brads wonderful world of golf

How a round of golf cost £400,000

2011-11-18T00:46:00.001-08:00

Thousands of people who enjoy a game of golf this weekend may unwittingly be putting their home at risk.

True, the risk is infinitely small, but a £400,000 damages award against a golfer and golf club after another golfer lost an eye in an accident demonstrates the extent of damage awards in an increasingly litigious society.

Where people used to say ‘accidents happen’ many are now more inclined to seek compensation. With the best will in the world, most golfers will admit to having sliced the ball on occasion. Very few, fortunately, result in serious injury.

Sadly, that was not the case when novice golfer Anthony Phee, 44, was struck by a golf ball and lost an eye during a round at Niddry Castle Golf Course in Winchburgh, West Lothian.

He sued James Gordon, the man who struck the bad shot, and the golf club at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, seeking damages for the injury he suffered.

He said it had been a “harrowing experience” to partially lose his sight. The judge who heard the case, Lord Brailsford, ruled that Mr Gordon was 70pc responsible for the accident. The remaining 30pc of liability rested with the golf club for its “failure” to erect proper warning signs on the course.

David Sandison, senior partner of Lawford Kidd Solicitors in Edinburgh, said: “We are delighted that, after a long struggle, Mr Phee has been awarded compensation for his injuries. Damages have been agreed at around £400,000.”

It remains to be seen how the award will be paid for. While many golf clubs have indemnity insurance to cover their liability, most individual golfers would struggle to meet such large unexpected costs without insurance.

Fortunately, because the risk of a claim is so low, so is the cost of cover. John Hayes of CCV Underwriting Sports & Leisure, and a member of the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), said: “Individual golf players can have up to £5m indemnity cover at an annual cost of just £7.50, including all fees and taxes, from Golfsafe Insurance.

“In addition we offer a more comprehensive policy from Caddysure, with premiums starting at £27.26, which covers the same third party liabilties but also loss or damage to equipment and accidental damage to third party property.”

That raises the important point that golfers are far more likely to suffer financial loss because of the theft of their clubs and other equipment, or to be held liable for breaking windows in nearby homes or cars, than they are to cause the horrific injury suffered by Mr Phee.

So, one way to determine the level of cover golfers need is to look at the value of their equipment. Carrick Neill – the trading name of Giles Insurance Brokers – offers a specialist golfers’ policy where premiums start at £20 a year for equipment worth up to £500, rising to £55 a year to cover gear costing up to £2,500. Additional cover for a husband, wife or child can be obtained for an additional £15 a year at the lower level of equipment value, rising to £35 at the upper level.

Beware, though, that these costs only cover British golf courses; there is an additional annual charge of £5 per person to cover play elsewhere in Europe or £10 for a worldwide extension. In addition to £5m third party cover, this policy also includes £50,000 personal accident and £500 dental treatment cover for the policyholder him or herself.

But some BIBA brokers point out that good household cover can provide all the third party liability cover most golfers need. Dennis Veingard of Premier Insurance Brokers said: “Liability cover is automatically provided under most household contents policies and some insurers include reverse liability for unrecoverable courts awards.

“The injured party claims against the golfer and the golfer then notifies his insurer. If the golfer is uninsured and unable to pay any court award, under reverse liability cover an injured party could claim on his own policy.”

Similarly, Ian Smith of Bennett Gould & Partners said: “Many home contents insurance policies provide worldwide liability cover. They will usually exclude accidents involving motorised vehicles, watercraft and horsedrawn vehicles but will cover liability arising from golf or other sporting accidents.

"The increase in the number of these claims clearly mirrors the increasingly litigious nature of society and inevitably leads to increases in premium as both the number and size of claims increases.”

But serious injuries on the golf course remain very rare. Orthopedic surgeon Dr Larry Foster, author of ‘Dr. Divot’s Guide to Golf Injuries’ says the most common are back pain, elbow and shoulder inflammation, followed by carpal tunnel syndrome – a repetitive stress disorder that affects the nerves of the hands – and DeQuervain’s tendinitis, which causes pain in the wrist near the base of the thumb.

None of these conditions is likely to be covered by specialist golf policies – unless it can be proved that the injury was caused by playing the game and resulted in disability or redundancy, in which case one year’s golf club fees can be reimbursed.

On a brighter note, specialist golf policies can pay out £150 if the policyholder hits a hole in one during an official club, area or national competition.

Source http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100013323/how-a-round-of-golf-cost-400000/

Tiger Woods not one of golf's top 50 players for first time in 15 years

2011-10-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

Tiger Woods is no longer officially considered one of golf's top 50 players, ending a streak that extended back 15 years.

According to the official World Golf Ranking, the 35-year-old Woods entered the weekend as the sport's 50th best player. But he lost that standing when Louis Oosthuizen finished tied for fifth at this weekend's Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, earning him a place in the standings and ousting Woods.

The rankings are endorsed by Professional Golf Association tours in the United States, Europe, Australia, Asia and elsewhere, according to the World Golf Ranking website. An updated ranking comes out every Monday.

The last time Woods was not among the top 50 was on October 13, 1996. Since then, he won 14 major championships -- a distinction used for the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA championship -- and, for much of the next 778 weeks, ranked as the game's best player.

In recent years, Woods has been plagued by the fallout surrounding his infidelity and divorce from his wife as well as numerous injuries. His last tournament win was the Australian Masters in November 2009.

His next competition will be this week at the Frys.com Open in Corde Valley, California. Despite his recent slump, American team captain Fred Couples chose Woods as one of his wild card picks for next month's Presidents Cup in Australia.

Source http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/02/sport/golf/tiger-woods-ranking/

Tiger Woods splits with caddy Williams

2011-07-21T01:16:00.000-07:00

U.S. golfer Tiger Woods said Wednesday he is officially splitting with longtime caddie Steve Williams after 12 years together.

In a statement released on his Web site, the former world No. 1 thanked Williams and indicated a replacement has not yet been chosen.

"I want to express my deepest gratitude to Stevie for all his help, but I think it's time for a change," Woods said. "Stevie is an outstanding caddie and a friend and has been instrumental in many of my accomplishments. I wish him great success in the future."

The 35-year-old is ranked 20th in the world and hasn't won an event since a November 2009 car accident outside his Florida home led to widespread revelations of infidelity to his wife.

He hasn't competed since May at the Players Championship, when he withdrew with a leg injury before completing the first round.

The statement said Woods is continuing to rest and rehabilitate his left leg, which he injured while competing in the Masters, adding, "No decision has been made when he will return to competition on the PGA Tour."

Source http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2011/07/20/Tiger-Woods-splits-with-caddy-Williams/UPI-36311311191012/

World #1 Uses Canadian Golf Shafts On The Way To Top

2011-06-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

It seems an unlikely tale. A pro golfer from England uses the golf shafts from a company in Canada to become top-ranked player in the world. Well, it became true at the end of May when Luke Donald won the BMW PGA Championship on the EuropeanTour and ascended to the top of the world rankings.

It is quite a feat for any golfer to accomplish, and to have a small Canadian golf shaft company along for the ride is a nice touch, especially considering the fact that Canadian players are not exactly making a big dent in the world pro golf stage right about now.

Luke Donald has used wood shafts from ACCRA Golf in Kingston, Ontario for quite some time now, but unfortunately for the company they can't tell you that directly. You see they don't Donald to endorse their products so they can't use his name or likeness in their promotional materials. They can only hint at who the player is and let the reader fill in the blanks. That is why we can tell you that it is Donald who plays the shafts and the fact that he does not get paid to do so is even greater testament to ACCRA and their products.

Donald, who also won the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play earlier this year, uses ACCRA shafts in his driver and three wood, and despite other companies trying to sway him, he has remained loyal to the products in his run to the top ranking.

Donald, Northwestern University graduate who, incidentally, is married to a Canadian, has trusted ACCRA golf shafts in his 3 wood for more than five years. Even during several changes in equipment, he remained loyal to ACCRA golf shafts. It was in the fall of 2009 that he switched to a TaylorMade driver custom fit with an ACCRA premium golf shaft, that he truly began his climb up the world golf rankings. He currently uses a TaylorMade R11 driver and as always, with his ACCRA shaft.

"It is always thrilling to see your product help a great golfer achieve success at the highest level, but this is beyond our wildest expectations!" stated Gawain Robertson (ACCRA- Co-Founder). "We are honoured that the #1 golfer in the world has trusted ACCRA golf shafts during his ascent to the top of the world rankings," continued Mr. Robertson.

ACCRA recently introduced their Tour Z line of shafts that is also getting traction on the pro tours. Paul Goydos and Chez Reavie are among the players who have put them into play and had success. Versions of the shafts are now available through ACCRA certified dealers.

"This victory and overall outcome justifies what ACCRA is all about. Finding a shaft that is perfectly matched to your swing characteristics is what club fitting is all about." stated Dave Makarucha (ACCRA - Co-Founder) "When the new #1 golfer in the world chose ACCRA, he knew that these shafts were matched to his swing and that there was no reason to change. Mike Biviano, ACCRA's Tour representative, ensures PGA Tour players are fit properly. ACCRA certified club fitters offer the same fitting experience to all levels of golfers, ensuring that any golfer can benefit from properly fit equipment," continued Mr. Makarucha.

Nobody knows how long Donald can maintain his #1 ranking but even when that day comes a small golf shaft manufacture from Eastern Ontario will know that, at one time, they were part of his rise to the top.

Source http://www.emcwestcarleton.ca/20110630/sports/World+%231+Uses+Canadian+Golf+Shafts+On+The+Way+To+Top

Our next Kiwi world golf pro?

2011-06-15T22:39:00.000-07:00

Joshua Munn loves golf and there's no denying he has the talent that will see him reach his ambition of turning professional in the next three to four years.

Winning the Muriwai Open near Auckland last month by one shot with a 12-under-par total, in an event where the amateurs are there to make up the numbers, Munn said he wasn't perturbed about having to let the prize money of $5700 go to the runners-up.

He became only the fourth amateur to win a Charles Tour event. He set a new course record of 63.

Not bad for an amateur on a course he'd not seen before.

Munn is happy to leave his professional dreams on the three to four- year to-do list, while he focuses on winning some national order-of-merit events before making his move to qualify for the US PGA Tour.

In the meantime Munn has shorter term goals in play which, like all good projects, require the help and support of the community.

He has applied for the AMP people's choice scholarship, where the person with the most votes wins. Munn needs the help of scholarships to further his amateur golf experience overseas.

He was 13 when he was invited to join his father and uncles on their traditional Boxing Day golf day out. This was more of a social occasion than serious competition, but Munn developed a taste for the game and hasn't looked back since, although the family Boxing Day game has fizzled out.

"I enjoyed the game. I wasn't very good at it, but I started playing and I got better," he said.

Munn said he got his start playing regularly on Sundays, which led into tournaments.

Seven years on and there are not too many days when he won't be out on the fairway.

Starting work at 4.30pm at Feilding's Pizza Piazza means he can work with a daily practice schedule.

"I love practicing – golf is my addiction I guess," he said.

"I think it's the constant challenge – you're always going to be beaten by golf, but always striving for perfection means you always want to do better," he said.

Voting for Munn to win an AMP Scholarship can be done by visiting the site doyourthing.co.nz and entering Joshua Munn into the search field.

Voting closes on July 17.

Source http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/feilding-herald/5152874/Our-next-Kiwi-world-golf-pro

Bradley scores first PGA win

2011-05-31T22:38:00.001-07:00

Keegan Bradley needed some cowbell.

As Bradley walked down the 18th fairway during a playoff at the Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday in Dallas, he began to realize he was about to get his first PGA Tour win. That’s when Bradley started getting emotional thinking about the cowbell.

The one that is in the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla. The one his grandmother rang after every win by his famous aunt, LPGA Tour great Pat Bradley, whose 31 victories included six majors.

“It was like, ‘Pull it together. Don’t start thinking about the cowbell,’ ” Keegan Bradley told reporters after the tournament. “The cowbell in my family is an iconic thing.”

Bradley settled himself and won the Byron Nelson Championship, parring the first hole of a playoff with Ryan Palmer on Sunday.

Bradley, son of Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club golf pro Mark Bradley, spent three summers living in the valley while he was a student at St. John’s University. In that time, he won the 2006 Wyoming State Amateur title and the 2007 Wyoming Match play title.

While Bradley was orchestrating a dramatic finish in Dallas on Sunday, father Mark was joined by friends at the Golf & Tennis Club watching on TV.

“It was very exciting. Everyone was going crazy,” Mark Bradley said. “Some people had tears in their eyes. It was so exciting. The whirlwind going on around the club, the phone ringing off the hook, text messages and emails. ... This is bigger than I thought.”

It’s big. Really big. Sunday’s win gives Bradley a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, and an automatic berth to the 2012 Masters.

“For me, it’s just amazing to think he’s going to play at the Masters, which is the ultimate event in the sport,” Mark Bradley said.

Bradley also pocketed $1.1 million with the win, boosting his 2011 earnings on the PGA Tour to $1.7 million. It was an early birthday present for Bradley, who turns 25 on June 7.

“I’m speechless,” he said. “I’m so proud of the way I played, and I’m so proud to win Byron Nelson’s tournament. That’s an amazing thing for me.”

Bradley sealed the win when he sank a 2-foot par putt at the 419-yard 18th hole in the playoff. Palmer, meanwhile, hit his approach into the water before he sank a 13-foot bogey putt.

The win was a breakout victory for Bradley, who never even won an event while on the Nationwide Tour. He looked forward to talking to his aunt.

“She is a lot calmer on the golf course than she is watching me. I’m sure she was by the TV going crazy,” Bradley said. “I talk to her regularly through text messages and phone calls about tournaments and what it’s like to come down near the end. ... This is the closest thing we ever had in common in terms of playing.”

About an hour before the playoff, Bradley finished his closing round of 2-under 68 with a par at No. 18, dropping into a squat and hopping a few times in frustration when his 10-foot birdie chance slid by the hole.

Palmer (72) and Bradley finished at 3-under 277, the highest winning score on the PGA Tour this year — and the highest in relation to par in a non-major since 1999. It was the fifth playoff in six weeks and 10th overall.

Players were buffeted by winds gusting to 40 miles per hour both Saturday and Sunday.

Palmer forced the extra hole with a 6-foot putt at No. 18 for only the second birdie there all day. When that putt dropped, Palmer punched his right fist in the air and then raised both arms over his head.

Bradley and Palmer then played No. 18 again, both going way right with their tee shots to start the playoff.

Tournament volunteers quickly dismantled and moved a temporary lemonade stand to give Bradley a line of sight to the green and to avoid the necessity for a drop.

Bradley’s approach was dangerously close to sliding off the side of the green into the water, but it stayed up. Palmer went in the same direction, but his ball didn’t stay dry.

“I had a clear punch shot, but it’s so easy to hit it left when I’m trying to hit a punch like that, and it squared left a little bit,” he told reporters. “Then my putt — just wanted to tease myself a little more, I guess — but I got into the position to win the golf tournament and that’s all I can ask for.”

On the 172-yard 17th hole, Bradley sank a 12-foot par-saving putt and responded with an emphatic fist pump.

After Bradley tapped in his par putt at No. 18, third-round leader Palmer was in one of the five groups still playing.

Bradley then sat for a few minutes before going to the practice range to prepare for a playoff that almost wasn’t necessary for him to become the PGA Tour’s sixth first-time winner this season.

“It was funny. I was really, really nervous, and then, when [Palmer] made the birdie, I calmed way down,” Bradley said. “I felt my heartbeat slow down. I calmed down.”

Bradley said the feeling of winning as an underdog was rewarding.

“I would be lying if I said it wasn’t,” he said. “It’s great to be the underdog and come out on top, for sure.”

Bradley said he set several goals for himself for his first year on the tour and one of them was winning an event. He knows that, now he has a win on his resume, his golfing career and his life will likely change.

“It only can change for the better now,” he said.

Source http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=7360

Westwood tightens grip on top spot in world rankings

2011-05-03T00:39:00.001-07:00

Lee Westwood won for the second straight week and that helped him strengthen his grip atop the latest world golf rankings.

Westwood's lead over No. 2 Martin Kaymer moved from 0.13 average points to 0.67 average points. The top two were unchanged from last week as were the next three spots with No. 3 Luke Donald again followed by Phil Mickelson and Graeme McDowell.

Rory McIlroy, who will defend his title at Quail Hollow this week, and Tiger Woods exchanged places with McIlroy up to sixth. Paul Casey and Steve Stricker remained eighth and ninth.

Bubba Watson was a playoff winner at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and that helped him jump six spots to No. 10. He knocked Matt Kuchar, Charl Schwartzel, Dustin Johnson, Jim Furyk, Nick Watney and Ernie Els down one spot apiece.

Adam Scott and Ian Poulter flip-flopped spots with Scott inching up to 17th. Francesco Molinari and Hunter Mahan rounded out the top 20 again this week.

Source http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/02/2196966/hjorth-into-the-top-20-of-rolex.html

Eli Jordan’s World Golf Rankings for 4-18-11

2011-04-19T00:02:00.001-07:00

The results of the Valero Texas Open had little effect on the World Golf Rankings as of Monday. The majority of the well known participants faded on the weekend and opened the door for several lesser known competitors to make their way to the top of the leaderboard. In the end, Brendan Steele carded a final round 71 to win his first PGA tournament by one stroke over Kevin Chappell and Charlie Hoffman. Steele was the epitome of consistency making 11 consecutive pars in route to victory.

The real story in the world of golf this week was how Rory McIlroy and Charl Schwartzel would fare at the Maybank Malaysian Open one week after the Masters. Both men played solid golf with the green jacket winner Schwartzel finishing a respectable 11th after what was no doubt a whirlwind week for the South African. McIlroy once again found himself in contention on the weekend in Malaysia and finished the tournament in third place behind Gregory Bourdy and eventual winner, 17-year-old Matteo Manassero. For Manassero, it was his second victory on the European Tour before his 18th birthday.

As a result of his win Manassero moves up to 33rd in the World Golf Rankings and Brendan Steele cracks the World’s top 150, coming in at number 132. As for the top ten ranked golfers in the World this week, only a few minor changes with some of the best at home taking off after the Masters.

World Golf Rankings 4-18-11

1. Martin Kaymer (1), Deu, 7.65

2. Lee Westwood (2), Eng, 7.38

3. Luke Donald (3), Eng, 7.02

4. Phil Mickelson (4), USA, 6.63

5. Graeme McDowell (6), Nir, 5.93

6. Tiger Woods (5), USA, 5.89

7. Rory McIlroy (9),Nir, 5.74

8. Paul Casey (7), Eng, 5.68

9. Steve Stricker (9), USA, 5.47

10. Matt Kuchar (10), USA, 5.24

The number in parenthesis is the player’s World Golf Ranking from 4-11-11

Source http://sportschatplace.com/Golf/eli-jordan/world-golf-rankings-for/

Westwood gets a scare before the golf Masters

2011-04-04T23:22:00.000-07:00

Lee Westwood can joke about it now, but the world golf number two had a bit of a scare when their private jet from Houston to the Masters made an emergency landing after a fire in the cockpit.

The Englishman, a runner-up at last year's Masters to Phil Mickelson, had played the PGA event and was flying to Augusta on Sunday with compatriot Ross Fisher when the airplane was forced to turn back and land.

"Do the fire engines normally follow you down the runway? Only when there's smoke in the cabin I guess!!!" Westwood posted on his Twitter microblogging website Sunday. "Thanks to the Houston airport firemen for the warm welcome!

"They're not here to put my putter out! That's not on fire!"

Westwood reached Augusta National on Monday and told reporters of his harrowing journey, which he said was caused by a wiring fire in an instrument panel.

"It was a bit scary," Westwood said. "It never looks good when you can smell smoke and you turn round and see the pilots have put the masks on.

"Smoke was coming from the cockpit and they told us later they couldn't drop our masks because they feed oxygen into the cabin. If there was a fire it would have fanned the flames.

"The plane came down in a bit of a nosedive because you obviously have to get down as quick as you can."

Source http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hmwfmU6VQrjWdAUsP4BYHHfu9gsA?docId=CNG.9291ab810e1449a3b4ece53bc3e09ca8.201

Homes by Deltona Participates in Reopening Festivities at Spa Laterra at World Golf Village

2011-03-22T20:54:00.001-07:00

The Spa Laterra at World Golf Village recently held reopening festivities. Located adjacent to the King & Bear golf course, the destination day spa offers a full complement of massages, facials, body scrubs, wraps, makeup artistry, hair care and nail services.

Spa Laterra was purchased last summer by Laterra Spa Partners, which retained beauty and wellness visionary Juanita Wright of The Wright Touch Spa in Washington D.C. DC to makeover the spa and its services. She has developed a number of new signature treatments, including gold, diamond and caviar facials.

Karen Palmer, general sales manager at Homes by Deltona, won a spa treatment package at the recent Spa Laterra reopening event. “I love winning prizes – especially to such a beautiful and pampering spa. The new owners have given the spa a fresh appearance and the new treatments are magnificent,” said Palmer. “The spa is such a wonderful benefit for World Golf Village residents and visitors.”

The 9,000-square-foot spa facility was designed by renowned spa architect Robert D. Henry, noted for designing The Spa at Wynn Las Vegas, The Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Waikoloa Spa and Beach Club, and Canyon Ranch Living in Chicago. In addition to premier facials, the full-service spa also offers a wide variety of massages, body services, hand and foot rituals, and customized treatments specifically designed for golfers.

Spa Laterra offers 11 treatment rooms, including two couple’s retreats; a complete beauty salon with hair, manicure and pedicure stations; women’s and men’s private waiting room, locker areas, changing facilities, showers and steam rooms; a circular relaxation lounge with a rain shower feature; and an outdoor garden sanctuary with a koi pond, Jacuzzi and floating cabana treatment rooms.

Spa Laterra is located at 955 Registry Blvd. in World Golf Village. For more information, visit. www.spalaterra.com.

Source http://www.pr.com/press-release/307963

The 2011 Masters: Augusta National Golf Club’s Early Years

2011-03-07T21:23:00.001-08:00

In exactly one month from today (April 7, 2011), the 2011 Masters Tournament is set to tee-off at one of the most heralded and recognizable courses in the history of golf: Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, GA. Defending champion Phil Mickelson will join some of the best players in the world to once again compete for the ever-important Green Jacket... and not to mention a hefty share of the $7.5 million purse. Perhaps the only aspect of the Masters that can surpass the history of the event is the course itself, which will once again host this year's installment as it has since 1934.

Known as the "Augusta National Invitation" in that year, Horton Smith captured the first official Masters title at Augusta which earned him $1000 out of a $5000 total purse. In 1939 the name of the tournament was permanently changed to "The Masters". In the early years of the event, players at Augusta National began their round on the 10th hole and finished on the 9th. However, in 1935 the switch to the course's original layout was made permanent and continues to this day.

The history of the course itself, however, dates back to 1930 in the form of a vision dreamt by Bobby Jones just prior to his retirement from championship golf. As the story is reported on the Masters' website, Jones teamed up with Clifford Roberts, whom he had met many times throughout the 1920s and who shared Jones' vision of building a world-class golf course. After a few brief conversations between the two men, a mutual agreement was reached to construct the course in Augusta, Georgia.

Jones and Roberts decided that instead of littering the grounds of what would become Augusta National with bunkers and other hazards, they would make the most out of the property's natural landscape which includes a vast number of mounds, hills, and valleys. Jones wanted this concept of golf course architecture to "make a contribution to the game as well as give expression to his ideas about golf course design". Original plans for the golf club were to only have it open for play during the winter months.

The property itself was originally named Fruitland Nurseries and was purchased from owner Thomas Barrett, Jr. As the Masters website explains, this property was once an Indigo plantation purchased by a Belgian Baron named Louis Mathieu Edouard Berckmans in 1857. In 1858, Berckmans and his son formed a partnership that would eventually bring numerous trees and plants from all over the globe and placed them throughout the property while still a nursery. Included in this project were thousands of magnolia plants which would ultimately become a staple of the Augusta National history and one of the most recognizable aspects of the grounds in present-day.

At the selling price of $70,000, Jones and Roberts purchased the land and decided to begin construction with renowned Scottish course architect Dr. Alister Mackenzie, especially since he shared the views of Jones in regard to allowing the national landscape and contours define the shape and look of the course. Mackenzie had also sparked Jones' attention by already having two impressive course designs under his belt in California: Cypress Point and Pasatiempo. In 1933, the course was complete and opened for play.

Source http://www.waggleroom.com/2011/3/7/2036714/the-2011-masters-augusta-national-golf-clubs-early-years

How the FedExCup can explain disdain for the Official World Golf Ranking

2011-02-21T23:15:00.000-08:00

Golf is not a sport for mathematicians. It doesn’t require a degree in rocket science to be able to add, despite the body of evidence with disqualifications of many players for not adding right.

At one time – a distant time – knowing the best player in the game at any one time was easy. It was a combination of the player who had the most wins and had made the most money.

Now, though, the golf world is bigger in terms of money and sheer geography. Tracking the best player in the world in a tougher exercise. Two systems – one domestic, one global – dominate the conversation: the Official World Golf Ranking and the FedExCup.

Frankly, it’s only in the last 18 months that anyone seemed to care about the Official World Golf Ranking. When Tiger Woods was far and away the best player in the world, the OWGR confirmed that time and again (though, even then, it was in a flawed way). By and large, there was little need for scrutiny.

But the FedExCup was a different animal. Started in 2007, the points system was crushed from the start. The criticisms were numerous:

* It’s too hard to figure out the permutations.

* It doesn’t offer enough volatility.

* It’s basically the money list without points.

* Dear God, what if Tiger doesn’t win?!

* …and so many more.

Unlike the OWGR, which had already long since crowned Woods as the unquestioned ruler of the golf universe, the FedExCup had yet to successfully do that in 2007. Even when Woods won the first FedExCup that fall, critics were still laying into the system for its flaws – some of which are still apparent.

As the system has been modified twice of the four years of its existence, the criticisms have been from one of two camps: to identify the best, most consistent player; or from a camp of people who feel the playoff moniker should imply more volatility in the rankings from week to week. In that sense, the dual purpose of the concept has really hurt in shaping its identity.

Now, though, the Official World Golf Ranking is the target of similar complaining. And, the system clearly has some flaws – which we have discussed at length – but the OWGR is a necessary device in today’s golfing world. That’s true not just because the best player in the world currently is not readily apparent to anyone, but because the depth of talent in the world is such that there must be a system to identify the pick of the various litters around the world.

The Official World Golf Ranking, though, is tricky. Computing it requires more than addition. It takes some multiplication and division and subtraction. Depending on who you ask, some calculus, too. (Actually, it could.) An accountant wouldn’t hurt to have on retainer because of the points depreciation. It makes criticizing it tougher because offering a viable alternative – or series of changes – a larger exercise.

The overarching problem with both systems – the regular season part of the FedExCup and the Official World Golf Ranking – is the same, though. Both reward consistency too much. Admittedly, that’s desirable for some. Having a world No. 1 who has two non-silly season wins in two years but a bevy of high finishes is a lightning rod for the concept. (It’s easier to attack the top than the margins, which is where the biggest issues with the OWGR lie.)

What the FedExCup had to do was walk a double-edge tight rope – favor the likes of Tiger, who was the best, but also offer some unpredictability. Once Tiger left room for an understudy to take center stage, it seems like Matt Kuchar was embraced by some for being so consistent in 2010. For others, he was the subject of complaints that the state of golf without Tiger is one filled with parity. It might work for team sports, but parity in individual sports is just too much to handle. (Then again, NASCAR fans might beg for some of that parity juice right now.)

As for the OWGR, it must identify a best player while facing myriad issues that get in its way – uneven money, various forms of payola and the proliferation of foreign golf tournaments run by talent management agencies. Critics, like me, want it to promote the best of the moment while maintaining a close eye on its place as the gateway into majors and big tournaments. It faces a task it can achieve, but simply isn’t equipped to fully handle right now.

Source http://progolftalk.nbcsports.com/2011/02/21/how-the-fedexcup-can-explain-disdain-for-the-official-world-golf-ranking/

John Devine, Just a thought: Celebrities are stars of AT&T

2011-02-13T23:35:00.001-08:00

Watching Dwight Clark take part in Tuesday's Google Charity Shootout brought me back to 1982 when Clark was catching a memorable pass that helped the San Francisco 49ers reach the Super Bowl.

As a kid in college who still believed I was going to be an Olympic sprinter in 1982, I set foot on Pebble Beach for the first time as a reporter, catching a glimpse of Clark golfing with a large following that included Joe Montana.

While I have never had a passion to golf 18 holes, the celebrity portion of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am has lured me back 29 straight years.

This is Pebble Beach, a world renown golf course with some of the most spectacular views in the world, where the celebrities are the real attraction. And I'm standing on the 18th hole listening to Clark's conversation.

It never gets old.

Oh, the weather isn't always as charming as it was this weekend. I have stood in the rain with seagulls and avoided frost bite with the deer along the majestic course.

It could always be worse, such as walking the streets of Dallas during Super Bowl week in an ice and snow storm in 12 degree temperature, with a wind chill of two degrees.

I've crossed paths with a lot of stars hanging out on the famed links. It can be intimidating trying to convince them to give you five minutes. Let's be honest, my media badge doesn't say TMZ or ESPN.

It's funny how a brief conversation can change your entire perception of someone.

I'll never forget having a conversation with rock star Alice Cooper. It was the most intellectual interview I have ever done. Don't be misled by the raggedy hair or makeup.

When asked about the difference between playing golf and being on stage, Cooper said, "I can not see the audience on stage. But on the golf course, all eyes are on you."

I was not sure what to think when talking to Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith a few years back. My most vivid memory of "The Wizard" was cheap-shooting the Giants' Will Clark at second base in the 1987 playoffs.

Turns out Smith was humble and very polite. The fog had rolled in and it was cold. But Smith — with his wife by his side along the scoreboard on 18 — stood and answered each question.

One of my all-time favorite interviews was with NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving. Not only did Dr. J sit down with me after playing 18 awful holes, but he offered to buy lunch.

I found Dallas quarterback Tony Romo to be respectful and sharp with his answers. Yeah, he's got a little attitude. But it's more confidence than arrogance. He gets the fact that this is a celebrity tournament.

Trust me, there are exceptions. Former quarterback Bob Griese, who led Miami to a 17-0 season in 1972, got in a car after one question and bolted as if a charging lineman was headed in his direction.

Donald Trump had flair and was amusing. On the course, he had a temper, slamming his iron into the turf a time or two. Hey, the guy is competitive.

Singer Huey Lewis was entertaining. He made sure we both had fun, making the interview feel more like a casual conversation with your neighbor.

For the spectator, there are few places or events where you can get an actor, musician or jock to stop and sign an autograph or pose for a photo.

They're out of their realm when it comes to swinging a club on the links. Golf is a humbling sport. At the same time, they're still entertainers. Most of them realize the galleries are filled with star struck spectators.

Hey, who doesn't want to spend a week on the peninsula and say they played Pebble?

The environment along the Pacific is as peaceful as the sport, unless you're paired with Bill Murray.

John Devine can be reached at jdevine@montereyherald.com and 646-4405.

Source http://www.montereyherald.com/sports/ci_17377612?nclick_check=1

Golf World: Better stance, alignment leads to consistency

2011-02-07T23:13:00.000-08:00

There are two types of fundamentals that a golfer must learn: (1) Pre-swing and (2) In-swing.

The pre-swing fundamentals are those things that happen before any movement occurs. These are static rather than dynamic fundamentals. Fortunately for us, these pre-swing fundamentals have a direct bearing on how we swing the club.

Some examples of these fundamentals are stance, alignment, posture, ball position, clubface aim, weight distribution, and tension level.

Let's focus on stance, alignment and ball position. No greater player than Jack Nicklaus said that the feet, knees and hips were one of the most important fundamentals in golf.

The golf swing is a ground-reaction game, so therefore, we need a correct stance in order to be consistent. The width of the stance is important for stability and freedom of movement. A stance that is too narrow will result in poor balance, while a stance that is too wide will restrict movement and cause unnecessary lateral movement with the body toward the target. Stances are also classified as open, closed or square.

Some players, mainly senior players, play out of a slightly closed stance. This stance is lined up slightly right of the target. This allows the player to make a better body turn on the backswing and, generally, will help the golfer hook the ball. Sam Snead played this way. He aimed to the right and "came over the top" on the downswing. His shot was a pull hook that was very consistent. Arnold Palmer also played out of a closed stance most of his career.

The other stance type is called the open stance. In this stance, the left foot is pulled off the target line. This stance will restrict the turning motion of the hips on the backswing, but will help the hips turn out of the way on the forward swing. Lee Trevino played this way. This stance is hard on the back, and not generally recommended for the average player. The open stance encourages a left-to-right fade.

The other stance type is the square stance. This stance is used by most golfers, and is a stance that is parallel to the target line. The thing that I see most golfers leaving out of their stance is what I call foot flare. Foot flare is simply flaring out the left foot about 15 to 20 degrees at the setup. This also helps the golfer turn his hips and body through the shot on the forward swing.

Body alignment or shoulder alignment is another pre-swing fundamental that should be addressed. The direction the shoulders are aimed has a direct bearing on the path of the clubhead through impact.

For example, if the shoulders are lined up too far to the left of the target at address, the golfer will cut across the ball and hit a pull hook or pull slice. On the other hand, if the shoulders are lined up to the right of the target at address, the golfer would probably swing too "inside out" and hook the ball.

You can work on your stance and your posture by putting two clubs down on the ground as you are practicing. One club is for the stance and shoulder line, and one club for the target line. A third club can be put in between your feet in order to keep your ball position consistent.

I use a training aid called the Practice Pod that works on all three of these pre-swing fundamentals. Sometimes the simplest fundamentals will make the biggest difference in your game.

Source http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/59533

Watson up to 18th in world

2011-02-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

Bubba Watson's second PGA Tour win helped him improve 15 spots to No. 18 in this week's world golf rankings.

The top three remained the same with Lee Westwood first followed by Martin Kaymer and Tiger Woods. Phil Mickelson took second place behind Watson and moved up two places to No. 4.

Graeme McDowell slid one spot to fifth, while Volvo Golf Champions winner Paul Casey jumped three to No. 6. Steve Stricker dipped a pair to seventh, while Rory McIlroy and Jim Furyk both slipped one to eighth and ninth, respectively.

Luke Donald held steady on No. 10 and was again followed by Ernie Els, Ian Poulter and Matt Kuchar.

Dustin Johnson improved two places to No. 14. Retief Goosen dipped a notch to 15th, Robert Karlsson inched up a spot to 16th, while Francesco Molinari fell two places to 17th.

Watson was followed by Louis Oosthuizen and Edoardo Molinari, who both dropped one to 19th and 20th.

Tim Clark, last week's No. 20, tumbled two to 22nd this week.

Source http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/31/2043523/watson-up-to-18th-in-world.html

Look out golf world -- Woods has that eye of the Tiger again

2011-01-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods strolled into Torrey Pines on Wednesday, albeit without the famous limp

he used when he won the U.S. Open in thrilling fashion in 2008.

Woods and Rocco Mediate had a tantalizing duel in a 19-hole Monday playoff, but Woods is back for the first time since then.

We remember that Monday, an extra- ordinary round filled with vivid images

of a grimacing Woods doubled over in pain. Yet with each wrinkle of the face and gimp in his step, he still executed impeccable shots.

Woods remembers that Saturday.

"Saturday probably hurt more than any other days I played," Woods said Wednesday at a standing-room-only news conference for this week's Farmer's Insurance Open. "So to perform at that level while I was feeling that much pain was something I look back on. I'm very proud of."

Woods is feeling confident and pain-free despite a winless 2010 in which he took a hiatus from the scandal of numerous affairs that led to divorce.

Nothing about his gameplan has changed, except that wins seem more plausible now.

"My expectations are the same," Woods said. "Whatever event I enter is to win the event."

He might be a different man off the course, and even though he didn't win last year he still expects it will happen with every field he joins.

Woods had the smile going and a relaxed vibe about him. He seemed comfortable and confident heading into today's start to his 2011 PGA Tour season.

The previous day, Mediate said he figured Woods would win at least four events. Woods joked, "I think the commissioner (Tim Finchem) would like me to play more than four events."

The confidence that propelled Woods to win a major with a torn anterior cruciate ligament is back. It's just if his swing will cooperate.

Woods has had so much success at Torrey Pines, winning six times as a member of the tour and Junior Worlds as well.

Even if Woods didn't have that confidence, his colleagues feel it.

The roars might be back and reverberate around the North and South courses this weekend.

"I expect that he'll be the Tiger that we've known for over a decade," Phil Mickelson said. "Unfortunately."

Woods fell to No. 3 in the rankings last week while Martin Kaymer moved to No. 2. And if European pro Ian Poulter's playful nickname "No. 3" bothers Woods at all, he wouldn't let on.

Poulter and Lee Westwood, the top-ranked player in the world, tried to entice Woods into a friendly debate Tuesday on Twitter, but Woods didn't oblige.

"It's just Poults," Woods said. "He's probably just bored and has nothing to do. I was at home and working on my game and flying out here. That's just Poults being Poults, and that's fine."

The way Woods played in the Ryder Cup and at his Chevron World Challenge - he had a four-shot lead going into the final round but squandered it to Graeme McDowell - gives him glimpses of his star power. But it would take a victory to solidify his swing change and confidence are back in championship form.

Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman tweeted: "looking fwd to him winning again and watching most media talking heads hurt themselves jumping back on his bandwagon."

Fans surely will be hoping to be rooting for a Woods who's in contention. He's playing with Mediate and Anthony Kim for today's first round and Friday's second round.

"I don't know how the computer did that," Woods said laughing. "It's kind of a surprise, isn't it? Just randomly put us together."

Mediate, asked if he thought Woods would play better this year, was immediate in response.

"Absolutely. Because he's Tiger," Mediate said. "He's tired of seeing what he's seeing. He'll fix it. He'll definitely fix it. He's not going away. I still think he's the best player. I don't care what the rankings say.

"He's had a little bit off year. A lot of things happen, we all run into those weeks or months or years for that matter of not being able to get it done. Even him, he got to feel that."

Woods felt that gimpy knee here and still won the U.S. Open. He's got that confidence back, and this time there's no hiccup in his gait.

Source http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_17211702

McDowell and Mickelson tied for 4th in world rankings

2011-01-17T23:22:00.000-08:00

With Phil Mickelson making his season debut in Abu Dhabi this week, and Graeme McDowell already having come tantalizingly close to earning a playoff berth in Kapalua, a significant storyline for the week will be if McDowell can pass the Masters champion for 4th in the Official World Golf Rankings.

As of Monday, they are tied. With the release of the new rankings, McDowell and Mickelson each average 6.24 points per event.

Just like last time McDowell played in the United Arab Emirates, the Ulsterman can surpass a rival in a key ranking list. Last time he was there, McDowell had a chance to overtake Martin Kaymer for the Race to Dubai title in the Dubai World Championship.

Ultimately, number one is the ranking that matters, but as McDowell’s starts from this time in 2009 burn off – and he presumably retains form well enough to replace them with better finishes – he could easily hop into the top three, leaving Mickelson in his dust. Or, maybe more appropriately, sand.

Source http://progolftalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/17/mcdowell-and-mickelson-tied-for-4th-in-world-rankings/

Open spots on offer for Aussies at IFQ

2011-01-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

Australia’s top golfers will be bringing their A-game to Kingston Heath Golf Club tomorrow with arguably the most sought after prize in world golf up for grabs- a spot in the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s.

A total of three spots in The Open field will be available on Tuesday when International Final Qualifying (IFQ) Australasia is contested over 36 holes.

The top three finishers will earn a place at the 2011 Open Championship to be played at Royal St George’s, which this year will host its 14th Open Championship.

The Open was last contested at Royal St George’s in 2003 when American Ben Curtis won by a stroke over Vijay Singh in what was his first ever Major appearance.

This year some of Australia’s best will again be vying for their chance to tee it up in The Open with Peter Senior and Peter O’Malley among those looking to qualify.

“The IFQ for the Open Championship in Australia is a great opportunity for all Australian players to play in what i believe is the best tournament in the world,” said Peter Senior who gained a spot in the 2010 Open Championship after qualifying at IFQ Australasia.

“Last year was great to have it at St Andrews where it is always exciting and full of atmosphere, but this year the players are in for a real treat as we head back to Royal St George’s which I'm sure will throw up its own unique challenges to all of the players lucky enough to get through the qualifying.”

“Of all The Open courses Royal St George’s is probably the most demanding off the tee and high rough awaits anything that is off line.”

O’Malley shares Senior’s sentiments.

“The Open is the best tournament in the golfing calendar. It is the one tournament I want to play every year. I would look forward to playing at Royal St George’s if I was to qualify,” O’Malley said.

“Royal St George’s is a great test of golf, very demanding off the tee which suits my style of golf.”

Also in the field will be yesterday's Victorian Open winner Paul Sheehan, Craig Parry, Matthew Griffin, Stephen Allan, Peter Fowler, Andre Stolz, Stephen Leaney, James Nitties and Alistair Presnell.

Young hopefuls Kieran Pratt and Rohan Blizard will also be teeing it up hoping to earn their first starts in a Major tournament.

Source http://www.pga.org.au/article-display/open-spots-on-offer-for-aussies-at-ifq/131321

World Golf Glance

2011-01-04T23:39:00.000-08:00

Site: Kapalua, Hawaii.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Kapalua Resort, The Plantation Course (7,411 yards, 6,777 meters, par 73).

Purse: $5.6 million. Winner's share: $1.12 million.

Last year: Australia's Geoff Ogilvy successfully defended his title in the winners-only, season-opening event, closing with a 6-under 67 for a one-shot victory over South Africa's Rory Sabbatini.

Notes: Ogilvy won the Australian Open on Dec. 5, then lost a playoff to Peter Senior the following week in the Australian PGA. ... Ernie Els set the US PGA Tour record for relation to par in a 72-hole event in 2003, finishing at 31 under. He's coming off a victory on Dec. 19 in the South African Open. ... Stuart Abbleby (2004-06) and Gene Littler (1955-57) are the only players to win for three straight years. ... Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy and Louis Oosthuizen are skipping the tournament. Tiger Woods failed to qualify. ... Francesco Molinari earned a spot in the field with his HSBC Champions victory in China. ... Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore designed The Plantation Course on a pineapple plantation in the foothills of the West Maui Mountains. ... The Sony Open in Hawaii is next week at Waialae. ... Hyundai is the third title sponsor in three years.

Online: http://www.pgatour.com

___

Site: East London, South Africa.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: East London Golf Club (6,770 yards, 6,190 meters, par 73).

Purse: $1.3 million. Winner's share: $215,340.

Last year: South Africa's Charl Schwartzel beat countryman Thomas Aiken by a stroke.

Notes: British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen is in the field along with Schwartzel, 2009 winner Retief Goosen and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke. ... The European Tour opened its "2011" schedule in December with two events also sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour. Pablo Martin won the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek and Ernie Els took the South African Open at Durban Country Club. The tours will team again next week for the Joburg Open.

Online: http://www.europeantour.com

Sunshine Tour site: http://www.sunshinetour.com

Source http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/2011-01-04-3912971477_x.htm

Final 2010 Official World Golf Rankings are out

2010-12-28T23:22:00.000-08:00

Europe claims six top-10 finishers to four from the United States in the year-end Official World Golf Rankings, out Tuesday. As everyone awaits the start of the 2011 season, here are the top 10 of your final 2010 OWGR lineup:

* 1. Lee Westwood

* 2. Tiger Woods

* 3. Martin Kaymer

* 4. Phil Mickelson

* 5. Jim Furyk

* 6. Graeme McDowell

* 7. Steve Stricker

* 8. Paul Casey

* 9. Luke Donald

* 10. Rory McIlroy

To find your favorite golfer, check out officialworldgolfranking.com.

You won't find his name in the OWGR, but Richard Lewis golfed his way into the Guinness Book of World Records. Read how the retired amateur golfer played more than 600 rounds in one year -- all while walking and carrying his bag.

Source http://www.examiner.com/golf-in-national/westwood-s-still-no-1-final-2010-official-world-golf-rankings

Masters Qualifiers Named from World Golf Rankings

2010-12-22T22:56:00.001-08:00

Based on the final 2010 World Golf Rankings, 13 players have qualified for the 2011 Masters. Among the group are only two Americans, Rickie Fowler and Sean O'Hair.

Since there are no more tournaments this year, the final rankings were released Monday. The Masters sends out automatic invites to players in the top 50. The criteria is mainly for international players who are not PGA Tour members and have fewer ways to qualify, such as winning a tour event or getting into the FedEx Cup finale.

O'Hair, who started the year ranked 15th, did not win a tournament in 2010 or reach the season-ending Tour Championship. He ended 2010 at No. 43, while Fowler, completing his first year on the PGA Tour, ended up at No. 28 thanks to two runner-up finishes.

The 11 other qualifiers include: England's Ross Fisher; Italian brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari; Spaniard Alvaro Quiros; and Swedes Peter Hanson and Robert Karlsson.

The others include the Japanese trio of Ryo Ishikawa, Yuta Ikeda and Hiroyuki Fujita; Korean Kim Kyung-tae; and South African Charl Schwartzel.

This brings to 92 the number of players who have qualified for the 2010 Masters, which has the smallest field of the four majors and prefers to keep its field at about 100. The event will be held April 7-10.

Source http://www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/masters_qualifiers_named_from_world_golf_rankings

2010 Chevron World Challenge - Golf Event Recap

2010-12-08T01:54:00.000-08:00

2010 Chevron World Challenge wrapped up on Sunday, 5th December at Sherwood Country Club in California. Graeme McDowell seized the trophy of the tournament along with the cheque of $1.25 million and capped the PGA Tour with fourth title. The results went against the predictions. For the ones who missed the great combat, here is a recap of the event:

The tournament, which was hosted by Tiger Woods, kicked off on Thursday with a field of 18 players. Eleven Americans teed off against five Europeans to grab a share in the purse of $5 million. However, in the first round, a perfect combat was witnessed between one American, Tiger Woods and two Europeans, Rory Mc Ilroy and Graeme McDowell.

Tiger smashed eight birdies on the loss of one hole and took the charge of the field. One stroke behind were Rory Mc Ilroy and Graeme McDowell. At the fourth place was the player, who was in limelight for making claims of taking Tiger Woods down. Ian Poulter failed to conquer the course the way he did in Hong Kong and surrendered at par.

On the second day of the Chevron World Challenge, Tiger kept his name vaulted on the top of the leader board. The 34-year-old smashed a bogey free round of six birdies and took a four-stroke lead over Graeme and five strokes over Rory.

Woods could not stop smiling, as it was the first time in the year that the former world number one had surged into lead. Woods told the press, "I hit a lot of pure putts. I was not quite as sharp as yesterday, but I was able to piece it together and figure out how to hit better shots when I was struggling a little bit. I hit a couple loose shots and all of a sudden, 'OK, this is what I need to do to fix it.' And I fixed it. So that was nice."

Four strokes behind was the winner, Graeme McDowell. The player, who hails from Northern Ireland, gave a close combat to the leader. However, he dropped a shot on the ninth hole, which resulted in a double bogey. The veteran was not sombre with his game, but still kept himself together. Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald chased the Irish with eight-under and managed to seize the third spot of the leader board.

In the third round, only four players managed to keep the scores in the realms of par. Tiger was one of them. The runner-up picked seven birdies against two bogeys and once again remained successful in keeping the lead. Graeme and Stewart Cink smashed an identical score, but could not override the veteran. The worst score of the day was produced by Dustin Johnson, who helped one birdie and one bogey in a round of 80.

The real drama started in the final round when Graeme birdied the final hole and forced the tournament into a play-off. The 18th hole was chosen as the deciding hole, which turned out to be a bad news for the world number two. Tiger failed to birdie the hole whereas Graeme successfully holed it from 20 feet and surged into victory.

Rory smashed five birdies and took the fourth place whereas Paul Casey stroke 69 and grabbed the third place.

Despite the loss, Woods was happy with his achievement. He told the press, "It was a great week, even though I didn't win. I am proud of today, even though I lost. The way I am playing right now, yeah, I would like to continue playing. Even though I lost and made countless mistakes in the middle part of the round, it said a lot for me to come back and put my swing back together again."

Source http://blogs.bettor.com/2010-Chevron-World-Challenge-Golf-Event-Recap-a46513

Worst over for Tiger Woods?

2010-11-30T23:02:00.000-08:00

Like a tsunami that begins on the other side of the equator, the great comeback has begun. Tiger Woods' final nine of the competitive golf season – at least coming into this week's Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood CC – was a 6-under-par 30.

His final round was a 7-under-par 65. His finish was fourth in the Australian Masters, which does not reward the winner with a green koala-fur coat but did feature winner Stuart Appleby, plus Camilo Villegas and Robert Allenby, among others.

"Over the last few tournaments I've played, I've gotten into hot streaks where I do it right," Woods said Tuesday. "Before, I'd get it going for three, four holes and now I've done it for nine holes, and now I've got to get it for 18 holes and eventually all 72.

"It's a process. I've been here before. I did it twice with Butch (Harmon) and once with Hank (Haney) and now once with Sean (Foley). I'm excited about it."

This comes near the end of the most famous year of Tiger Woods' life, a fantastical statement when you consider how universal his life has always been.

What if you had predicted, 53 weeks ago, that Woods would not only win no tournaments in 2010 but would not even compete in a final group or finish higher than fourth?

Or that he was at least 10 shots behind, going into the final round, in nine of the 13 PGA Tour events that he played?

Never mind the subtext, The Other Stuff, that preceded and then contributed to it. Take the golf alone, and it's like Kobe Bryant averaging eight points a game. And Bryant, when he went through his year from self-created hell, did not have to wait several minutes between shots.

Finally, mercifully, Woods is no longer the top-ranked player in the world. Lee Westwood is, and Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson are third and fourth.

They and the rest of golf will learn that 2010 was the interregnum. Just like 1994 and 1995 in basketball, when Michael Jordan played baseball in Birmingham.

Woods, 35, is healthy. He is relatively paparazzi-free. He has dodged WikiLeaks. He is suffering from nothing except a twitchy foot, which is eager to start booting the backside of the rest of professional golf, yet again.

Foley is a Canadian who has built the golf games of Sean O'Hair and Hunter Mahan. His father is from Scotland and his mother from Guyana, and he played at Tennessee State, a predominantly black school. His avant-garde approach, and his eclectic background and off-golf interests, were perfect for a curious mind like Tiger's, who had lost confidence in Haney, although Haney was the one who dropped him.

"It just wasn't working anymore," Woods said. "I kept trying to do the same things I'd been working on with Hank. I just couldn't do it, for some reason."

Foley and Woods got down to business every night at the PGA Championship in August. Woods took a week off and distilled the information, and shot 65 in the first round of the Barclays.

"At that point there was no looking back," he said. "Sean tried to explain his methodology and it was eye-opening because there were a lot of terms I didn't know. It was about coming to grips with the terminology and implementing it and whether I even can.

"I'm getting to the impact areas I used to, but in a different way. I'm staying over the golf ball now, something I've never done. We're always taught to move off and drive ourselves into it. But some of the motor patterns, when I feel the impact, I've been here before."

Only twice in 2010 did Woods post consecutive sub-70 rounds on the PGA Tour. The one day that he frothed up his gallery was Saturday at the U.S. Open, when he charged home with a 66.

He was in third place behind Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell. Most years, that would have meant he was leading.

"I was very confident, but I didn't putt well on the first two holes and hit that bad drive on 3," he recalled. Woods trudged home with 75 and was fourth. There were no more echoes to awaken.

Woods was not as forthcoming about anything else. About blocking out the divorce and the furor, he called it "harder than anyone can ever imagine." He said he was "creating boundaries, because there certainly had been boundary failure," and that excited him.

He also was asked what changes he would like to see in televised golf, since new contract negotiations are looming.

"I'd like to see me win more tournaments," he said.

That is the urge that reunites Tiger with the world. The comeback has begun. When it comes into view, you will hear it.

Source http://www.ocregister.com/articles/woods-278213-golf-tiger.html

20 of the World's Best Golf Courses

2010-11-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

If you had to pick 20 golf courses that stand at least a half inch taller than others in the category, Best in the World, where would you start?

Scotland, Ireland, the US, England, Australia?

That’s where most of the world’s existing golf courses are.

Many are exceptional, so much so that the competition to get into the top 100 lists is tough. Staying there, even tougher.

Some courses are exceptional because they are breathtakingly beautiful, and they provide a challenge.

The test does not have to be impossible, but it should be interesting, distinctive.

Any golf course can be made impossible simply by the addition of length, and so to use length alone as the barometer of excellence is foolhardy.

Some golf courses lists rely on having green speeds that defy normalcy. With greens that stimp lower, say between nine and 11, like a St. Andrews, are they great or just very good? A good course isn’t just about fast greens, it’s about strategy. It’s about deception. It’s the way the land looks, and the way a golfer needs to play it to be successful.

Some courses in our top 20 are now obsolete for the touring professionals because of the changes in equipment, and because, as Jack Nicklaus has insisted for the last 25 years, the ball goes too far.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t fabulous courses. It just means the pros need to dust off some persimmon and a few old balata balls to play them the way they were meant to be played. Because most amateurs do not have professional length, the same courses are still the same tough test for most of us.

Some courses are modern, yet look like they were invented right along with the golf itself.

Some are nearly as old as the game. Most of these, if not personally viewed, come at the recommendation of an expert in golf, often a noted player.

Some are left out, so this is with apologies to the many—particularly in Scotland, Ireland, Australia and the US—that are no doubt equal to many mentioned here.

This collection will surprise some and please others.

You’ll see several designers mentioned often: Alister Mackenzie, Charles Blair Macdonald, Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus.

And now the courses, by age.

Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/524148-20-of-the-worlds-best-golf-courses

No golf, but the public can visit St. Andrews golf course for free on Sundays

2010-11-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

In the birthplace of golf, I saw a puppy, not a putt.

The little dog raced across the Old Course's fine low grass, his mistress behind. Nearby, families posed on the Swilcan Bridge -- the bridge that Jack Nicklaus kissed in 2005 during his final British Open.

How is it that the ordinary person can walk on the world's most famous golf course?

"Nobody owns the Old Course," sniffed the ticket taker at the British Golf Museum across the street. The land was given to all the citizens of St. Andrews by the king of Scotland in the 12th Century.

Most days, lucky golfers from around the world pay up to $200 for the privilege of playing a round on the historic, par-72 St. Andrews Old Course links, where golf was invented 600 years ago.

But every Sunday, the course is closed "to let it rest," as it's so quaintly put. That's when the public gets free rein.

On a sunshiny fall afternoon, I even saw people lying down on the fairway, soaking in the brief Scotland sun as if they were on the beach.

The city even has a love story: Britain's Prince William, and Kate Middleton, who announced their engagement last week, met while students at the University of St. Andrews.

The course, of course

Naturally, my husband almost swooned when he discovered the news.

He stood on the old stone bridge. He examined the bunkers. He explored the 17th hole. And the 18th hole. And some other holes. He marveled at the perfect practice putting green, its individual blades of grass no higher than an ant's kneecap. He even sneaked a peek in the windows of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club clubhouse to glimpse trophies gleaming on a shelf. He shopped at the Links Clubhouse giftshop and had a beer in the bar.

From there, it was a short walk to the Best Western Scores Hotel, where because it was off-season and a Sunday, we stayed in junior suite 204, which directly overlooks the course's first tee.

Watch out for foozles

By the 1500s, golf was so popular in Scotland that it was banned because it kept luring men away from their archery practice. Later, towns had to pass laws against Sunday golf because too many people were on the links instead of in church.

Originally, the sport was played with wooden clubs and balls stuffed with feathers, which gave way over the centuries to much improved gear, if not improved golf scores.

The story is told at the British Golf Museum, which is golf's equivalent to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. A treasure trove of golf memorabilia, it includes John Daly's autographed glove from his win at the British Open at St. Andrews in 1995 and Tiger Woods' autographed red shirt and black hat from his last triumph in 2005. A practice putting area lets visitors try their skill.

Older artifacts charmingly reveal the sport's long history. On display is the oldest known British Open champ scorecard, from golfer Old Tom Morris in 1864 (he won $9, hardly today's $1.29 million prize). You can also read about old golf lingo -- a "foozle" was a bad, bungling stroke, and to "miss the globe" was to miss the ball.

In a section on golf course design, there is a photo of sheep nibbling the greens to keep them short before lawnmowers were invented. And in a display of clubs over the decades, there's the Spalding Schenectady Putter from 1902, banned at St. Andrews for giving players an unfair advantage.

That old golf magic

If you want to actually play golf on the Old Course, there still are reserved slots available in 2011 -- but only from January to March (wear a parka) and after Oct. 11. However, St. Andrews has six other golf courses -- the New, Jubilee, Eden, Strathtyrum, Castle and Balgove, all of which can easily be booked just a week ahead or so.

Because St. Andrews is a public course, visitors can drop in at the golf practice center, three clubhouses, bars and giftshops anytime.

Also, if you would prefer a tour of the Old Course instead of just wandering around, 40-minute and two-hour guided walks are offered in summer (see story at right for details).

As for us, we kept drifting back to the Swilcan Bridge, built hundreds of years ago so sheep can cross. In July, golfer Tom Watson kissed that bridge as he left the game during the 2010 British Open, the latest in a long line of pro golfers to do so.

Source http://www.freep.com/article/20101121/FEATURES07/11210376/1322/No-golf-but-the-public-can-visit-St.-Andrews-golf-course-for-free-on-Sundays

Where in the world are top golfers this week?

2010-11-15T00:17:00.000-08:00

In the 1970s, into the 1980s and even through the 1990s, I thought golf had one very strong advantage over tennis.

While tennis might have its top three players playing in three different tournaments around the world in a given week, you always knew the top golfers in the world would be playing in the same field in that week's PGA Tour event.

Sure, a few of the top players might take a week off, and there was always talk of where one of the great international players might be playing around the world that weekend. But for the most part, the game's best players played week in and week out on the PGA Tour. It was easy to compare and contrast those golfers playing on the same course.

But the golf world of the 1970s and 1980s doesn't exist anymore. and for proof of that, just look at this weekend's tournaments.

Tiger Woods is playing in the Australian Masters, part of the Australasian Tour. Sergio Garcia, Stuart Appleby and Geoff Ogilvy are also in that field.

A couple of thousand miles away, Phil Mickelson is playing in the Barclays Singapore Open, an event on the European Tour. Adam Scott, Ian Poulter and U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell are in that field.

Down in Orlando, Fla., the PGA Tour is conducting its Children's Miracle Network tournament, the last official event of its season. Before you call it a tournament of lesser lights on the tour, remember that Vijay Singh, Rickie Fowler and J.B. Holmes are in the field.

So to keep track of the game's best players, you need to have one eye on Orlando, one on Singapore and one on Melbourne.

Golfers globetrotting

And don't look for things to get any easier in the coming year. The No. 1 player in the world, England's Lee Westwood, will not be a PGA Tour member next year. Neither will PGA champion Martin Kaymer of Germany or young gun sensation Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. They will play most of their golf in Europe, though they can be counted on to play 10 or so events each in the United States.

We also know that Mickelson and likely a few other of the game's top players will be in Abu Dhabi the week that the PGA Tour comes to La Quinta for the Bob Hope Classic.

And so it goes. People like to talk about how globalization makes the world a little smaller and brings the world closer together. But in professional golf, globalization seems to be scattering the game's best players to the four corners of the Earth.

The answer of how to get the game's top players together again rather than only passing each other in airports seems simple. Somewhere out there is a blueprint for a world tour. The foundation for such a tour already exists with four majors and four world golf championships set on most players schedules. Add two to four more events around the globe and you've got a 10-to-12 event tour that would showcase the game's top players in the same place about once a month.

It's an obvious answer to the problem of the top 10 golfers in the world scattering to play in three different places. Otherwise, we'll have more weeks of needing to keep one eye on Orlando, one on Singapore and one on Melbourne.

Larry Bohannan covers golf for The Desert Sun. His columns appear Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He can be reached at (760) 778-4633.

Source http://www.mydesert.com/article/20101114/COLUMNS05/11140329/1032/SPORTS05/Where+in+the+world+are+top+golfers+this+week

Official apathy mars world’s highest Golf Course

2010-11-12T02:21:00.000-08:00

It has been over five years since the Jammu and Kashmir government conceived a plan to ‘modernize’ the world’s highest Golf Course here in a bid to give fillip to the tourism sector by promoting Gulmarg as a ‘favourite’ Golfing destination. But as on date, the work on the prized turf is still incomplete.

According to observers, ‘official indifference’ coupled with ‘system failure’ has caused inordinate delay in completing work on the Golf Course, where the first Indian Golfer is understood to have beaten a British competitor in early 1950.

The delay is not only affecting the Golfing prospects in Kashmir, but also leading to huge cost escalation on the project. It is also spoiling the turf on which “some new works done this year are carried out afresh every next year.”

“The plan was approved by the Government of India in 2004-05 at the cost of Rs 2 crore. The actual work on it started in 2007, keeping in view the need to modernize it and promote Gulmarg as a favourite Golfing destination,” said an official, who has been closely associated with the plan. “Keeping in view the historicity of the Golf Course, it was deemed appropriate to modernize it to best possible extent so that it attracts Golfers from across the world. It was part of a vision commonly referred to as Davosification of Gulmarg.”

According to sources, a number of civil works were completed by the end of 2008 itself. This included the earthwork, tees (a short peg put into the ground to hold a golf ball off the ground) and greens work (an area of closely cropped grass surrounding the hole on a golf course). “Apart from other works, seeding had also to be done,” they said. “The seed was imported from the United States. But God knows why the state government has failed to make the Golf Course operational so far.”

A cursory look at the Golf Course—spread over 150 acres of land—reflects its sorry state of affairs. The place is in a shambles. Cattle are seen roaming around while a few ponnywalas are also having a field day.

Initially, the sources said, it was decided that the project shall be completed in two years. September 2010 was put as another deadline, which the state has failed to meet.

The executing agency of the project is the Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) under the aegis of the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department.

‘SYSTEM FAILURE’

There is a peculiar problem that has marred the Golf Course functioning. “Three Chief Ministers have been monitoring the project. Three Chief Executive Officers of the GDA and administrative officers changed since it was started. This frequent transfer marred the project because the priorities of the officers were different at different times. When someone comes in the middle of the season, he tries to understand the project in their way. It takes them time to go through the projects again which affects the overall efficiency. There is that continuity break which consumes more time,” said the official, who has been working on the project. “Also, the system failure caused the delay. It took the state government a lot of time to purchase the equipments for the Golf Course, though requisition for the same was made in time. The procurement process takes time. Some of the equipment is yet to be procured because there are too many agencies and procedural hitches involved. There has to be a backing and support from the government for such projects, which is missing for the past two years.”

Sources said there was also the “lack of accountability factor” to the issue. “There was a problem of lack of expertise and timely release of funds for the people associated with the project. With so many works, it was like carpenter’s hands for mason’s work. And then people on ground were to be made accountable and asked to meet the deadline. But nothing like that happened,” they said.

‘ANOTHER DEADLINE’

According to Ranjit Nanda, the consultant for the Gulmarg Golf Course, all the major work has been done. “There is some fine tuning that needs be done. There is also some fertilizing and maintenance work that has to be carried out,” he told Greater Kashmir. “All that is the next phase, which can’t be done in winter. The grass has already gone into dormancy. If we start early next season, we may be able to put the Golf Course into operation by July 2011.”

He said as a golfing destination, Gulmarg turf was a wonderful place. “Gulmarg Golf Course is the world’s highest Golf Course. It has lot of history. The first time an Indian player beat a British golfer was in Gulmarg in early 50s. Every year Golf tournaments would be held on the turf and Golfers from across the world would participate,” Ranjit, who has played Golf on the turf, said, asserting that the completion of the Golf Course “would certainly give fillip to tourism sector in Kashmir.”

“There is a limited working season in Gulmarg which affects the work. Then we had the turmoil this year again, which also created problem. By we are at the job. We are trying to throw it open for the sport as soon as possible,” Nanda said.

Sources however said that outside the state such projects are completed in 15 to 20 months. “The unrest in the Valley, cited by officials, is a handy excuse now. The question is why a project, which should have been completed in time, is still incomplete. That needs to be looked into,” they said.

Source http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Nov/12/official-apathy-mars-world-s-highest-golf-course-42.asp

Woods Trails Australian Masters Leaders by 4 as Putts Fall Short

2010-11-11T02:34:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods opened his Australian Masters title defense with a 2-under par first round that leaves him four shots behind the three leaders.

Woods, the world's No. 2-ranked golfer, recovered from an early bogey at the Victoria Golf Club to hit three birdies at the 6,886-yard (6,297 meter) course in Melbourne. He said his putting let him down after he missed just two fairways.

"That was probably the highest score I could have shot today," Woods told reporters. "I didn't make anything. I kept leaving every putt short, my speed was just slightly off, not hard enough."

Woods, 34, hasn't won since his two-shot victory at nearby Kingston Heath 12 months ago and faces the prospect of ending 2010 without a title to his name. His best finishes were at the Masters Tournament and U.S. Open, where he tied for fourth.

Less than two weeks after winning the 2009 Australian Masters, Woods crashed into a fire hydrant outside his Florida home. The single-car accident led to an admission by the 14-time major champion that he repeatedly cheated on his wife, causing the eventual end of his marriage to Elin Nordegren.

He lost sponsors including Accenture Plc, AT&T Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co.'s Gillette razors, while his record five- year run atop the Official World Golf Ranking ended last week when England's Lee Westwood took over as No. 1.

Woods entered today's opening round as the bookmakers' favorite for the tournament, which also features seven-time U.S. PGA Tour winner Sergio Garcia of Spain, 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and fellow Australian Robert Allenby, who are 1- over and 2-over, respectively. Garcia hit three bogeys and a double bogey in a 2-over-par 73.

Early Start

After teeing off at 7.27 a.m. from the 10th hole, Woods took 19 putts on his first nine holes and needed to sink a 7- foot putt for par on the final hole to avoid his second bogey.

While he left several putts short, Woods said his ball- striking was the best in an opening round since deciding in August to remodel his swing with the help of coach Sean Foley.

"I certainly have not hit the ball like this first round," he said. "I've played better on stretches for six, seven, eight holes, but nothing like this for the entire day. I really hit it good."

Australians Adam Bland and Alistair Presnell, who have shared rooms on the second-tier Nationwide Tour in the U.S. for the past two years, are tied atop the leaderboard with countryman Daniel Gaunt after 6-under-par rounds of 65.

World Golf Glance

2010-11-10T02:26:00.000-08:00

Site: Melbourne, Australia.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Victoria Golf Club (6,886 yards, 6,297 meters, par 71).

Purse: $1.52 million. Winner's share: $273,200.

Last year: Tiger Woods won at Kingston Heath, closing with a 4-under 68 for the last of his 82 official worldwide victories. Greg Chalmers was second, two strokes back.

Last week: Italy's Francesco Molinari won the HSBC Champions in China for his first World Golf Championship title, holding off top-ranked Lee Westwood by a stroke. Woods tied for sixth, leaving him winless in a U.S. PGA Tour season for the first time in his career. ... Australia's David Bransdon won the Australasian Tour's WA PGA Championship at Bunbury, matching the course record with a closing 8-under 64 for a two-stroke victory.

Notes: Last year, the presence of a woman alleged to have been Woods' guest at his Melbourne hotel led to revelations of infidelities that derailed his professional life and ended his marriage to Elin Nordegren. Woods is making his second-to-last start of the year. He also will play in own Chevron World Challenge on Dec. 2-5 in Thousand Oaks, California. His sixth-place tie last week in China was only his third top 10 of the year and his best finish since a tie for fourth at the U.S. Open. ... Australian stars Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby and Aaron Baddeley also are in the field along with Sergio Garcia and Camilo Villegas. Allenby won in 2003 and 2005, and Baddeley took the 2007 title. ... The par-4 opening hole is 257 yards. ... The NSW PGA Championship is next week at Wollongong.

Online: http://www.australianmasters.com.au

PGA Tour Australasia site: http://pgatour.com.au

___

Site: Singapore.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Courses: Sentosa Golf Club, The Serapong (7,300 yards, 6,675 meters, par 71) and The Tanjong (6,577 yards, 6,014 meters, par 72).

Purse: $6 million. Winner's share: $1 million.

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Sunday, 1:30-5 a.m., 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.).

Last year: England's Ian Poulter led wire-to-wire, beating Liang Wenchong by a stroke.

Last week: Italy's Francesco Molinari won the HSBC Champions in China for his first World Golf Championship title, holding off top-ranked Lee Westwood by a stroke. Tiger Woods tied for sixth, leaving him winless in a PGA Tour season for the first time in his career.

Notes: Phil Mickelson is making his fourth straight appearance in the event. He has an endorsement deal with tournament sponsor Barclays. ... Poulter and Molinari also are in the field along with two-time winner Adam Scott, U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, U.S. PGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer, Padraig Harrington, Y.E. Yang, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Europen Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie. ... The final two rounds will be played on The Serapong course. ... The tours will team again next week for the Hong Kong Open. The European Tour's season-ending Dubai World Championship is from Nov. 25-28.

Online: http://www.europeantour.com

Asian Tour site: http://www.asiantour.com

___

Site: Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Courses: Walt Disney Resort, Magnolia Course (7,516 yards, 6,873 meters, par 72) and Palm Course (7,010 yards, 6,410 meters, par 72).

Purse: $4.7 million. Winner's share: $846,000.

Last year: Stephen Ames won the season-ending event for the second time in three years, closing with an 8-under 64 and beating Justin Leonard and George McNeill on the second hole of a playoff.

Notes: The tournament ends the Fall Series. The top 125 on the money list will earn full 2011 exemptions. The next 25 will receive conditional status. Woody Austin is 123rd with $727,352, followed by. No. 124 Michael Allen ($726,631), No. 125, Troy Matteson ($723,328), No. 126 Briny Baird ($710,337), No. 127 Aron Price ($704,102), No. 128 Bob Estes ($701,158) and No. 129 Michael Connell ($694,884). ... Ames is sidelined by a back injury. ... Stewart Cink is making his first start since the Ryder Cup. ...In 2008, Davis Love III won the last of his 20 U.S. PGA Tour titles, finishing with a 64 for a one-stroke victory. ... The final two rounds will be played on the Magnolia Course.

Online: http://www.pgatour.com

___

Site: Guadalajara, Mexico.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Guadalajara Country Club (6,638 yards, 6,070 meters, par 72).

Purse: $1.1 million. Winner's share: $220,000.

Last year: Michelle Wie won her first U.S. LPGA Tour title, beating Paula Creamer by two strokes. Wie shot 70-66-70-69.

Last week: Top-ranked Jiyai Shin won the Mizuno Classic in Japan for her second U.S. LPGA Tour victory of the season and eighth overall, closing with a 5-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over Yani Tseng.

Notes: Tournament host Ochoa is making her first tour start since retiring in April. The Mexican star has 27 U.S. LPGA Tour victories. She grew up playing at Guadalajara Country Club, still her home course. ... Wie won the Canadian Women's Open in August for her second tour title. ... Tseng has a 14-point lead over Ai Miyazato in the player of the year race. Shin, skipping the tournament, and Na Yeon Choi are tied for third, 18 points behind Tseng. In 2008, Angela Stanford won the inaugural tournament, beating Annika Sorenstam and Brittany Lang by a stroke. ... The tour is off the next two weeks. The season-ending LPGA Tour Championship is Dec. 2-5 at Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida.

Online: http://www.lpga.com

Source http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/2010-11-09-3912971477_x.htm

Golf-World rankings

2010-11-09T00:10:00.000-08:00

World rankings on Monday (U.S. unless stated, last week's positions in brackets):

1. (1) Lee Westwood (Britain) 8.84 average points

2. (2) Tiger Woods 8.21

3. (3) Martin Kaymer (Germany) 7.96

4. (4) Phil Mickelson 7.73

5. (5) Steve Stricker 7.07

6. (6) Jim Furyk 6.98

7. (7) Paul Casey (Britain) 6.27

8. (8) Luke Donald (Britain) 5.97

9. (9) Rory McIlroy (Britain) 5.53

10. (10) Graeme McDowell (Britain) 5.41

11. (11) Matt Kuchar 5.28

12. (12) Ernie Els (South Africa) 5.22

13. (13) Dustin Johnson 5.04

14. (30) Francesco Molinari (Italy) 4.58

15. (14) Ian Poulter (Britain) 4.55

16. (15) Hunter Mahan 4.40

17. (16) Edoardo Molinari (Italy) 4.38

18. (17) Retief Goosen (South Africa) 4.35

19. (18) Zach Johnson 4.07

20. (19) Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 4.03

Woods donates money for flood victims

2010-11-08T00:28:00.000-08:00

US golfer Tiger Woods and Thai golfer Thongchai Jaidee met Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at the Government House on Monday to donate part of proceeds from the ticket sale of a golf tournament to help flood victims.

They donated 2.2 million baht to help people affected by flooding in the country.

Woods is among four players competing in "World Golf Salutes King Bhumibol Adulyadej," a charity event in honour of His Majesty on Monday. The one-day skins golf event is held at a country club in Chonburi province.

After his visit to the Government House, the former number one golfer went to the Siriraj Hospital to sign a get-well book to wish His Majesty a speedy recovery.

Source http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/205323/woods-donates-money-for-flood-victims

Tiger Woods no longer the world’s top golfer

2010-11-04T03:20:00.000-07:00

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to golf fans around the world that American ace Tiger Woods is no longer ranked as the top golfer on the planet. It didn’t come as a shock to Woods himself as he could see it coming based on his mediocre play of late. What it does represent though is a new era in golf, not at least for all of you golf betting fanatics out there.

Woods has had quite a few issues to deal with over the past two or three years starting with knee problems in 2008. After that came the infamous car crash which took place just outside of his home late one night, which was then followed by the public details of his infidelity and finally ending in a divorce from his Swedish wife.

It’ll be a new era in the world of golf because Woods had been the top-ranked golfer for the previous 281 weeks. He has also held the number-one ranking for an overall total of 623 weeks during his career. Woods has shattered the previous record of 331 weeks which was held by Greg Norman. Some of the game’s best players have never earned the top ranking though as the Official World Golf Ranking system has only been in use for the past 24 years. This means top golfers such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were never ranked.

Most golf fans likely thought that Phil Mickelson would eventually take over the top spot from Woods, especially after he won the Masters tournament earlier this year, but his game has slipped since then and he hasn’t won another tournament since.

The top golfer, this week anyway, is Lee Westwood of England. Westwood has always been a top contender when it comes to winning major tournaments, but he hasn’t actually managed to win one yet. His reign as the top golfer in the world could very well be short lived as the HSBC Champions tournament takes place this week in Shanghai, China.

The tournament will feature Mickelson, Westwood, Woods, and 25-year-old Martin Kaymer of Germany, who captured this year’s PGA Championship. Either one of them could take the top spot after the event, including Woods, as the rankings are that close.

With Woods being knocked out of the top spot, there isn’t really anybody on the PGA Tour who can be considered to be a clear favourite to replace him for a lengthy period of time. There are a only a few exciting youngsters and pros who seem to have the potential to do it at the moment, so it’ll be interesting to see if Woods has what it takes to reclaim his number one ranking in the near future.

Source http://sportsbookmaker.org/news/tiger-woods-no-longer-the-worlds-top-golfer/1231/

Pakistan finish 53 in world amateur golf team ranking

2010-11-02T01:14:00.001-07:00

Pakistan slumped to 53rd from its pervious ranking of 47 in the world Amateur Golf Team Championship (men) for Eisenhower Trophy which concluded at Buenos Aires on Sunday with France winning the title.
The championship was reduced to three rounds as the second round was suspended due to stormy conditions.

As many as 69 teams took part in the championship which is held once every two years. Antalya ( Turkey) has been chosen as the venue for the 2012 World Amateur Team Championships while Japan’s city of Karuizawa has been selected as the site of the 2014 Championships.

Pakistan is the only nation to field the same team as in 2008. Muhammad Safdar Khan, Muhammad Ali Hai and Hamaz Taimur Amin finished 47th in 2008.

These three formed team which was managed by Pakistan Golf Federation secretary Taimur Hassan. Pakistani’s performance was disappointing.

Muhammad Safdar logged 75-82-78 for an aggregate of 235 in three rounds. Ali Hai played 79-77-82 for a total of 238 and Hamza Amin had scores of 76-85-84 for 245.

As best of two scores on each day is taken into consideration, Pakistan had 151 score on first day, 159 in second round and 160 for third round for a total of 470.

Pakistan team is due to return home by Qatar Airways some time on Tuesday.

Johann Lopez-Lazaro and Alexander Levy of France each shot even-par 72 to propel France to victory at the 2010 World Amateur Team Championship by four strokes over Denmark and five strokes over the USA to win the Eisenhower Trophy at Buenos Aires Golf Club.

The French, with a 7-under-par 423, fended off the Danes and Americans in the last 12 holes of the weather-shortened 54-hole championship.

Because of poor weather during the second round, the championship was reduced to 54 holes. Denmark, at 427, claimed its first medal in the championship. The USA, at 428, now has 23 medals, with a top-10 finish in all 27 competitions.

Source http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Sports/02-Nov-2010/Pakistan-finish-53-in-world-amateur-golf-team-ranking

Tiger Woods Yields No. 1 Golf Ranking to Lee Westwood, Capping Torrid Year

2010-11-01T00:59:00.000-07:00

Tiger Woods’s record five-year reign as the world’s top-ranked golfer is over, marking another low point in a torrid 12 months for the 14-time major champion.

Lee Westwood took over top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time, becoming the only European player to top the list since Nick Faldo in 1994. Westwood was ranked as low as 266th seven years ago and is only the fourth player to gain the top spot without winning a major tournament.

“When you’re growing up and people say, ‘What do you want to achieve,’ everyone says ‘I want to be the best in the world,’” Westwood said in comments posted on the European Tour website. “Right at this moment, I can show people the world rankings and say ‘I am the best on the planet.’”

Westwood, 37, hasn’t played since Oct. 10 as he continues to recover from a calf injury that’s limited him to one tournament finish since July’s British Open. U.S. PGA champion Martin Kaymer would have become No. 1 had he finished first or second at yesterday’s Andalucia Valderrama Masters in Spain. The German, who had won his past three events, was 21st.

Woods drops to No. 2 and Kaymer remains third in the rankings. Phil Mickelson is fourth and Steve Stricker rounds out the top five.

Woods’s personal and professional life began to unravel after he crashed his Cadillac into a fire hydrant while leaving his Florida home early on Nov. 27. The incident sparked revelations about repeated marital infidelity, which Woods confessed to in December, leading to his divorce in August. Woods lost sponsors including Accenture Plc, AT&T Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co.’s Gillette razors, and failed to win a tournament this year after taking a break of almost five months.

Record Run

Woods, 34, spent 281 consecutive weeks as No. 1 and 623 weeks in total atop the rankings. His next tournament is the World Golf Championships’ HSBC Champions in China from Nov. 4-7, according to his website. Westwood is also scheduled to play in the tournament.

“I have a great relationship with Tiger,” said Westwood. “We have mutual respect and have always got on well, on and off the course. I give him a little bit of stick and he gives me a little.”

Westwood is the third British player to be world No. 1, after Faldo and Ian Woosnam, and the 13th in all since the rankings began in 1986.

He’s had 20 career wins on the European Tour and topped its money list in 2000 and 2009. He was runner-up at this year’s Masters Tournament and British Open.

Westwood won June’s St. Jude Classic for his second victory on the U.S. PGA Tour and last month helped Europe beat the U.S. in the Ryder Cup.

The 25-year-old Kaymer finished the Andalucia Masters in a tie for 21st place at 7-over par. Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, the U.S. Open champion, won the title at 3-under, two shots ahead of Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen, Damien McGrane of Ireland and Gareth Maybin of Northern Ireland.

Source http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-31/tiger-woods-to-yield-ranking-as-world-s-no-1-golfer-to-england-s-westwood.html