19 shots better in 24 hours!

Michael Clark improved by 19 shots between round 1 and 2. For those of you reaching for a calculator, that is a bit better than a shot a hole! I know that I might not have a span of 19 shots an entire year, except this year, but in less than 24 hours, it is extremely impressive!

Way to go!

david toms trying to defend in memphis

David Toms hasn't had a very good year, coming back from wrist surgery. So it's good to see him near the top of the leaderboard at the Fed Ex St. Jude Classic, where he is the defending champion. He's 4-under, one stroke back of the lead.

What I like about David Toms is that he looks like a golfer you might see out on your local course. He's not flashy or super long, nor embarrassed to pull out the 5-wood (which he holed at the PGA he won). His course management is one of his strong suits (remember he laid up on a par 4 to win the PGA), as is consistency. Maybe this week will the be week when he regains his form.

talent

You know you're pretty good (and your caddy, too) when you can take off 3 weeks from competitive play, skip the practice round, and then show up at a tournament and fire a 7-under, 65 to lead the tournament. That's what Annika Sorenstam did at the Corning yesterday. She hadn't played the course in 9 years, and, for whatever reason, couldn't play a practice round. But she said she just listened to where her caddy told her to hit it -- and, unlike the rest of us mortals, she has the talent and precision to hit it there.

The Long Putter Debate

ESPN.COM had a great article about the long (belly) putter debate which is now brewing on the PGA Tour and at local golf clubs.

Personally, I have no issues with those who decide to use a longer putter if they are able to get the ball in the hole faster. Granted, I've putted crosshand, standard, and currently with a version of the claw/saw putting grip, I understand that the yips and nerves are part of the game. Even at the ripe age of 23, I've been known to feel nerves and miss putts which I should make.

But, I believe the issue is not whether people should be allowed to "anchor" the club against their chest, but when it comes to drops and "2 club lengths". At some point, the USGA and R&A will be forced to determine how long is 2 long. For example, I played with a guy in a scramble who had a 54 inch driver. Now, I use a 44 inch driver and when you get 1 club length that 10 inches seemed like a lot of difference. Especially when you hit it 52 inches into the rough. So what do you think? Should the long putter be outlawed??

Making Memorial Plans

Having just returned from a golf-free week at the in-laws, which was preceded by a golf-free week of piled-up work, I am very ready to get back to the great green game. And, wonderfully, the joyous week that is the Memorial Tournament lies ahead. I am lucky enough to live within walking distance of Jack's great Muirfield Village course, and I am also lucky enough to be able to take time to attend the tournament at least a few days. And this coming week I have the added excitement of my dad joining me for the event. I am already getting excited as I think through my plans for attending next week.

Interestingly, over the years I have found that, when attending a tourney in person, I enjoy rounds 1 and 2 more than the weekend rounds. But I still have not yet decided if I enjoy sitting at one hole to watch many groups go through, or watching a few choice players make their way around the track. I tend to do a little of both. And readers out there have in-person tourney watching advice?

michelle wie invited to u.s. open -- women's

I was excited to hear Michelle Wie received an exemption to play the U.S. Open, but then found out it was for the women's tour. The Open will be played from July 1 - 4 at Donald Ross-designed Orchards Golf Course on the campus of Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts. I've never played this golf course, but I used to play another amazing course, the Taconic, in this part of the country. It's absolutely gorgeous in Western Mass. in the summer. But I still find it pretty amazing that a college course is the site of the women's U.S. Open.

UPDATE: If you've been wondering about the exemption for Wie, it's the first amateur exemption for the U.S. Open given on the women's tour. 2 LPGA pros are also receiving exemptions: Dottie Pepper and Betsy King. I don't have a problem with Wie's exemption, because she no doubt "qualifies" and could even win the event. Apparently, 4 amateur exemptions have been given in the past to the men's or champion's U.S. Open, including Aaron Baddeley and Jay Sigel. Wie has won the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links tournament and has already placed well on the LPGA tour, not to mention almost making the cut at the men's Sony Open.

UPDATE 2: Ron Sirak of Golf World disagrees with me, saying it's unfair. Unfair to whom? As David Pay, executive director of the USGA explained, “This year’s high 35 rankers in prize money of the U.S. LPGA tour are exempted from the preliminaries of the U.S. Women’s Open, and Wie places 28th when her results convert to prize money." What would be really unfair would be to penalize Wie for her amateur status. Forcing her to qualify for the women's U.S. Open would conflict with her chance to play the U.S. Amateur Public Linx qualifier and potentially qualify for the men's Masters.

UPDATE 3: Here's more about Michelle's plans to make the Masters, and further comments about why she qualifies for an exemption based on being the 28th best player on the LPGA.

metal spikes

A couple weeks ago I asked whether the pros can still use metal spikes.
Apparently, they can. I just saw Jesper Parnevik using them at the Colonial (as he triple bogeyed a hole). And this memo from the PGA in 2003 says it has a contract with tournament sites to allow their use.

So here's an interesting thought: (i) for drivers, wood has gone to metal, but (ii) for shoes, metal has gone to plastic. The first change is obviously for the better to the player, but, for the second change, it's not so obvious. My guess is that a lot of pros are still using metal spikes, especially on rainy days.

allergy season

There really is only 1 thing that can take away my desire to golf: hay fever. Today I went out to the range, only to spend the whole time blowing my nose and trying to keep from sneezing. It still hasn't stopped.

Over the years, I've tried just about every allergy drug: Claritin, Allegra, Flonase, and now Singulair. Most reduce some symptoms, but not completely. There are just some days that I no longer want to go outdoors...

I don't know how the pro golfers who have allergies can manage to go low when they have an allergy attack. I remember one time I think Jesper Parnevik stuck tissues up his nose -- I've tried that method, but it eventually gets hard to breathe. Tiger also has allergies, but he never seems to be too affected by them. But once in a blue moon some pro has to withdraw because of an allergy attack. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

news flash: curtis strange quits ABC

This one is a bit of a shocker. Curtis Strange resigned his post as lead commentator for ABC's golf coverage. It appears he wanted a long term contract to compensate for giving up the chance to compete on the Champion's Tour. He will be 50 in January and then eligible to play. And he knows the "young" guns on the Champion's Tour are the ones who usually win.

My Take: I didn't like Curtis as a golfer, but I still had great respect for his back to back U.S. Opens. That's superb. But I really liked Curtis as a commentator. He's very insightful, a straight shooter, and much less hyperbolic than Johnny Miller. Curtis gave me a line that I always repeat when I'm on the golf course:

When you're in the middle of the fairway and have a clear shot with a 7,8, or 9 iron, you should be able to eat spaghetti off the club.

Unfortunately, I don't yet have that kind of control...

UPDATE: although I do know jasholin1 and douglas can eat spaghetti off any iron (despite the latter's low carb regimen).

sergio needs buddies, tiger may partner with chad

Here's some interesting news for the day. It appears Sergio has no non-golfing buddies with whom he can just hang out with in Orlando. Time to call up Jesper Parnevik for some new friends.

Also, Tiger may be paired with Chad Campbell at the Ryder cup. That would be an interesting combination, but I'd also consider the consistent David Toms (although don't know their track record together). At least out of curiousity, to see what would happen, I might toy with the idea of Tiger-Mickelson or Tiger-John Daly (if Daly makes it) for a brief moment. But then my good senses would come back to me.

Speaking of Phil, here's what Tiger said when asked if he's noticed anything different about Phil since he won the Masters: "I've never seen him on so many TV shows before."

Hanna Leads NCAA Women's Championship

Being an OSU Law Student and a former college golfer, I follow NCAA golf. This week is the NCAA Women's Championships and Duke is the clear favorite. However, the Ohio State Buckeye Women are currently in 4th place and Allison Hanna (Sr.) was leading after the first round of play.

Real-time results can be followed via www.golfstat.com and I'll post on thegolfblog to keep those interested updated.

Go Bucks.

Also, the NCAA Men's Regionals begin tomorrow.

free golf game

Chrysler is the sponsor of a free golf computer game. The basic program can be downloaded for free here, and then you can purchase some greater upgrades if you'd like. I took a look at the free version, and it's pretty cool for being free. If you play Tiger Woods's video game (I haven't in a long time), maybe this will not be as cool -- although one cool function with Chrysler's game I have not tested is playing other people online. This game probably will do the trick for rainy days when you're thinking, dreaming, about the golf course.

slow play, pre-shot routines

I can't stand slow play, either when I'm out on the course or watching the pros. I'm not sure if they are habitually slow, but Robert Damron and Jerry Kelly seemed to be taking a lot of time on Sunday to get up and "just hit the ball" as Lanny Wadkins said, commentating.

Even more aggravating to me is the pre-shot routine of a growing number of pros, both men and women, who have their caddies stand behind them before every shot (only to move away right before the shot because it's illegal to stay there). I understand that this could help with the pro's alignment with the ball. Sure, I'd love to have someone make sure I'm aimed at the target for each shot and each putt. But the pros don't need help with their alignment like I do. I have never seen a caddy ever correct a professional golfer about his or her alignment on the tour. Not once. It's more of an empty, time-consuming ritual -- and one that should be stopped.

Kudos should go to Sergio for transforming not only his swing, but his crazy "milking the cow" regripping pre-shot routine from a couple years ago. As with his cars, Sergio now plays fast. Way to go, El Nino!

A Tale of Two Sundays

Though winners and the stories at the top of the leaderboard always get the most attention, I always like thinking about other Sunday stories. At the Byron, consider the different Sundays had by Tim Herron and Tommy Tolles.

Herron tees off at -3 and cards a 2 and eight 3s as part of an impressive 64 and finishes at -9. Ending tied for fourth, Tim gets to take home about $240,000 for his week's work. Tolles goes out a few groups later starting at -4. But he cards two 6s and eight 5s on his way to an ugly 80 to finish at +6. Ending in 76th place, Tommy takes home only $10,000 for his efforts.

Geez, I am sure glad I do not work a job where one real bad day at the office can cost me over $200,000.

big day for the Spaniards and Mexico!

Sunday could prove to be a "trifecta" for the Spaniards. Miguel Jimenez already won the BMW Asian Open. Lorena Ochoa is leading the Franklin American Mortgage Championship. And Sergio Garcia is leading the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. We'll see if today is Spaniard Sunday. I wonder if this has ever happened before.

UPDATE 2.0: Thanks to Blogger Vance for his correction! Lorena Ochoa is from Mexico, not Spain. My bad. The trifecta turned out be only a bifecta with Sergio winning his 4th PGA tour victory (he's only 24), and Miguel Angel winning in Asia today. It was still a special day in Spain, but also in Mexico with Lorena Ochoa winning her 1st LPGA tour victory.

sergio surges

Sergio Garcia shot a near flawless round -- hitting every single green in regulation and every single fairway except for the 1st. Sergio shot a 65, to go 11-under for the tournament. His swing changes seem to be taking hold. But he missed some very makeable putts that could have made his round spectacular.

Tiger, meanwhile, could barely hit any fairway -- whether with his driver, 3-metal, or irons. On one hole, Tiger used an iron off the tee and almost pulled it into the water. But Tiger still scrambled to shoot an even par round of 70, and he hit some incredible shots out of the rough and from behind trees.

It's kind of amazing to think that Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickleson are now more consistent off the tee than Tiger. Where did the "stinger" shot go?

news flash: Hank Haney, Tiger's swing coach?

So by now you've heard that Tiger is leading the Byron Nelson Classic at 8-under, and his good buddy Mark O'Meara is in 2nd, one stroke back. But have you heard the news that Hank Haney, Mark O'Meara's swing coach, may be providing some instruction to Tiger. Apparently, Dallas-based Haney was following Tiger yesterday and the two went to hit balls at Haney's club after the round. Wow, this is bigger news than Tiger leading the tournament! If Tiger wins the tournament, maybe the relationship will become permanent. Tiger's still missing the majority of fairways, so they have plenty to work on. We'll see...

UPDATE: On Wednesday, Tiger denied Haney's his coach, calling Haney his "friend." He did admit picking Haney's brain now and then. At least Tiger is getting help from someone.

Question of the day

What's worse: playing terrible or not being able to play on a beautiful golf day?

google The Golf Blog

You can "google" us now. Enter "golf blog" and we should appear on the first page, in Vijay's position (No.2).

michelle wie in SI

So I finally got around to reading the Sports Illustrated article on Michelle Wie (May 3 issue). Frankly, it makes her sound like a bratty teenager, with a natural (or supernatural) talent for golf. She likes shopping more than practicing, but has a burning desire to make a name for herself. Her father has Tiger posters all throughout the house. She thinks Tiger's "cool" and all, but she wants to make her own mark in golf. No doubt, she will... maybe even more than Tiger one day.

Johnny: Tiger's best days are behind him

Johnny Miller is never one to mince words. In his latest book I Call the Shots, he says that Tiger's best days are behind him and that Tiger won't catch Jack's record of 18 professional majors.

Even worse: he likens Tiger's meteoric rise to David Duval and none other than himself, Johnny Miller.

My take: Tiger can do whatever he really wants to do. David Duval and Johnny Miller did not have as much talent, combined, as Tiger. What's keeping Tiger from dominating golf is that golf is no longer his No. 1 or sole obsession. He's got Elin, and he's dumped Butch and has too much pride to go back. A balky (Nike) driver will keep Tiger from dominating tournaments like he did in the past. A balky driver can be corrected, though. And Tiger's got the most talent on the men's tour, so it's really up to Tiger how well Tiger does.

Ohio Wesleyan Leads the Division III Mens Golf Championships

Today was the first round of the NCAA Division III Mens Golf Championships, which this year are being played in Southern California. Having graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University and played there for 4 seasons, I truely believe that college golf is sometimes more exciting that professional golf. Anyways, my alma mater is currently leading by 8 shots and Chad Poling, who is on a current 5 tournament winning streak is leading by 4 shots after shooting a school record 66.

For those of you who don't know, Division III is non-scholarship so most of these students are the true student-athlete. Granted most of these golfers will not be seen on the PGA Tour any time soon, they will be getting a great education and will be the future leaders in this fine world.

It's all about the flat stick

Though I've not really learned anything new, this season I am really focused on my short game and the difference it can make in my scoring. Yesterday I had the chance to sneak out and play a quick nine, and proved yet again that a hot putter is the most important club in the bag.

I've been struggling a bit with my ball-striking lately, but yesterday a bunch of good misses off the tee combined with good short iron play allowed me still to hit 5 greens. That's nothing new, since I probably average 4-6 GIR per nine. What was new was rolling in 4 birdie putts --- to set a personal record for birdies for 9 holes --- and a total of 13 putts for the side. (I probably average, sadly, 16-17 putts per nine.)

For those of you not adding at home, this means a side of one-under 35. Though I finished with a flourish, making my longest birdie putts on holes 8 and 9, I am ultimately glad I did not have time to play the back. The last time I got under par deep in a round, I immediate went double, double on the next two hole to come back to earth with a crash.

Here's hoping my putter stays hot throughout the season.

why I love this game

We had a board meeting of The Golf Blog today -- out on the golf course, of course. It was summer weather, and the course was in pristine condition. My allergies were pretty bad, but I had a great time being outdoors. I can't say I played lights out, but I didn't play poorly, either. To borrow Tiger's line, I feel like the things I'm working on are getting pretty close, or at least closer.

But, in my case, there are so many more things to work on. Today, it was my putting. I showed up early to practice because my putting this year has been horrendous (decelerating), and because it's something I usually don't practice. I futzed around with 2 putters, but ended up sticking with my current one. And I finally started rolling the ball better after I turned to a new grip -- right index finger pointed down the right side of the shaft. It worked. My putting was much better -- more of an accelerating stroke. I didn't sink everything, but I did roll in a nice 20-footer on the last hole. If only I can fix my short game that quickly.

Softspikes Celebrates it's 10th year!

I probably should be studying for my Mergers and Acquisition exam, but I decided to take a break to look around the world of golf and I noticed this article on regarding Softspikes and how they are celebrating their 10th year.

Granted, I'm only 23 years old, but I still remember playing golf with regular metal cleats and how they made such a distinctive sound of concrete or how they would sink into the blacktop at the country club when I would walk to throw my clubs into my mother's minivan during a hot summer day. Those were the days when you could actually tap down spikemarks as a local rule. Now, I have nothing to really complain about when I hit a putt that doesn't go in. Granted, people who do not know how to walk with cleats on can leave nice skid marks on a green, but the evolution of plastic spikes has certainly changed golf. Similar to the metal driver or the sand wedge, I agree with the article that the creation of softspikes will be looked at in the future as a evolution.

Now, I just wish they had clubs that you couldn't hit 90 yards straight right off the tee, but I'm sure that it just me. Also, I did play in a tournament this past weekend with my dentist Dr. Cox (my last name is Job), we were 1 shot out of the money, but for a law student who had an exam the day before and an exam on the monday afterwards, we did not play too poorly. May 15th's the next tournament in my quest to make the Golfer of the Year tourament.

2.14

Vijay's closing the gap on Tiger, even more.

Fluff is on the bag

When the LPGA Tour plays the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill this week, Mike "Fluff" Cowan will be on Wie's bag. Personally, I doubt it will help, but at least Fluff will be making some $$ since Jimbo is on the DL.

VJ to Tiger: don't look in your rear view mirror, objects closer than they appear

Vijay Singh pulled off an incredible 29 on the back nine, birdieing the 18th hole to win the HP Classic in New Orleans. With this third victory, Vijay is closing in on Tiger for the World No.1. Tiger's playing next week, so he better start getting in gear. Vijay's pulling up behind him. And then there's Phil...

swan song: the bogey train

Taking the lead into the final round, 18 year old Aree Song could have become the youngest player to win on the LPGA tour. Instead, she faltered miserably running up a string of bogeys and even double bogeys. I saw some of the highlights and it wasn't very pretty. Her swing looked a bit herky-jerky, no doubt a victim of the nerves. It's amazing what the mind will do when you're in the lead.

Shout out to Jenny Rosales, a 25 year old, who won for the 1st time with a 65 round. She, too, felt some of the nerves, as she yanked her approach shot on the 18th well into the grandstands. It actually made a long clanking noise, but she -- luckily -- received a free drop and eventually saved par.

A humbling game

As if we needed any more evidence that golf can be a humbling game, journeyman pro Danny Ellis followed up rounds of 63 and 66 with an ugly 82 in the third round of the HP Classic of New Orleans. Ellis did not noticeably interfere with the efforts of his playing partners Phil Mickelson and Charles Howell III, although I would bet most pros do not like to have their playing partners shooting huge numbers. (Gosh knows I had a hard time concentrating earlier this week when playing with another member of The Golf Blog who was having a really off day. ;-)

Let's see if another journeyman, Ohio native Joe Ogilvie, can keep it together for the final round tomorrow. Having Mickelson, Howell, Singh and Choi among the players in hot pursuit won't make things easy, but it would make a victory that much more impressive.