Memorial week

The Memorial Tournament begins today at Muirfield, better known as Jack's course. It's an absolutely beautiful course. Last year, Ernie Els won. But the highlight for me was getting Jack's autograph. It took some doing, though, because I was caught in the middle of a swarm of fans and literally had to walk alongside Jack, while trying to avoid having the swarm of fans push me into Jack and knock him over. That would have been bad. The scene around Jack was absolutely crazy. Only 1 other guy I've followed incites such a crowd. You know who.

kang captures corning with hole-in-one

After you hit a hole in one, what could be better? How about winning your first LPGA tournament. Today, Jimin Kang did just that at the Corning Classic, with an awesome shot on the 15th that put her into the lead at -15. The ball had some side spin and curled into the hole with some speed.

Annika (who was under the weather) finished tied for 2nd at -13. Natalie Gulbis finished tied for 12th at -8, closing with a 4-under 68.

mike reid wins senior PGA championship

Mike Reid lost the 1989 PGA Championship to Payne Stewart, after bogeying and double bogeying two of the last three holes. Well, today, Mike Reid won the senior PGA Championship, eagling the last hole and forcing a playoff (after Jerry Pate played safe, but bogeyed). After the round, Reid broke down in tears, still moved by the memories of the late Payne Stewart and the 1989 PGA Championship.

I remember the 1989 defeat for Mike Reid. It was painful to watch. I'm glad he won today because the golfing gods really owed him. He's one of the nicest professionals out there.

justin leonard: "I won ugly"

Justin Leonard had an 8-stroke lead on the field going into the final round at the Fed Ex St. Jude Classic. At one point today, he had a 9-stroke lead. Well, within a few hours, his lead dwindled. David Toms shot a 63. Justin, meanwhile, was blowing fumes. He had to save par on the 17th with a chip and 5-footer. Then on the dangerous 18th hole, which is a dog-leg lined with water on the left, Justin decided to take the water out of play. He his 3-wood into the fairway bunker on the right. He then hit his iron way right toward the grandstand. After getting a drop from the grandstand, he flubbed his wedge, barely getting over the bunker and leaving about a 40-footer for par. His putt rolled past the hole about five feet. Thankfully, Justin made the bogey putt -- after which he collapsed in mock exhaustion. After the round, Justin said he wished he had played more aggressively. Apparently so. But a win is a win.

LPGA: youth movement

Amateur Brittany Lang, the Duke Blue Devil and college sensation, is moving up the leaderboard at the Corning Classic, tied for 11th at -4, along with the likes of Natalie Gulbis. Karine Icher has the lead at -9, with Annika and Sherri Turner at -7. Leaderboard here.

LPGA corning classic

Natalie Gulbis is -3 for the day and the tournament at the Corning Classic, vaulting onto the leaderboard tied for 8th. Natalie's two behind Annika, and four behind leaders Sherri Turner and Sophie Gustafson. Leaderboard here.

reality natalie report

Natalie Gulbis has a new post on her online journal, talking about her week off in Las Vegas (her home). Apparently, she shot more of her reality show, went to the Tiger Jam, and practiced with Butch Harmon. Says Natalie, "We spent a lot of time on drivers. And as always trying to make a more compact swing. The main focus for my game this week was to narrow the distance gap that I have between my wedges. So I spent a ton of time testing distances with different degrees and hitting a lot of balls trying to break in the new wedge."

She did get to have some fun, though: "My father surprised me by renting a Viper..my favorite car so that we could drive it for a few days. The only problem was that it was a stick shift and I have no idea how to drive a stick. What a car to learn on..a Viper. It was so fun I had a blast driving the car around."

This week, she joins Annika and others at the Corning Classic in New York.

email from Tiger

Tiger talks about missing the cut in his latest email. Here's a flavor:

"Looking back on it, 142-straight cuts is a lot, but you always think anything is possible. You have to have things go your way and luck plays a big part of it to continue that long. I remember at the Buick Invitational I had to make a six-foot birdie putt on the final hole to make the cut. Then there was the up-and-down from the left bunker at the ninth hole at the 2003 Masters. I also made a pretty good comeback last year at Whistling Straits with a couple of late birdies to make the cut.

"To me, the cut streak isn't better than winning a major championship, but it's a great feeling to know I accomplished it. It shows determination and pride to always put yourself on the line and give everything you've got.

"In my mind, I've missed only two cuts in my pro career, the other coming at the 1997 Bell Canadian Open. In both cases, I bogeyed the last hole, which is interesting.

"I don't care what the PGA Tour thinks, I didn't miss the cut at the 1998 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am; I withdrew. So the streak actually began at the Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic in 1997. That's just how I feel."

LPGA, hire a PR czar

So yesterday I blamed the golf media for not giving greater coverage to 18-year-old high school student Paula Creamer's first LPGA victory. Today, I need to question the LPGA's marketing. The LPGA should be out there helping to secure interviews for Paula on the morning talk shows, and Letterman and Leno. When is the last time a high school student won a professional golf tournament? We know Paula is the youngest winner in more than 50 years.

My advice to the LPGA: hire a PR czar, who can pump some excitement into the PR for women's golf. Someone like Carolyn Kepcher, GM of Trump's golf courses and executive VP of Trump Organization. Gosh, can you think of 1 memorable commercial done by the LPGA? I can't. Nothing comes close to the catchy "these guys are good" commercials done by the PGA. Why not a "these gals are better" campaign, featuring Annika, Christie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Lorena Ochoa, Natalie Gulbis, and others (soon, Michelle Wie).

Related posts:
1. who's your daddy?
2. paula, paula, paula

who's your daddy?

So which was the bigger golf story this weekend:

1. Paula Creamer, graduating high school student, winning her 1st LPGA event by sinking a birdie putt on the last hole and becoming the youngest player at 18 years old to win on the LPGA tour in 50 years. See The Golf Blog's report below.

2. Kenny Perry's second Colonial victory, which he won going away, by 7 strokes -- a tournament that was essentially over by Saturday night and that left CBS in the position of rerunning segments on Perry from two years ago to generate some drama.

My vote is for 1, Paula Creamer. I'm sure some of you will agree. But if you go to websites for The Golf Channel, Golf Magazine, and the golf coverage on SI and ESPN, you'll find Kenny Perry as the lead story. Only Golf Digest -- God bless them -- has Paula as the lead. What a shame. The golf media need to stop putting the men first all the time. Even USA Today recognized the significance of Paula Creamer's victory, putting it as the lead sports story and even putting a trailer on the front page of the entire newspaper.

paula, paula, paula

So what were you doing when you were 18 years old and graduating from high school? Well, today, graduating high school student Paula Creamer won her 1st LPGA event at the Sybase Classic. Paula birdied the 18th hole with a clutch 20-footer that was center cut, with perfect speed. She is the youngest player to win on the LPGA tour in 50 years.

As I blogged last week (post here), "There's a bright future for the LPGA if the up-and-comers like Morgan, Michelle Wie, and Paula Creamer play up to their potential down the road. They will then join the currently rising stars of Lorena Ochoa and Natalie Gulbis on the LPGA tour as the next generation of women golfers." OK, OK, so it's no more "down the road" for Paula. It's now.

UPDATE: Paula's post-round interview here. Funniest Q&A:

Q: You said yesterday you were anxious. Did you just handle that much better today?

Paula Creamer: Yes, I think so. I called Colin, my caddie. We talk a lot, every day, and we talked to Lance about it, and just things to help me be not anxious and be calm and patient out there. And it worked well for a while. It's funny, because on 17 I hit a pretty decent good shot and then Gloria hit it within two feet. And Lance was like, Come on, you have to make this putt. And I'm like, Listen, you need to settle down, not me. We have a hole and a half to play. Come on. It worked well.

There were times I tend to walk very fast when things are like on the last hole, 18, I was 50 yards in front of Lance. And Lance was screaming, "Paula, Paula, stop!" And I waited. And then we walked up. I just have to learn how to control it. The last putt, I was shaking because of nerves and just wanting to see what's going to happen.

john daly: on annika

John Daly was on the Best Damn Sports show yesterday. Here's what he said about Annika: Right now, she's the most dominant player in golf, nothing against Vijay or Tiger. He wouldn't have any problem if she played again on the PGA tour.

In fact, JD said it's totally "unfair" to judge Annika on her 1 PGA tournament at Colonial b/c 1 tournament is not a good measure of her ability. First, Annika doesn't regularly play courses of that length, probably 700-1000 yards longer. Second, Annika had all that media following her, and she probably was the most nervous she's ever been, even more so than the women's majors. JD said that what's fair is having Annika play at least 5 or 6 times -- only then would we all be able to see what she can do on the PGA tour. And, if she played an entire PGA season, JD said he'd bet that she would earn her card.

annika: getting her due

I'm glad to see Annika Sorenstam is finally getting her due. Yesterday, on the Best Damn Sports Show three of the four panelists agreed that she is the most dominant player in sports today, and I think all agreed she should give the men's tour another try. Today, Seth Davis of SI says that Annika should win the Sports Illustrated Sports Person of the Year award, already. And, yes, we here at The Golf Blog have corrected our errors of the past and are writing more about Annika. See here, here, and here.

Some staggering stats: Annika's won 6 of her last 7 starts, including a 10-stroke win last weekend. She's won 17 of her last 35 tournaments after she played the Colonial tournament with the men, and 37 times since 2001. She has 60 LPGA career victories, 8 majors (5 of the last 8, too). (If you're wondering, Tiger's got 43 PGA victories, 9 majors.)

jack: st. andrews will be last tournament of career

Well, you knew it was coming after this year's Masters, where Jack Nicklaus said he would not play anymore. Today, Jack announced he's ending his golf career at this year's British Open at St. Andrews. He will still be going out as the best ever to play the game.

sean o'hair: an impressive second

22-year-old Sean O'Hair didn't win the Byron Nelson Classic, losing to Ted Purdy by a stroke. But he did win a lot of fans, given the turbulent relationship he's had with a domineering father with whom he hasn't spoken with in 2 years. When asked about his father during the post-tournament interview, Sean was quite graceful, saying that he loves his father, but that's all he would say about the topic.

chris couch cards 60 on nationwide tour

Chris Couch won the Rheem Classic on the Nationwide Tour, carding a 10-under, 60 today. So here's the amazing part about this guy's game: he sometimes hits his wedges cross-handed. That's a new one.

annika: moving day

Annika widened her lead to 10 strokes at the Chick-Fil-A tournament. Annika's now at -18. Leaderboard here.

By the way, it was interesting to see the video analysis of Annika's swing this week. If you didn't see it, you'd be amazed to see that Annika swivels her head to the left (toward the hole) even before her club makes impact with the ball. I don't know how she doesn't completely whiff on occasion. Has anyone tried this move? It's pretty unusual.

tiger + daly vs. phil + retief

The Battle of the Bridges, set for July 25, has just been announced. It features the match-up of: Tiger Woods and John Daly v. Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen.

Retief is a great player, but he's so quiet that he would not have been my first choice for this foursome. Tiger, JD, and Phil are great for television. Maybe Ernie or Vijay -- or, if neither of those guys wanted to play, Sergio (who did beat Tiger head-to-head in one of these "Battle" matches).

annika, right back at it

Annika's streak of 5 consecutive victories ended last week. Today, she's taken a commanding lead at -13 -- her nearest competitor Heather Bowie is at -7. Leaderboard here.

Other notables: Reality Natalie Gulbis is tied for 17th, at -2. 12-year-old amateur Morgan Pressel is tied for 27th, at -1. I got to see Morgan play a few holes today. If she develops the clear potential she has, she will be great for the LPGA tour one day. She's got personality and spunk, something the LPGA needs a lot more of. There's a bright future for the LPGA if the up-and-comers like Morgan, Michelle Wie, and Paula Creamer play up to their potential down the road. They will then join the currently rising stars of Lorena Ochoa and Natalie Gulbis on the LPGA tour as the next generation of women golfers. Don't get me wrong: I love Annika, but the LPGA is really hurting for some drama and personalities that exist, for example, on the PGA tour. Or, perhaps a better comparison, the LPGA needs to be more like the women's tennis tour, with the likes of Venus, Serena, Maria Sharapova, Lindsey Davenport, Justin Henin-Hardenne, Kim Clisters, and Jennifer Capriati.

it's over: tiger misses 1st cut in 7 years

It took Friday the 13th to end Tiger's streak of 142 consecutive cuts made (excluding his decision to not play the rain postponed ATT Pebble Beach in 1998). Tiger shot +1 at the Byron Nelon tournament, suffering a crucial bogey on the final hole after his 15 foot par putt fell an inch or two short. Today, on a blustery day in Texas, Tiger only hit 4 fairways.

All good things must come to an end.

Vijay won't play

Jim Rome said today that Singh declined to play in the made-for-TV "Big Four" event later this year. Apparently, Tiger, Phil, and Els all said that they would play, while Vijay declined without citing a reason.

Rome went on to guess why this might be the case: They all hate each other, and why would Vijay want to play 18 holes of grab-ass with them.

I agree, to a point. Even if this is the case, I still think that Vijay should play, for two reasons.

First, this might be the only opportunity for the world to see the four best golfers of a generation play in the same group. Each of these players is in the peak years of their careers (with the exception of Tiger, but 2000 was an anomaly). It would definitely help settle "who is the best".

Second, what ever happened to beating in your rival's brains? A good ass-beating by Vijay would do wonders for his reputation on tour, and in the minds of the public. He would have to be the favorite, considering Tiger's swing changes, Els' travel schedule, and Phil's swashbuckling.

C'mon, Vijay. Take the offer, take the money, and take 'em all out behind the shed. It would do wonders for golf, and just might reduce the focus on Tiger, which, while great for his legend, is bad for the Tour overall (note: I like all of these players equally, for different reasons).

weekend update

1. PGA Tour: After Sergio Garcia squandered a 6-stroke lead on Sunday, Vijay Singh won the Wachovia Championship, beating Sergio and Jim Furyk in a playoff. Poor Sergio. This one will be a hard one to swallow. He had plenty of chances.

2. LPGA Tour: Christie Kerr won the Michelob Open, going away. She finished -8, a clear 5 strokes ahead of the closest competitor. Annika Sorenstam's string of 5 straight victories ended today.

3. Reality Natalie update: Natalie Gulbis had her best finish as a pro, tying for 3rd place (at -2) at the Michelob Open. Maybe she is trying to promote her reality show (to air on July 17th), but Natalie seems poised to capture her first victory this year. If you check out Natalie's online diary, she and the victor Christie Kerr got a spa treatment after the practice round. Coincidence? Maybe they should throw it into their weekly routine. Said Natalie of her spa treatment: "To top of the day Cristie Kerr and I went to the spa, joked and giggled as usual."

reality natalie update

Yesterday's 2nd round at the Michelob Open was washed out. Even those who started the round will get a mulligan and start their 2nd round over, hopefully today.

Natalie Gulbis is doing well at -1, somewhere on the leaderboard. Here are some highlights from her online diary:

"Hello from rainy and cold Williamsburg. This week the tour is playing the Michelob Open here in Virginia. We’re playing at Kingsmill GC and in a delay during the second round. I’ve played 7 holes so far today, and it poured every shot, so it is nice to take a break…get dry and warm up. There are about 100 girl caddies and fans dripping in the clubhouse waiting for an announcement.

"Tonight the event reserved Bush Gardens solely for the tour players, friends and family. It was a blast last year because we didn’t have to wait in line and had a big party in the beer garden."

Wow, sounds like fun!

Have you seen...Kann is a hack

The World's Worst Swing contest over on the Golf Channel? It's painful. Right now, I think it's between Pat Diederich and Alan Matusevich.

By the way, Kraig Kann is about the worst golf writer out there. I have never read anything of his that is the least bit insightful, and he is a tool on TV. His tone might be described as "ingratiating fifth grader bully". If I was Hewett, I would knock his teeth in. Jovial ribbing is one thing, condescending insults are another (if you have seen him on TV, you know what I mean). His most recent column is a parody of an opinion piece, in which he gives us a "six pack" of players who we should watch this summer. Here are the players: DLIII, Wier, Furyk, Haas, Howell III, and Sergio Garcia.

Three of these players are Major winners. Haas is 51 and, while playing well for the last few years, is headed to the Senior tour. Garcia has been "one to watch" since he came on Tour. And Howell III is another in a long list of "can't miss" youngsters who are, well, missing.

Further, every one of the players (with the exception of Haas) is described thusly: "(Player X) played well, has not been playing well, and I believe that he will play well this year." Super insightful. And, most likely completely wrong, based on the statistics that Kann offers in his column.

Let's look at the facts. Four of the six players mentioned (Wier, DLIII, Howell, and Garcia) are ranked in the second half of the top 150 players on tour in putting. Wier, Howell and DLIII are all way outside the top 100 in this statistic. For Wier, putting woes compound the problems of a short hitter in the modern game. Wier's putting is nowhere near the level that it was when he won the Masters.

Garcia is still working on swing changes, and if you watched the first round of Wachovia on Thursday, you might have noticed that his 66 could have been much lower, except for the missed short putts, and could well have been much higher, as Sergio was constantly having to make 4-6 footers to save par after ramming his first putt by the hole. In other words, his distance control was terrible on the greens. His length takes some of the pressure off the flatstick, but how much longer are we going to call Garcia "up-and-coming" and "young" (as if youth in Golf was a positive). Brash and emotional is fun to watch, but it doesn't seem to win as many tournaments as one would expect from that much talent.

DLIII, in case you have been living under a rock, HAS A BAD BACK. He has for a number of years, but it is affecting him more as he gets older. A bad back does not mean that you can't go out and shoot a low score, but four low scores in a row, a requirement to win on tour these days, ain't gonna happen. Also, have you noticed how much DLIII's backswing has shortened up in the last 2 years? In 1998, it was still past parallel. Now, every shot looks like a three-quarter punch. Oh, and he is having putting problems. Not a good combo.

Furyk is ranked behind Wier in driving distance. This puts too much pressure on putting (even for Furyk, ranked 10th currently) to compete consistently on the PGA tour. However, if I was forced to pick from this group a player who was going to return to form, I would be hard-pressed to choose between Garcia and Furyk.

I've got news for you all: Howell III can't putt, can't control his iron distance, and can't make birdies (ranked 116 this year). Yes, he can bomb it, but so can Hank Kuehne. Howell won the Michelob against a second-rate field, and has not shown any real consistency for the past few years. What makes Kann think that anything will change this year?

You might have noticed that every statistic that I have cited here comes from Kann's article, an article that argues that these players (with the exception of Haas) are about to have a return to form. These exact same statistics show why these players are NOT going to have great years: Terrible putting (Furyk excluded), short hitting (Garcia and Howell excluded, and while Love is considered long, he is ranked 108 in accuracy), not making birdies, and inconsistency do not paint a picture of promise.

Am I saying that none of these players will win this year? Of course not. Garcia might win this week. But Kann's article does not help us understand why he might, and doesn't give us any insight into why these players should be the ones to watch. In fact, Kann's arguments are exactly opposite of what objective analysis of the evidence would conclude.

sergio spotting

Holy smokes! Sergio Garcia has been spotted on top of the leaderboard of a tournament! He shot -6, and has a 2-stroke lead at the Wachovia Championships. Tiger Woods is tied for 10th, at -2.

If Sergio doesn't produce more victories (esp. a major) soon, he will fail to live up to his early hype after finishing runner-up to Tiger Wood at the 1999 PGA Championship. Neither the "challenger to Tiger" nor in the elite group of golfers.

tiger and annika: best buds

Damon Hack -- what a perfect name -- has this must-read article about Tiger and Annika in the New York Times. Apparently, Annika and Tiger are best buds, and being Swedish, Annika and Elin are also very close.

Here's a flavor from Hack:

They have become so close that Sorenstam, 34, will call Woods after she finishes a round to tell him that she tried a shot that he had taught her.

"Some of the stuff that I showed her were things that have been passed on to me from other players," Woods, 29, said during the Masters last month. "It was fun to work with a person who is like a sponge. She soaks up all the information and tries it. She's not afraid to call me up on certain shots, 'Hey, I tried it.' That's pretty cool to have someone put it in play."

Their friendship has also spawned a competitiveness that few see. They have exchanged ideas on workout routines, and each is aware of the other's résumé in major championships.