Tiger making a steeper shoulder turn,which puts the club in a better spot at the top enabling him to swing much more down the line. As a result he has now hit 25 fairways in a row, the most in his life, and as he said in the press room afterwards, " I hit the ball as well today as I did yesterday, but made some bad chips and bad putts."
So Jason Day with 2 67's leads at -8. He is yet another really good Aussie, has won already this year and is just 22.
You may remember Kevin Streelman from his late run in the Fall Series last year. His parents live near the course, his grandparents are buried in the cemetery by the 7th hole, he says the course is special for him and 2 years ago he nearly won this. He shot 63 and is at -7 along with Vaughn Taylor (70)
Paddy Harrington, hoping to get picked by Monty for the Ryder Cup made his move with a -3 68 and he is in a group at -5, 137.
Phil Mickelson shot 72, 74 to miss the cut +4,145, and may have missed any chance of becoming the world's #1 this year. He will drop to 10th in the Fed Ex standings and was not planning on playing the BMW in 2 weeks, that may all change depending on what happens this week and next week in Boston.
Mickelson did not talk to the media but his PR dept issued a statement saying "I will spend the next 5 days trying to get things straightened out. I did not drive the ball well this week.."
LPGA
So can someone help me ? I watched the women in Winnipeg on the golf channel in the early hours of Friday morning and wrote about it yesterday. I couldn't find any coverage yesterday, so I checked with Golf Canada.
The Golf Channel is covering it in the US only yesterday, today and tomorrow, with CBC televising over the weekend from 1-5pm, obviously they asked for exclusivity. So why was round 1 on ??
So I can tell you Michelle Wie shot -3, 69 to stand alone at -10
South Korean Jiyai Shin shot a -5, 67, she is 2nd at -7
Morgan Pressel and Suzann Pettersen are next at -6.
3 Canucks made the cut..Adrienne White shot -4,68 and is T24. Lisa Meldrum shot -2,70 and is T43. Lorie is T59 at +4 which is right on the cut line.
73 players made the cut.
I will say it's great to see how well the people of Winnipeg have turned out to support this tournament, several of the women have commented publicly about that.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Nick Price leads the Boeing Classic out in Freddie Couples backyard near Seattle.He shot -9,63
Tom Pernice is 2nd at -8 with Hal Sutton next at -6
Freddie is in there at -4.
Bryan Angus
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wie leads Canadian, Woods leads Barclays.
The poll of the week question above this post is " Should Colin Mongomerie select Bernhard Langer to his Ryder Cup squad... Please vote yes or no..
I'm watching the CN Canadian Women's Open and Michelle Wie playing in Canadian colours of red and white is playing 17 and she has a 2 shot lead at -6 which includes a hole in one. Aussie Sarah Kemp is next at -4.
Ron MacLean is doing the commentary along with Dawn Coe Jones and Gail Graham and I am always struck as a broadcaster how at ease and natural he is on the air, and how well he covers other sports besides hockey.
Brian Butterfield the excellent 3rd base coach with the Jays is a friend of mine and his wife was for years the hair stylist for the LPGA so I would enjoy his stories about how much preparation the women go through before they even begin to play compared to the men and I must admit I am always impressed how immaculately they are turned out.
Wie has just holed out from the bunker on 17 to go to -7. Having watched her for so many years and because she is so tall we forget that she was only 13 or 14 when she came on the scene. She is still only 20 and today has on a very tight red miniskirt which reminds me of the 70's when gals like Jan Stephenson were wearing short shorts and mini's, posing for Playboy etc, all to promote themselves and their sport. Well they did get our attention, and it got them on TV. For a while it seems to me the women went the other way with their clothing, the mini's disappeared and it was all about pay attention to my game never mind how I look, but I think they have it right now, wearing whatever they are comfortable in. We all know they are great golfers but they are in the entertainment business and sex definitely sells..... Just ask Natalie..
Wie just missed a curling 20 footer on 18 and has tapped in for par.
So she leads at -7, 65 her best round of the year, Aussie Sarah Kemp is 3 shots back -4,68 and defending champion, Suzann Petterson is next at -3, 69.
15 year old sensation Alexis Thompson -1, 71 is another phenom and imagine the matches yet to come between her and Wie..She incidentally lost her drive into a tree on the 16th !! and had to return to the tee.
Seema Sadekar of Toronto leads the 14 Canucks at +1 73
Sue Kim, +2, 74, Lorie Kane +3, 75, Rebecca Lee Bentham (a) +3 ,Alena Sharp +4, 76, Sara-Maude Juneau (a) +5, 77, Lisa Meldrum +5, 77, Samantha Richdale +5 77, Adrienne White,+5,77, Kirby Dreher +6, 78, Jennifer Kirby (a) +6,78, Stephanie Sherlock +8,80, Christine Wong (a) +12, 84
Sunny skies and gusting winds (45 kph)on a dry hard St Charles CC made it a good test for the field.
PGA Tour
I have only seen the highlights of the Barclay's first round but you will know from all the hysteria that Tiger has opened with a -6, 65 to take the first round lead. " He's back" was the phrase I heard most often, but may I humbly suggest we see what he does over 4 days ??
He did tee off at 7.10am which isn't usual, he hit 12 of 14 fairways so has the driver working and only bogeyed one hole..
He can't make the Ryder Cup team, but a decent showing here this week and next will make Pavin's job a lot easier. What I want to know is who are the organizers at Celtic Manor going to pair him up with when the players and there wives/ escorts are introduced in the opening ceremony ?? Bet your bippy she'll be about 63 years old !!
Incidentally Vaughn Taylor is tied with Tiger for the lead.
Stephen Ames +2, 73 and Graham DeLaet +3, 74 are our Canucks..
BryanAngus (bryanangus4@gmail.com)
I'm watching the CN Canadian Women's Open and Michelle Wie playing in Canadian colours of red and white is playing 17 and she has a 2 shot lead at -6 which includes a hole in one. Aussie Sarah Kemp is next at -4.
Ron MacLean is doing the commentary along with Dawn Coe Jones and Gail Graham and I am always struck as a broadcaster how at ease and natural he is on the air, and how well he covers other sports besides hockey.
Brian Butterfield the excellent 3rd base coach with the Jays is a friend of mine and his wife was for years the hair stylist for the LPGA so I would enjoy his stories about how much preparation the women go through before they even begin to play compared to the men and I must admit I am always impressed how immaculately they are turned out.
Wie has just holed out from the bunker on 17 to go to -7. Having watched her for so many years and because she is so tall we forget that she was only 13 or 14 when she came on the scene. She is still only 20 and today has on a very tight red miniskirt which reminds me of the 70's when gals like Jan Stephenson were wearing short shorts and mini's, posing for Playboy etc, all to promote themselves and their sport. Well they did get our attention, and it got them on TV. For a while it seems to me the women went the other way with their clothing, the mini's disappeared and it was all about pay attention to my game never mind how I look, but I think they have it right now, wearing whatever they are comfortable in. We all know they are great golfers but they are in the entertainment business and sex definitely sells..... Just ask Natalie..
Wie just missed a curling 20 footer on 18 and has tapped in for par.
So she leads at -7, 65 her best round of the year, Aussie Sarah Kemp is 3 shots back -4,68 and defending champion, Suzann Petterson is next at -3, 69.
15 year old sensation Alexis Thompson -1, 71 is another phenom and imagine the matches yet to come between her and Wie..She incidentally lost her drive into a tree on the 16th !! and had to return to the tee.
Seema Sadekar of Toronto leads the 14 Canucks at +1 73
Sue Kim, +2, 74, Lorie Kane +3, 75, Rebecca Lee Bentham (a) +3 ,Alena Sharp +4, 76, Sara-Maude Juneau (a) +5, 77, Lisa Meldrum +5, 77, Samantha Richdale +5 77, Adrienne White,+5,77, Kirby Dreher +6, 78, Jennifer Kirby (a) +6,78, Stephanie Sherlock +8,80, Christine Wong (a) +12, 84
Sunny skies and gusting winds (45 kph)on a dry hard St Charles CC made it a good test for the field.
PGA Tour
I have only seen the highlights of the Barclay's first round but you will know from all the hysteria that Tiger has opened with a -6, 65 to take the first round lead. " He's back" was the phrase I heard most often, but may I humbly suggest we see what he does over 4 days ??
He did tee off at 7.10am which isn't usual, he hit 12 of 14 fairways so has the driver working and only bogeyed one hole..
He can't make the Ryder Cup team, but a decent showing here this week and next will make Pavin's job a lot easier. What I want to know is who are the organizers at Celtic Manor going to pair him up with when the players and there wives/ escorts are introduced in the opening ceremony ?? Bet your bippy she'll be about 63 years old !!
Incidentally Vaughn Taylor is tied with Tiger for the lead.
Stephen Ames +2, 73 and Graham DeLaet +3, 74 are our Canucks..
BryanAngus (bryanangus4@gmail.com)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Weir injury ends season, Golf this week..
So it wasn't just tendinitis, it was a torn ligament in the elbow.. ouch.
I don't know if Weirsy needs a new golf coach as much as a new doctor !!!
Here's the CP story
Mike Weir has a partially torn ligament in his right elbow and is likely out for the rest of the season.
Weir told The Canadian Press on Tuesday that he had an MRI exam over the weekend. He plans to rest the elbow and seek treatment to avoid surgery.
He had elbow pain before the British Open in July but thought it was tendinitis. A conversation with PGA pro Scott McCarron at last week's Wyndham Championship prompted Weir to seek medical attention.
McCarron told Weir that he had a similar injury but continued to play while getting treatment. That resulted in a complete tear, which required surgery and a year off the tour.
Weir is coming off a season of eight missed cuts. His best finish was sixth at the Bob Hope Classic.
Mike issued a statement later to say he hopes to avoid surgery,opting rather for rest and rehab...
PGA TOUR
The Barclays
Site: Paramus, N.J.
Ridgewood Country Club (7,319, par 71).
US$7.5 million. Winner's share: $1.35 million.
Defending champion : Heathcliff Slocum
Canucks.. Stephen Ames, Graham DeLaet
LPGA
CN Canadian Women's Open
Winnipeg, Manitoba.
St. Charles Country Club (6,572 yards, par 72).
US$2.25 million. Winner's share: $337,500.
Defending champion: Norway's Suzann Pettersen won by 5 shots at Priddis Greens in Calgary
Canucks ; 14.. Lorie Kane,Alena Sharp, Lisa Meldrum, Samantha Richdale, Adrienne White, Seema Sadekar, Jessica Shepley, Sue Kim, Jennifer Kirby, Sar Juneau, Rebecca Bentham, Christine Wong
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Snoqualmie, Wash.
TPC Snoqualmie Ridge (7,183 yards, par 72).
US$1.9 million. Winner's share: $285,000.
Defending champion: Loren Roberts
EUROPEAN TOUR
Johnnie Walker Classic
Perthshire, Scotland
The Gleneagles Hotel, PGA Centenary Course (7,316 yards, par 72).
US$2.16 million. Winner's share: $359,745.
Defending champion:Sweden's Peter Hedblom
Colin Montgomerie will name his Ryder Cup squad after the tournament on Sunday evening
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Knoxville, Tenn.
Fox Den Country Club (7,110 yards, par 72).
US$500,000. Winner's share: $90,000.
Defending champion: Kevin Johnson
Canucks: David Hearn , Dustin Risdon, Barrett Jarosch, Ted Brown, Bryan DeCorso, Jon Mills..
CANADIAN TOUR:
Canadian Tour Championship,
St. Catherines Golf and Country Club, St. Catherines, Ontario.
U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION:
U.S. Amateur Championship, Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash
BryanAngus
I don't know if Weirsy needs a new golf coach as much as a new doctor !!!
Here's the CP story
Mike Weir has a partially torn ligament in his right elbow and is likely out for the rest of the season.
Weir told The Canadian Press on Tuesday that he had an MRI exam over the weekend. He plans to rest the elbow and seek treatment to avoid surgery.
He had elbow pain before the British Open in July but thought it was tendinitis. A conversation with PGA pro Scott McCarron at last week's Wyndham Championship prompted Weir to seek medical attention.
McCarron told Weir that he had a similar injury but continued to play while getting treatment. That resulted in a complete tear, which required surgery and a year off the tour.
Weir is coming off a season of eight missed cuts. His best finish was sixth at the Bob Hope Classic.
Mike issued a statement later to say he hopes to avoid surgery,opting rather for rest and rehab...
PGA TOUR
The Barclays
Site: Paramus, N.J.
Ridgewood Country Club (7,319, par 71).
US$7.5 million. Winner's share: $1.35 million.
Defending champion : Heathcliff Slocum
Canucks.. Stephen Ames, Graham DeLaet
LPGA
CN Canadian Women's Open
Winnipeg, Manitoba.
St. Charles Country Club (6,572 yards, par 72).
US$2.25 million. Winner's share: $337,500.
Defending champion: Norway's Suzann Pettersen won by 5 shots at Priddis Greens in Calgary
Canucks ; 14.. Lorie Kane,Alena Sharp, Lisa Meldrum, Samantha Richdale, Adrienne White, Seema Sadekar, Jessica Shepley, Sue Kim, Jennifer Kirby, Sar Juneau, Rebecca Bentham, Christine Wong
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Snoqualmie, Wash.
TPC Snoqualmie Ridge (7,183 yards, par 72).
US$1.9 million. Winner's share: $285,000.
Defending champion: Loren Roberts
EUROPEAN TOUR
Johnnie Walker Classic
Perthshire, Scotland
The Gleneagles Hotel, PGA Centenary Course (7,316 yards, par 72).
US$2.16 million. Winner's share: $359,745.
Defending champion:Sweden's Peter Hedblom
Colin Montgomerie will name his Ryder Cup squad after the tournament on Sunday evening
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Knoxville, Tenn.
Fox Den Country Club (7,110 yards, par 72).
US$500,000. Winner's share: $90,000.
Defending champion: Kevin Johnson
Canucks: David Hearn , Dustin Risdon, Barrett Jarosch, Ted Brown, Bryan DeCorso, Jon Mills..
CANADIAN TOUR:
Canadian Tour Championship,
St. Catherines Golf and Country Club, St. Catherines, Ontario.
U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION:
U.S. Amateur Championship, Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash
BryanAngus
Monday, August 23, 2010
Funk foils Langer's bid for three majors in a row
Well my plan to get Bernhard 3 majors in a row and into the Ryder Cup team was dealt a little set back yesterday as straight shooting Freddie Funk shot a -3, 69 -12, 276 to edge out hard charging Micheal Allen -5, 67 and Chen Soon Lu -3,69 by a shot.
Bernhard slumped to a +1, 73, -8, 280 total .Tom Lehman who was in contention all week also shot 73 to finish at 278 along with Mark Calcavecchia who had the low round (66) of the day.
It's the 2nd time Freddie has won the Jeld-Wen,and he also won the 2009 Senior US Open
So here are the teams as they stand today for the Ryder Cup.
USA : Mickelson, Mahan, Watson, Furyk, Stricker, Johnson,Overton and Kuchar
Pavin has 4 captains picks and he is going to wait until the week of the BMW Championship to announce them, but you can bet one will be Tiger..
EUROPE : Westwood, McIlroy, Kaymer, McDowell, Donald then Fisher / E Molinari, Poulter / FMolinari, Hanson / Harrington, Rose / Jimenez, Casey
Monty will have 3 captains picks and will announce them after play at the Johnnie Walker this Sunday evening. The top 5 are certain then I have paired the rest as Monty picks off 2 lists, the World Ryder Cup Points and the European Tour Ryder Cup Points and the guys I have paired are all in the mix.
It starts on Friday Oct 1 at the Celtic Manor Resort on the Twenty-Ten course in Wales
BryanAngus
Bernhard slumped to a +1, 73, -8, 280 total .Tom Lehman who was in contention all week also shot 73 to finish at 278 along with Mark Calcavecchia who had the low round (66) of the day.
It's the 2nd time Freddie has won the Jeld-Wen,and he also won the 2009 Senior US Open
So here are the teams as they stand today for the Ryder Cup.
USA : Mickelson, Mahan, Watson, Furyk, Stricker, Johnson,Overton and Kuchar
Pavin has 4 captains picks and he is going to wait until the week of the BMW Championship to announce them, but you can bet one will be Tiger..
EUROPE : Westwood, McIlroy, Kaymer, McDowell, Donald then Fisher / E Molinari, Poulter / FMolinari, Hanson / Harrington, Rose / Jimenez, Casey
Monty will have 3 captains picks and will announce them after play at the Johnnie Walker this Sunday evening. The top 5 are certain then I have paired the rest as Monty picks off 2 lists, the World Ryder Cup Points and the European Tour Ryder Cup Points and the guys I have paired are all in the mix.
It starts on Friday Oct 1 at the Celtic Manor Resort on the Twenty-Ten course in Wales
BryanAngus
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Atwal wins Wyndham, DeLaet makes playoffs.
Graham DeLaet has finished his rookie year at 123 on the money list and qualifies for the season ending pot of gold called the Fed Ex Playoffs starting with The Barclay's next week...
Arjun Atwal, another Canadian Tour graduate has just become the first Indian to win on the PGA Tour with a one shot win over David Toms who shot a final round 64 to put the pressure on Atwal.
On the 72nd he deliberately hit his 2nd through the green up against the stands, took the resulting drop and made par to win....He doesn't qualify for the playoffs as I've been reporting but hell he gets a 2 year exemption and nearly 1m in earnings, plus he becomes a hero in his native India, where this was broadcast at 2am.
I have been in touch with Graham and hope to give you his reply ASAP..
Bryan Angus bryanangus4@blogspot.com
Arjun Atwal, another Canadian Tour graduate has just become the first Indian to win on the PGA Tour with a one shot win over David Toms who shot a final round 64 to put the pressure on Atwal.
On the 72nd he deliberately hit his 2nd through the green up against the stands, took the resulting drop and made par to win....He doesn't qualify for the playoffs as I've been reporting but hell he gets a 2 year exemption and nearly 1m in earnings, plus he becomes a hero in his native India, where this was broadcast at 2am.
I have been in touch with Graham and hope to give you his reply ASAP..
Bryan Angus bryanangus4@blogspot.com
Inkster should know better
Later today Ai Miyazato will start out as the leader at the LPGA Safeway Classic, as she chases her 5th victory of the year.
Julie Inkster should be out there trying to make up the 3 shots she trailed by in 2nd place. Instead she will be watching from home. She was DQ'ed after a viewer called in to report that Julie was seen using a weighted device, like a donut on a baseball bat, on her club while she endured a 30 minute wait on the 10th tee.
She had signed her card for a -5, 67, by by breaking rule 14-3 which says " player cannot make a stroke or a practice swing using a club with a weighted donut or any other training device or swing aid"
I have already received comments complaining of the seeming triviality of the ruling but it is a good ruling and Julie should know better, especially when you read the last part " or any other training device or swing aid"
Can you imagine if Julie had of been slicing/ hooking/ topping the ball by the time she reached the 10th. If rule 14-3 did not exist, she could have flipped open her laptop notebook and reviewed a lesson from David Leadbetter, or got out her Medicus, or Momentus, or Rocco Mediate's Vjacket, or Peter Jacobsen's Swing jacket, or Jack's hit it from the inside thing that looks like a big microphone jacket, or her Kallassy Swing Magic, or the Zen Oracle, or the Lazerguide
Of course I exaggerate but you see the point. Once play begins you are playing with what you brought to the first tee and it's up to you and your ability to correct any problems you may be encountering.
The sad part in this case is that Julie could have swung 2 or 3 clubs to loosen up with no penalty.
So the next time you are waiting on a tee during a delay I suggest you keep doing what most of us do to keep loose. Head for the girl with the beer cart !!
Alena Sharp shot 74 and is at +11... Lorie Kane and Samantha Richdale missed the cut.
CANADIAN TOUR
Incidentally, speaking of rule infractions, Mexico's Jose de Jesus Rodriguez fired a -10, 61 to take a 3 shot lead into today's play at the Seaforth Country Classic. Trouble is he neglected to sign his scorecard before he left the scoring tent, and was also DQ'ed
That leaves BC's Darren Griff leading Saskatchewan's Kent Eger by a shot.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Sweden's Peter Hanson, squandered a 3 shot lead, but managed to hang on to get into a 3 way tie with Gary Boyd and Peter Lawrie and has just birdied the 2nd playoff hole to win and drastically improve his chances of making the European Ryder Cup team
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Remember to keep an eye out for Bernhard Langer if you are around the TV today. He starts the day 2 shots behind the leader Tom Lehman along with Fred Funk and JL Lewis at the Jeld-Win Tradition in Oregon.
If you have been following my posts you will know he is trying to be the first guy since Gary Player in 1987-88 to win 3 majors in a row and to really force Monty's hand a little, to select him for the Ryder Cup team !!
BryanAngus
Julie Inkster should be out there trying to make up the 3 shots she trailed by in 2nd place. Instead she will be watching from home. She was DQ'ed after a viewer called in to report that Julie was seen using a weighted device, like a donut on a baseball bat, on her club while she endured a 30 minute wait on the 10th tee.
She had signed her card for a -5, 67, by by breaking rule 14-3 which says " player cannot make a stroke or a practice swing using a club with a weighted donut or any other training device or swing aid"
I have already received comments complaining of the seeming triviality of the ruling but it is a good ruling and Julie should know better, especially when you read the last part " or any other training device or swing aid"
Can you imagine if Julie had of been slicing/ hooking/ topping the ball by the time she reached the 10th. If rule 14-3 did not exist, she could have flipped open her laptop notebook and reviewed a lesson from David Leadbetter, or got out her Medicus, or Momentus, or Rocco Mediate's Vjacket, or Peter Jacobsen's Swing jacket, or Jack's hit it from the inside thing that looks like a big microphone jacket, or her Kallassy Swing Magic, or the Zen Oracle, or the Lazerguide
Of course I exaggerate but you see the point. Once play begins you are playing with what you brought to the first tee and it's up to you and your ability to correct any problems you may be encountering.
The sad part in this case is that Julie could have swung 2 or 3 clubs to loosen up with no penalty.
So the next time you are waiting on a tee during a delay I suggest you keep doing what most of us do to keep loose. Head for the girl with the beer cart !!
Alena Sharp shot 74 and is at +11... Lorie Kane and Samantha Richdale missed the cut.
CANADIAN TOUR
Incidentally, speaking of rule infractions, Mexico's Jose de Jesus Rodriguez fired a -10, 61 to take a 3 shot lead into today's play at the Seaforth Country Classic. Trouble is he neglected to sign his scorecard before he left the scoring tent, and was also DQ'ed
That leaves BC's Darren Griff leading Saskatchewan's Kent Eger by a shot.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Sweden's Peter Hanson, squandered a 3 shot lead, but managed to hang on to get into a 3 way tie with Gary Boyd and Peter Lawrie and has just birdied the 2nd playoff hole to win and drastically improve his chances of making the European Ryder Cup team
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Remember to keep an eye out for Bernhard Langer if you are around the TV today. He starts the day 2 shots behind the leader Tom Lehman along with Fred Funk and JL Lewis at the Jeld-Win Tradition in Oregon.
If you have been following my posts you will know he is trying to be the first guy since Gary Player in 1987-88 to win 3 majors in a row and to really force Monty's hand a little, to select him for the Ryder Cup team !!
BryanAngus
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Weir, DeLaet, Hill all miss the cut at Wyndham.
It's 'Weird' (sorry !!)not to see Mike in the top 125, but he just missed the cut which fell at -3, with his 67,71, 138 -2 total. He ended up needing to birdie the 18th,but his putt from just off the front edge narrowly missed.
Graham DeLaet 67,74, 141 +1 and Matt Hill 69,71 138 E also missed out. Graham went into the event at 119 on the money list, so I imagine he will have to hold his breath to see if he makes the T125 come Sunday afternoon.
The fall series starts with the Viking Classic the week of September 27, and remember Weir's last win was during this series at the Fry.com Open, so we probably will see him re-appear in 6 weeks.
There is a silver lining in every cloud they say, and perhaps this is best for Mike, he has been working hard with little to show for it. Time to circle the wagons, rehab the elbow, get healthy and why not get a fresh pair of eyes to look at his swing and give him something to build his confidence back upon. He has full PGA tour exemption until 2013 following his 2003 Masters win ( now you can really see why winning a major is huge !!)
Brandt Snedeker 63,65 -12 and Arjun Atwal 61,67 -12 are your leaders. Snedeker won here in 2007
Kevin Streelman, Lucas Glover and John Rollins are next at -11
CANADIAN TOUR
I mentioned yesterday that our Canadian Tour is down in Seaforth this week and there is actually a Canadian in contention. Kent Eger (Saskatchewan) is a shot off the lead held at -12 by 3 Americans, Brady Stockton, Brian Prouty and Rob Grube. There is a group of Canucks including Peter Laws of Mississauga who are in contention going into the weekend, so if you are in the area drop by the Seaforth CC and cheer them on.
EUROPEAN TOUR
With 2 events left to qualify for Monty's Ryder Cup squad,Peter Hanson of Sweden who is 15th on the points list shot -2 70 yesterday and at -7 is on top of the leaderboard with another Swede, Fredrik Widmark at the Czech Open at a place called Celadna for any of you who knows where that is !!
CHAMPIONS TOUR
DA Weibring, remember him ?? He has gone 67, 67 -10 to lead the old preacher Tom Lehman by 2 shots after two rounds of the Jeld-Wen Tradition,the 4th of 5 majors.
He apparently has had an injured shoulder for the last 2 years but is healthy again.
The guy I am watching is Bernhard Langer who is at -6 just 4 shots back. He is trying to win his 3rd major in a row. I really want to see Monty pick him for the Ryder Cup and how could he refuse a guy who has won 3 majors in a row !! In case you were wondering I looked it up. He is currently 197 on the World Ryder Cup Points list and yes the likes of Casey, Karlsson, Molinari, Fisher, Jimenez,Stenson etal are way ahead, you need players in form, and who is hotter. Plus with the sparkplug of the team for year's Sergio Garcia off for 2 months, what a boost Langer, who is still as fit as he was 20 years ago, would give this talented squad !!
LPGA
Japan's Ai Miyazato -6,66 has a one shot lead in the Safeway Classic at Pumpkin Ridge in Oregon. She has been vying for the #1 spot vacated by Lorena Ochoa, with Kristie Kerr and Suzann Petterson also Jiyai Shin and Yani Tseng.
Canucks.... Adrienne White T14, -2,70 Alena Sharp T18, -1 71. Lisa Meldrum T29, E 72..Samantha Richdale T44 +1,73.. Lorie Kane T77, +3, 75..
My congratulations to Dave Bunker our fine amateur from Woodbridge who will be playing in the 2011 RBC Canadian Open after successfully defending his Canadian Men's Mid Amateur at Royal Ottawa. He finished at -5 just edging Dave Arnold the pride of Brooklyn, Ont., and Craig Doell who travelled right across the country from Victoria
Bryan Angus
Graham DeLaet 67,74, 141 +1 and Matt Hill 69,71 138 E also missed out. Graham went into the event at 119 on the money list, so I imagine he will have to hold his breath to see if he makes the T125 come Sunday afternoon.
The fall series starts with the Viking Classic the week of September 27, and remember Weir's last win was during this series at the Fry.com Open, so we probably will see him re-appear in 6 weeks.
There is a silver lining in every cloud they say, and perhaps this is best for Mike, he has been working hard with little to show for it. Time to circle the wagons, rehab the elbow, get healthy and why not get a fresh pair of eyes to look at his swing and give him something to build his confidence back upon. He has full PGA tour exemption until 2013 following his 2003 Masters win ( now you can really see why winning a major is huge !!)
Brandt Snedeker 63,65 -12 and Arjun Atwal 61,67 -12 are your leaders. Snedeker won here in 2007
Kevin Streelman, Lucas Glover and John Rollins are next at -11
CANADIAN TOUR
I mentioned yesterday that our Canadian Tour is down in Seaforth this week and there is actually a Canadian in contention. Kent Eger (Saskatchewan) is a shot off the lead held at -12 by 3 Americans, Brady Stockton, Brian Prouty and Rob Grube. There is a group of Canucks including Peter Laws of Mississauga who are in contention going into the weekend, so if you are in the area drop by the Seaforth CC and cheer them on.
EUROPEAN TOUR
With 2 events left to qualify for Monty's Ryder Cup squad,Peter Hanson of Sweden who is 15th on the points list shot -2 70 yesterday and at -7 is on top of the leaderboard with another Swede, Fredrik Widmark at the Czech Open at a place called Celadna for any of you who knows where that is !!
CHAMPIONS TOUR
DA Weibring, remember him ?? He has gone 67, 67 -10 to lead the old preacher Tom Lehman by 2 shots after two rounds of the Jeld-Wen Tradition,the 4th of 5 majors.
He apparently has had an injured shoulder for the last 2 years but is healthy again.
The guy I am watching is Bernhard Langer who is at -6 just 4 shots back. He is trying to win his 3rd major in a row. I really want to see Monty pick him for the Ryder Cup and how could he refuse a guy who has won 3 majors in a row !! In case you were wondering I looked it up. He is currently 197 on the World Ryder Cup Points list and yes the likes of Casey, Karlsson, Molinari, Fisher, Jimenez,Stenson etal are way ahead, you need players in form, and who is hotter. Plus with the sparkplug of the team for year's Sergio Garcia off for 2 months, what a boost Langer, who is still as fit as he was 20 years ago, would give this talented squad !!
LPGA
Japan's Ai Miyazato -6,66 has a one shot lead in the Safeway Classic at Pumpkin Ridge in Oregon. She has been vying for the #1 spot vacated by Lorena Ochoa, with Kristie Kerr and Suzann Petterson also Jiyai Shin and Yani Tseng.
Canucks.... Adrienne White T14, -2,70 Alena Sharp T18, -1 71. Lisa Meldrum T29, E 72..Samantha Richdale T44 +1,73.. Lorie Kane T77, +3, 75..
My congratulations to Dave Bunker our fine amateur from Woodbridge who will be playing in the 2011 RBC Canadian Open after successfully defending his Canadian Men's Mid Amateur at Royal Ottawa. He finished at -5 just edging Dave Arnold the pride of Brooklyn, Ont., and Craig Doell who travelled right across the country from Victoria
Bryan Angus
Friday, August 20, 2010
Battling Weirsy still fighting to save lost year at last event.
First it's great to be back after a week away from the computer looking after my dear old Dad, he's 90 now and all things considered still going strong. He taught me the best lesson I have ever had in golf,which I will relate at the end of this post..
So it's the final event of the regular season this week on the PGATour, the Wyndham Championship at the venerable Sedgefield CC in Greensboro,SC. The top 125 players on the money list qualify for the Fed Ex playoffs which start next week with The Barclays at the Ridgewood CC in NJ., then the Deutsche Bank at the TPC Boston and the BMW at Cog Hill in Lemont Il with the final 75 left to play for the Tour Championship and theFed Ex Cup at East Lake in Atlanta, September 20-26.
Enter Mike Weir, 126 on the money list and therefore right on the bubble !!
Now ranked 82nd in the world, battling tendinitis in his elbow and having only placed in the T10 once all year and having only made 4 cuts in his last 6 attempts, he is T38 after an opening round -3,67. It's typical of his never say die attitude that he hasn't just packed it in for the year to give the elbow time to heal, then sort out what direction, including a possible new coach, he will take to get back on track.
"I really shouldn't be playing I guess to find a way to give this (elbow) a chance to heal, but I want to play this week and for the next three at least" he said after his 4 birdie and 1bogey round.
" It's an old tree lined course that really suits my game, but you still have to make some putts, and I left a few out there"
Arjun Atwal is your leader with what seems to be the weekly requirement of 61. -9. The course is very soft although sunshine is in the forecast today, so look for more low scores.
Atwal by the way has been told even if he wins he cannot qualify for the Fed Ex Cup. He is playing on a medical extension and had not accrewed enough money through our RBC so he lost his PGATour playing privileges.
By the way Stephen Ames is not in the field, he is 71st on the money list so is in for the playoffs.
Graham DeLaet is 119th, so he has it all to play for as well. He also opened with a -3,67
I remember Heath Slocum being in Weirsy's shoes last year, he just made it into the top 125 on the Sunday then went on to win the Barclay's...
Knowing Weirsy that's exactly what he is thinking despite all his woes this year on the golf course !
Tiger Woods by the way has announced he is entering the Barclay's next week. He usually has the luxury of skipping the first 2 weeks of the playoffs because he has such a lead in the Fed Ex. points race. Not so this year, at last check he was 115th !!
LPGA.
While we are all waiting for the CN Canadian Open at St Charles CC in Winnipeg next week, the women are out west this week at the Safeway Classic at the Pumpkin Ridge course in Oregon.
Alena Sharp, Lori Kane, Samantha Richdale, Lisa Meldrum and Adrienne White all in the field.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
It's their last major of the year and they are also in Oregon at the Jeld-Wen Tradition. Bernhard Langer is vying to become the first Senior to win 3 majors in a row since Gary Player did it in 1987-88. It really would be a popular choice if Monty were to pick him for Celtic Manor !!
EUROPEAN TOUR
This is the second last regular season event for Euro players to earn their spot on Monty's Ryder Cup team. It's the Czech Open. The Johnnie Walker is the final event next week at the fabulous Glen Eagles spa and Resort in Perthshire.
NATIONWIDE TOUR (off)
CANADIAN TOUR
Is down in Seaforth this week, it's the Economical Insurance Group Seaforth Classic and they are playing for a purse of $125,000
Oh yeah, Dad's lesson !! We could go out and play Parkview after 5pm on the weekend's for a $2.00 twilight ticket ( back in the late 60's) and Dad and I, having knocked heads all through my early teenage years were finally enjoying each others company. Dad showed me how to respect the game by playing in his Sunday best pants and shirt minus the tie and jacket, but with his Sunday shoes, black and shiny but of course with no spikes !
Here's the lesson. Away out at the back of the course,I want to say the 12th, I duffed a drive, lost my temper and threw my driver at a big tree. He was about to tee up,but instead put his cover head back on his driver, picked up his bag and said "let's go back to the car" I of course protested saying I could still make par once I found the ball etc etc....He gave me the 'be quiet 'hand and we walked and walked as I fumed. Then he said. " You have ruined my round and my day with your temper and bad sportsmanship. You are a good athlete and if you get the time could become a scratch golfer, but if you are like most of us you will spend most of your time working and raising a family, so when you do get a chance to play, enjoy the day, enjoy the company,and enjoy your good shots and you will enjoy your day, more importantly the guys you play with will enjoy playing with you
I have carried that with me all my life, and to this day I remember his words almost every time I am having one of those rounds where everything is going sideways, it puts it all in perspective !! Thanks Dad !!
Bryan Angus
So it's the final event of the regular season this week on the PGATour, the Wyndham Championship at the venerable Sedgefield CC in Greensboro,SC. The top 125 players on the money list qualify for the Fed Ex playoffs which start next week with The Barclays at the Ridgewood CC in NJ., then the Deutsche Bank at the TPC Boston and the BMW at Cog Hill in Lemont Il with the final 75 left to play for the Tour Championship and theFed Ex Cup at East Lake in Atlanta, September 20-26.
Enter Mike Weir, 126 on the money list and therefore right on the bubble !!
Now ranked 82nd in the world, battling tendinitis in his elbow and having only placed in the T10 once all year and having only made 4 cuts in his last 6 attempts, he is T38 after an opening round -3,67. It's typical of his never say die attitude that he hasn't just packed it in for the year to give the elbow time to heal, then sort out what direction, including a possible new coach, he will take to get back on track.
"I really shouldn't be playing I guess to find a way to give this (elbow) a chance to heal, but I want to play this week and for the next three at least" he said after his 4 birdie and 1bogey round.
" It's an old tree lined course that really suits my game, but you still have to make some putts, and I left a few out there"
Arjun Atwal is your leader with what seems to be the weekly requirement of 61. -9. The course is very soft although sunshine is in the forecast today, so look for more low scores.
Atwal by the way has been told even if he wins he cannot qualify for the Fed Ex Cup. He is playing on a medical extension and had not accrewed enough money through our RBC so he lost his PGATour playing privileges.
By the way Stephen Ames is not in the field, he is 71st on the money list so is in for the playoffs.
Graham DeLaet is 119th, so he has it all to play for as well. He also opened with a -3,67
I remember Heath Slocum being in Weirsy's shoes last year, he just made it into the top 125 on the Sunday then went on to win the Barclay's...
Knowing Weirsy that's exactly what he is thinking despite all his woes this year on the golf course !
Tiger Woods by the way has announced he is entering the Barclay's next week. He usually has the luxury of skipping the first 2 weeks of the playoffs because he has such a lead in the Fed Ex. points race. Not so this year, at last check he was 115th !!
LPGA.
While we are all waiting for the CN Canadian Open at St Charles CC in Winnipeg next week, the women are out west this week at the Safeway Classic at the Pumpkin Ridge course in Oregon.
Alena Sharp, Lori Kane, Samantha Richdale, Lisa Meldrum and Adrienne White all in the field.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
It's their last major of the year and they are also in Oregon at the Jeld-Wen Tradition. Bernhard Langer is vying to become the first Senior to win 3 majors in a row since Gary Player did it in 1987-88. It really would be a popular choice if Monty were to pick him for Celtic Manor !!
EUROPEAN TOUR
This is the second last regular season event for Euro players to earn their spot on Monty's Ryder Cup team. It's the Czech Open. The Johnnie Walker is the final event next week at the fabulous Glen Eagles spa and Resort in Perthshire.
NATIONWIDE TOUR (off)
CANADIAN TOUR
Is down in Seaforth this week, it's the Economical Insurance Group Seaforth Classic and they are playing for a purse of $125,000
Oh yeah, Dad's lesson !! We could go out and play Parkview after 5pm on the weekend's for a $2.00 twilight ticket ( back in the late 60's) and Dad and I, having knocked heads all through my early teenage years were finally enjoying each others company. Dad showed me how to respect the game by playing in his Sunday best pants and shirt minus the tie and jacket, but with his Sunday shoes, black and shiny but of course with no spikes !
Here's the lesson. Away out at the back of the course,I want to say the 12th, I duffed a drive, lost my temper and threw my driver at a big tree. He was about to tee up,but instead put his cover head back on his driver, picked up his bag and said "let's go back to the car" I of course protested saying I could still make par once I found the ball etc etc....He gave me the 'be quiet 'hand and we walked and walked as I fumed. Then he said. " You have ruined my round and my day with your temper and bad sportsmanship. You are a good athlete and if you get the time could become a scratch golfer, but if you are like most of us you will spend most of your time working and raising a family, so when you do get a chance to play, enjoy the day, enjoy the company,and enjoy your good shots and you will enjoy your day, more importantly the guys you play with will enjoy playing with you
I have carried that with me all my life, and to this day I remember his words almost every time I am having one of those rounds where everything is going sideways, it puts it all in perspective !! Thanks Dad !!
Bryan Angus
Monday, August 16, 2010
Kaymer's win at the PGA makes it a 'trifecta' for the EuropeanTour
Remember to vote on the poll question above this blog " Should Corey Pavin select Tiger Woods to his Ryder Cup team ?" thankyou.
Last year after an article I wrote about a brilliant young German, Martin Kaymer losing the Race To Dubai after he crushed his foot in a go cart accident, Rube (Lorne Rubenstein) sent me a brief email to say " good call on Kaymer, he's a star in the making for sure"
So no surprise to me, or Rube, when he beat the always entertaining Bubba Watson in the playoff to win his first of what should be several majors at the PGA yesterday, and I'm sure no surprise to all of those in the front office at the European Tour over in Surrey.
That is now 3 of 4 majors this year for the Euro's. Graeme McDowell with the US Open at Pebble Beach, Louis Oosthuizen and his brilliant display at St Andrew's, now Kaymer, and don't forget Lee Westwood was second to Phil Mickelson at Augusta.
The world rankings released today show Mr Kaymer up at #5 now and European Tour members are in 12 of the top 20 spots,which really is making Monty's job of selection for his Celtic Manor squad very difficult.
Having said that, it's a nice problem to have !!
Bryan Angus
Last year after an article I wrote about a brilliant young German, Martin Kaymer losing the Race To Dubai after he crushed his foot in a go cart accident, Rube (Lorne Rubenstein) sent me a brief email to say " good call on Kaymer, he's a star in the making for sure"
So no surprise to me, or Rube, when he beat the always entertaining Bubba Watson in the playoff to win his first of what should be several majors at the PGA yesterday, and I'm sure no surprise to all of those in the front office at the European Tour over in Surrey.
That is now 3 of 4 majors this year for the Euro's. Graeme McDowell with the US Open at Pebble Beach, Louis Oosthuizen and his brilliant display at St Andrew's, now Kaymer, and don't forget Lee Westwood was second to Phil Mickelson at Augusta.
The world rankings released today show Mr Kaymer up at #5 now and European Tour members are in 12 of the top 20 spots,which really is making Monty's job of selection for his Celtic Manor squad very difficult.
Having said that, it's a nice problem to have !!
Bryan Angus
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Kuchar still leading part way through round 2
Remember to vote on the poll question above this post. It is 'Should Corey Pavin select Tiger Woods to his Ryder Cup team ?'
When darkness fell last night with half the field still on a rainy, blustery Whistling Straights course, Matt Kuchar's smile lit up Kohler, Wisconsin !!
He continued his fine play this week and indeed over the last 2 years, firing a -3, 69 for a -8 total.
This morning the players will be asked to be ready at 7am CST, 8am EST, and with the rain that fell overnight they will be facing a softer, much calmer course than they went to sleep on, so advantage there for scoring
Here is the official forecast and I have just called the course and the sky is clear right now although it is still dark there
Partly sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s. Southwest winds up to 5 mph
Matt Kuchar, 67,69 -8, 136 (leads tour with 8 T10 finishes this year, is staying out of trouble and making his putts, only 2 bogey's in 36 holes, red hot wedge )
2. Nick Watney, 69,68 -7, 137
T3. Jason Dufner, 73,66 -5, 139 was T3 at our Canadian Open in 2009..low round of the day so far
T3. Bryce Molder. 72,67, -5, 139 college teammate of Matt Kuchar... born with no left pectoral muscle and a left hand that is much smaller than his right.
T3. Dustin Johnson, 71,68, -5, 139.. was out driving Ernie all day !!
T3. Seung Yul Noh, 68,71, -5 139.. sensationally mature 19 year old Korean rookie
T3.. Rory McIlroy, 71,68 -5,139 shot himself right into this championship in the worst of the weather
T3. Zach Johnson 69,70,-5, 139..fighting for a Ryder cup spot
T3. Simon Khan, 69,60 -5, 139 winner of the BMW on the Euro Tour earlier this year
Tiger has only played 6 holes and he was in trouble off the tee several times but did scramble well and id still at -1
Ernie doubled 18 to fall from -4 to -2 and in fact there are a lot of notables at -2 including Mickelson.
Because of the soft conditions this course has not yet shown it's teeth so there is not much separation on the leaderboard and I expect it to be even tighter when this round is finally complete.
Mike Weir T103, 74, 74 +4, 148
Stephen Ames T103 , 71, 77 +4 148
Bryan Angus
When darkness fell last night with half the field still on a rainy, blustery Whistling Straights course, Matt Kuchar's smile lit up Kohler, Wisconsin !!
He continued his fine play this week and indeed over the last 2 years, firing a -3, 69 for a -8 total.
This morning the players will be asked to be ready at 7am CST, 8am EST, and with the rain that fell overnight they will be facing a softer, much calmer course than they went to sleep on, so advantage there for scoring
Here is the official forecast and I have just called the course and the sky is clear right now although it is still dark there
Partly sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s. Southwest winds up to 5 mph
Matt Kuchar, 67,69 -8, 136 (leads tour with 8 T10 finishes this year, is staying out of trouble and making his putts, only 2 bogey's in 36 holes, red hot wedge )
2. Nick Watney, 69,68 -7, 137
T3. Jason Dufner, 73,66 -5, 139 was T3 at our Canadian Open in 2009..low round of the day so far
T3. Bryce Molder. 72,67, -5, 139 college teammate of Matt Kuchar... born with no left pectoral muscle and a left hand that is much smaller than his right.
T3. Dustin Johnson, 71,68, -5, 139.. was out driving Ernie all day !!
T3. Seung Yul Noh, 68,71, -5 139.. sensationally mature 19 year old Korean rookie
T3.. Rory McIlroy, 71,68 -5,139 shot himself right into this championship in the worst of the weather
T3. Zach Johnson 69,70,-5, 139..fighting for a Ryder cup spot
T3. Simon Khan, 69,60 -5, 139 winner of the BMW on the Euro Tour earlier this year
Tiger has only played 6 holes and he was in trouble off the tee several times but did scramble well and id still at -1
Ernie doubled 18 to fall from -4 to -2 and in fact there are a lot of notables at -2 including Mickelson.
Because of the soft conditions this course has not yet shown it's teeth so there is not much separation on the leaderboard and I expect it to be even tighter when this round is finally complete.
Mike Weir T103, 74, 74 +4, 148
Stephen Ames T103 , 71, 77 +4 148
Bryan Angus
Friday, August 13, 2010
Round 1 still wrapping up... Kucher leads at -5
It's 1230 on Friday and round 1 is still underway, but round 2 has started. They had more fog this morning and are about 6 and a half hours behind schedule
Matt Kuchar -5, 67 1230pm
Ernie Els -4, 68 1250pm
Seung Yul Noh, -4.68
Bubba Watson, -4, 68
Francesco Molinari, -4,68
Nick Watney, -4,68
Angel Cabrera, -4,68
Tiger Woods, -1,71 645pm
Stephen Ames,-1, 71 645pm
Mike Weir +2, 74 1240pm
So the last guys out today will probably get in 6 or 7 holes, leaving a lot of play tomorrow, especially for the likes of Stephen Ames and Tiger and all the late flight.
More fog is expected tomorrow and a significant storm system is on the cards for later this afternoon, with rain in the forecast.
More later today
Bryan Angus
Matt Kuchar -5, 67 1230pm
Ernie Els -4, 68 1250pm
Seung Yul Noh, -4.68
Bubba Watson, -4, 68
Francesco Molinari, -4,68
Nick Watney, -4,68
Angel Cabrera, -4,68
Tiger Woods, -1,71 645pm
Stephen Ames,-1, 71 645pm
Mike Weir +2, 74 1240pm
So the last guys out today will probably get in 6 or 7 holes, leaving a lot of play tomorrow, especially for the likes of Stephen Ames and Tiger and all the late flight.
More fog is expected tomorrow and a significant storm system is on the cards for later this afternoon, with rain in the forecast.
More later today
Bryan Angus
Thursday, August 12, 2010
PGA Championship back underway after 2 fog delays
Remember the poll question above this post is 'Should Corey Pavin select Tiger to his Ryder Cup team?" Please go up and vote.. Thankyou...
Play was suspended for three and a half hours this morning, as the fog rolling into Whistling Straights off Lake Michigan encompassed the course.
It gradually cleared, and play began but was stopped again after 2 holes when Bo Van Pelt told an official he couldn't see the 3rd green.
Kohler has been in the same heat wave we have here in Toronto, so the lake is obviously colder than the air, thus the fog..
I have been asked to handicap this week and to tell you the truth, I haven't got the 'foggiest'!! (sorry )
Usually at a major I leave Tiger out of my picks since he is always such an obvious favourite. Now I wait to see if he has found something during this week's practice. He looks good and upbeat as I watch him practice.
Next up Phil Mickelson, who if I must,I would make my favourite to win. Despite his final round 78 last week, he scored well in the 3 rounds before, mainly because of his short game, and more importantly, he had this tournament the last time it was here in 2004, until he faltered at the end finishing T8, letting Vijay Singh in,he beat DiMarco and Justin Leonard.
So then I take Justin Leonard as my dark horse, since he nearly won it in '04 and was in contention last week so is in form.
Vijay says he is playing pain free, obviously plays well here, but despite the fact he has won 20 times since he turned 40, he just can't putt well enough these days to seal the deal for my money. He is off the 10th at around 1240 playing with Tiger and YE Yang, who is of course the defending champion.
Weir and Ames are in the field for us..
The European Tour has 39 players in the field. Their number 1,Lee Westwood is out for six weeks with that calf injury. I expect solid performances from Paddy Harrington, Luke Donald who was 3rd at our Canadian Open and Paul Casey who of course nearly won the Open and is still in form. There are so many to choose from the Euro Tour these days, like the Molinari brothers, Rory McIlroy,Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, and Ian Poulter, all of whom could win this in a heartbeat and I could also argue since this as linksy a course as you will find in America, it may favour the lads from across the pond who grew up with links golf.
This course is so far removed from the narrow tree lined fairways last week at Firestone, and also remember there have been 13 winners this year in their 20's including Hunter Mahan last week, and 5 at the other end in their 40's including Ernie and the oldest of the bunch, Steve Stricker who is the home town favourite this week as he hails from Edgerton, Wisconsin,and lives in Madison
The players are back out on course now at 1235pm and playing in perfect scoring conditions, sun, little wind and a soft course. It is very gettable right now, a big break for Tiger and everyone else in this flight.
BryanAngus
Play was suspended for three and a half hours this morning, as the fog rolling into Whistling Straights off Lake Michigan encompassed the course.
It gradually cleared, and play began but was stopped again after 2 holes when Bo Van Pelt told an official he couldn't see the 3rd green.
Kohler has been in the same heat wave we have here in Toronto, so the lake is obviously colder than the air, thus the fog..
I have been asked to handicap this week and to tell you the truth, I haven't got the 'foggiest'!! (sorry )
Usually at a major I leave Tiger out of my picks since he is always such an obvious favourite. Now I wait to see if he has found something during this week's practice. He looks good and upbeat as I watch him practice.
Next up Phil Mickelson, who if I must,I would make my favourite to win. Despite his final round 78 last week, he scored well in the 3 rounds before, mainly because of his short game, and more importantly, he had this tournament the last time it was here in 2004, until he faltered at the end finishing T8, letting Vijay Singh in,he beat DiMarco and Justin Leonard.
So then I take Justin Leonard as my dark horse, since he nearly won it in '04 and was in contention last week so is in form.
Vijay says he is playing pain free, obviously plays well here, but despite the fact he has won 20 times since he turned 40, he just can't putt well enough these days to seal the deal for my money. He is off the 10th at around 1240 playing with Tiger and YE Yang, who is of course the defending champion.
Weir and Ames are in the field for us..
The European Tour has 39 players in the field. Their number 1,Lee Westwood is out for six weeks with that calf injury. I expect solid performances from Paddy Harrington, Luke Donald who was 3rd at our Canadian Open and Paul Casey who of course nearly won the Open and is still in form. There are so many to choose from the Euro Tour these days, like the Molinari brothers, Rory McIlroy,Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, and Ian Poulter, all of whom could win this in a heartbeat and I could also argue since this as linksy a course as you will find in America, it may favour the lads from across the pond who grew up with links golf.
This course is so far removed from the narrow tree lined fairways last week at Firestone, and also remember there have been 13 winners this year in their 20's including Hunter Mahan last week, and 5 at the other end in their 40's including Ernie and the oldest of the bunch, Steve Stricker who is the home town favourite this week as he hails from Edgerton, Wisconsin,and lives in Madison
The players are back out on course now at 1235pm and playing in perfect scoring conditions, sun, little wind and a soft course. It is very gettable right now, a big break for Tiger and everyone else in this flight.
BryanAngus
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sean Foley, Tiger and Fairways
On Sunday evening around the 13th hole I texted Sean and said " Unless Sean can catch him, Hunter will win this " and then 'the Tiger talk with you is bound to pick up this week "
Well we know the rest, Hunter Mahan wins and Tiger talks to Sean on Tuesday at the PGA, however innocently..
I have a special relationship with Sean Foley, so does Bob Weeks and Scott Metcalfe. Sean is our golf guru on our Fairways golf show every Saturday from 7-8am
Here's why. 15 years ago I used to get a different pro for our Fairways Golf Tip every Saturday morning. I would give them the topic and they would give the tip.
Then I called the late, great Ben Kern at the National one week and he became for a few years our regular golf pro... He brought you such great insight and his pals, Lee Trevino, Hank Haney, Tiger Woods etal and sadly we lost him far too soon to cancer.
As I planned out our next year we had a huge hole to fill and Weeksy, plugged in as ever said why not call Sean Foley, he is Canadian teacher and on the rise..
I called Sean, and asked him to replace Ben ....
He agreed immediately. Ben was one of his guiding lights as a young golf pro. He was coaching Ames at the time and became a must listen as part of our Saturday morning show... Folks he is reknown for knowing more about the golf swing and how to impart that info to his guys than any golf coach in the world and he was on Fairways every Saturday at 7.25am, for free I might add.
Sean told those of you who were listening on Fairways last year, the only show he appeared on ,that he would be thrilled to help Tiger, but is reluctant to become his full time coach because he is newly married to Kate and has the mighty Quinn as their first son. He has a good balance in life between them, his duties at Core Golf Academy and his pros.
He has Ames, Mahan , O'Hair amongst others to coach and when you sign on with Tiger, your personal life disappears.
Foley will enjoy advising Tiger, but coaching him full time would need Kate and Quinn's approval !!
Bryan Angus
Well we know the rest, Hunter Mahan wins and Tiger talks to Sean on Tuesday at the PGA, however innocently..
I have a special relationship with Sean Foley, so does Bob Weeks and Scott Metcalfe. Sean is our golf guru on our Fairways golf show every Saturday from 7-8am
Here's why. 15 years ago I used to get a different pro for our Fairways Golf Tip every Saturday morning. I would give them the topic and they would give the tip.
Then I called the late, great Ben Kern at the National one week and he became for a few years our regular golf pro... He brought you such great insight and his pals, Lee Trevino, Hank Haney, Tiger Woods etal and sadly we lost him far too soon to cancer.
As I planned out our next year we had a huge hole to fill and Weeksy, plugged in as ever said why not call Sean Foley, he is Canadian teacher and on the rise..
I called Sean, and asked him to replace Ben ....
He agreed immediately. Ben was one of his guiding lights as a young golf pro. He was coaching Ames at the time and became a must listen as part of our Saturday morning show... Folks he is reknown for knowing more about the golf swing and how to impart that info to his guys than any golf coach in the world and he was on Fairways every Saturday at 7.25am, for free I might add.
Sean told those of you who were listening on Fairways last year, the only show he appeared on ,that he would be thrilled to help Tiger, but is reluctant to become his full time coach because he is newly married to Kate and has the mighty Quinn as their first son. He has a good balance in life between them, his duties at Core Golf Academy and his pros.
He has Ames, Mahan , O'Hair amongst others to coach and when you sign on with Tiger, your personal life disappears.
Foley will enjoy advising Tiger, but coaching him full time would need Kate and Quinn's approval !!
Bryan Angus
Where they are playing this week... August 12-15
First just a reminder the poll question above this post is ' Should Corey Pavin select Tiger for his Ryder Cup team " Please go up and vote yes or no, thankyou..
"It's a jacked up links course, it's got some length and some teeth to it. It's got a bit of Kingsbarns in there and a bit of Ballybunion and Portrush, everything all rolled into one.Amazing that this course is man made because it looks like it's been here since the beginning of time"
So says a man who should know, Irishman Graeme McDowell, your US Open champ who was born and raised in Portrush, and he is talking about the site of this weeks PGA Championsship, Whistling Straights, hard by the shores of Lake Michigan in Kohler Wisc.
Here's where everyone is this week. ( Thanks to AP, PGATour.com EuropeanTour.com for research)
PGA OF AMERICA
PGA Championship
Sheboygan, Wis.
Whistling Straits, Straits Course (7,514 yards, par 72).
Defending Champion: South Korea's Y.E. Yang beat Tiger Woods by three strokes at Hazeltine in Chaska, .
Canucks.. Mike Weir, Stephen Ames
If tied after 72 holes, the tournament will be decided in a three-hole, stroke-play playoff. If still tied, it will go to sudden death. The event ends the race for the eight automatic U.S. Ryder Cup spots.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Price Cutter Charity Championship
Springfield, Mo.
Highland Springs Country Club (7,115 yards, par 72)
$625,000. Winner's share: $112,500.
Defending champion: Justin Bolli .
Canucks: David Hearn, Jon Mills, Dustin Risdon, David Morland, Ted Brown, JulienTrudeau, Kevin Fortin-Simard, Barrett Jarosch
LPGA TOUR
Off
Next week: Safeway Classic, Aug 20-22, Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, Ghost Creek Course, North Plains, Ore.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Off
Next week: The Tradition, Aug. 19-22, Sunriver Resort, Crosswater Golf Club, Sunriver, Ore.
CANADIAN TOUR:
Clublink Jane Rogers Championship,
Greystone Golf Club, Halton Hills, Ont.
U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION:
U.S. Women's Amateur,
Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte, N.C.
Bryan Angus
"It's a jacked up links course, it's got some length and some teeth to it. It's got a bit of Kingsbarns in there and a bit of Ballybunion and Portrush, everything all rolled into one.Amazing that this course is man made because it looks like it's been here since the beginning of time"
So says a man who should know, Irishman Graeme McDowell, your US Open champ who was born and raised in Portrush, and he is talking about the site of this weeks PGA Championsship, Whistling Straights, hard by the shores of Lake Michigan in Kohler Wisc.
Here's where everyone is this week. ( Thanks to AP, PGATour.com EuropeanTour.com for research)
PGA OF AMERICA
PGA Championship
Sheboygan, Wis.
Whistling Straits, Straits Course (7,514 yards, par 72).
Defending Champion: South Korea's Y.E. Yang beat Tiger Woods by three strokes at Hazeltine in Chaska, .
Canucks.. Mike Weir, Stephen Ames
If tied after 72 holes, the tournament will be decided in a three-hole, stroke-play playoff. If still tied, it will go to sudden death. The event ends the race for the eight automatic U.S. Ryder Cup spots.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Price Cutter Charity Championship
Springfield, Mo.
Highland Springs Country Club (7,115 yards, par 72)
$625,000. Winner's share: $112,500.
Defending champion: Justin Bolli .
Canucks: David Hearn, Jon Mills, Dustin Risdon, David Morland, Ted Brown, JulienTrudeau, Kevin Fortin-Simard, Barrett Jarosch
LPGA TOUR
Off
Next week: Safeway Classic, Aug 20-22, Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, Ghost Creek Course, North Plains, Ore.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Off
Next week: The Tradition, Aug. 19-22, Sunriver Resort, Crosswater Golf Club, Sunriver, Ore.
CANADIAN TOUR:
Clublink Jane Rogers Championship,
Greystone Golf Club, Halton Hills, Ont.
U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION:
U.S. Women's Amateur,
Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte, N.C.
Bryan Angus
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
This Tiger 'sideshow' is hurting golf
Before I start, the poll of the day above this post is "Should Corey Pavin select Tiger to his Ryder Cup team ??" Now go back up and click yes or no thank you ...
Quickly now, who won this past weekend's WGC Bridgestone Invitational ?? Ok, who was second ??
Here's another one. Who won the 3M Championship on the Champions tour and what was remarkable about his final round ? How about, where were Stephen Ames and Graham DeLaet playing on the weekend ??
Unless you watched on the weekend and just relied on highlight packages, radio reports and newspaper articles, you may not know that Hunter Mahan shot 64 on Sunday to edge Ryan Palmer by 2 shots to not only win the Bridgestone but also to secure his spot in the Ryder Cup.
David Frost flirted with 59,settling for 61 to win his first Champions Tour event. You might remember him winning our '93 Canadian Open by a shot over Freddie at the Abbey, and of course Stephen and Graham were in New York State at the Turning Stone Championship.
Any of that ring a bell ?? If you said none of it or oh yeah, now I remember you are helping me make my point, and for those of you who have followed this blog and listen to Weeksy,Scott and I on Fairways you will know what my point is.
The story lines this weekend were..... Tiger's shocking play, then Tiger's shocking play and finally Tiger's shocking play !!!
To the virtual exclusion of my first 3 paragraphs.
Is this good for golf ?? Surely not ..We normally allot around 2-3 minutes to cover the weekends golf on the various Sportsdesk's whether it's Connected or ESPN or TSN etc. Say it was 3 minutes this weekend.
2 and a half were consumed with the Tiger low lights, 15 seconds for Phil's implosion (78) and a shot of Hunter Mahan tapping in on 18 for the title. I kid you not, many of you saw it for yourselves.
Is this good for golf ?? Again unless you watched the live feeds yourself, there is a good chance you don't know what went on with the actual golf tournaments, because the Tiger side show was in full swing.
Have we not just recently learned not to put all our golfing eggs in the Tiger basket ??
What about this week's major, the PGA at Whistling Straights. ? It's a major for cripes sakes, but unless Tiger finds a miracle between now and Thursday, this major will be all about him and his lousy play again.
And what of the Ryder Cup if Pavin picks him ? It becomes the Tiger Cup, from Celtic Manor in Wales !!
The camera's are already set up on the practice range, we wait with baited breath for his press conference, what's he wearing ?, what kind of mood is he in??.. For goodness sake he wasn't a factor at the Open in St Andrews, yet Mike Tirico and Paul Azinger spent 4 days discussing... yes now you remember... he tried out a new putter !!!
This simply sickens me. We have taken the cheap and salacious route to the almighty ratings grab. The worse he gets the more we watch. Are you one of those people who stops your car in the middle of the highway to watch a really bad car crash on the other side ?? That's what we we are doing with Tiger. He's the car crash..
The Tiger side show has taken over golf and it's coverage, at the expense of the game itself...
This Tiger is hurting golf.
BryanAngus
Quickly now, who won this past weekend's WGC Bridgestone Invitational ?? Ok, who was second ??
Here's another one. Who won the 3M Championship on the Champions tour and what was remarkable about his final round ? How about, where were Stephen Ames and Graham DeLaet playing on the weekend ??
Unless you watched on the weekend and just relied on highlight packages, radio reports and newspaper articles, you may not know that Hunter Mahan shot 64 on Sunday to edge Ryan Palmer by 2 shots to not only win the Bridgestone but also to secure his spot in the Ryder Cup.
David Frost flirted with 59,settling for 61 to win his first Champions Tour event. You might remember him winning our '93 Canadian Open by a shot over Freddie at the Abbey, and of course Stephen and Graham were in New York State at the Turning Stone Championship.
Any of that ring a bell ?? If you said none of it or oh yeah, now I remember you are helping me make my point, and for those of you who have followed this blog and listen to Weeksy,Scott and I on Fairways you will know what my point is.
The story lines this weekend were..... Tiger's shocking play, then Tiger's shocking play and finally Tiger's shocking play !!!
To the virtual exclusion of my first 3 paragraphs.
Is this good for golf ?? Surely not ..We normally allot around 2-3 minutes to cover the weekends golf on the various Sportsdesk's whether it's Connected or ESPN or TSN etc. Say it was 3 minutes this weekend.
2 and a half were consumed with the Tiger low lights, 15 seconds for Phil's implosion (78) and a shot of Hunter Mahan tapping in on 18 for the title. I kid you not, many of you saw it for yourselves.
Is this good for golf ?? Again unless you watched the live feeds yourself, there is a good chance you don't know what went on with the actual golf tournaments, because the Tiger side show was in full swing.
Have we not just recently learned not to put all our golfing eggs in the Tiger basket ??
What about this week's major, the PGA at Whistling Straights. ? It's a major for cripes sakes, but unless Tiger finds a miracle between now and Thursday, this major will be all about him and his lousy play again.
And what of the Ryder Cup if Pavin picks him ? It becomes the Tiger Cup, from Celtic Manor in Wales !!
The camera's are already set up on the practice range, we wait with baited breath for his press conference, what's he wearing ?, what kind of mood is he in??.. For goodness sake he wasn't a factor at the Open in St Andrews, yet Mike Tirico and Paul Azinger spent 4 days discussing... yes now you remember... he tried out a new putter !!!
This simply sickens me. We have taken the cheap and salacious route to the almighty ratings grab. The worse he gets the more we watch. Are you one of those people who stops your car in the middle of the highway to watch a really bad car crash on the other side ?? That's what we we are doing with Tiger. He's the car crash..
The Tiger side show has taken over golf and it's coverage, at the expense of the game itself...
This Tiger is hurting golf.
BryanAngus
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Woods ends 'worst week' as a pro at +18
Tiger for the first time I can remember did not show up with his traditional Sunday red shirt
It would kind of been like a girl who is getting married for the 8th time, showing up all in white !!
He shot 77 today and in a brief interview (2 mins) said he is now heading to Whistling Straights to prepare for the PGA on Thursday.
His interview was painful to watch, he gave brief, mainly terse answers, understandable after the week he has put in here.
He says there is nothing wrong physically, and also says he wouldn't want to play in the Ryder Cup playing like this, as he or anyone else shooting 18 over par would only hurt the team
He also says he is not surprised with the way he played, when asked why he said that it has been a tough year
The Golf Channel went on the air at noon with early coverage with Faldo etal at the course. For some reason, with the tourney not on CBS and Global til 1pm, they cut away to Kelly Tilghman and Frank Nobilo in their Orlando studios for Golf Central where they spent the entire 30 minutes again showing the Tiger lowlights, replaying the interview, even asking Anthony Kim, Tiger's playing partner, what he thought about Tiger's game ! Not a word, nor any insight about the actual tournament and what should be a hell of a race to the last putt.
Proof again that for American media, Tiger is their story if he shoots 64 or 84. Do they never learn ??
Think of it folks, after listening to TGC, why would you even want to watch this afternoon ?? Tiger's gone, that's the story, to hell with Ernie, or Rory or heck even Phil. Check back in Monday and we'll have our camera's watching him practice at Whistling Straights, hopefully we can get Steve Sands to get a few more mono syllabic answers from him that we can analyze to death !!! Ok, now I feel better ..
Let's hope CBS does a better job this afternoon.
Bryan Angus
It would kind of been like a girl who is getting married for the 8th time, showing up all in white !!
He shot 77 today and in a brief interview (2 mins) said he is now heading to Whistling Straights to prepare for the PGA on Thursday.
His interview was painful to watch, he gave brief, mainly terse answers, understandable after the week he has put in here.
He says there is nothing wrong physically, and also says he wouldn't want to play in the Ryder Cup playing like this, as he or anyone else shooting 18 over par would only hurt the team
He also says he is not surprised with the way he played, when asked why he said that it has been a tough year
The Golf Channel went on the air at noon with early coverage with Faldo etal at the course. For some reason, with the tourney not on CBS and Global til 1pm, they cut away to Kelly Tilghman and Frank Nobilo in their Orlando studios for Golf Central where they spent the entire 30 minutes again showing the Tiger lowlights, replaying the interview, even asking Anthony Kim, Tiger's playing partner, what he thought about Tiger's game ! Not a word, nor any insight about the actual tournament and what should be a hell of a race to the last putt.
Proof again that for American media, Tiger is their story if he shoots 64 or 84. Do they never learn ??
Think of it folks, after listening to TGC, why would you even want to watch this afternoon ?? Tiger's gone, that's the story, to hell with Ernie, or Rory or heck even Phil. Check back in Monday and we'll have our camera's watching him practice at Whistling Straights, hopefully we can get Steve Sands to get a few more mono syllabic answers from him that we can analyze to death !!! Ok, now I feel better ..
Let's hope CBS does a better job this afternoon.
Bryan Angus
That's why they call Saturday, 'moving day !!'
Retief Goosen started play on Saturday atop the leader board with a one shot lead over Leonard and Mickelson. Going into Sunday he trails 20 players and is 5 shots off the lead.
That's why they call Saturday 'moving day"..
Sean Foley our pro on the Fairways golf show is smiling quietly today as two of his guys Sean O'Hair 64, 201, T1 and Hunter Mahan, 66, 204, T4 will be part of 23 players who are within 5 shots of the lead as they tee it up today.
Ryan Palmer,63, 201 and O'Hair are tied for the lead
Matt Kuchar 66, 202 is alone in 3rd. Incidentally he won the other PGA event this week , the Turning Stone Championship last year, and couldn't defend because he qualified here.
3 players are T4 at 203. Ernie Els 62, made a great move. He is currently 6th in the world and leads both the money list and the Fed Ex points list. Peter Hanson 68 and Justin Leonard 69 are with him. Leonard has undergone a swing overhaul, and his hard work is paying off this week.
3 more players are at 204, including the aforementioned Hunter Mahan 66, and the red hot Jeff Overton 67, and Bo Van Pelt, 69.
6 more are tied at 205, Mickelson 71 is relying terribly on his short game and he is all over the lot off the tee. The best mover in this group Katsumasa Miyamoto 62, who is ranked 165 in the world, he was 13 shots better than Tiger !!
McIlroy 69, Ogilvy 68, and Cabrera 67 are all in a group at 206.
Oliver Wilson 67, 205, Dustin Johnson 68 205 and Nick Watney 69, 205 are all right in the thick of what will be a great day.
Guys who moved the wrong way besides Goosen include Poulter 77, Tim Clark 75, Weirsy 72, Ross Fisher 74, Luke Donald and Paul Casey 73, and Adam Scott, 72. They of course are remembering the old adage ' you can't win it on Saturday but you sure can lose it "
Here are today's tee times..
2:05 pm Palmer, Ryan O'Hair, Sean
1:55 pm Kuchar, Matt Els, Ernie
1:45 pm Hanson, Peter Leonard, Justin
1:35 pm Mahan, Hunter Overton, Jeff
1:25 pm Van Pelt, Bo Miyamoto, Katsumasa
1:15 pm Wilson, Oliver Johnson, Dustin
1:05 pm Watney, Nick Watson, Bubba
12:55 pm Mickelson, Phil Cabrera, Angel
12:45 pm Ogilvy, Geoff McIlroy, Rory
12:35 pm Glover, Lucas Jimenez, Miguel A.
12:25 pm Goosen, Retief Perry, Kenny
12:15 pm McDowell, Graeme Stricker, Steve
12:05 pm Kaymer, Martin Day, Jason
11:55 am Noren, Alexander Moore, Ryan
11:45 am Scott, Adam Schwartzel, Charl
11:35 am Garcia, Sergio Laird, Martin
11:25 am Furyk, Jim Harrington, Padraig
11:15 am Casey, Paul Slocum, Heath
11:05 am Oosthuizen, Louis Fowler, Rickie
10:55 am McGowan, Ross Haas, Bill
10:45 am Curtis, Ben Verplank, Scott
10:35 am Matteson, Troy Cink, Stewart
10:25 am Rose, Justin Johnson, Zach
10:15 am Kingston, James Fraser, Marcus
10:05 am Molinari, Edoardo Bohn, Jason
9:55 am Donald, Luke Fisher, Ross
9:45 am Weekley, Boo Molinari, Francesco
9:35 am Yang, Y.E. Weir, Mike
9:25 am Crane, Ben Campbell, Chad
9:15 am Quiros, Alvaro Singh, Vijay
9:05 am Bourdy, Gregory Holmes, J.B.
8:55 am Choi, K.J. Appleby, Stuart
8:45 am Davies, Rhys Ishikawa, Ryo
8:35 am Ikeda, Yuta Otto, Hennie
8:25 am Clark, Tim Hansen, Soren
8:15 am Dyson, Simon Karlsson, Robert
8:05 am Khan, Simon Villegas, Camilo
7:55 am Horsey, David Poulter, Ian
7:45 am Kim, Anthony Woods, Tiger
7:35 am Stenson, Henrik Jonzon, Michael
TURNING STONE RESORT CHAMPIONSHIP.
Alex 'Chubby' Cejka 67, 201 continues to lead the rest of the PGA pros by 2 shots
Chris Couch 63, 203 moved right into contention. Billy Mayfair 66, 204 is third
12 players are within 5 shots of the lead.
Stephen Ames 70, 210 and Graham DeLaet 72, 212 are our Canucks..
CHAMPIONS 3M CHAMPIONSHIP
Old adversaries Mark Calcavecchia 66, 130 and David Frost , 66 130 are both vying to win their first Champions Tour titles. But again there are 15 players within 5 shots of the lead on this Arnie Palmer course in Blaine, Minnesota.. Arnie I'm happy to report is playing !!
NATIONWIDE TOUR, WICHITA OPEN..
Roberto Castro 67, 194 is your leader by a shot.
The only Canuck to make the cut is David Hearn 69, 203
Bryan Angus
That's why they call Saturday 'moving day"..
Sean Foley our pro on the Fairways golf show is smiling quietly today as two of his guys Sean O'Hair 64, 201, T1 and Hunter Mahan, 66, 204, T4 will be part of 23 players who are within 5 shots of the lead as they tee it up today.
Ryan Palmer,63, 201 and O'Hair are tied for the lead
Matt Kuchar 66, 202 is alone in 3rd. Incidentally he won the other PGA event this week , the Turning Stone Championship last year, and couldn't defend because he qualified here.
3 players are T4 at 203. Ernie Els 62, made a great move. He is currently 6th in the world and leads both the money list and the Fed Ex points list. Peter Hanson 68 and Justin Leonard 69 are with him. Leonard has undergone a swing overhaul, and his hard work is paying off this week.
3 more players are at 204, including the aforementioned Hunter Mahan 66, and the red hot Jeff Overton 67, and Bo Van Pelt, 69.
6 more are tied at 205, Mickelson 71 is relying terribly on his short game and he is all over the lot off the tee. The best mover in this group Katsumasa Miyamoto 62, who is ranked 165 in the world, he was 13 shots better than Tiger !!
McIlroy 69, Ogilvy 68, and Cabrera 67 are all in a group at 206.
Oliver Wilson 67, 205, Dustin Johnson 68 205 and Nick Watney 69, 205 are all right in the thick of what will be a great day.
Guys who moved the wrong way besides Goosen include Poulter 77, Tim Clark 75, Weirsy 72, Ross Fisher 74, Luke Donald and Paul Casey 73, and Adam Scott, 72. They of course are remembering the old adage ' you can't win it on Saturday but you sure can lose it "
Here are today's tee times..
2:05 pm Palmer, Ryan O'Hair, Sean
1:55 pm Kuchar, Matt Els, Ernie
1:45 pm Hanson, Peter Leonard, Justin
1:35 pm Mahan, Hunter Overton, Jeff
1:25 pm Van Pelt, Bo Miyamoto, Katsumasa
1:15 pm Wilson, Oliver Johnson, Dustin
1:05 pm Watney, Nick Watson, Bubba
12:55 pm Mickelson, Phil Cabrera, Angel
12:45 pm Ogilvy, Geoff McIlroy, Rory
12:35 pm Glover, Lucas Jimenez, Miguel A.
12:25 pm Goosen, Retief Perry, Kenny
12:15 pm McDowell, Graeme Stricker, Steve
12:05 pm Kaymer, Martin Day, Jason
11:55 am Noren, Alexander Moore, Ryan
11:45 am Scott, Adam Schwartzel, Charl
11:35 am Garcia, Sergio Laird, Martin
11:25 am Furyk, Jim Harrington, Padraig
11:15 am Casey, Paul Slocum, Heath
11:05 am Oosthuizen, Louis Fowler, Rickie
10:55 am McGowan, Ross Haas, Bill
10:45 am Curtis, Ben Verplank, Scott
10:35 am Matteson, Troy Cink, Stewart
10:25 am Rose, Justin Johnson, Zach
10:15 am Kingston, James Fraser, Marcus
10:05 am Molinari, Edoardo Bohn, Jason
9:55 am Donald, Luke Fisher, Ross
9:45 am Weekley, Boo Molinari, Francesco
9:35 am Yang, Y.E. Weir, Mike
9:25 am Crane, Ben Campbell, Chad
9:15 am Quiros, Alvaro Singh, Vijay
9:05 am Bourdy, Gregory Holmes, J.B.
8:55 am Choi, K.J. Appleby, Stuart
8:45 am Davies, Rhys Ishikawa, Ryo
8:35 am Ikeda, Yuta Otto, Hennie
8:25 am Clark, Tim Hansen, Soren
8:15 am Dyson, Simon Karlsson, Robert
8:05 am Khan, Simon Villegas, Camilo
7:55 am Horsey, David Poulter, Ian
7:45 am Kim, Anthony Woods, Tiger
7:35 am Stenson, Henrik Jonzon, Michael
TURNING STONE RESORT CHAMPIONSHIP.
Alex 'Chubby' Cejka 67, 201 continues to lead the rest of the PGA pros by 2 shots
Chris Couch 63, 203 moved right into contention. Billy Mayfair 66, 204 is third
12 players are within 5 shots of the lead.
Stephen Ames 70, 210 and Graham DeLaet 72, 212 are our Canucks..
CHAMPIONS 3M CHAMPIONSHIP
Old adversaries Mark Calcavecchia 66, 130 and David Frost , 66 130 are both vying to win their first Champions Tour titles. But again there are 15 players within 5 shots of the lead on this Arnie Palmer course in Blaine, Minnesota.. Arnie I'm happy to report is playing !!
NATIONWIDE TOUR, WICHITA OPEN..
Roberto Castro 67, 194 is your leader by a shot.
The only Canuck to make the cut is David Hearn 69, 203
Bryan Angus
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Tiger shoots 75 in round 3
Tiger Woods has just completed his 3rd round with bogey's at 17 and 18 for a +5, 75, +11 total, he is 78th in a field of 80.
He was out in 39 with bogey's at 2,4,7 and a double at 8. His lone birdie at the par 3 5th. He birdied 11, but as I mentioned had bogey's at 17 and 18 for 36.
He has been at #1 in the world for over 5 years, since the week before the 2005 US Open, and the numbers crunchers tell us Mickelson can finish in the top 4 and still get the number 1 spot.
Woods is also at number 9 in Ryder Cup standings and as you know the top 8 are in, the rest are captain's picks. More on that later, but would you pick him the way he is playing ??
Rounds of the morning flight ?? Japanese star Katsumasa Miyamoto is at -5 today through 14 holes (-2 total), and Heathcliff Slocum is at -4 through 15 today, -1 total. Miyamoto is ranked 165 in the world.
The leaders,Goosen and Leonard are off at 1.55, with Mickelson and Hanson in the group ahead
Bryan Angus
He was out in 39 with bogey's at 2,4,7 and a double at 8. His lone birdie at the par 3 5th. He birdied 11, but as I mentioned had bogey's at 17 and 18 for 36.
He has been at #1 in the world for over 5 years, since the week before the 2005 US Open, and the numbers crunchers tell us Mickelson can finish in the top 4 and still get the number 1 spot.
Woods is also at number 9 in Ryder Cup standings and as you know the top 8 are in, the rest are captain's picks. More on that later, but would you pick him the way he is playing ??
Rounds of the morning flight ?? Japanese star Katsumasa Miyamoto is at -5 today through 14 holes (-2 total), and Heathcliff Slocum is at -4 through 15 today, -1 total. Miyamoto is ranked 165 in the world.
The leaders,Goosen and Leonard are off at 1.55, with Mickelson and Hanson in the group ahead
Bryan Angus
Westwood withdraws, Mickelson poised to become world # 1
The man Ian Poulter calls "the best golfer in the world right now", Lee Westwood has succumbed to a suspected torn calf muscle and has flown back to the UK to get treatment. The world #3 will miss next week's PGA Championship. The injury has been niggling him for the last 2 weeks, curtailing his practice time and explaining his second round of 77.
I suffered through a serious calf injury, I felt it pop while out running down a long steep hill, and trust me they are difficult muscles to heal in part because of their density, and of course because you are using them all the time. So Lee's quest for that elusive major is gone for this year, so perhaps is his shot at winning the Race to Dubai. You can bet Euro captain Colin Montgomerie is hoping his main man will be fit for the Ryder Cup.
So with Tiger near the bottom of the field, the coronation of Phil Mickelson as the world #1 seems to be at hand. His -2 68 has him a shot off the lead at -6.
Retief Goosen 66 is at -7 and Justin Leonard 66 is also at -6
Peter Hanson 66, Bo Van Pelt 68,and Bubba Watson 71, are all at -5
6 players are at -4, Adam Scott E, Nick Watney 68, Lucas Glover 66, Miguel Jimenez 67, Paul Casey 68 and Matt Kuchar 67
Over half the field are at E or better so it should be tight right down to the last putt on Sunday and part of the reason for that is that a certain Mr Woods is not running away with the lead this year.
We are all playing amateur psychologist when it comes to his unusually indifferent play,but I do know this. The rarefied air he has been breathing as the number 1 everything in the world of golf, requires complete focus and determination as well as a fanatical work ethic and of course enormous talent.
From what I hear him saying, and first hand reports from Sean Foley and Bill Paul,Tiger has come to realize that time with his wife and children is far more important than his time to practice, never mind his quest Jack's majors record.
' You don't miss what you've got until you lose it' is an old saying, and I think it applies to Tiger and his family right now.
Having said all that, he is playing very poorly. He is missing his driver right and left, his iron play is average, how many putts has he missed from under 10 feet, and his chipping and even his bunker play are shocking.
Still Sam and Charlie won't care about any of that when daddy gets home.....
Here are Saturday's pairings..
1:55 pm Goosen, Retief Leonard, Justin
1:45 pm Mickelson, Phil Hanson, Peter
1:35 pm Van Pelt, Bo Watson, Bubba
1:25 pm Scott, Adam Watney, Nick
1:15 pm Glover, Lucas Jimenez, Miguel A.
1:05 pm Casey, Paul Kuchar, Matt
12:55 pm Overton, Jeff Johnson, Dustin
12:45 pm McIlroy, Rory O'Hair, Sean
12:35 pm Mahan, Hunter Wilson, Oliver
12:25 pm Palmer, Ryan Moore, Ryan
12:15 pm Ogilvy, Geoff Fisher, Ross
12:05 pm Noren, Alexander Curtis, Ben
11:55 am Day, Jason Quiros, Alvaro
11:45 am Cabrera, Angel Kaymer, Martin
11:35 am Donald, Luke Harrington, Padraig
11:25 am McDowell, Graeme Bohn, Jason
11:15 am Haas, Bill Perry, Kenny
11:05 am Stricker, Steve Els, Ernie
10:55 am Kingston, James McGowan, Ross
10:45 am Furyk, Jim Johnson, Zach
10:35 am Bourdy, Gregory Campbell, Chad
10:25 am Garcia, Sergio Laird, Martin
10:15 am Crane, Ben Fowler, Rickie
10:05 am Weir, Mike Rose, Justin
9:55 am Cink, Stewart Schwartzel, Charl
9:45 am Matteson, Troy Clark, Tim
9:35 am Molinari, Francesco Yang, Y.E.
9:25 am Poulter, Ian Oosthuizen, Louis
9:15 am Molinari, Edoardo Miyamoto, Katsumasa
9:05 am Slocum, Heath Choi, K.J.
8:55 am Verplank, Scott Fraser, Marcus
8:45 am Ishikawa, Ryo Horsey, David
8:35 am Khan, Simon Davies, Rhys
8:25 am Singh, Vijay Otto, Hennie
8:15 am Weekley, Boo Karlsson, Robert
8:05 am Dyson, Simon Appleby, Stuart
7:55 am Woods, Tiger Holmes, J.B.
7:45 am Hansen, Soren Ikeda, Yuta
7:35 am Villegas, Camilo Jonzon, Michael
7:25 am Kim, Anthony Stenson, Henrik
More to follow
Bryan Angus
I suffered through a serious calf injury, I felt it pop while out running down a long steep hill, and trust me they are difficult muscles to heal in part because of their density, and of course because you are using them all the time. So Lee's quest for that elusive major is gone for this year, so perhaps is his shot at winning the Race to Dubai. You can bet Euro captain Colin Montgomerie is hoping his main man will be fit for the Ryder Cup.
So with Tiger near the bottom of the field, the coronation of Phil Mickelson as the world #1 seems to be at hand. His -2 68 has him a shot off the lead at -6.
Retief Goosen 66 is at -7 and Justin Leonard 66 is also at -6
Peter Hanson 66, Bo Van Pelt 68,and Bubba Watson 71, are all at -5
6 players are at -4, Adam Scott E, Nick Watney 68, Lucas Glover 66, Miguel Jimenez 67, Paul Casey 68 and Matt Kuchar 67
Over half the field are at E or better so it should be tight right down to the last putt on Sunday and part of the reason for that is that a certain Mr Woods is not running away with the lead this year.
We are all playing amateur psychologist when it comes to his unusually indifferent play,but I do know this. The rarefied air he has been breathing as the number 1 everything in the world of golf, requires complete focus and determination as well as a fanatical work ethic and of course enormous talent.
From what I hear him saying, and first hand reports from Sean Foley and Bill Paul,Tiger has come to realize that time with his wife and children is far more important than his time to practice, never mind his quest Jack's majors record.
' You don't miss what you've got until you lose it' is an old saying, and I think it applies to Tiger and his family right now.
Having said all that, he is playing very poorly. He is missing his driver right and left, his iron play is average, how many putts has he missed from under 10 feet, and his chipping and even his bunker play are shocking.
Still Sam and Charlie won't care about any of that when daddy gets home.....
Here are Saturday's pairings..
1:55 pm Goosen, Retief Leonard, Justin
1:45 pm Mickelson, Phil Hanson, Peter
1:35 pm Van Pelt, Bo Watson, Bubba
1:25 pm Scott, Adam Watney, Nick
1:15 pm Glover, Lucas Jimenez, Miguel A.
1:05 pm Casey, Paul Kuchar, Matt
12:55 pm Overton, Jeff Johnson, Dustin
12:45 pm McIlroy, Rory O'Hair, Sean
12:35 pm Mahan, Hunter Wilson, Oliver
12:25 pm Palmer, Ryan Moore, Ryan
12:15 pm Ogilvy, Geoff Fisher, Ross
12:05 pm Noren, Alexander Curtis, Ben
11:55 am Day, Jason Quiros, Alvaro
11:45 am Cabrera, Angel Kaymer, Martin
11:35 am Donald, Luke Harrington, Padraig
11:25 am McDowell, Graeme Bohn, Jason
11:15 am Haas, Bill Perry, Kenny
11:05 am Stricker, Steve Els, Ernie
10:55 am Kingston, James McGowan, Ross
10:45 am Furyk, Jim Johnson, Zach
10:35 am Bourdy, Gregory Campbell, Chad
10:25 am Garcia, Sergio Laird, Martin
10:15 am Crane, Ben Fowler, Rickie
10:05 am Weir, Mike Rose, Justin
9:55 am Cink, Stewart Schwartzel, Charl
9:45 am Matteson, Troy Clark, Tim
9:35 am Molinari, Francesco Yang, Y.E.
9:25 am Poulter, Ian Oosthuizen, Louis
9:15 am Molinari, Edoardo Miyamoto, Katsumasa
9:05 am Slocum, Heath Choi, K.J.
8:55 am Verplank, Scott Fraser, Marcus
8:45 am Ishikawa, Ryo Horsey, David
8:35 am Khan, Simon Davies, Rhys
8:25 am Singh, Vijay Otto, Hennie
8:15 am Weekley, Boo Karlsson, Robert
8:05 am Dyson, Simon Appleby, Stuart
7:55 am Woods, Tiger Holmes, J.B.
7:45 am Hansen, Soren Ikeda, Yuta
7:35 am Villegas, Camilo Jonzon, Michael
7:25 am Kim, Anthony Stenson, Henrik
More to follow
Bryan Angus
Friday, August 6, 2010
Woods and Westwood near the bottom of leaderboard
Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood are ranked 1 and 3 respectively in the world.
Following their 2nd rounds they currently are 75th and 77th at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Tiger shot +2, 72 for a 74,72 +6 total....There are 80 players in the field and no cut... He is 80th in driving accuracy. He started on 10 and was out in 35.....with 4 bogey's and 2 birdies he came in at 37,+2
Westwood, playing with Woods bogeyed his first 2 holes, out in 37, 5 more bogey's and a birdie coming in, 39 for a +6,76 71,76, +7 total.
Mike Weir our lone Canuck fired a -1 69 for a 72, 69 +1 total T45 midway through round 2..
Goosen is the clubhouse leader -4, 66 for a 67,66 -7 total
The course is soft with overcast skies and no roll in the fairways.
This opens the door for Mickelson who is E today through 3 holes. -4 total T6..
More to follow
Bryan Angus
Following their 2nd rounds they currently are 75th and 77th at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Tiger shot +2, 72 for a 74,72 +6 total....There are 80 players in the field and no cut... He is 80th in driving accuracy. He started on 10 and was out in 35.....with 4 bogey's and 2 birdies he came in at 37,+2
Westwood, playing with Woods bogeyed his first 2 holes, out in 37, 5 more bogey's and a birdie coming in, 39 for a +6,76 71,76, +7 total.
Mike Weir our lone Canuck fired a -1 69 for a 72, 69 +1 total T45 midway through round 2..
Goosen is the clubhouse leader -4, 66 for a 67,66 -7 total
The course is soft with overcast skies and no roll in the fairways.
This opens the door for Mickelson who is E today through 3 holes. -4 total T6..
More to follow
Bryan Angus
It's been an impressive summer for members of the European Tour
Following Graeme McDowell's historic US Open win at Pebble Beach in mid June it has been quite a month of July for members of the European Tour, with Louis Oosthuizen winning the Open Championship and of course Carl Pettersson following that up right here with his win at the RBC Canadian Open.
Nine of the world's top fifteen are from the Euro Tour led by Lee Westwood at #3, and he of course may well be #1 by the end of this week....
Monty's team for the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor at the end of September should be a real handful for Corey Pavin's defending champions....Consider playing against Westwood, McIlroy, Casey, Donald, Poulter, McDowell, Kaymer, Harrington, the Molinari's, not to mention Justin Rose, all at home in front of a rabid Welsh crowd. Guys like Stenson, Garcia, and Karlsson may not even make the team..
Here is today's release from my friend Roddy Williams, press officer European Tour..
South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen has been named The Race to Dubai Golfer of the Month for July following his magnificent seven shot victory in the 150th Anniversary Open Championship.
The 27 year old claimed his first Major title at the venue where every player wants to win – the Old Course at St Andrews – and he will receive an engraved alms dish and a jeroboam of Moët & Chandon champagne in recognition of his fantastic achievement
His opening round of 65 went into the record books as the lowest opening round by a winner while his 16 under par total of 272 helped give him the seventh biggest winning margin in Open Championship history.
By lifting the Claret Jug, Oosthuizen followed in the footsteps of fellow South Africans Bobby Locke, Gary Player - four and three-time Open Champions respectively - and 2002 Champion Ernie Els, whose Foundation helped develop his career. He also became the sixth South African golfer in total to win a Major
Championship.
Furthermore, a week later, he almost made history again at the Nordea Scandinavian Masters, his bid to become the first player to win The Open Championship and triumph in the next event falling narrowly short as he finished joint fourth.
“Winning The Open was special but winning at St Andrews was something else, it was incredible,” said Oosthuizen. “It was bigger than I ever imagined. You have this picture in your mind what it's going to be like after a Major win, and I think it was ten times what I expected. It’s been a fantastic reaction
.”
Oosthuizen is in action at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club this week after a celebration at his home club of Mossel Bay in South Africa, where he has had a new bridge dedicated to him and had the pleasure of trying out the new tractor on his farm, purchased on the back of his Open success.
Aside from Oosthuizen, July was an impressive month for European Tour Members.
The month began with Miguel Angel Jiménez winning the ALSTOM Open de France to become the oldest winner of Continental Europe’s oldest Open. Edoardo Molinari continued his meteoric rise with victory in The Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, lifting him into the world’s top 20 for the first time. Ross Fisher claimed his fourth European Tour title by winning the 3 Irish Open while on the US PGA Tour, Justin Rose captured his second victory of the season by winning the AT&T National. There was also honourable mention made of Bernhard Langer, who became the first player since Tom Watson in 2003 to win back to back Senior Major Championships when, in consecutive weeks, he captured the Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard at Carnoustie and the US Senior Open at Sahalee in Washington.
Bryan Angus
Nine of the world's top fifteen are from the Euro Tour led by Lee Westwood at #3, and he of course may well be #1 by the end of this week....
Monty's team for the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor at the end of September should be a real handful for Corey Pavin's defending champions....Consider playing against Westwood, McIlroy, Casey, Donald, Poulter, McDowell, Kaymer, Harrington, the Molinari's, not to mention Justin Rose, all at home in front of a rabid Welsh crowd. Guys like Stenson, Garcia, and Karlsson may not even make the team..
Here is today's release from my friend Roddy Williams, press officer European Tour..
South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen has been named The Race to Dubai Golfer of the Month for July following his magnificent seven shot victory in the 150th Anniversary Open Championship.
The 27 year old claimed his first Major title at the venue where every player wants to win – the Old Course at St Andrews – and he will receive an engraved alms dish and a jeroboam of Moët & Chandon champagne in recognition of his fantastic achievement
His opening round of 65 went into the record books as the lowest opening round by a winner while his 16 under par total of 272 helped give him the seventh biggest winning margin in Open Championship history.
By lifting the Claret Jug, Oosthuizen followed in the footsteps of fellow South Africans Bobby Locke, Gary Player - four and three-time Open Champions respectively - and 2002 Champion Ernie Els, whose Foundation helped develop his career. He also became the sixth South African golfer in total to win a Major
Championship.
Furthermore, a week later, he almost made history again at the Nordea Scandinavian Masters, his bid to become the first player to win The Open Championship and triumph in the next event falling narrowly short as he finished joint fourth.
“Winning The Open was special but winning at St Andrews was something else, it was incredible,” said Oosthuizen. “It was bigger than I ever imagined. You have this picture in your mind what it's going to be like after a Major win, and I think it was ten times what I expected. It’s been a fantastic reaction
.”
Oosthuizen is in action at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club this week after a celebration at his home club of Mossel Bay in South Africa, where he has had a new bridge dedicated to him and had the pleasure of trying out the new tractor on his farm, purchased on the back of his Open success.
Aside from Oosthuizen, July was an impressive month for European Tour Members.
The month began with Miguel Angel Jiménez winning the ALSTOM Open de France to become the oldest winner of Continental Europe’s oldest Open. Edoardo Molinari continued his meteoric rise with victory in The Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, lifting him into the world’s top 20 for the first time. Ross Fisher claimed his fourth European Tour title by winning the 3 Irish Open while on the US PGA Tour, Justin Rose captured his second victory of the season by winning the AT&T National. There was also honourable mention made of Bernhard Langer, who became the first player since Tom Watson in 2003 to win back to back Senior Major Championships when, in consecutive weeks, he captured the Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard at Carnoustie and the US Senior Open at Sahalee in Washington.
Bryan Angus
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Will Tiger make it #8 at Firestone ??
When we were all speculating back in March as to when Tiger would return, many of us wrote about Tiger having a great chance to win at the majors because of his success at Augusta, Pebble Beach and St Andrews.
How has that worked out ?? Not so much..... However... If there was ever a course in what's left of his schedule that he simply owns, it's this week at Firestone CC south..
He has won a record 7 times on this track. 3 times in a row from 99-01, including an 11 shot win in 2000 with an amazing -21, 259 total, (same year he won the US Open by 15 at Pebble Beach, and the Open Championship by 8 at St Andrews) and 3 times again from 05-07, and of course he is also the defending champ.
He seems to have sorted out his driver and irons but the putts haven't been falling thus far, this could be the week. Of course we have no idea what's happening on the home front, and until that is sorted out it doesn't matter what's going on between the ropes.
Mike Weir was 10th here last year.
Here's where they are all playing this week.
(thanks to AP, pgatour.com, europeantour.com, and lpgatour.com for research material)
WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Bridgestone Invitational, Akron, Ohio
Firestone Country Club, South Course (7,400 yards, par 70).
$8.5 million. Winner: $1.4 million
Defending champion: Tiger Woods
Canucks : Mike Weir
PGA TOUR
Turning Stone Resort Championship
Verona, N.Y.
Atunyote Golf Club at Turning Stone Resort (7,482 yards, par 72
$4 million. Winner's share: $720,000.
Defending champion: Matt Kuchar
Canucks: Stephen Ames, Graham DeLaet
CHAMPIONS TOUR
3M Championship
Blaine, Minn.
TPC Twin Cities (7,100 yards, par 72).
$1.75 million. Winner: $262,500.
Defending champion: Bernhard Langer .
Just a word about Langer. He is simply amazing. He is in the same shape physically as he was when he was 30. Remember this guy had the yips so bad halfway through his career he tried putting every way except for standing on his head. The long putter is now one of his strengths and I often wonder where his career would have ended if that club as I have suggested previously, was banned.
However to win the Senior Open at Carnoustie, the the US Senior last week at Sahalee is a testament to his inner strength and steely determination. Now of course he is the defending champ this week !!
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Wichita Open
Wichita, Kan.
Crestview Country Club, North Course (6,959 yards, par 71).
$625,000. Winner's share: $112,500.
Defending champion: Chris Tidland
Canucks: David Hearn, Dustin Risdon, Jarosch Barrett, Julien Trudeau, Bryan DeCorso, Jon Mills, David Morland, Kevin Fortin-Simard
LPGA TOUR
Off until Aug 20-22,
BryanAngus
How has that worked out ?? Not so much..... However... If there was ever a course in what's left of his schedule that he simply owns, it's this week at Firestone CC south..
He has won a record 7 times on this track. 3 times in a row from 99-01, including an 11 shot win in 2000 with an amazing -21, 259 total, (same year he won the US Open by 15 at Pebble Beach, and the Open Championship by 8 at St Andrews) and 3 times again from 05-07, and of course he is also the defending champ.
He seems to have sorted out his driver and irons but the putts haven't been falling thus far, this could be the week. Of course we have no idea what's happening on the home front, and until that is sorted out it doesn't matter what's going on between the ropes.
Mike Weir was 10th here last year.
Here's where they are all playing this week.
(thanks to AP, pgatour.com, europeantour.com, and lpgatour.com for research material)
WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Bridgestone Invitational, Akron, Ohio
Firestone Country Club, South Course (7,400 yards, par 70).
$8.5 million. Winner: $1.4 million
Defending champion: Tiger Woods
Canucks : Mike Weir
PGA TOUR
Turning Stone Resort Championship
Verona, N.Y.
Atunyote Golf Club at Turning Stone Resort (7,482 yards, par 72
$4 million. Winner's share: $720,000.
Defending champion: Matt Kuchar
Canucks: Stephen Ames, Graham DeLaet
CHAMPIONS TOUR
3M Championship
Blaine, Minn.
TPC Twin Cities (7,100 yards, par 72).
$1.75 million. Winner: $262,500.
Defending champion: Bernhard Langer .
Just a word about Langer. He is simply amazing. He is in the same shape physically as he was when he was 30. Remember this guy had the yips so bad halfway through his career he tried putting every way except for standing on his head. The long putter is now one of his strengths and I often wonder where his career would have ended if that club as I have suggested previously, was banned.
However to win the Senior Open at Carnoustie, the the US Senior last week at Sahalee is a testament to his inner strength and steely determination. Now of course he is the defending champ this week !!
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Wichita Open
Wichita, Kan.
Crestview Country Club, North Course (6,959 yards, par 71).
$625,000. Winner's share: $112,500.
Defending champion: Chris Tidland
Canucks: David Hearn, Dustin Risdon, Jarosch Barrett, Julien Trudeau, Bryan DeCorso, Jon Mills, David Morland, Kevin Fortin-Simard
LPGA TOUR
Off until Aug 20-22,
BryanAngus
Monday, August 2, 2010
59 is under attack !!
In this great world of sports, there are records which despite the fact they've been broken are etched in our minds.... Roger Bannister and the 4 minute mile, Roger Maris and his 61 home runs, Bob Beamon and his 29'2" long jump in 1968, Joe Dimaggio and his 56 game hit streak, Denny McLain and his 30 wins, Maurice Richard's 50 goals in 50 games just to mention a few..
In pro golf Al Geiberger's magical 59, set the benchmark for the all-time low score, and it still stands today, but in my opinion not for much longer !
Two weeks ago at the Canadian Open I stood beside the 18th green and watched Carl Pettersson lip out for his 59, and there were a slew of 64's and lower at St Georges. The week before journeyman Paul Goydos shot 59 at the John Deere Classic and there were a slew of 64's and lower.
This weekend at the newly minted Greenbrier Classic the guys made Sam Snead blush, on the course where he was the pro for 29 years, the Old White Course, a par 72, turned into a 70 for the pros at 7150 yards. Both DA Points and JD Holmes had their runs at 59, before Stuart Appleby turned the trick on Sunday to become the 5th man in history in what was the most exclusive of clubs.. ( Geiberger, Chip Beck in '91 at Las Vegas, David Duval in '99 at the Hope, and Goydos the others. Both Goydos and Geiberger were allowed to lift clean and place..)
When Geiberger did it on June 10, 1977, in the second round of the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic at the Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tennessee, remember he was playing with persimmon and steel shafts, and more important a ball that was like a rock compared to today's. Graphite, titanium, trampoline faced drivers with a sweet spot that's bigger than Geiberger's entire driver's head were not on the drawing boards yet.
Therefore we didn't have the problem of players simply outgrowing and overpowering courses, like they do now.
Gary Player told me 12 years ago that one day the pros would be standing on the tee, hitting the ball 400 yards, making many of the tour's courses obsolete unless the governing bodies did something to restrict the equipment they are using.
England Ross Fisher almost carded the European Tour's first 59,settling for 61on Friday eventually holding off Paddy Harrington to win the Irish Open in Killarny on Sunday. Remember McIlroy's brilliant 62 to win at Quail Hollow, Stricker shot 62 and 60 to win the John Deere, Cameron Beckman had a 61 at the Byron Nelson and let's not forget our own Graham DeLaet with his 62 at the Reno Tahoe earlier this year.
There have been 12 winners on the PGATour this year who are in their 20's, and none of them are called Ryo Ishikawa who shot 58 this year albeit not in a PGATour sanctioned event.
They say records are made to be broken, and it's only a matter of time for 59 !!
BryanAngus
In pro golf Al Geiberger's magical 59, set the benchmark for the all-time low score, and it still stands today, but in my opinion not for much longer !
Two weeks ago at the Canadian Open I stood beside the 18th green and watched Carl Pettersson lip out for his 59, and there were a slew of 64's and lower at St Georges. The week before journeyman Paul Goydos shot 59 at the John Deere Classic and there were a slew of 64's and lower.
This weekend at the newly minted Greenbrier Classic the guys made Sam Snead blush, on the course where he was the pro for 29 years, the Old White Course, a par 72, turned into a 70 for the pros at 7150 yards. Both DA Points and JD Holmes had their runs at 59, before Stuart Appleby turned the trick on Sunday to become the 5th man in history in what was the most exclusive of clubs.. ( Geiberger, Chip Beck in '91 at Las Vegas, David Duval in '99 at the Hope, and Goydos the others. Both Goydos and Geiberger were allowed to lift clean and place..)
When Geiberger did it on June 10, 1977, in the second round of the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic at the Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tennessee, remember he was playing with persimmon and steel shafts, and more important a ball that was like a rock compared to today's. Graphite, titanium, trampoline faced drivers with a sweet spot that's bigger than Geiberger's entire driver's head were not on the drawing boards yet.
Therefore we didn't have the problem of players simply outgrowing and overpowering courses, like they do now.
Gary Player told me 12 years ago that one day the pros would be standing on the tee, hitting the ball 400 yards, making many of the tour's courses obsolete unless the governing bodies did something to restrict the equipment they are using.
England Ross Fisher almost carded the European Tour's first 59,settling for 61on Friday eventually holding off Paddy Harrington to win the Irish Open in Killarny on Sunday. Remember McIlroy's brilliant 62 to win at Quail Hollow, Stricker shot 62 and 60 to win the John Deere, Cameron Beckman had a 61 at the Byron Nelson and let's not forget our own Graham DeLaet with his 62 at the Reno Tahoe earlier this year.
There have been 12 winners on the PGATour this year who are in their 20's, and none of them are called Ryo Ishikawa who shot 58 this year albeit not in a PGATour sanctioned event.
They say records are made to be broken, and it's only a matter of time for 59 !!
BryanAngus
Sunday, August 1, 2010
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