skins game: yawn

I got sick over the holiday, so had plenty of down time to watch the Skins Game. Well, if you missed it, you didn't miss much. Only 4 holes were won: Freddie won 2 holes, Tiger 1 hole, and Adam Scott 1 hole. Annika, who finished 2nd last year, was shut out. Freddie won the most skins (with carryovers). Tiger finished second.

There really wasn't much excitement, or spectacular play. Sunday's spotty weather was a huge factor, making it really difficult to birdie. But another factor was the lack of exciting banter among the players. Adam Scott is very quiet, as is Annika. Tiger sometimes talks, but not often. Freddie's the most talkative of the bunch, but even he seemed a bit restrained on ABC's broadcast.

The sponsors of the Skins Game need to mix things up next year: how about Freddie, John Daly, Sergio Garcia, and Tiger? Or throw in Phil or Michelle Wie? I thought Annika was great last year, but she just couldn't get anything going this year--being at a considerable distance disadvantage playing with 3 big bombers.

phil phifty-nine (59)

The fire did not stop on the back nine. Phil shot a 31 on the back, just as we asked him to in our last post, for a 59. He actually had a chance for a 58, with a makeable eagle putt on the last hole.

phil on fire

Phil shot 28 on the front nine at the Grand Slam, taking the lead at -12. All he needs is to shoot 31 on the back.

skins game: tiger, annika, fred, adam

This weekend Tiger, Annika, Fred, and Adam Scott will play in the Skins Game. ESPN has an excellent article comparing Tiger v. Annika. What they left out: Annika's still on top of her game, but Tiger's not.

grand slam of golf

The 4 Major winners are out in Kuai, at Poipu Bay. I was there a couple years ago when Tiger used to own the tournament, winning consecutive years. Those were the days. Today, Phil Mickleson almost holed a double eagle on the final hole after driving it 344 yards and hitting his 6-iron inches almost in the hole. Apparently, he's getting used to the Callaways. 1st day results:

Retief -7
Vijay -6
Phil -4
Todd Hamilton -2

tiger mad

Tiger's still steaming about the Ryder Cup. No, not his play. But the choice of captain and passing over his good buddy Mark O'Meara for the next Ryder Cup, to be played in his homeland Ireland.

charles sifford inducted into hall of fame

Charles Sifford was the first African American to play on the PGA tour. He put up with a lot of hatred and hostility when he played in the 1960s, but he still played, winning one tournament in his PGA career and one on the seniors' tour. Yesterday, Sifford was deservedly inducted into the golf Hall of Fame, also becoming the first African American in its ranks.

Congratulations to Mr. Sifford, as well as to Isao Aoki, Tom Kite, and Canadian amateur Marlene Stewart Streit.

tiger on jay leno

Tiger was on Jay Leno on Wednesday. I missed it. Please write in with comments, if you saw it!

tiger on jay leno

Well, I missed it. Tiger was on Jay Leno on Wednesday. If you saw it, please write in with comments.

what's good for the goose is not good for the tiger

Well, it was all set up for Tiger. With the 54-hole lead at the Tour championship, and not having lost a 54-hole lead in 4 years, today should have been money for Tiger. Instead, Retief Goosen shot a lights-out 64 to come from 4 shots behind to win the tournament. Tiger struggled the back nine and indeed most of the day to shoot a 72. There were many positive signs this week of Tiger regaining his winning form, but today was a big disappointment, as even Tiger admitted.

If you haven't heard, Tiger's using a new 460cc Nike driver and was No. 1 in driving distance this week.
But he was last in driving accuracy. ESPN has a good article about the bad year for Tiger.

tiger spotting

Well, the pros are still out there in Atlanta, playing the Tour Championship. Lo and behold, Jay Haas is leading at -5 and Tiger is one back. Vijay, however, is struggling. Could this be the start of the turnaround for Tiger?

BTW, you may have noticed fewer postings as the season winds down. Even the irrepressible Blogger Vance appears to have hung up the clubs for the season. Although we may have fewer postings, if there's something to write about in the golf world, we'll be here. Thanks for your readership, and stay warm.

tom lehman

Tom Lehman will be selected Ryder Cup captain. Good choice, but I have my doubts that the captain has much effect on whether the team wins or loses, at least for the U.S. The team needs more practice with each other, in the probable pairings.

the fat lady singhs

Well, Vijay won his 9th tournament, to put him over the $10 million mark. If I could get paid $10 million or even just $100,000 for playing golf, I would easily trade my day job. This has got to one of the funnest jobs for those who are really good. I'm not that good, so better stick with the day job.