A bright LPGA future (with the right promotion)

After spending four days closely following the LPGA at the Wendy's Championship, I promised in this post to set out some reflections on the LPGA Tour and ESPN's coverage. Here goes:

1. The future for the LPGA is bright primarily because of a developing Big 5 of American women's golf (listed here in alphabetical order): Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Christie Kerr, Morgan Pressell and Michelle Wie. Each of these five women have already accomplished a lot, and only Kerr (at the ripe old age of 27) is older than 22. All five have interesting personalities, and they also all have a physical appearance that will appeal to fans. (Everyone must candidly recognize that the attractiveness of certain athletes play a big role in their popularity, especially for individual sports and for women's sports. Consider in the golf arena that even Nicklaus became more popular when his shed some pounds and his early "Fat Jack" nickname.)

2. The LPGA and its players should seek, in various ways, to "mix" with the PGA and its players. The PGA and especially the LPGA should benefit from the overall promotion of professional golf, and inter-gender golf stories draw interest from all quarters. The friendly rivalry between Annika and Tiger over the number of majors won is a great story. The LPGA should encourage famous male golfers to attend next week's Solheim Cup (Jack? Arnie? Tiger? the US captains for the upcoming President's Cup and Ryder Cup?). Similarly, the top female golfers should make plans to attend the upcoming President's Cup. And, as some commentors to prior posts have astutely suggested, the upcoming "silly season" events ought to consider combining the top men and women golfers. (I am already getting excited imagining a Sergio/Natalie team taking on Adam Scott and Paula Creamer.)

3. ESPN, the Golf Channel and other major media should understand points 1 and 2 and adjust accordingly. Paula Creamer is already an historic figure: the youngest woman to win an LPGA event in 50 years, the first rookie to earn a spot on the Solheim team, and as a rookie she is #2 (and the top American) on the LPGA money list. And yet, despite the fact that she was leading the Wendy's tournament going into the final round, ESPN's TV coverage of the event on Sunday went a full 20 minutes before showing her hit a shot! Similarly, Morgan Pressell, the reigning US Women's Amateur champ with a personality as big as her golf game, was in the field at the Wendy's and made a great showing, and yet I do not think her name was even mentioned during Sunday's ESPN coverage. The LPGA, to its great credit, right now has a picture of Creamer and Gulbis at the top of its home page, and I hope the tradition golf media soon starts to zero in on the big brewing LPGA upside.

Last chance: win the Question of the Month

It's the end of August, and you know what that means. It's your final chance to enter the Question of the Month contest. The winner gets a 5 pound note from Scotland commemorating Jack Nicklaus (this one came straight from the British Open at St. Andrews). Go here for the Question, and stay tuned for the winner and next month's Question. You won't want to miss it, trust me.

Another (better?) idea for promoting women's golf

The reaction to my (crazy?) idea for promoting the LPGA by giving a sponsor's exemption to a man has been less than enthusiastic. Indeed, such a gambit would be a risky stunt, and I am pretty sure the LPGA would never seriously consider it. But, way back when this blog got started, I floated in this post a far more realistic idea for promoting women's golf that I want to raise again.

How about, at least one time, staging a men's and a women's pro golf event on the same course at the same time?

Strange as this may sound for golf, this is essentially how tennis runs its major events, and many other sports (e.g., ice skating, track and field) have men's and women's competitions in the same setting at essentially the same time.

Consider how fascinating it would be to see women playing at Augusta (from moved up tees) during the same week that the men are playing the Masters. The women would not be competing directly against the men, but we would get to see their skills tested in the same setting and under similar (though shorter) conditions. In terms of promoting women's golf, I such parallel play would enable the many PGA fans (and media) who attend the event and/or watch on TV to see coverage (and the impressive skills) of many women golfers.

Of course, I can imagine reasons why the PGA and the LPGA would not like such a combined event, and I am sure we won't see it at Augusta anytime soon. But I think it would be nice to see it tried somewhere; the start-of-the-year Mercedes Championship (which only has event winners from the prior year in the field) might be an ideal setting.

The Golf Blog: that's it, we're legit

No doubt, there are a number of ways a golf website might gain "legitimacy": getting media credentials, interviewing tour players, receiving unsolicited requests from golf product manufacturers and a PGA tour event, or even having others pay money to Google to run ads based on search requests using your trademark.

That's all fine and dandy, but we think those indicia of legitimacy all pale in comparison to this request we've just received from the Library of Congress, "this nation's oldest federal cultural institution":

"The United States Library of Congress has selected your Web site for inclusion in the historic collection of Internet materials related to the Supreme Court, and we request your permission to collect and display your Web site. The Library of Congress preserves the Nation's cultural artifacts and provides enduring access to them. The Library's traditional functions, acquiring, cataloging, preserving and serving collection materials of historical importance to the Congress and the American people to foster education and scholarship, extend to digital materials, including Web sites.

"The Library of Congress or its agent will engage in the collection of content from your Web site at regular intervals. The Library will make this collection available to researchers onsite at Library facilities.

"The Library also wishes to make the collection available to offsite researchers by hosting the collection on the Library's public access Web site. The Library hopes that you share its vision of preserving Web materials about the Supreme Court and permitting researchers from across the world to access them."

The Golf Blog in the Library of Congress? We are truly honored, and can only hope that we can live up to that standard of excellence that befits both institutions, the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court. Stay tuned for our expanding coverage of Supreme Court issues forthwith -- or is that post-haste?

Related post
The Supreme Court and golf

Parting shot: Wendy's Championship, great tourney, great cause

If you missed the Wendy's Championship for Children, you missed a really great tourney. The back nine on Sunday produced high drama, with Annika Sorenstam posting -17 with a final round 66 and sitting as the leader in the clubhouse. 19 year old Paula Creamer, sporting her "pretty in pink" outfit, made a valiant last-ditch charge by birdieing the beguiling par-3 17th hole, which is short but deceptive requiring a shot over water. Meanwhile, Cristie Kerr showed grit and determination by rolling in a huge 20-foot par putt on that same hole, to maintain her lead at -18. Cristie said that putt was "huge," as almost "as good as a birdie." That set the stage for 18 on which Paula Creamer tried to force a playoff with a 50-foot birdie putt that grazed the lip, ... but did not fall in. Said Paula, "I hit a great putt. I thought it was in." The spectators on 18 were screaming with anticipation as the ball almost dropped in. Wow, great finish.

There will be more time to debate how the LPGA can generate even greater fan interest (which we believe is deserved on the women's tour, see Doug's post below). Today, The Golf Blog would like to commend and thank both the LPGA and the Wendy's Championship for Children for the wonderful week of golf. The tournament was a huge success, not only for golf, but for the charity raised for pediatric cancer research at Columbus Children's Hospital ($2.2 million in the previous 4 years).

The hospitality showed to us throughout the tournament in the media tent and out on the course was tremendous. Free Wendy's frosties for the media, well, that's just heaven! There are so many staff and volunteers who made the tournament the huge success that it was. We'd like to single out Tom Sprouse and Paul Rovnak for their invaluable assistance throughout the week. They (along with their assistants) really make the entire media operations run so smoothly. Great job.

A (crazy?) idea for LPGA promotion

One of my many reactions to closely following the LPGA this week — besides a basic awe for how good the women pros are from 120 yards in — is that the LPGA needs to figure out better ways promote itself and its golfers. Women's golf should be at least as big as women's tennis, especially right now when (as I will detail in future posts) there are so many compelling story lines.

As I brainstorming about possible promotion ideas for the LPGA, one (crazy?) idea came to mind: Perhaps an LPGA event should consider pulling a "reverse Wie" by giving a sponsor's exemption to a man.

Inviting Tiger to tee it up with the women would generate huge PR. Same goes for inviting Vijay or Phil or Ernie. Other possible invites could be the reigning men's US Amateur champion, or the money leader on the Nationwide Tour, or even Jack and Arnie.

The golf press (and the entire sports media) would likely be intrigued simply by the offer of an LPGA sponsor's exemption to a man; the story would only grow if (when?) the offer gets turned down by men unwilling to tee it up with the women.

Of course, giving a sponsor's exemption to a man would be something of a stunt, but it is a stunt that not only could generate PR, but also could help demonstrate how good the LPGA pros are. After watching the women shoot in the mid-60s all week at Tartan Fields, I am convinced only a handful of men could keep up with all the LPGA pros if everyone is playing from the women's tees (which greatly reduces the significance of men's ability to hit the ball longer).

Wendy's Championship: Final Money Lines

1. Cristie Kerr, 2 time winner this year and Solheim points leader, when asked if she's staked a claim to be the No. 1 American player: "Well, I can tell you my mom probably thinks that, and my dad. I'm just trying to do the best I can. That's up to you. That's not up to me. Because I can only do the best I can do."

2. Paula Creamer, in speaking at the Solheim Cup captain's pick press conference: "They [the Europeans] better get ready, because they're going to get beat! ... I'm laying it down." Murmurs and nervous laughs in the audience. "What?... why are people laughing?"

3. Nancy Lopez, in making her captain's pick selections: "My Solheim Cup captain's pick selections are ... Dottie Pepper (golf analyst for NBC and The Golf Channel)." Just kidding. "Dottie, you knew I was going to say that."

What a great finish at Wendy's: Kerr tops Sorenstam, Creamer

Pat Hurst, on the tee at 18 at -18 in the second-to-last group, missed big with the driver, which led to a deadly double. Paula Creamer, after almost making birdie on 16, made a brilliant 2 on 17 to get to -17, and her 50 foot downhill putt on the tough 18 lipped out to leave her tied with Annika Sorenstam (who had finished at -17 an hour earlier). Christie Kerr, after making a nervous 3-putt bogey on 15, managed to make pars on the three tough closing holes to pull out the victory at a wonderful LPGA event.

Consider that, with these results, Sorenstam, Creamer and Kerr are now 1-2-3 on the 2005 LPGA money list. So, to give you the PGA-equivalent vision of the drama, the finish was as if Tiger was the leader in the clubhouse watching to see if he had posted a score low enough to force a playoff with Vijay and Phil who were playing in the final group.

In future posts, I will have a lot of (quite critical) reflections on the LPGA Tour and ESPN's coverage on TV today. But first I will give ESPN2 credit for going an extra 10 minutes over the alotted time to show Kerr make a strong par on 18 for the victory. And I am certain our TGB on-course reporting team will have a lot to add. So, if you are not already sick of LPGA talk, stop back again soon.

Annika posts -17, Cristie Kerr now at -18

Annika just finished her round, shooting a 6-under 66 to post -17. During the post-round interview, Annika said she was "very pleased with how [she] played. The course was playing a little difficult today. The wind was coming from a different direction than all week." Annika said, yes, she was "trying, trying" to post a number for the others to look at, but she was coming from a little far back.

Annika admitted her swing was "a little rusty" after a 2-week vacation from golf, but that it's "important to catch your breath" so the mental side is there. Annika said "mentally she was really ready to play" this week after the 2-week vacation in which she played no golf whatsoever. "If the mental side is there, it helps," Annika explained.

Personal note: Annika's very soft-spoken and sweet, but she's very quick with the repartee. Her eyes kind of light up when she wants to give you a zinger.

Emily Bastel: Ohio rookie finishes in Top Ten

LPGA rookie Emily Bastel, who's from Upper Sandusky, OH, had her best finish as a pro. After sinking an impressive 25-foot right-to-lefter for birdie on 18, Emily posted a 3-under 69, to go -13 for the tourney. She finished tied for 9th place. The Golf Blog got the chance to ask Emily a few questions after her round.

Emily said this was "definitely one of [her] best tournaments." After having some trouble playing well on the weekends earlier this year, she has made a conscious effort to "not get ahead of herself" on the weekends. Well, it worked.

Also, Emily found it a big plus to be playing in front of family and friends from Upper Sandusky, a town of 6,000 people that is only 50 miles from Dublin, OH, the site of Tartan Fields. "It was really exciting," Emily said, "It felt good to have so many family and friends here. Someone told me that 45 or so people from Upper Sandusky were following me earlier in the week." Her father, who caddies for her and who is a head professional at Lincoln Hills Golf Club, said it might have been 50-60 people on Thursday and Friday in Emily's following. On Saturday, Emily had more people following her than Annika, by Jason's unofficial count. Emily also felt the support from the people from Ohio and the Columbus area who were at the tournament.

We also caught up with Emily's parents. Emily's mom said, "I've been trying to stay even keel" watching her daughter play, which can be nerve-wracking for any parent. Both Emily's mother and father think it's getting easier to watch Emily play, especially after rounds like today.

But being a rookie on tour is not easy. Emily explained, "The hardest thing is all the things that need to be done off the course. Where to stay, where to eat, where the locker room is, where to check in?..." Emily gave a lot of credit to Wendy Ward, her LPGA Big Sis (and Solheim Cup captain's pick today), for showing her the ropes around the LPGA. As far as on the course, Emily had been a little worried that she wouldn't be long enough to compete on tour. After getting on the tour, she soon realized that distance is not a problem. Instead, what she needed to work on is "scoring." Well, with rounds of 69 -67 - 70 -69 this week, Emily has gotten the hang of scoring.

Personal note: We want to thank Emily and her parents for taking the time to speak with us. Emily's got a great swing and a bright future ahead of her.

Shoot out at Wendy's: Annika back in it

Family responsibilities have me stuck at home while other TGBers cover the LPGA on-course at today's final round of the Wendy's Championship. But I am actually glad I will get to follow the action on TV (via ESPN2 from 1-3 pm), because a slow start by the final threesome of leaders has set up a real shootout for the back nine.

On the leaderboard here as of 12noon, you will see that leaders Creamer, Kang and Kerr are collectively even par through the first 7 holes (with third round leader +1 for the day), which has now created an amazing log jam at the top with 11 players within 2 strokes of the lead. Annika went out in 32, and her -4 on the day right now has her to -15 for the tourney and only one back. I think at least -18 will still be needed to win, but I think Annika (and many others) can get to that number and lower.

UPDATE (from course via allCarry): As of 12:30 p.m., Annika's right back in it, only 2 shots off the leader Pat Hurst, who is at -17. Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Lorena Ochoa, and Jeong Jang are only 1 shot back, at -16. Jason's complaining that Cristie Kerr takes a long time to hit, but, friend, I've seen a lot worse! Earlier, I said Soo Yun Kang is quiet, but, after double bogeying the par 3 8th, she slammed her bag and whipped her ball into the water in disgust.

Wendy's Championship: Sunday preview

Leaderboard before Final Round
-16 Paula Creamer
-15 Cristie Kerr, Soo Yun Kang
-14 Pat Hurst, Michelle Redman
-13 Lorena Ochoa, Amy Hung, Karrie Webb
-12 Laura Davies, Sophie Gustafson
-11 Annika + others

Here are some interesting story lines and things to look out for in today's final round -- which can be seen on ESPN2 at 1-3 pm.

1. How low can you go?: Weather is supposed to be sunny and hot. The greens may become a little harder and faster, but, hey, when you're firing wedges all day into the green, who cares? Scores should be low again.

2. Paula Creamer, the closer?: Paula Creamer, who is a rookie and fresh out of high school, has already won 3 times this year, including the Evian Masters by 8 strokes (lapping the field and Annika). I watched Paula and she is the real deal. She likes wearing pink on Sunday, and to top it all, she has her own blog. She's now the leader by 1 stroke, and, in my book, should be the favorite today. She'll be in a comfortable pairing with pal Cristie Kerr and quiet Soo Yun Kang, which probably will be a treat compared to yesterday's pairing with Michelle Redman who seemed to get unsettled with any fan noise (although, quite frankly, I like Redman's fire!).

3. Soo Yun, going back to back?: South Korean Soo Yun Kang won her first LPGA event last week, and is trying to go back to back. She sports a pink bag with "Bean Pole" sports endorsement. It's quite fitting because Soo Yun is very slender and slight of build. She doesn't hit it far off the tee, but her approach shots and putting have been spot on. Only 23 and 24 putts in the first 2 rounds, including 9 birdies in the 2nd round!

4. Laura Davies, back from oblivion?: Laura Davies is the closest thing to John Daly on the LPGA tour -- she hits the ball a mile and is absolutely fearless. The woman shot 75 in the first round, which would've shot most people right out of the tournament. But Laura came back with rounds of 66 and 63, to pull herself to 12-under within 4 shots of the leader Paula Creamer.

Wendy's 3rd Round: Creamer bogey-bogey, last 2 holes

Just when Paula Creamer seemed to be putting daylight between her and the rest of the field, after birdieing the 16th hole, Paula limped home with two straight bogeys. So instead of shooting 8-under 64, Paula had to settle for 6-under 66, to go -16 for the tourney. She's the leader, followed by Cristie Kerr and Soo Yun Kang at -15.

Meanwhile, playing partner Amy Hung, who was only -1 for the day on the 15th tee, proceeded to go birdie - eagle - par - par, to shoot 68 and pick up 4 strokes on Paula.

US Amateur: Down to Two

The 2005 US Amateur is now into the finals. NBC has tape delayed coverage from 4-6pm EST today of the semi-finals, and the 36 hole championship match will be on NBC from 4-6pm on Sunday.

For an update on the matches, the USGA's article on the semi-final matches can be found here.

What I find interesting about the US Amateur this year is the fact that 16th seed will be facing the 55th seed in the finals. This is what I believe is the beauty of match play golf and what makes accomplishments like Tiger's 6 straight USGA event wins so impressive.

Never in the NCAA Basketball tournament does a 14th seed make it to the finals. However in bracketed tournaments, such as the USGA Amateur and Public Links or even the professional match play events such as the Accenture World Match Play or the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship, you often get higher ranked players defeating the lower ranked players.

For example, if you look at this year's Accenture Match Play, you had two #4 seeds playing each other (Toms defeated DiMarco). However, only 1 #1 seed made it into the Semi-finals (Goosen) and both Woods and Singh did not make it to the "Sweet 16." It gets even more interesting if you look at the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship. Annika, who at the time was definately the women's #1 player, did not make it past the quarterfinals. And the winner, #31 seed Marisa Baena.

Anyways, the exciting and enjoyable thing about match play is that it is one-on-one and during an 18 hole match, a #1 seed can easily lose to a higher seed. And even though it might not be the most exciting thing to watch on TV, it is golf at its purest.

Wendy's update: Creamer rising to top as sun shines

After a nearly 3 hour rain delay, the Wendy's Tournament got back in action. Though the TGB crew were enjoying the spread in the media lunch room, we made our way back to the course to see if Jill McGill could keep up her hot play which produced a -6 front 9 score of 30. Unfortunately, having lots of time to think about her torrid start perhaps led to a bit of nerves, as she slowed down and gave a stroke back to par on the inward nine.

The delay also clearly did not sit well with second round leader and defending champ Catriona Matthew. She made a double on the 5th hole as the rain beat down just before play was stopped, and having all that time to think put her game in a sour mood. Matthew has given back three more strokes to par and is on pace to shoot the worst score of the entire field today.

But as the sun started to shine, Paula Creamer's game continued to shine. She is -7 through 12 holes and is two clear of the field at -17. And Annika is making a run at -6 for the day (and -14 for the event) through 13 and Christine Kerr is also -6 for the day (and -14 for the event) through 13. Turning into quite the shootout with a very exciting leaderboard shaping up for Sunday.

Play to Start Soon; EPSN2 coverage

The rain has stopped, and the grounds crew are squeegeeing the course. Play will start up pretty soon. You can catch it live on ESPN2. Don't miss it.

Lopez: "I will decide tonight"

During her noon press conference, Nancy Lopez fielded questions from the media.

Lopez was extremely professional accepting questions and appears to be taking this decision very seriously. She mentioned that she does not have a strict "math" formula to determine who will make the team, but will be looking at things such as consistentcy, experience, current and past Solheim Cups, how the player would act as a "team member", and mostly her gut instinct. Lopez mentioned that she was going to have to disappoint some people, and that she has become friends with all of the top 15 in the Solheim Cup standings.

When asked when she would make the final decision, Lopez stated that she will continue to narrow her selections down today, and that she will decide tonight. Lopez also credited the Golf Channel for providing her with the ability to watch more golf and players. Lopez also mentioned how she felt that last year's performance does not come into play in her decision.

Lopez also said with a bit of a chuckle that she is looking for a player that might intimidate other players and she would look at past Solheim Cup members for potential picks. Lopez then went into a bit of a discussion about how in her first hole of her first Solheim Cup matches, that she was extremely choked up and that she felt a "new pressure" and "nervousness" that she had never felt before.

A reporter asked if a player did not make the team tonight, could a player make it tomorrow. Lopez responded that her decision will not be entirely based on the final tournament. However, Lopez did provide some guidance that she will be looking at players only in the top 15 on the standings. Thus, players who are still in the running for a captain's pick include (assuming that Wendy Ward does not win): Dorothy Delasin, Heather Bowie, Wendy Ward, Beth Daniel, and Stacy Prammanasudh. If Wendy Ward does win the Wendy's she will jump into the top 10 in the standings and knock either Michele Redman or Laura Diaz out, depending on a number of factors.

Lopez talked to Ward yesterday and told her not to worry about her game. And Lopez said that she wanted to make sure her girls knew that they should play well for themselves and she wanted them to know that Nancy does care about each of the players, especially if they make the team.

Lopez said that her best advise from past captains was to just go with her gut, and she said that that might include not choosing numbers 11 and 12 on the list.

Anyways, after hearing the interview, I believe that Lopez is leaning towards Wendy Ward and Beth Daniel, but that is entirely my guess.

Wendy's Championship: Third Round Play Suspended

At 12:28pm, play has been suspended at the Wendy's Championship. The green's committee concluded that the greens were unplayable. According to the green's committee, once the rain stops and squiggy the greens, play will resume. It appears that this rain will be around for about another 20-30 minutes.

Currently, Creamer is leading at 14 under (-4 thru 5). McGill is 6 under thru 10 and 12 under for the tournament.

Wendy's Championship: Round 3 Update

Today we have three bloggers at the Wendy's Championship. Currently, I am sitting in the media tent after a couple hours on the course. I will be floating and attending a press conference with Nancy Lopez at noon today. AllCarry will be following the later groups, and Douglas is out watching Morgan Pressel.

A couple of things of note so far. Jill McGill is currently 11-under for the tournament and is 5 under thru 7 holes today. I watched her on #6 one of her 2 pars for the day and she just missed.

Creamer birdied the 2nd hole and just birdied the third hole to go 13-under. Currently she is leading the tournament.

I started the day watching Morgan Pressel with Douglas. The one thing we noticed is that she was wearing a hat from Augusta National. Wie never seems to wear hats like that, she always wears a hat featuring the Leadbetter Academy. Maybe Morgan is trying to tell Wie something?? If so, I wonder what it is.

After the press conference, I'll be back.

Wendy's Championship: Round 2 Interviews

LPGA has posted the post Round 2 interviews of leaders Catriona Mathew and Soo Yun Kang, as well as Karrie Webb, who is 1 back. At the start of each interview, the player is usually asked to go through her scorecard, the "birdies" as well as "bogeys" -- the clubs hit on their approach, the length of the birdie putt.

Well, get a load of Soo Yun Kang's 9 birdies and 1 triple bogey yesterday, which included 4 birdie putts of 1 foot or less. That's how you shoot 66 with a triple bogey:

Hole 10, 380-yard par 4: birdie – pitching wedge to one foot
Hole 11, 546-yard par 5: birdie – 50-degree wedge to one foot
Hole 12, 365-yard par 4: triple bogey – drive into water, took a drop and hit third shot into water, took a drop and hit 60-degree wedge onto green, two-putt
Hole 13, 377-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron to eight feet
Hole 15, 165-yard par 3: birdie – 9-wood to 20 feet
Hole 18, 413-yard par 4: birdie – 7-iron to one foot
Hole 2, 367-yard par 4: birdie – 50-degree wedge to five feet
Hole 5, 401-yard par 4: birdie – 6-iron to three feet
Hole 7, 395-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron to six inches
Hole 9, 461-yard par 5: birdie – 3-wood to 20 feet, two-putt

The Pressel report: there's no crying in golf

So I managed to see Morgan Pressel today at the range and on the 18th hole finishing up. She's a spunky kid, with broad shoulders though slight in height, and she can hit the ball a long way! On the 18th, she was -7 and stuffed her approach shot to about 7 feet or less. Back in the fairway, though, she kind of stomped her foot, wanting the ball to go closer. I thought it was a great shot.

What I didn't know, though, was that Morgan really, really wanted to get to -8, so that she might be paired with Annika. Well, Morgan got a great read from her playing partner who had the same line as she did -- a very sharp right to left break. Morgan, however, hit a very weak putt that had no chance as soon as it left the blade.

Afterwards, Morgan broke down in tears. "I wanted to play with Annika tomorrow -- and I probably would have if I had made one of the putts on the last two holes,'' she said between sobs. "I've never played with her in a tournament. I've looked up to her for so long. It would have been important for me to play with her.''

Wendy's Leaderboard, Round 2

-12 Soo Yun Kang (more about Kang here), Catriona Matthew (more about Matthew here)
-11 Karrie Web (where have you been, girl?)
-10 Paula Creamer (more about Paula here), Michele Redman
-9 Cristie Kerr, Jeong Jang, Pat Hurst,
-8 Annika, Lorena Ochoa, Wendy Ward + 5 others
-7 Morgan Pressel + 8 others -- Full leaderboard here

UPDATE: The tournament official just told me the projected cut is -3. Yes, -3, which would be an LPGA record for lowest score at the cutline. It just goes to show you how easy (or defenseless) Tartan Fields is playing. Unfortunately, that puts the likes of Natalie Gulbis on the outside, missing the cut.

Wendy's Round 2 afternoon report: Laura Davies, wow!

I followed the pairing of Natalie Gulbis, Laura Davies, and Meg Mallon. Here are the highlights:

1. Natalie's round: I spoke briefly with Natalie on the range before her round. She asked me to keep it from raining. I don't have that kind of power, but, luckily, it did not rain (as of 5:40). It was not the best ball-striking or putting day for Natalie. She finished 1-under for the day, 2-under for the tourney. She's got a very athletic set-up and swing, with the same pre-shot routine (half-swing) as fellow Butch Harmonite Justin Leonard. She was a gymnast before, and it shows. Natalie is a fairly long driver -- I estimate she ranges from 270-300 yards fairly consistently on her drives, which are very high with a draw. And, as you probably have already seen, Natalie kind of lunges through the ball. Personality wise, Natalie is similar to Phil Mickelson in "nice" factor. She likes chatting on the course, never ever seems to show her temper, and always says "thank you" when the fans applaud her. Very sweet.

2. Laura Davies: Laura Davies shot 6-under 66 today (3-under for the tourney). Frankly, it could have easily been 10-under! By the 11th hole, Laura was 7-under for the day after she chipped in on the 10th. Laura Davies has to be the longest driver on the LPGA tour. She consistently hit her driver 300 yards, usually outdriving Natalie and Meg Mallon by 20-30 yards, if not more. And the freakiest sight: Laura does not use a tee for her driver, but instead chunks up a piece of grass with her wedge to make a grass divot on which to set her ball. Well, it's weird, but it works. Laura Davies absolutely crushes the ball - she draws the oohs and aahs like John Daly!!

Laura also is fearless. Here's how she played the 14th hole, a 549 yard par 5: Laura hooked her drive into the tall crab rough. To hit her shot, she really would need to muscle it out. Just to give you an idea, on her backswing her club "grabbed" on the tall rough, which made her backswing slow down (if not stop), but miraculously, Laura kept going with her swing and muscled the ball out down the fairway. She hit a bad third shot and it rolled into the water hazard (creek) guarding the green. But there's very little water in it, so (after 3 caddies searched for the ball), Laura decided to give it a try and whack the ball out. Well, she did and you could hear the loud sound of club hitting rock. Someone else might have hurt her wrist, but not Laura. The shot was spectacular and drew "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd. Unfortunately, though, Laura missed the 15 footer for what would have been an "all-world" par.

Wendy's morning report: more great scoring

With intermittent sprinkles keeping the greens soft, the ladies are continuing to take apart Tartan Fields during the morning play of Round 2 at the Wendy's LPGA event (leaderboard here). As of this writing, defending champion Catriona Matthew is already -5 for the day through 10 holes, which has her at -11 for the event and three clear of a big group of players at -8.

I had a chance to take in a few holes on the scene with The Golf Blog widow, and she took a lot of notes while we were watching in person. With luck, I can convince her to soon provide on the blog a lady's perspective on the ladies' event.

Round 2 update: Nancy Lopez on the grounds

Nancy Lopez, this year's captain of the Solheim Cup (the Ryder Cup for women), is on the grounds at Tartan Field, scouting out her potential captain's picks for this year's U.S. team. Current standings are here. It's amazing to see Nancy -- she definitely has an aura about her here, she's pretty much beloved on the LPGA circuit and especially in Ohio. Many fans approached her to say hello, and she is incredibly friendly. She'll be having a press conference tomorrow, so maybe we'll get a chance to ask her a question. Any suggestions?

Wendy's Championship: Round 2 coverage

The Golf Blog will be out on the course again today, but you can also join coverage on ESPN2 at 4-6 p.m. Stay tuned for our posts. The weather is threatening with thunderstorms, so we might see higher scores in the afternoon but right now the course is still for the taking.

The Golf Blog's coverage

1. Wendy's Championship: Round 1 interviews
2. Wendy's Round 1 afternoon report (Douglas)
3. Wendy's Round 1 assessment: Paula Creamer, real deal
4. From Wendy's: mid Round 1 report (allCarry)
5. Wendy's Championship: pre-tourney interviews
6. TGB Featured Tourney: Wendy's Championship

Wendy's Championship: Round 1 interviews

Interviews of the first day leaders (who all shot 6-under 66s) Marisa Baena, Catriona Mathew, Heather Daly-Donofrio, Paula Marti, Soo Yun Kang, Lara Tadiotto are up here. Here's the question I asked Soo-Yun Kang, who just won last week in Portland, followed by her answer:

Q. It seems like there are so many good South Korean female golfers now. Do you have any explanation why the South Korean golfers are doing so well?

SOO‑YUN KANG: Maybe they have a gifted hands. I don't know. But, yeah, they push us a lot, too.
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Correction: What I heard is they "practice" a lot, but with the noise of the fan and the use of a translator I think it was mistranscribed. If I'm right, Soo Yun's suggestion would mirror Annika's:

Q. The last two Majors of the year were won by Koreans who ‑‑ I think it was their breakthrough win for each one of them. You've been out here long enough to have a theory on what makes them so good and why does it seem to be there's so many of them and they're so good so quickly?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think one of the things that I've noticed is they have a great work ethic. And they just work really hard. And, you know, I don't know whether so many, but it seems like it's a booming game over in Korea. And I'm sure Se Ri Pak had a big influence over there when she came out of her rookie and won Majors. And I think now, you know, eight years later you've seen the proof of that. And they just work really hard. And, you know, I have a trainer that works with several of the Koreans and he says that he would tell them how to do one exercise and they don't forget. I mean, they have the greatest memory. And they have the greatest form when it comes to being in the gym. And it seems like when you look at their swings, they have great swings. And so there must be something to that.
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This topic deserves a much bigger post than I can devote here. "Work ethic" and lots of practice can't explain all of the success because I'm sure the other women golfers are practicing hard, too. There's a similar wave of talent from Russia in women's tennis. We need to look more closely at the kind of training and junior programs that exist in these countries. Is there a David Leadbetter over there? They must be doing something right.

Related post
Woman's major: Annika 2, Korean golf stars 2

Wendy's Round 1 afternoon report

I was able to get out to the Wendy's Tournament for a few hours this afternoon, and it confirmed my view that attending an LPGA event is even more interesting and fun than attending a PGA event. I followed for a few holes the defending champion Catriona Matthew -- who hits the ball really long and is already putting up a spirited defense by being tied for the lead after round 1 (leaderboard here). I also had a chance to see the fascinating threesome of Laura Davies, Natalie Gulbis and Meg Mallon play their final two holes. Here are some random highlights from my afternoon:

1. Natalie's game is so unorthodox -- a lunge in her swing, a split hand putting stroke -- but her ball striking is pure and she gets in the hole. She made a strong birdie from the sand on her final hole (the par 5 ninth) to card a 1-under 71. Also, I was amazed at how much stuff she wears while playing: big earrings, a bracelet, an anklet, a big bow in her hair....

2. Unlike PGA pros, who all look pretty much the same with only a few exceptions, the LPGA pros come in many, many shapes and sizes. With lots of foreign players, lots of small and tall players, lots of lean and not-so-lean players, and nearly everyone sporting a different look, it is often fun to just take in the aesthetic of all the players (especially because, even as a follower of women's golf, I recognize less than half the players by name).

3. Most of the women must be playing for the love of the game, because the money to be made as a female professional golfer is really paltry except for the very top players. Consider that, going into this week, the number 113 player on the PGA money list has already made over half a million dollars. Take a guess at what #113 has made on the LPGA tour.... only $37,000! (Or, to view this from another angle, what Vijay has made already this year alone on the PGA tour would vault him to #4 on the all-time LPGA career money list.)

4. I believe Tartan Fields, which is a lovely Palmer-designed course with a number of challenging holes, is set up a bit too easy. The fairways are generous, so driver is the club on every tee, and that means an approach shot of under 130 yards on many holes given where the tees are set (especially for longer hitters like Catriona Matthew). The course's challenge is around the greens, but players who have their short irons working take a lot of that challenge out of play. I'd like to see the tees back about 15 to 20 yards on each hole; the scores would be 2-4 strokes higher and par would be an achievement. (I do not like it when shooting par the first day leaves you six shots back and in 70th place.).

Wendy's Round 1 assessment: Paula Creamer, real deal

As I said below, I followed Paula Creamer and Annika today at the Wendy's Championship. After watching Paula play, I am not surprised at all that she's already won 3 pro tournaments in her rookie year. She's good, real good. Impressions of her round:

1. Stuffing approach shots: The strength of Paula's game is her iron play and wedges. Paula is not that long off of the tee (Annika typically outdrove her, sometimes by 20 - 30 yards, although on a few holes Paula outdrove Annika and on the back nine they appeared closer). But Paula's irons shots were very pinpoint today. By my count and layperson's eye, Paula's approach shots left her with very makeable birdie putts of 12 feet or less on 9 holes. (Only on 2 holes did Paula leave herself with a birdie putt of more than 25 feet, and she made regulation on all holes except for maybe 1, the one she bogeyed discussed below.) Paula converted on 5 of those birdie putts, which is over 50%, but I thought she could have made a couple more, given the short length -- and she probably does to. She uses the two-ball putter, which seemed on and off today. Of course, I should also note again that Tartan Fields was playing very easy today (if not usually because of the generous fairways), as you can tell by the large number of under par scores (Leaderboard here).

2. Self-inflicted bogey: Right after she said "time for a birdie" walking to the tee of the easy 4th hole, a 503-yard par 5, Paula proceeded to bogey the hole, her only bogey of the round. She bogeyed it basically because she -- or her caddie -- miscalculated the yardage to lay up. Her lay up shot bounded into a huge fairway bunker that guards the green about 30 yards away. Paula was visibly upset, tossing her club to the ground and appearing to have a few words with her caddy, my guess, over the yardage.

3. Saved by Wendy Ward: On the 136-yard par 3 17th, playing partner Wendy Ward may have saved Paula from a 2 stroke penalty. Paula's caddy tried to measure 2 club lengths from the tee markers, so Paula could back up to hit her tee shot, but the caddy measured it from the end of the marker (which was about a foot in length). The observant Ward told Paula right before she was about to hit, she should measure it from the front end of the tee marker. When the caddy did, Paula decided to move up a foot or two. She owes Wendy a drink!

From Wendy's: mid- Round 1 report

I dragged myself out of bed at 6 am to catch the early tee times today at the Wendy's Championship. Morgan Pressel (who shot -2 today) was already out by 7:15 am, so I missed her. I followed the marquee 8:32 am group instead: Annika, Paula Creamer, and Wendy Ward.

Paula shot -4, but it could have been much better because she had so many good looks from 12 feet and in. I will have much more to say later about Paula, but, for now, let me just say I was really impressed by Paula's game. She is the real deal. Annika, meanwhile, took 13 holes to make her 1st birdie, and was clearly rusty from her 2-week vacation from golf.

It was a gorgeous day today, and the course was there for the taking. Tartan Fields is pretty wide open, so you should be in the fairway off the tee all day. Currently, Paula Marti, Soo-Yun Kang, and Heather Daly-Donofrio share the lead at -6. I asked Soo-Yun (who won in Portland last week) a question during the post round-interviews, and I'll have that and much more later... Stay tuned.

Wendy's Championship: pre-tourney interviews

LPGA has posted interviews of defending champion Catriona Matthew, Annika, Paula Creamer, and Morgan Pressel. Money lines:

Q. Is there is a chance these younger players have sort of piqued your interest again, competitive‑wise, in terms of trying to prove that as an older player you still have it.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: You keep referring to me as a veteran and old (laughter). No, I mean, like I said, I think it's exciting to see the new generation. But having said that, I have personal goals. And whether there is a young one or veteran pushing me, or whatever, then that really doesn't matter. I do this for myself. My goals are very personal. And I need to feel good about myself and my game. And this generation of young girls is not new. I mean, we've been having these young players come up, like Lorena, for example, Natalie, and so forth. This is something that happens every year, you get a new, fresh face. So the only thing I've got to do is, you know, if I want to stay competitive, I'm going to continue to play really hard and push myself. Otherwise, somebody else will take my spot.
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Q. Are those initials on your earrings?

PAULA CREAMER: No. It says Dior.

Q. Is that an endorsement?

PAULA CREAMER: No.

Q. Not yet.

PAULA CREAMER: Jay, get on that one!
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Q. Meg said yesterday she wanted you to play the red tees today (paired with her in the Pro-Am). Did you do that?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I didn't do it today. They kept bugging me. I think the 4th hole, the tee is a par 5, the tee is 120 yards up. Go play. I'll go play. Meg is like, "No, you haven't done it the whole way." I was going to on a couple of holes, but she said no.

Q. Did you help on any holes with your approaches?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, I helped sometimes. What kind of a question is that (laughter)?

Q. You have a reputation for being willing to work. If you're not involved in a competition, you're back home, between conditioning, practice, how much time might you devote in a day?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Am I in school? We'll go I'm in school. I go to school until 2:30, 2:45 on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 3:30 on Monday and Wednesday. I'll get home, change, go out to the range. I'll practice and then go out and play until just about till it gets dark. On weekends, I'll be playing ‑‑ I'll go out and play 18, practice before, practice after. Probably six or seven hours on the weekends at least.

Q. How do you fit dinner in?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Usually two minutes and 30 seconds Spaghettios in the microwave. I wolf it down in about 20 seconds. I eat really fast, so that works well. I eat fast and read slow. I have to spend extra time.

TGB Featured Tourney: Wendy's Championship

After a brief break from the LPGA, we'll be covering this entire week the Wendy's Championship for Children. Wendy's is a great tournament at Tartan Fields in Dublin, OH, and boasts just about all the Top players, such as Annika, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis. It also has amateur Morgan Pressel (but Michelle Wie's back to school).

TGB's Douglas has already mentioned some of the Joys of watching LPGA events. One other interesting point of comparison: the LPGA has tremendous growth potential (given its current status and size, but crop of rising young guns), while the PGA may be at or near its peak (and will be in much anticipated negotiations with television networks this fall). Golf Week had a great article analyzing the financial situation of the PGA, as does TGC in this article by AP. It's very telling to see that the PGA is discussing switching to a playoff system -- something that the LPGA already adopted back in June. Who would've thought: the LPGA setting the bar?

TGB Go Clubbing: Review of TaylorMade Rescue Dual

Having tried many different hybrid clubs on the market, I believe the new Taylormade Rescue Dual TP model might be the best hybrid I have ever played. However, in order to put my review of the club into perspective, I should describe my golf game first.

I started playing golf when I was eight years old. I turn 25 on August 26. During Jr. and Sr. high school, the golf course acted as my "baby sitter" and I played 4 years of varsity high school golf and competed in a state championship, my senior season. After high school, I played college golf at Ohio Wesleyan University, where I was a 2-time Academic All American and 2-time North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year. After graduating from OWU, I went on to law school at Ohio State, and I still play a decent amount of golf, but not as much as I did in my high school and college days. Currently, I play to about a 3 handicap, yet if I played more, I could get back to a scratch or even plus golfer, which I was at one point.

I work at Oakhaven Golf Club in Delaware, Ohio, which is where I have hit most of the clubs on the market. Last time I checked, which was about a month ago, my swing speed was 107mph and my ball speed was around 168mph (to put it into perspective Tiger's is around 210). I have an Adilia NV X-65g shaft in my 7.5 degree Titleist 983 driver and play Cleveland TA7 Tour irons with True Temper S300 shafts. So, I am not your typical weekend golfer, but I have a lot of experience hitting, being fit, and testing clubs.

When I got the new Taylormade Dual Hybrid, I tried the 19 degree with the stock-graphite stiff shaft. These clubs retail at $199.99. I figured with my swing speed close enough to the 95-105mph swing speed for a typical stiff shaft that the stock-graphite shiff shaft would work. The club came with two weights, a 2 gram and a 14 gram weight which you are able to switch to make the club have a draw face and a fade face. I typically hit a slight draw, so I started with the fade setting. With my swing speed, I would hit it good about 2 out of every 3 times. However, when I hit it, it was a beautiful 230 yards straight up and straight down. I was able to work the hybrid as well, but I found it easier to hit a draw than a fade. Also, I hit my "the shot of the year" with the Taylormade Dual Hybrid. It was #6 on the Player Nine at Hilton Head National in Hilton Head, SC. I hit a pretty poor three wood and left myself with 232 yards over water off a down hill mound. I pulled out the Rescue Dual and proceeded to hit it 5 feet and rolled the putt in for eagle (with a new Taylormade Monza line putter, which I'll be reviewing later). Honestly, I would have had to lay up if I didn't have the Rescue Dual, since my 2-iron would have probably placed me into the water fronting the green. Nevertheless, I felt that the shaft in the club was not right, so I went out to find the "TP" model which I could find in an extra-stiff graphite shaft.

After searching around, I obtained a Rescue Dual TP, which retail for $299.99. The TP model has a few different features: First, it comes with a pair of 8 gram weights which allow you to set the club up for a neutral ball flight. Second, the club has a Mitsubishi Diamana H, X-stiff shaft in it. The Diamana is the same make of shaft Tiger has in his Nike driver. Now, I thought that I would not notice a difference in the club, but the TP model is amazing. I picked up an additional 5 yards of carry and the ability to set the club "neutral" allowed me to work the ball both ways. In fact, I replaced my 2 iron with the TP Dual after hitting the TP 3 times, and the 2 iron is still riding the pine.

Botttom line: Even though I liked the standard Rescue Dual, I needed to find a stiffer shaft. In fact, my father, who typically uses a standard graphite stiff shaft, loves the standard Rescue Dual. But, for my game the Rescue Dual TP model is just the best fit, and I look forward to hitting it every time that I can.

The joys of an LPGA tourney

I have the good fortune to attend each year both a PGA event, The Memorial, and an LPGA event, the Wendy's Championship for Children. The Memorial was great again this year, but I find myself even more excited to attend the LPGA event which is taking place this week.

There are lots of reasons I enjoy the LPGA event so much as compared to the PGA event: tickets are FAR more economical, the course is FAR less crowded, the players often seem interested in engaging with the fans, there are lots of cool on-site give-aways by the tournament sponsors (ranging from sodas to snack bars to golf balls).

But, in the end, I think I enjoy the LPGA event so much because it inspires me to improve my golf game more so than the PGA event. When I watch the PGA pros, on a course measuring 7200 yards, bashing their drives 300 yards and hitting 6-irons from 200 yards away, I come away feeling that I will never be able to play golf the way it is played by the pros. But when I watch the LPGA pros, on a course measuring 6600 yards, driving about 250 yards and hitting 7-irons from 150 yards away, I come away feeling that I can play like a pro. I also come to see the little things a pro does to average rounds of 70 (instead of the rounds of 80 that I average).

Of course, Michelle Wie, basher of 300 yard drives, is going to mess all this up.

Tiger: who's your caddy?

Tiger announced he will be switching caddies -- only temporarily -- for the President's Cup. Because Stevie Williams' wife is expecting their child, Billy Foster, Darren Clarke's caddy, will be on Tiger's bag.

Foster is 1-handicap and apparently pretty feisty. Seve Ballesteros once asked him to bring fruit for him. Foster did, but Seve didn't like it because he thought the fruit was "no good." Foster replied, ''Do you want a caddie or a grocer?''

Michelle Wie: who's your caddy?

On Golf Academy Live, David Leadbetter, coach to Michelle Wie, revealed the following humorous story:

Michelle fired her caddy after the first round of the Evian Masters, and switched back to her father BJ Wie. Apparently, BJ gave Michelle the wrong yardage by +30 yards on Hole No. 4, which caused Michelle to airmail the green and go on to triple bogey the hole. That got Michelle mad, so she proceeded to birdie 6 of the next 8 holes.

Tiger's love of Ohio

After wracking up victory No. 7 in Ohio (4 NECs + 3 Memorials), Tiger Woods has a favorite state to play in. It's sort of ironic -- or perhaps fitting -- because Jack Nicklaus is from Ohio. Ohio courses must just suit Tiger's eye.

Said Tiger, "We need to keep playing more in Ohio. It's that simple. We don't have enough tournaments here. Maybe a major could come back to Inverness or something."

Question of the Month: only 10 days left

Now's your chance to make off with the precious Jack Nicklaus 5-pound note issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland, only in Scotland. It sells today on eBay for $19.95, but it's really priceless because no non-royalty, let alone American, has ever been on the note. Just think in 10 years what it will go for. And, hey, anything with Jack on it is Golden.

All you have to do is give us the best answer on why Jack's record 18 majors won't be matched or beaten by Tiger. Go here. No offense to PowerFade or Doug, your competition is not that great! Comment now.

NEC: Tiger survives to win, others blow fumes

Sporting a striped shirt that was barely red (not to mention a slight goatee that rivals Vijay's soulpatch), Tiger seemed out of sorts today -- as did just about everyone else except Chris DiMarco. Tiger shot a 2-over 37 on the front nine and was at one point 2 shots back of the lead. However, Kenny Perry (who was at 8-under) before the ninth hole proceeded to go on a bogey train, fighting a sudden case of the pull hooks on his approach shots. Perry bogeyed five of the next six holes and that was all she wrote for him.

Chris DiMarco, meanwhile, shot a 68, and posted a 5-under for the tourney. He missed an 18-footer for birdie on the last hole, which you kind of knew would be crucial. Paul McGinley birdied 16 to get to -5 and a tie for the lead, but then yanked his fairway wood off the tee on 17 into the woods. McGinley missed his 10-footer for par, and that was the end of him.

All of the fumes left by Kenny Perry and Paul McGinley set the the stage for Tiger Woods: Tiger soon rolled in an 18-footer downhiller birdie putt to go -6 on the insanely long 16th hole, and gave his now signature overhand right punch -- the same one he displayed on the 17th road hole at St. Andrews. Tiger parred 17 and then hit an errant drive on the 18th. But, as he usually does, Tiger got a good bounce along the cart path that left his ball with an alley way to the green. A punch 8-iron and 2 putts later left Tiger with his 4th NEC victory, this one earned the hard way.

My Take: Not sure Firestone was playing as difficult as the scores suggest. Given all the rain, the greens were much more receptive than earlier in the week (although some of the pin placements were downright nasty). Kenny Perry's score can be attributed to his pull hooks -- which, too, might be attributed to a case of the nerves in leading the tournament at the beginning of the back nine. McGinley, too, seemed to shoot himself in the foot with some bad swings. Tiger's putter seemed to be his problem today, as he admitted after the round. But Tiger deserves all the credit in the world because he always (or just about always) seems to find a way to win when in contention, especially in Ohio.

UPDATE: name change: Bridgestone will now be the sponsor of this tournament, taking it over from NEC. Bridgestone is the same multinational company, based out of Japan, that bought Firestone Rubber and Tire Co., which was started by Harvey Firestone in Akron, OH in 1900. The tire company is now a subsidiary of Bridgestone and operates as Bridgestone/Firestone. Of course, Firestone Country Club was started by and named after Harvey Firestone in 1929. Looks like we've come full circle.

NEC: back on track

The weather's beautiful today, and the 3rd round is finally in the books after an early finish today. Tiger and Kenny Perry share the lead at -7 and will tee off in the last twosome at 2:40. TV coverage on CBS starts at 2:30 p.m.

NEC tee times moved up

Last week, most the media and many commentators chastised the PGA of America for failing to move Sunday's PGA Championship tee times up, even though weather forecasters were predicting serious thunderstorms late in the afternoon. The forecasts came true, and play had to be suspended until Monday morning. You know the rest of the story.

Well, today, the PGA has not only moved tee times up to 7:20 a.m. at the NEC, it also will be using the back nine, threesomes instead of twosomes, and split tee times. All groups should be finished by 2 p.m. Wow. Not sure if this isn't a bit drastic. And it surely won't help the attendance (see yesterday's post). If you're planning on going today, you better get there early or it will be over before you start.

From Firestone: on course report, Round 2

I made it out to Firestone CC today. It was hot, humid, and windy. How hot was it? Well, Tiger had the top button unbuttoned today. A few golfers, like Justin Leonard, shot great rounds (66), but, for the most part, playing conditions appeared to be difficult because of the wind, which felt like 15-20 mph. Firestone is a great walking course, although it lacks somewhat in glamour. At par 70, it can be a stiff challenge with the wind.

I followed Tiger's group today. Spotted Mrs. Tiger there with family, as well as PGA legend Charles Sifford in attendance. But the attendance today at Firestone was pretty paltry. I'm not sure why. It could be the 90 degree weather. Or maybe the $50 admission ticket. Or maybe the interminably slow security check lines that crawled at a slower pace than the lines at Oakland airport. Anyway, the sparse crowd made for easier viewing because there was hardly anyone there -- close to a Nationwide event, but not that bad.

Today, Tiger played pretty much in control, at least for 17 holes. Nice birdies on 5 (par 3, 10 (par 4), and some truly big bombs off the tee. A slight hiccup on 14 (bogey), but an immediate birdie on 15. For most of the round, Tiger's ballstriking was excellent. You can tell he was having fun because he was yukking it up on a few holes with playing partner Marc Cayeux from Zimbabwe. And if you've followed Tiger before, you know that he's not one for much chit chat. Tiger did misfire a few times from close range with sand wedge, or his score might have been better. And he closed with a costly double bogey that wiped out his day's hard work. It was caused by an errant drive, followed by an 8-iron that caromed off the tree and an approach through the green. Despite the double, Tiger still shares the lead at -4 with Luke Donald, followed by Vijay Singh at -3.

NEC Invitational: Woods, Singh, & Stenson Lead After Round 1

After the first round of the NEC Invitational, two household names are in the lead: Woods and Singh. Woods is known for his great play and "Hulk Hogan" like motions to the crowd while chasing up the leaderboard, as well as leaving the PGA Championship early because he believed that Phil or someone would beat him. Singh, who has a soul patch many would die for, is known for endless hours of practice, the putting stats of a 12 handicap, and yet still ranking #2 on the money list and formerly #1 in the world. Then there is Henrik Stenson... Excuse me, do you say HENRIK STENSON?? Yes, Henrik had it to 6-under par today and if he didn't bogey 6 and 7 coming in, he would be the leader at the NEC Invitational.

So who is this Stenson guy?? Well being any good golf fan, internet junkie, blogger, I started with www.henrikstenson.com and sure enough the man has his own website. So what can we learn from his website...

Henrik is 6'1" tall (187 cm for those metric readers), 80 kg (176 lbs for those with that crazy US system. For those who don't believe me, check here), he lives in Dubai, and for all those lucky ladies out there, he is single. However, the way he is kissing the trophy in the picture on his website might help explain why he's single. Apparently, a family friend introduced Henrik to the game of golf. Then, you find out that at the dinner table, you'll find Henrik, Ingemar (his father), and Ulrika (his sister), whose names sound like they are cast members of the movie Shrek or the Princess Bride. Continuing to pursue his website, you notice that he was a member of the 1994 Swedish Boys Team, I wonder if that is anything like the Swedish Bikini Team? Apparently, the Swedish National teams have produced the likes of Annika, Liselotte Neumann and Helen Alfredsson, and now they have produced Henrik. Finally, he is taught by Peter Cowen. Apparently, he is a big name in Dubai, having his own golf academy. Ok, enough joking around.

I watched Henrik play a few holes today and I could see why he is 4-under par. Henrik has a great swing and seems to be adapting to Akron, Ohio quite well. Qualifying for the NEC Invitational after winning the 2004 Heritage, I will be rooting for Henrik to keep up the good play.

Reno-Tahoe Open: Duval, dead last

I've been a steadfast fan of David Duval, so it's very painful to watch him in this slump, for the lack of a better word. Today, he shot 82, 10-over par and is dead last in a field of 132 players (minus the big guns and winners playing at Firestone). I can only imagine what it must feel like to go from No. 1 in the world and shooting 59, to not being able to break 80 or make a cut. Cruel, exasperating.

Digital divot: what's your handicap?

There's a cool site called Digital divot, which provides a free service to calculate your handicap. Check it out. As the site says:

Digital Divot is a FREE web service created for the greater good of all golfers. Simply put, Digital Divot is an on-line, golf handicap index calculator, personal round database, historical trend analysis tool and course score card repository, maintained by the players, for the players. Strictly adhering to the USGA Handicap System, Digital Divot provides accurate golf handicap indexes for it's members. These handicaps are calculated instantly and accurately -- the moment you start entering scores from your played rounds.

Tiger: taking a gamble

Tiger Woods admitted today that he didn't even hang around until Monday for the finish of the PGA Championship. Instead, Tiger got on his private jet and flew home, before heading off to Akron, OH. Just think what might have happened if there was a playoff after Monday's round at -2, and no Tiger? That would've only fueled that fire that the PGA of America goofed by not moving the times up on Sunday.

Gov. Taft to be criminally charged for unreported golf outings

Gov. Robert Taft (Rep.) of Ohio will reportedly be charged with 4 misdemeanor offenses for failing to disclose golf outings paid by others, as required by state law. This will only add to the Republican woes in Ohio, following the "misplaced" $12 million in rare coins invested in with state money under the Republican watch. O tempora, o mores.

How many majors to be an all-time great?

With his win at the PGA Championship, Mickelson separates himself from a group of one-major wonders to join the far more elite company of multiple major winners. That leads me to thinking about how many major championships a golfer needs in order to be considered an all-time great.

My gut says five major wins are needed to be considered an all-time great, although completing the career grand slam would surely be enough. Indeed, because very few players have even won three different majors, perhaps even making it 3/4 of the way to a career grand slam makes the grade.

Also, I certainly think success in other settings (PGA, amateur, major team events) ought to be part of the all-time-great equation, but I am not sure exactly how we might quantify a diversity of other possible golf accomplishments.

Aided by this great Wikipedia list of major winners and this About.com list of PGA Tour victories, perhaps someone can devise an all-time great formula that might help us figure out whether anyone now active other than Tiger has already earned all-time-great status. (Personally, I think Phil and Vijay and Ernie are all close, but not quite there.)

PGA Tour: NEC Invitational

The NEC Invitational begins on Thursday in my home town of Akron, Ohio at Firestone Country Club. After the conclusion of the PGA Championship, the NEC Invitational field has been determined. In order to be eligible for the NEC Invitational, a player needs to be in the top 50 in the World Golf Rankings after August 8th or August 15th, or a player needs to be on the 2004 Ryder Cup team or 2005 President's Cup team, or a player needs to win one of many selected tournaments. For a list of players eligible before the world rankings came out after the PGA, click here.

Others who made it Monday include: Steve Elkington, who after finishing T2 at the PGA, jumped from 129 to 48 in the World Golf Rankings, making him eligible; Geoff Ogilvy jumped from 52nd to 45th and became eligible for the NEC, after finishing T6 at the PGA; Trevor Immelman, who was selected by Gary Player today to play for the International President's Cup team, needs to go out and buy Player dinner, because Player's selection of Immelman makes Immelman eligible for the cut-less NEC Invitational.

check back to thegolfblog.com for more updates regarding the NEC Invitational or see the official website of the NEC Invitational here.

Walker Cup: US Defeats GB&I 12 1/2 to 11 1/2

For those of us involved with the PGA Championship, we missed out on the US Walker Cup Team defeating the GB & I Team. What USA captain Bob Lewis called the Match "the greatest Walker Cup ever played." USGA.org's coverage here.

The 18th hole nearly cost the US Team, which was poised to win at least 2 and halve a third match, but the GB&I Team had other ideas.

16-year-old Oliver Fisher rolled in an 18 footer for birdie to take a 1/2 point away from Michael Putnam, the reigning NCAA Division I runner up. Both shot 67s in Sunday's singles matches. Fisher and Putnam also played against each other in Saturday's singles with Putnam losing 2-down to the youngest player in Walker Cup history.

Next, Robert Dinwiddie holed out the 18th hole to square his match against 2005 US Open Qualifier and low-amateur and University of Florida Senior Matt Every. Every played well to get his match all-square through 15 and then won the 16th hole to go 1-up. After exchanging bogies on 17, Every needed to tie Dinwiddie on the 18th to win the match. When Dinwiddie holed out, after Every lipped his chip out, GB&I got another unexpected 1/2 point.

Then, Kyle Reifers, a Senior at Wake Forest and Columbus, Ohio native, went to the 18th hole all-square with Lloyd Saltman, the low amateur at the 2005 Open Championship (British Open for those "non-golf" fans). Saltman, who finished eagle, par, birdie on the final three holes, made a 20 footer to go from a one down to one up victory against Reifers.

Finally, Jeff Overton, who with Putnam postponed turning pro in order to participate in the Walker Cup, dodged the final bullet in the GB&I's gun when Nigel Edwards of Wales missed his 35 foot birdie attempt. After Overton two-putted from 18 feet for par to win his match 1-up, the 2005 Indiana University graduate, celebrated with his teammates.

Gary Wolstenholme became GB&I's all-time points leader by holding off 2005 US Public Links Medalist, Anthony Kim, 1 up. Wolstenholme has 10 points, which is one more than Sir Michael Bonallack, the former Secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. (can you say Sir Wolstenholme???)

I find it amazing how players like Putnam and Overton, forgo the money and stay an amateur in order to play for their country. Unlike many pros who cannot find that "inner fight" to play as a team, the amateurs in the Walker Cup play for the right reasons: Pride, Passion, and Country. I just hope that the US can do the same in the President's Cup this September.

A scoring summary can be found here and the Walker Cup website can be found here.

2005 President's Cup: Jack Taps Couples and Leonard

Jack Nicklaus today selected Fred Couples and Justin Leonard to round out his 2005 President's Cup team. Also on the US team are:

Tiger Woods
Phil Mickelson
David Toms
Kenny Perry
Chris DiMarco
Jim Furyk
Fred Funk
Stewart Cink
Davis Love III
Scott Verplank

Gary Player also went with age and experience selecting Peter Lonard and Trevor Immelman to the International squad. The International Team includes:

Vijay Singh
Retief Goosen
Adam Scott
Angel Cabrera
Tim Clark
Michael Campbell
Stuart Appleby
Mike Weir
Nick O'Hern
Mark Hensby

Leonard and Lonard missed making the team by one place, and were considered to be picked. Jack's choice of Couples is also no surprise considering how well he has played this season and his experience in team events. Nicklaus said on today's conference call, "Freddy has had a wonderful year and, with his experience, it was difficult to leave him out of my team." Player's decided to select fellow South African Immelman because of his play in the majors this year. Immelman finished T5 at the Masters, T15 at the Open Championship, and T17 at the PGA.

The President's Cup will be celebrating its 6th playing this September 23-25 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, Virginia.

Espn.com's coverage here.

Personally, I think the lack of Ernie Els on the International squad could make this a blowout for the US Team. However, as shown in many of these team events, the US players are so focused on individual aspirations that they cannot put their egos aside to play for the US. But, maybe with Freddy and Jack together they can get the US squad to align and actually play upto their potential. One thing is for sure, we will NOT see a Tiger-Phil pairing. Thank god!

Major victory: Mickelson, a Big Two?

With Phil Mickelson's impressive PGA Championship victory, leading or tied for the lead at the end of each day, it's worth revisiting the issue of the demise of the so-called Big Five. After the British Open, we -- along with others in the press -- were quick to bury the talk of a Big Five, since no one of the group seemed to step up at the majors this year. See Big Five frustration (July 17, 2005).

Well, Phil has spoken again. Winning major No. 2 puts him in a tie with Tiger Woods in major victories in the past two years. To me, of the rest of the Big Five (excluding Tiger), Phil Mickelson seems to have the best strategy and team of pros (Rick Smith and Dave Pelz) to excel at the majors. Vijay's putter is too balky; Ernie's injury to his ACL raises a huge question mark, as does the iceman Retief Goosen's meltdown at Pinehurst. And, quite frankly, Tiger v. Lefty is the most exciting matchup of the lot.

To me, the microcosm of the entire major season occurred back in March at the Ford Championship, when Tiger and Phil dueled shot for shot with Tiger winnning. See The Golf Blog's recap on March 6, 2005. That's the tournament after which I thought that Tiger would go on to win at least 2 majors this year, given his return to form. What I didn't know, though, was how well Phil would respond after that loss when he sounded stunned in losing. After his lackluster play at the majors this year, especially compared to last year's stellar play, I thought Phil might have lost some of his edge. Well, I'm glad to see it returned this past week at the PGA.

Phil has a kick in to win... and he made it!

A great chip shot has left Mickelson with a putt of no more than 2 feet for a closing birdie to win his second major and ... Phil is now half way to a career grand slam! Congrats to Lefty for keeping it together down the stretch.

Did the PGA goof?

Two years ago it was the USGA that received universal criticism for the unplayable conditions at Shinnecock, especially hole no. 7 green. Yesterday, several of the players and most of the media -- including the commentators on The Golf Channel and ESPN (see, for example, Mercer Baggs's insightful editorial today on TGC and this article by SI's Gary Van Sickle) -- openly questioned and criticized the PGA for its decision to keep the tee times late on Sunday, conveniently at a time when CBS would get some near prime time coverage at 7 p.m., even though thunderstorms had been forecast for later in the day. The PGA official who answered questions at the press conference yesterday to justify PGA's decision looked shell-shocked from the blistering questions he faced.

I'm not sure all the criticism is justified, but I'm not a big fan of trying to run the TV golf coverage past 6 p.m. and the dinner times of thousands of fans. PGA took a gamble with the weather in playing late, and now it's stuck with Monday morning (10 am) final coverage when most fans are at work. I wonder who loses more?

UPDATE: More strong criticism of the PGA's decision not to move up the tee times on Sunday, this time from Bob Harig on espn.com and Dave Anderson of The New York Times.

PGA train wrecks

I suppose when you play golf on a Monday morning, you should expect to see some ugly doings. But a number of the world's best golfers are looking like weekend hacks this morning. (Fortunately, unlike poor Jason, I can work from home this morning to watch the finish.) Actually, on the TV coverage we have not seen much of Vijay and Retief, as both limped home despite having two closing par fives to make up ground.

As you can see from the PGA Championship leaderboard, as of 10:40 Tiger is still the leader in the clubhouse, but Steve Elkington now has an 8-foot putt for a closing birdie to get in at -4. Thomas Bjorn and Phil Mickelson are both at -3, and so we are having an exciting finish.

UPDATE: Steve Elkington hit a good put, but missed and thus is now the leader in the clubhouse at -3. Phil also hit a good putt that also missed for birdie on 17, so he is -3 going to 18. Bjorn is also at -3 but in a very tough spot on 18 .... and Bjorn his a good trap shot and a great putt for birdie that lipped out. Now Bjorn and Elk are in at -3. Davis needs to make birdie to tie, Phil needs birdie to win, and is in the rough with a good lie to get up and down for his second major.

PGA Mid-morning report: Dr. Phil canceled

The Monday coverage of the PGA has canceled Dr. Phil in my area. Too bad. Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson parred 14 and 15, but then bogeyed the par-3 16. Phil hit his tee shot into the bunker, got a squirrelly lie, and then chunked it out some 25 feet from the hole. Phil missed the putt. Steve Elkington's also tied at -3, but he's just duck hooked his drive on 18 into the trees -- though it bounced out.

Thomas Bjorn just birdied 17 to get into a tie for the lead with Phil and Steve Elkington.

UPDATE: Phil just stuffed a wedge to about 10 feet on 17, while Elkington stuffed his wedge to about 8 feet on 18. Both putts for birdie. Elkington missed, ... Phil just missed, grazing the lip. Phil, Elkington, Bjorn still tied at -3.

PGA Championship: Final Round Fury

Unfortunately for me, I'll be at work. But for those of you students or people who do not have to work today, I'm extremely jealous. Today at 10am EST, the final round of the PGA Championship will be completed.

Phil is at 4 under and has about a 5 footer to save par on #14. Knowing Phil, he probably did not sleep well or if he did he probably dreamt about making 5 footers all night. Nevertheless he has 17 and 18 left and a 1 stroke lead, so he is in the driver's seat.

Steve Elkington, who dressed like he was going to a post round party, is 1 stroke back at 3 under and has the 17th and 18th holes left. I don't believe that he has teed off on 16 yet, but he only has a par 3 and 2 5 pars left. Elk could win this as well.

Thomas Bjorn, the man who left it in the bunker 2 times on the 16th at Royal St. Georges and gave my boy Ben Curtis the chance to win, also stands at 3 under and has the short par 4 15th and 16-18 left to play. As long as he keeps it out of the sand, his 63 on Saturday proves that he can play.

Then there's Woods. 2-under, Michael Jordan like determination, but I don't believe with the rain at Baltusrol last night, he has a chance.

DLIII, he needs to get it going in the last 5 holes that he has left to play. But, I don't think that he has the guts or courage to look into Phil's eyes and say that this tournament is his.

Anyways, I'm jealous for all of you who get to sit in front of your TV and watch today's final round. I'll be at work, periodically checking the real-time scoring (actually about 3-4 minutes late scoring) for updates.

It should be a great finish!!

Rain delay: in New Jersey, Mickelson clings to lead

I'm in the New Jersey airport. Yes, I'm back in the country. I wasn't at the PGA tournament, but I've been watching things at the Newark airport. It looks pretty ominous now outside in New Jersey, so they called play until tomorrow morning at Baltustrol.

Lefty Phil Mickelson went on a bogey train (4) along with Davis Love, but Lefty seemed to right the ship with a nice birdie after making the turn on the back nine. He's in the lead at -4, with Steve Elkington at -3 along with Thomas Bjorn. Oh, and a guy named Tiger has already finished, posting a -2, after birdieing the last two holes. I was looking forward to seeing the finish to kill the time between my connecting flight, but we'll all have to wait until tomorrow.

Final Round Underway: Tiger Fades, A bit of rain...

The final round is underway and Tiger Woods has started off extremely slow. Bogies on 1 and 3 have not allowed the man in red to give CBS their dream story. And after hitting a drive like a 10 handicap into a pine tree on 7, he took an unplayable and is going to need to play hard to make bogey. (Update: He just holed out for par...)

I know in the previous post, predictions were made... I'm going to go out on a limb and say Ben Curtis wins... Yes, Ben Curtis...

I'm also going to predict that even though everyone wants them to play well, Love and Phil have rounds similar to Goosen and Gore at the US Open. Near 80s.

I just want this tournament to have a great finish, something that has not really been seen all year in the majors.

PGA prediction: first in the clubhouse at -5 wins

After an exciting Saturday, the PGA Championship leaderboard is filled with an interesting mix of players and stories. I think all 23 players at even par or better (that includes Tiger) have a realistic shot on Sunday. The pressure and the conditions should make par a challenge for the final groups, and nobody at the very top of the leaderboard has proven himself a closer.

Thus, I am predicting that -5 could be good enough to win, which means a 65 may be all that Tiger needs. And since Tiger, and really anyone striking the ball well on Sunday, has a chance to finish birdie-eagle on the two closing par fives, any player who steps to the 17th tee in red numbers can be in the mix. Should be a fun Sunday.

PGA Championship: Tiger charging hard

Teeing off very early this morning, Tiger Woods is doing exactly what he needed to do to get back into the PGA Championship. Despite an opening bogey, tiger has made five birdies through 16 holes to get back to even par for the championship. And he has two closing par fives to get under par by the end of the round. If he can get to -1 or even -2, his presence will exert extraordinary mental pressure on all the leaders teeing off much later this afternoon.

Here is the PGA Championship leaderboard to follow all the action.

UPDATE: A weak effort to get up-and-down on 17 and a very ugly 3-whack on 18 produced two pars that will likely leave a bad taste in Tiger's mouth. He still carded a 66 to finish round three at even par for the championship. But he will now need a lot of the field to melt in the mid-day New Jersey sun this afternoon to really be in the hunt on Sunday.

Who would have thought... Duval is leading Woods

In what seems to be a strange sort of events, David Duval is currently -1 for the day and +6 for the tournament after his second birdie of the day on the 15th hole (his 6th).

On the other side of the coin, Tiger Woods birdied the first hole, but bogied the next 3 and is currently +2 for the day (thru 4) and is currently +7 for the tournament.

So that's right... the man behind the shades is in front of the great phenom that is...

Come on David!!!

Also, Ben Curtis is still hanging around the leaderboard. After bogeying his first hole of the day (10th), which was his first of the tournament, he birdied the 13th and currently is tied for 5th. Curtis is the lowest player in the morning wave, which shows something about how different tee-times can make a difference.

Finally, the current projected cut is at +4, so Tiger will need to turn it on if he expects to make a cut.

PGA leaderboard getting real exciting

As the morning rounds finish up, the PGA Championship leaderboard is looking very strong. Three of the Big 5 are now in the top 10, with Phil Mickelson having an amazing up-and-down round of 65 to take command of the tournament. (As detailed here, Phil had 1 eagle, 7 birdies, 2 bogeys and 1 double.)

Solid play by lots of players now means that Tiger tees off knowing he has to shoot at least even par 70 to have a chance to make the cut, and he probably needs at least a two-under 68 to be certain to play the weekend. And Tiger will need to match Phil's 65 to really get back into the thick of the tourney.

PGA Round 2: Phil Turns at -5, -8 For The Tourney

Phil Mickelson started off in style in the 2nd round of the 87th PGA championship, carding a 5 under par 31 on the back nine. Starting on hole number 10, Phil birdied holes 11, 13, and 14 before carding his first bogey on the 230 yard par 3 16th. But, Mickelson, who looked god-awful in a hat during round 1, birdied the 650 yard par 5 17th and eagled the 554 yard par 5 18th. As it stands now, Woods is 13 shots back and has not hit a shot today.

Others making a move in round 2.

Sergio Garcia, who could not putt yesterday, finished with 32 (-4) on the back including an eagle 2 on the 424 yard par 4 13th, and currently stands at -2 for the championship.

Sean O'Hair is also 4 under par for the day, finishing with 32 (-4) on the back nine. O'Hair is currently -3 for the tournament.

Real-time scoring can be found here.

The PGA: A bit less Bizarro and a big Friday

The PGA leaderboard after the first afternoon rounds looks a bit less Bizarro than it did mid-day on Thursday. At -3, Phil Mickelson is carrying the torch for the big 5, and Power Fade's pick of Stephen Ames is looking good. But seeing Jasper near the top still makes me wonder if the golf universe was a bit off on Thursday.

With 58 players within 4 strokes of the lead, Friday should be an exciting day. It will get off to a quick start, since 12 of the 17 players at -3 or -2 have morning tee times. We should get a good sense of the contenders and the pretenders by lunch time. And when Tiger tees off with his +5 at 1:30pm, he should have a very good sense of the number he will need to get back into contention.

For lots of news about Day 1, check out all the stories assembled here at the official site of the championship.

Can you hit a one iron?

During what looks to be a bizarre (but exciting) PGA Championship, I wanted to point out this article on Golf Online that describes Rod McCrae III, 39, attempting to recreate Jack Nicklaus' awesome uphill, into-the wind 1-iron from 238 yards using a MacGregor VIP blade and the MacGregor Tourney ball, described as "Stone Age implements compared to today's high-tech equipment".

Quick summary: Rod, a 1 handicap, takes 37 swings at it, into a similar breeze that Jack had. After leaving the MacGregor balls about 40 to 50 yards short, Rod switched to Pro V1s, and was still about 25 yards short.

The moral of the story: as time passes, and the present changes into history then into legend, we cannot lose sight of how great our past champions were. Now, our pros routinely hit their 3-irons 230 yards. But those 3-irons are much different from the butterknives of the past.

Oh, and Jack was a monster.

Bizarro PGA Championship?

The PGA leaderboard as the morning rounds are completed has me wondering if the tournament is really being played at the Bizarro club rather than at Baltusrol. (As is well-known to true Seinfeld fans, the Bizarro World is a place inhabited by imperfect duplicates of Superman and his friends who do everything backwards. Here is a link with helpful background on the basic bizarro concept and here is a link with a lot more about the place of Bizarro in Superman lore.)

Bun Curtis a leader in the clubhouse at -3? Tiger Woods now at risk of missing the cut in a major after a +5 first round? The golfing world seems backward. I suppose the +7 start for Duval and the +9 start for Beem should reassire me that the world is still spinning in its normal direction.

PGA Championship: Woods turns at 3 over

Woods bogied the 18th hole to turn at 3-over par 39.

Will this be another storybook comeback, or will he not be around for the weekend??

PGA Championship: Update - 10:15am

Bob Ford is no longer in the lead at the 87th PGA Championship. Ford double bogied the 7th and bogied the 9th hole to turn at +2 and is currently tied for 44th.

In the lead was Mike Weir at 3-under par, but he made a triple bogey 7 on the 505 yard par 4 7th to go back to even par for the Championship.

Currently, Steve Elkington is leading the tournament at 3-under through 5 holes.

Some of the big names are not performing as well as expected...

Woods - +2 thru 7
Clarke - +2 thru 8
Montgomerie - +4 thru 9

Yet, Ben Curtis is 1 under thru 7. Looks like my prediction that Curtis, Duval, and Weir would be fighting to break 80 might not come true. However, Duval at plus 4 thru 7 is looking pretty good.

PGA Championship: And They're Off

The first ball has been played and the 87th PGA Championship has started at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey. At 8:30am, Bob Ford, the head professional at Oakmont CC, in Oakmont, PA is tied for the lead at -1 with Jose Maria Olazabal.

For real-time scoring, click here

In the next few minutes, Curtis, Duval and Weir will be beginning their quest to break 80.

I'll be updating periodically through the day. So, check back to thegolfblog.com for updates.

For those interested, I like Zach Johnson to win this week, and Tiger to finish in the top 5.

Getting into a major mood with some predictions

In this comment, Power Fade rightly notes that some of the golf bloggers have let themselves get distracted when we should be gearing up for the season's last major. Fortunately, Power Fade gets the PGA talk going with an interesting prediction of Stephen Ames to take home the hardware. Interesting choice, but I am not convinced.

Of course, Tiger is an easy pick. But, interestingly, the folks at SI's Golf Plus picked Retief Goosen (though this was before his surely tiring victory at the International). There are great major story lines around both Tiger and Goosen, and I do expect them to both be playing in the late afternoon on the weekend.

Notably, Tim McDonald at TravelGolf.com is here predicting who won't win the PGA: "Any European." Though Tim has history on his side, again I am not convinced because my pick is:

Sergio Garcia.

We hope readers might use the comments to make their own predictions, perhaps aided by this official site of the PGA Championship. You can further scout by checking on the pairings for the opening rounds at this link, where I was intrigued to see the groupings of (1) Sergio with Mickelson and Adam Scott, (2) Tiger with Michael Campbell and Greg Norman, (3) Vijay with John Daly and David Love, and (4) poor Mike Weir with David Duval and Ben Curtis.

International... TV Coverage

According to CBS, International golf coverage will continue in the Eastern and Central time zones until 7pm. Then coverage will switch to the golf channel to conclude coverage.

For those in the Mountain and Western time zones, coverage will continue until the conclusion of the tournament.

As it stands now, Brandt Jobe is -3 points in the 4th round (thru 8), but still has a 3 point lead over Goosen.

The Golf Blog will have more coverage later tonight and in the next few days.

Hello Michelle... Here Comes Morgan

In the 4th largest victory in the history of the US Women's Amateur, Morgan Pressel only needed 28 holes to defeat Maru Martinez to win. (Espn.com coverage here.) Pressel, the #1 ranked Woman amateur in the world, is expected to turn pro at the end of the year instead of attending Duke University. (In her post round interview, she plans to play in a few events including the Jr. Solheim Cup and then enter Q-school in September.)

Pressel was -8 thru 28 holes and was no match for Martinez.

I will go out on a limb and state that Pressel will be better than Wie in 5, 10, 20 years from now. There is so much bad blood between them, that it will MAKE women's golf.

In praise of SI's Golf Plus

I just have to do a very quick post to give props to the Golf Plus section of Sports Illustrated. The special section that comes in SI (and in special stand-alone issues around the majors) has none of the playing tips or other fluff that takes up so many pages in standard golf magazines. You just get strong reporting on events past, thoughtful discussion of events up-coming, and interesting feature stories. Keep up the good work SI.

Let The International begin

Play has finally started at The International after a complete washout yesterday. It's still very early, but, as of 11:45 EST, there's that amazingly talented 23-year old Sean O'Hair on the leaderboard tied for 5th place at +3 under the modified Stableford system (explained by TGB here). Given his stellar play, we've started to track Sean's play more closely. For more about Sean's season, see our analysis in Hot PGA rookie: Sean O'Hair.

On the flip side, 24 year old Aaron Baddeley ("Badds") has started off to a rocky start: bogey-bogey-double bogey-bogey. Wow, 4 holes and already -6 under The International scoring system, where (+) is good and (-) is bad.

Full leaderboard here.

Rain delay: The International

If you've ever lived in Colorado, you know that summer storms can come up in an instant. There's a hefty rain storm now at Castle Pines, delaying the first round of The International. Visit The International's site for more weather updates.

Long John Daly, not long enough to drive Niagara

While opening up a course he helped to design, Thundering Waters Golf Club near Niagara Falls, John Daly made 20 attempts to drive from the Canadian side to the U.S. side of Niagara Falls. Apparently, he came up short, but his longest drive came close, hitting the wall on the U.S. side. Full story here.

The International point system

The International, at Jack Nicklaus-designed Castle Pines Golf Club outside of Denver, is now in its twentieth year. Among the non-majors, it's a unique tournament because it uses a modified Stableford point system instead of stroke play. Here's how it works:

+8= double eagle
+5 = eagles
+2 = birdies
0 = pars
-1 = bogeys
-3 = double bogeys or higher

One of the most memorable finishes at The International was in 2002, when Steve Lowery holed out for eagle on the 14th and then for double eagle on the 17th hole, vaulting to second. Unfortunately, Steve missed the birdie putt on 18 that would have given him the win. He came up one point short to Rich Beem, who also went on to beat Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship the next week. But Lowery's double eagle was amazing.

Some people may not be all that familiar with the scoring system, and some who are may not necessarily like it. Given the sheer number of tournaments on the PGA tour that are stroke play, though, I think it's a very good idea to add greater variety to the PGA tour. The International does just that. And it's a fun tournament to watch, given the premium on making birdies and eagles (if not double eagles).

US Women's Amateur: Pressel Rolls in Round 1

Defending Champion Jane Park and Morgan Pressel both won their opening matches at the US Women's Amateur today.

Park beat Julia Huh, 4 and 3, while Pressel beat Sooji Cho, 7 and 5.

Many of you might remember Pressel in the 18th fairway of the 2005 US Women's Open when Birdie Kim holed out right in front of her to win. (see related thegolfblog.com post here).

I find it extremely interesting that Pressel, the #1 ranked woman amateur in the country is playing in the "biggest" amateur event for women and succeeding, and someone named Wie is not participating?

TGB Featured Tourney: The International

The Pro-Am event at The International is today. Apparently, it's a foursome of amateurs plus 1 pro golfer. Yes, I know that equals 5, but who's counting? Here are the pairings, and a PDF version is here. Not sure how you get to play, but these amateurs are pretty lucky to play with the like of Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, Fred Couples, and Sergio Garcia. Greg Norman's in the field, too, on the No. 1 team. Go Shark. For updates on The International, visit their website here.

Shout out to Phil Mickelson whose Foundation donated $200,000 for needy children to buy school supplies at Walmart (which chipped in $25,000) -- Phil and wife Amy helped to pass out the supplies to kids on Saturday. Phil then got on a plane to NJ for practice rounds at Baltustrol, site of the PGA next week. A guy named Tiger Woods joined Phil for the last two holes. Pretty cool. Phil then hopped on a plane and is today playing in The International. Complete story here.

LPGA: on vacation

As the rest of us head out for vacations if we haven't already, the LPGA has a much deserved break in tournaments after completing the last of the 4 majors last week. (Some of the women are in Sweden for an event hosted by Annika, though.) The next LPGA tournament is not until August 19, the Safeway Classic in Portland followed by the Wendy's Championship in Dublin, OH, on August 25. The Wendy's Championship will be a TGB Featured Tourney as well. Stay tuned.

Natalie Gulbis pics

Natalie's people have posted pics of her from The British Open. Go to her site here, click on Picture This, and the On the Tee, and then British Open. (Sorry, the site doesn't allow a direct link to the pics).

Most interesting pic to me, the pic of Natalie driving. Notice heels of both feet get slightly elevated off the ground, even the front foot. Tiger had a similar move when he wanted to unleash a bomb, only his left front foot would at times become completely elevated -- you really had to see it on slow-mo to appreciate it! I'm not sure if he does that anymore, or even needs to given the distance he now gets with his driver.

Question of the Month: Tiger v. Jack

The Golf Blog: Tiger v. Jack (click for larger image)

Shout out to Chabber for correctly answering July’s Question of the Month: Harvard Square is the site of the Tiger Woods ad. This month we’re upping the ante. The Question of the Month is: tell us why Tiger won’t catch or surpass Jack Nicklaus’s record 18 major championships.

Whoever writes the best answer will receive a Jack Nicklaus £ 5 note, courtesy of The Golf Blog. Remember you have to defend Jack in your answer – you can’t select Tiger’s side. Just for devil’s advocate sake, we’ll make the case for the opposite side. Here’s why Tiger will beat Jack’s record.

Evidence A: As shown in the graph above, Tiger’s already 3 years ahead of Jack’s pace in securing majors, after locking up No. 10 before the age of 30. Tiger’s more than halfway home and he no doubt can rattle off 9 majors in the next 10 years. His swing changes with Hank Haney seem to have taken shape.

Evidence B: Ever since little, Tiger has had a single-minded focus in beating Jack’s record. Tiger just won’t be stopped when he sets his mind to something.

Evidence C: Tiger and Jack in his prime seem evenly matched in all aspects of the game except one: short game. Jack would be the first to admit Tiger’s got a more versatile short game.

Evidence D: Competition, or lack thereof. When it comes to the majors and Tiger’s in contention, no one (with the sole exception of a streaking Rich Beem) seems to be able to trade shots with Tiger, blow for blow. Jack had the likes of Palmer, Player, Trevino, Watson (for a few years, Miller) – all world class players who competed head-to-head with Jack without wilting.

Rules
1. Only 1 entry per person. Enter by posting "comment" to this entry.
2. Everyone can post a “comment” to answer this month’s Question, but if you’d like a chance at the prize you must use a username when you comment so we can identify you later on. Selecting a username on Blogger takes a minute, is very easy, and doesn’t have to be your real name.
3. In a tie, a good comment posted earlier in time will beat the same comment posted by someone else later.

TGB Goes Clubbing: Review of TaylorMade R5

As previewed here, The Golf Blog is to begin reviewing clubs on occasion starting now with TaylorMade's R5 dual driver. I had a chance to use the driver through four rounds last week in Myrtle Beach, which I think provided me with enough experience to share my thoughts. First a little background: I am a single-digit-handicap golfer who hits the ball fairly straight and not all that long. When I am swinging well, I tend to hit a power fade off the tee; when I am not swinging well, that power fade can become a weak slice. I have long wondered whether the right drive might help keep my slice in check and also add a few extra yards. I think the R5 might be that driver.

I was skeptical about the R5 at first: it has a big head (though perhaps not unusually big for the latest breed of drivers), and I struggled when trying out a big-headed driver a few seasons ago. Also, on my first few swings with the R5, I was surprised to discover I was often pulling the ball left. However, after I got used to the look and the feel of the R5, I started hitting the ball pretty straight and pretty far on a consistent basis. And, excitingly, even when I felt I made a swing that should result in a weak slice, the R5 helped keep the ball very much in play.

Because I was playing unfamiliar courses, I cannot say with certainty whether the R5 added distance. I do not think the club added a lot of length, but I was pleased that the club seemed to deliver a lot of very good misses when I did not make my best swing: even when I felt I hit the ball a bit off the toe or the heel, my drives flew pretty straight and pretty far. (Indeed, when I felt I really smoked a drive, I was disappointed to discover that the ball did not go much farther than my good misses.) I was using the "Type N" version of the driver, which has a square face, with a 9.5 degree loft. I tended to hit the ball a bit higher with the R5, which also pleased me because my launch angle has always been too low with other drivers.

Interestingly, the TaylorMade's R5 dual driver website suggests that the "Type D" version of the club would be even more forgiving for players who struggle with a slice because it has a closed clubface. But, as suggested above, I found even the "Type N" version helpful in this way. The website about the R5 has a lot of additional information about the club, although the site does not directly compare the R5 to its big brother, the R7 quad driver. (The R7 has the adjustable weight system, while the R5's weights are preset and fixed.)

I could go on, but let me sum up with a simple thought: I want to keep the R5 in my bag.

update on Big News: Big Easy out

Ernie Els had surgery to repair a knee injury suffered last week while sailing, according to an ESPN report. Ernie's out for the season.

UPDATE: Brian Hewitt of TGC reports that Ernie's injury is a major rupture to the ACL that will require major reconstruction. We wish Ernie well and a speedy recovery.

Question of the Month

Stay tuned. You won't want to miss it!

TGB Featured Tourney... The International

Starting tomorrow, thegolfblog.com will be featuring commentary, news, and discussion about The International. The International will be held from August 1 - 7 at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado.

For the most up to date information, check out thegolfblog.com or the website for The International, which can be found here.

Women's British Open final interviews and pics

Money line from the Champion Jeong Jang.

Q. Were you nervous at the start playing with Annika?

JEONG JANG: I'm nervous. I get up at 7:30, I couldn't sleep last night. I just slept like a couple of hours, I think maybe three hours. Get up at 7:30, just hang out in my room, play my Game Boy. I didn't really notice, but I was nervous on the course, kind of surprised that I did but really nervous right now, but I was nervous on the course.

Q. What game do you play on your Game Boy?

JEONG JANG: I play, Tiger Woods Golf. I think it helps my golf game.

Q. Why?

JEONG JANG: Because I can hit it far and I can't, even like, for sure, like putting lines and everything, and it shows the wind, that really helps my golf game I think. I started last year and that helped.
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Cool pics (via TGC)
1. Michelle Wie winning low amateur
2. Annika teeing off
3. Jeong Jang celebrating victory and here and here

Women's Majors: Annika 2, Korean golf stars 2

South Korean Jeong Jang won her first pro victory at the Women's British Open, going wire-to-wire to win at 16-under par. Sophie Gustafson was four shots back, finishing second. Michelle Wie and Young Kim tied for third (-10), while Annika, Cristie Kerr, Liselotte Neumann tied for fifth (-9). Natalie Gulbis tied for eighth (-9), after shooting a stellar 66 on Sunday. Full leaderboard here.

Jeong joins fellow South Korean Birdie Kim as first time winners and first time major winners. Birdie Kim won the U.S. open in June (see write-up here and here). We will have a more in-depth analysis of the emergence of South Korean women golfers soon. Stay tuned.