Watson wins, but is the Champions Tour still relevant?

Let's give the guy his due: Tom Watson fired an 8-under 64 to win by 1 stroke over Jay Haas, who had a 6 shot lead at the start of the final round. Watson not only surpassed Haas, he overtook Dana Quigley to win the $1 million bonus for the Schwab Cup (year long ranking, with triple points for this tourney).

But is the Champions Tour still relevant today? How many of you watched the tourney, or even knew of its existence?

UPDATE: So far, the answer is a resounding yes. Thanks for writing in!

Is Van de Velde trying to change his place in history?

This USA Today article reports that "French golfer Jean Van de Velde will attempt to enter next year's Women's British Open because he is upset women may qualify for the 2006 British Open." Recalling Van de Velde's crash and burn on the last hole of the 1999 British Open and his low profile since then, I wonder if this is an effort to ensure that his place in golf history goes beyond his historical major melt-down.

Whatever one thinks of Jean's gambit, it is already bringing notable attention (not only from USA Today but also from blogs here and here) to the Women's British Open. And this attention confirms my belief that, as first discussed here, the LPGA should consider promoting its tour by pulling a "reverse Wie" and giving a sponsor's exemption to a man.

NASCAR in the driver seat; PGA in rear view

As we've discussed in several posts in the past, the PGA must negotiate new TV contracts this fall. And it's more than likely the PGA won't be getting the same kind of sweetheart deal that it was able to secure in 2001 at the height of Tiger Woods's run. The networks ended up losing something like $50 million by some accounts. Apparently, people just don't watch much golf.

The most interesting part of the story to me, though, is how NASCAR is driving the negotiations. TV networks want to strike deals with NASCAR after NBC announced that it won't be seeking to extend its current contract (see here). So golf is playing second fiddle to NASCAR in the upcoming negotiations. Can you blame the TV networks?

Apparently, NASCAR commands a Nielson rating in the 5.0 - 6.0 range. PGA golf, a paltry 2.0-3.0 range. For those of you who still doubt that the LPGA can catch up to the PGA, just wait. The gap is not large as you think, and the only golfer who has the potential to duplicate the Tiger phenomenon is Michelle Wie. By the way, if you are a NASCAR fan, can you share what you think is so great about it.

Have some "Young Guns" finally emerged?

Look ing at the top 25 as the year winds down, I was curious if we finally have a new crop of young guns who can actually live up to the hype thrown upon them:

Sergio Garcia, 25 years old, who has a win this year and multiple top 5 finishes (that he should have won), is only out of the top 5 in money earnings because he flat-out can't putt. His only strong putting tournament was at the Booz-Allen, which he won. Granted, he is 1st in GIR, so the putting stat is skewed, but he is 196th in putting (and almost 1st in 3-putting), thus ranking almost last on tour in putting. There is not another stat holding him back. He's been out here long enough to think of him as a veteran, but he still has the youth to be considered a young gun.

Adam Scott, 25 years old, has no official wins this year on the PGA Tour (Nissan was won, but was shortened and to 36 holes and considered unofficial; and he won on the Asian Tour), but he does not have any bad stats that stick out outside of sand saves. He is still young, which may explain why his 4th round average score is his worst, but he has the talent that everyone has been complimenting for the last few years. I can't see a reason he doesn't take Ernie's spot in the "Big 5" in the upcoming years.

Luke Donald, 28 years old, has no wins on the PGA Tour, but two 2nd place finishes. Had a strong finish at the Masters, and is one of the straightest hitters on tour. His only weakness is lack of distance off the tee, which makes his place at 14th among the money leaders even more impressive. One of the best par 3 players on tour...look for him to dominate the short tracks in future years, and become a factor in future U.S. Opens and the Masters.

Lucas Glover, almost 26 years old, showed the strength of the Nationwide Tour players emerging. With an outstanding finish last weekend, he pulled out his first win by making a birdie on the final two holes...tough par 4s. His stats, outside of sand saves, don't have a single blemish. His length off the tee and confidence as a winner should ensure he isn't a one-shot phenomenon.

Sean O'Hair, 23 years old, has a rough background. Knowing the story between he and his Dad, it is amazing the talent and mental toughness that this kid has. His putting has not been strong, but he won at the John Deere, and has both distance and accuracy off the tee. As it is now, he seems to be at the top of the leaderboard consistantly, and as the youngest of the bunch, experience on the tour can only make him assuredly a top 5 money maker by the time he is 25.

looking further into the top 30, you have Geoff Ogilvy at 28 years old, Charles Howell at 26, and even slow Ben Crane at 29, making more of an argument that perhaps the young guns have finally emerged.

This week the Champions Tour play their Championship at Sonoma Mission Inn (Sonoma Golf Club now that it is private). Sonoma is a course that puts a premium on the short game, and is a perfect fit for the Champions Tour. I'm sure I'll be out watching the 18th a few days, a great par 4 that doglegs left and has a well defended green fronted by a stream. Great course...it is a shame it is no longer public.

Lucas Glover captures 1st PGA victory at Funai

Way back in June, I saw Lucas Glover play for the first time at the Memorial. Here's what I said then: "Yesterday, I got to see a bunch of people. One foursome had 4 young "unknown" players. One of them stood out to me. It was this guy who had a Southern accent and who clearly knew the course b/c he was telling his playing partners where to hit it. And the guy drove the ball a mile, with a swing that had a slight out-to-in, 2 plane track. Well, I looked on his bag: and it was Lucas Glover. Apparently, he's 11th in Driving Distance on tour."

Well, today, Glover finally won his first PGA event, at -23 at Funai. Glover went birdie-birdie on the final two holes, sinking a 40-footer from the fringe and then holing a 35 yard bunker shot on the final hole, 495 par 4. Way to go, Lucas.

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Memorial, Day 1

Natalie Gulbis show: reality check!

It's back on -- Natalie Gulbis says her reality show will air on The Golf Channel on November 15. Turn on Tivo. And her 2006 calendar is on sale now.

Finally: some Rules Officials with good sense on Wie DQ

Some of you are sick of the whole Michelle Wie disqualification, I know. I promise this is my last post -- after this, I'm done. I think we can put the issue to bed now, after we've finally had a Rules Official speaking publicly and critically about the disqualification.

The Royal & Ancient, the oldest rules governing body in golf, seems to be indicating that it would have handled things differently. And the R&A places most of the blame for the whole fiasco on SI Reporter Michael Bamberger (aka the guy in the pink shirt).

R&A Assistant Secretary of Rules Grant Moir stated, "We feel very strongly that Michelle should not be hung out to dry over this....What Michelle did was not intentional and not a serious breach of the rules. Michelle thought she knew what she was doing and went ahead with the drop on her own. At her first attempt, she thought she had dropped closer and so she dropped again, which tells its own story as to how she was attempting to get it right."

"If Bamberger had done the right thing in reporting the incident before Michelle had signed her card that day, she would have been given the appropriate penalty of two shots and there would have been no mention of disqualification. If he felt at the time that he had witnessed a breach and was sufficiently sure of himself to raise it, he should have found an official at once. He should have known just how serious it would be for Michelle if he hung on to the information until the following day."

FUNAI Classic

I just got home from work and it looks like Mr. Woods is going to miss the cut. He is 4-under par with 2 holes to play, and the cut currently stands at 6-under.

As a non-Tiger fan, I'm kinda excited that I'll actually be able to watch other golfers in the PGA Tour this weekend instead of the Tiger Woods show!

Our commenters: cool aliases

The Michelle Wie DQ elicited a number of comments from our readers. We appreciate all of your feedback, whether anonymous or with an alias or real name.

My favorite alias as of late: Put Me Down for a 6. Dude, I can totally relate -- although sometimes I say, "I'll take a triple." I also got a kick out of McTiger. Thank you, all!

Bivens to Trump: You're Fired!!

On Friday of last week, Jerry Crowe of the LA Times reported that the LPGA Tour has decided that Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California is not a good fit for a regular season LPGA Tour event. (The article can be found here.)

Carolyn Bivens said "As gorgeous as [the course] is, it doesn't have easy access to the rules officials. And because an awful lot of the environment is protected, the Coastal Commission controls a lot of the out-of-bounds [areas] right off the course area. That slows up play as well. We do not want to have six-hour rounds...."

I watched some of the Office Depot Championship and it was an absolutely beautiful golf course, but I agree with Bivens when it comes to pace of play. The play took forever and I watched way too many people make huge numbers of the first hole.

Donald!! You're Fired!

Question: Whose name will be tarnished the most from Wie DQ?

We've been receiving a lot of venomous comments directed at some of the participants in the whole Michelle Wie disqualification. So we thought we'd try to get a better sense of a comparison among the whole lot. Answer this question: whose name will be tarnished the most from the Wie disqualification?

A. Michelle Wie

B. Her caddy Greg Johnson (picture here)

C. SI Reporter Michael Bamberger (if you see the video of drop, guy in pink shirt)

D. LPGA Rules Official Robert O. Smith (picture here)

ESPN's Smith: Wie DQ was a "joke"

Michael Smith said on ESPN's Out of Bounds: "If he (Bamberger) said something then, she could have resolved this and they could have figured it out before she signed her score card and she wouldn't have been disqualified.

"And to go back a day later is unnecessary. And then for the people at Big Horn (golf course) to go out there, what kind of a crackerjack operation is this? They can't even tell from the video tape. They had to measure the distance with a string. It's a joke. She shouldn't have been disqualified."

Both Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon on ESPN's PTI also disagreed with the DQ.

Correcting the flawed process: the Masters/Tiger precedent

So some have asked me what the LPGA should have done instead of resorting to the "recreation" of Saturday on Sunday that I, along with others, have criticized. It's very simple, and here's a first: I'm agreeing with mulligan on this one. I think it's OK for the Rules Official to go to the videotape and to call in the player to discuss it. But, if the videotape is inconclusive, then the Rules Official needs to let the player, exercising his or her own integrity, to decide whether he or she committed any rules violation. Golf ultimately is a game of honor, regulated by each golfer's own conscience. There's no better authority on this than The Golf Blog's own Jason, who wrote this marvelous post about it earlier this month.

At this year's Masters, that procedure is exactly what Will Nicholson, chairman of the Masters Competition Committtee followed. Tiger had been suspected of violating the Rule against "standing astride ... the line of his putt" on the 14th hole of Augusta. Tiger was questioned about it at length after the round. The Rules Officials replayed the video for Tiger and questioned him about it during an extended discussion. "We reviewed the tape with Tiger of his second putt at No. 14, and that tape was inconclusive," said Nicholson. "No penalty will be assessed." The Masters officials had the good sense in not demanding Woods to "recreate" his putting stance from earlier in the day. The ultimate call, in that case, was left to Mr. Tiger Woods, who stood by his own word that he had not violated the rule. Case closed.

For those of you who missed it...

SI.com has a photo gallery of the "infamous" drop.

The link can be found here.

Flawed process: LPGA Rules Official

One consistent criticism that I've heard about the whole Michelle Wie fiasco is that the LPGA Rules Official Robert O. Smith used a dubious process of forcing Michelle to "recreate" on Sunday where she found her ball in a bush on Saturday and then where she dropped her ball. This "recreation" was meant to compensate for what Smith himself admitted was "inconclusive" videotape and the complete absence of any divot on Sunday where Michelle Wie hit her ball on Saturday. I agree: there are so many things glaringly wrong about this recreation.

Just imagine this: a rain delay forces the suspension of play on Saturday at the tournament. Instead of marking their golf balls, all the players just make a mental note of where their balls were on Saturday, picking up their ball but leaving no physical mark of where their ball stood. Play resumes on Sunday. The players go back out on the golf course, after having a good 8 hours of sleep and a hearty breakfast. Would you trust the memories of the players to replace their balls in the exact position from Saturday? In fact, the Rules of Golf (Rule 6-8c) prohibit it -- no doubt recognizing that, without a mark, all of this "recreation" is just guesswork, at best.

NBC golf analyst Mark Rolfing: Wie ruling a "travesty"

NBC golf analyst Mark Rolfing, who was live on the course and on the scene when Michelle Wie dropped her ball on Saturday, said, "If I had thought there was any situation that was questionable, I would have said it on air. I watched the whole thing, and it looked fine to me. In my 19 years, I've never seen anything like this happen — not a drop from an unplayable lie."

It was a "travesty," said Rolfing. "I really don't think this is the way the rules of golf ought to be policed."

Fact or fiction: LPGA Rules Official found out the "facts"

Robert O. Smith, LPGA Rules Official, attempted to defend his decision yesterday. For his picture, go here.

1. Admission 1: he himself couldn't find any divot on Sunday where Michelle actually hit her shot on Saturday. "When I went out there, I looked for a scuffed up area where that ball might have been hit yesterday. I could not find it. I could not see it. That's 24 hours, so the grass tends to rebound." OK, so there's no actual evidence of where the drop was, other than the videotape.

2. Admission 2: the videotape of the actual events from Saturday was "inconclusive." "I looked at the videotape which was inconclusive." OK, so the videotape doesn't help, either.

3. Non sequitur: But then, with no physical evidence or conclusive videotape evidence of the drop, Robert O. Smith asserts, "I told them, the rules of golf, ladies and gentlemen, are based on facts. Where was the ball? It's a fact where that ball was. They had to tell us where it was. From there I can tell. Then I have to find out where did you play your shot from after you dropped the ball. That's also a fact."

Wait a second: how can you establish a "fact" based on what Michelle Wie said was only "guesswork" the day after where she might have found her ball in the bush and where she dropped the ball. As Michelle explained, "It was yesterday, it's not like it was from today. It's from yesterday. It was all guesswork where the ball was, where the ball was yesterday, where the ball was originally in the bushes. So it was basically all guesswork." Sorry, ladies and gentleman, that's not a "fact" when the witnesses are speculating or guessing where they might have been hitting the ball 24 hours before. That's just speculation.

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Fact or fiction: Michelle Wie got a raw deal

Michelle Wie: "It was all guesswork."

After being put through the humiliating experience by LPGA Rules Officials of having to "recreate" on Sunday after the tournament was over her ball drop on the 7th from Saturday, Michelle Wie put it best: "It was all guesswork" to recreate her play from Saturday on Sunday. She stands by her drop. (Video on espn.)

Related posts
1. More Wie DQ food for thought

2. Fact or fiction: Michelle Wie got a raw deal

3. Wie gets more press

4. A DQ to close the Wie week

5. Michelle Wie: would've placed 4th, but DQ'd

More Wie DQ food for thought

Mulligan makes some great points here about the circumstances surrounding Michelle Wie's DQ. Here is a link to an extended article about the sequences of events leading up to the disqualification. And here are two more thoughts to chew on:

1. If Michelle had involved a rules official or even her playing partner in her drop sequence and gotten approval for her drop spot, I suspect the LPGA officials would have given her the benefit of the doubt.

2. Do you think, had Wie made an amazing charge and Annika faded so that Wie pulled out a victory on Sunday, that the LPGA officials would have been quite so concerned about Saturday's drop?

Fact or fiction: Michelle Wie got a raw deal

Fact or fiction: Michelle Wie got a raw deal in being DQ'd.

1. Point 1: the DQ was based on a simulation or recreation of events from yesterday, not on actual events or the video of the 3rd round.

As discussed in the posts below, Michelle Wie was DQ'd after she was forced by LPGA rules officials today to recreate a ball drop from yesterday on the 7th hole. The LPGA admitted that NBC tapes were inconclusive if the drop was closer to the hole, but the rules officials must have thought that a "recreation" of events from yesterday based on Michelle's and her caddie's memories could precisely determine (i) where they found the ball in the bush and (ii) where Michelle dropped her ball. UPDATE: Also, I wonder if the LPGA Rules Official measured off the distance from Saturday's pin placement, instead of Sunday's -- the pin placement establishes the apex for the triangle, so it's possible the ball position could be closer to the hole on Sunday, but further away on Saturday. Just draw a little diagram with 2 points in the rough and then move the pin placement to the left and then the right. This recreation, fraught with guesswork and possible inaccuracies, raises question about the entire process in the first place.

2. Point 2: LPGA did not rely on Michelle's word or integrity, as the PGA did on Tiger's integrity.

The LPGA rules official apparently had to rely on a string measure tape in order to determine the putative drop from yesterday, as recreated today, was 12-15 inches closer to the hole. When is a string tape ever used to measure off any golfer's drop??? If the video tape of the actual 3d round was inconclusive, shouldn't you rely on the golfer's integrity to admit or not whether the ball was closer to the hole? Michelle said she thought she did what was right, and would do it again. In a similar situation at this year's Masters, where the videotape was deemed inconclusive, the PGA rules officials allowed Tiger Woods to make the decision whether he had violated the putting rule against the straddle stance (see here).

3. Point 3: for the LPGA to issue the DQ more than 2 hours after the end of today's round violates the spirit of USGA Rule 34-1.

It states: "In stroke play, a penalty must not be ... imposed after the competition has closed. A competition is closed when the result has been officially announced." I did see Michelle Wie's name posted 4th on the scoreboard after the tournament was over -- presumably, the DQ occurred after Annika had been declared the winner and handed the winner's check and trophy.

Wie gets more press...

Well I too was watching the LPGA Tournament on NBC today, but unfortunately, the coverage stopped at 4pm and the tournament was no where to be found on TV. Maybe I missed where the TV coverage was going, but I could not find it.

Anyways, I am not one who is a big Wie fan, like my fellow golfbloggers Douglas and Mulligan and even more so AllCarry. Personally, I think that she is going to be a huge failure for Nike and Sony and will always have people gunning for her. Also, she does not know how to win, so it might take her 5-10 years before she learns how to win and dominate like Tiger or Annika. Finally, I think that Michelle will slowly burn herself out. She is working too hard, and if she does not reach the pinnacle of her game soon, I question whether she'll be able to continue without losing interest at some point. I think Paula, Annika, and Christie are going to lead the LPGA Tour until Morgan Pressel comes up from the ranks.

My last point that I'd like to make. I am an avid baseball fan and I was sick watching the end of Game 2 of the ALCS. For those of you who did not watch the end of the game, the umpire gave a strike 3 call against AJ Pierzynski, who swung and missed, but the catcher dropped the ball. Most of the players on the Angels believed that the motion of the umpire, including the Angels catcher, who did not tag Pierzynski out. Luckily in golf, you can go back and make things right. Here, Wie broke the rules and she should be disqualified.

A DQ to close the Wie week

As detailed in this AP story (and mulligan's post just before this one), an eventful first weekend as a pro for Michelle Wie ended with a disqualification for a bad drop during her third round. I was planing to use this post to talk about how impressive it was for Wie, with the whole world watching, to finish in the top 5 in her first pro tourney. But instead I guess I will just wonder if a 16-year-old girl worth $10 million is disappointed to have to forego a tourney check for more than $50,000 because of her DQ.

In related news, I think this weekend's LPGA leaderboard reinforces my prior comments about the developing American Big 5 in ladies golf. In addition to Wie's strong showing, Paula Creamer finished second and Natalie Gulbis and Christie Kerr also cashed big checks. And, as this story details, Morgan Pressel is on track for joining this group next year.

Michelle Wie: would've placed 4th, but DQ'd

Wow, Michelle Wie received a very rude welcome to the LPGA: DISQUALIFIED, girl. She would have placed 4th, shooting -8 for the tourney, but the LPGA reviewed her drop today for an unplayable lie from yesterday on the 7th hole after she drove her ball into the bush. I saw it happening yesterday, but am still not quite sure what Michelle did wrong. More here. She did eventually place her ball down, as I recall, presumably after 2 unsuccessful tries to drop the ball no closer to the hole. Please comment if you have the explanation from the LPGA.

Oh, see our last post: Annika won going away, at -19, 8 strokes over Paula Creamer. Natalie Gulbis tied for 5th at 7-under -- or maybe it's fourth, given Michelle Wie's DQ.

UPDATE: The ruling was that Michelle Wie's drop was closer to the hole -- by 3 inches according to her now, by 12-15 inches according to the LPGA rules official. On the NBC video, the LPGA rules official Robert O. Smith admitted that it was inconclusive. But the LPGA rules official took Michelle and her caddie back onto the course after the 4th round, even though the alleged rules infraction occurred during the 3rd round. So how can we be sure that this "recreation" of events on the day after was accurate??

"I don't feel like I cheated," Michelle said after the DQ. "I was honest out there. I did what I thought was right. I was pretty confident. If I did it again, I'd still do that. It looked right to me."

Annika: forget about it

Annika must have heard about the second guessing of her selection as Player of the Year over Tiger Woods after Woods won last week (see here), or the suggestion that Michelle Wie would win this week (see here). Annika went out today and opened up a 4-shot lead, at -15. Wie is 6 back at -9. No doubt Annika wanted to make a statement. And she did.

email from Tiger: always a Cardinal

How cool is this: while in SF for the AMEX World Golf Championship (which he won), Tiger visited his alma mater. "While I was in town, I drove down to Stanford and spent the afternoon with the men's golf team. Conrad Ray, my former teammate and now the coach invited me to have lunch with the guys and it was fun rapping with them. Most of them hope to play professionally some day and were full of questions. Afterward, we went down to the driving range and I hit some shots for the men's and women's teams. I showed them how to hit flop shots and work the ball both ways and we had a good time. Of course, they all wanted me to hit driver."

Furyk fan: "I lobbied ahead of time to play with Jim Furyk and we had a great time together. We have similar games, are very intense and meshed well as a team, going 2-0-1. It was refreshing to play out of the fairway so often, something I don't always do, and he made so many clutch putts. I look forward to playing with him again next year in the Ryder Cup, if I make the team." Pretty funny, Tiger.

Fact or fiction: Michelle Wie will win 1st tourney as pro this week

Tiger Woods placed 60th at his first tourney as a pro in 1996 (Greater Milwaukee Open). Michelle Wie will win her first tourney as a pro this week (Samsung World Championship), fact or fiction?

UPDATE: This was originally posted on Wednesday. We received some skeptical comments of Michelle's chances of winning. Today, Michelle posted the low round of the day, 65, to vault into 2nd place with Annika and Paula Creamer, 2 behind leader Grace Park. Now, we're talking!! If Michelle wins, that will be the BIGGEST story in golf this year. Sorry, Annika and Tiger. Any takers?

Related posts
1. Michelle Wie, happy birthday!
2. Question of the Month: Hello, world, I am ... Tiger Woods or Michelle Wie?

Top 5 Questions Kelly Tilghman failed to ask Tiger

Part 1 of the usually reliable Kelly Tilghman's interview with Tiger produced very few highlights. Here are the Top 5 Questions Tilghman failed to ask Tiger. You can volunteer your own!

1. Who is the most annoying announcer on The Golf Channel? Craig Kann, Brian Hewitt, or Mark Lye

2. Who is the most annoying pseudo-commentator on the Grey Goose 19th hole? Steve Duemig or Steve Duemig

3. What exactly happened with you and Phil at the Ryder Cup?

4. Did you or Annika have the better year?

5. What happened to your one-time close buddy David Duval?

Bigger comeback: Seve or Duval?

Who is making a bigger comeback this year:

1. Seve Ballesteros playing this week in his 1st tournament in 2 years and shooting 77 at the Madrid Open?

2. David Duval making 1 cut this year and shooting -2 after 14 holes today in Las Vegas?

Kelly Tilghman interviews Tiger

You won't want to miss Kelly Tilghman's exclusive interview with Tiger Woods, Wednesday on The Golf Channel, tour talk, 7 p.m. Kelly shakes Tiger down about his favorite show (Southpark), making friendly wagers with Michael Jordan, and other things.

Michelle Wie, happy birthday!

16 years ago Michelle Wie was born. She can barely drive and just turned pro, but already she is the most talked about golfer on the planet next to el Tigre. First tournament as a pro will be this week at the Samsung World Championship in Palm Springs.

Happy birthday, Michelle!

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Question of the Month: hello, world, I am ... Tiger Woods or Michelle Wie?

Nicklaus caddy Angelo Argea dies

AP's reporting that long time Nicklaus caddie Angelo Argea died yesterday of liver cancer at the age of 75. Nicklaus will issue a personal statement later.

Daly double

John Daly admitted after his round that he's having his worst putting year. 127th in putting, averaging 1.79 strokes per hole. Where's the claw when you need it?

I had a chance to review again JD's two costly 3-putts. It was pretty painful to watch. Here's my assessment:

1. Daly's 3 putt on 17 from 30 feet out was probably more explainable. JD was putting downhill on a slick green and the birdie putt just got away from him, running 4 feet by the hole. The come-backer of 4 feet had a right to left break. I think JD both pulled it and didn't play enough break. The comebacker was a tough putt.

2. Daly's 3 putt on the 2nd playoff hole was befuddling. JD hit an excellent birdie putt from about 25 feet. It had a chance of going in. The comebacker was a foot and half, maybe a few inches more, but that's it. That's right around the distance (17 in.) that Dave Pelz instructs people to aim for. So far so good, so what happened? The comebacker did not look like a difficult putt at all -- fairly straight, all you need to do is to get the ball rolling on line. On the replay, JD seemed to me to just flat out pull the less-than-2 foot putt. Who knows, maybe nerves and loss of confidence from the 3-putt on 17 played a part in it? When you start talking about the "worst putting year" of your career, that can't give one a good frame of mind to hole must-make putts.

Harding Park

Well, I can't say I did well in predicting a score, but it was a shhotout down the stretch. In an earlier post, I said that 20 under would be the winning score. As mulligan claimed, it was a "local yokel" prediction, which I guess makes all the pros interviewed before the tournament (including Tiger) yokels as well. The worst winning score predicted by a player was Hensby at 12 under, while the rest were at 15 under or better.
But, as we saw from Big John's crumble, putting made all the difference. Tiger and Big John had driving accuracy of around 40% (John a little better than that, Tiger a little worse). Both had GIR of 66% while Monty was a 75%, but Tiger blew away the leaders in the field with putting, averaging 27 putts a round.
I thought putting would make a huge difference at Harding (it always fools me no matter how many times I play it), but I never thought of it as a "bombers" course. Then again, I never thought of going for the green on 16...makes you understand "these guys are good." But when you think back about the 1998 U.S. Open at Olympic across the lake, the same was true. Putting won the tournament.
I'm glad the course held its own. Despite my comments, you always like to see your local course hold up against the pros. Granted, the next time I play it, the fairways will be twice as wide, and the greens will be half as slow, but I'll still get to try and carry the large pine on 18.

John Daly: giving it away

So what do you do after 3 putting twice over the final holes to squander away not only the lead, but the championship to the irrepressible Tiger Woods?

If you are John Daly, you go over to a local fan Frank Lopez from San Fran, who shouted "Daly, you're still my No. 1 man," and you give away the Dunlop putter that failed you miserably on Sunday. Nice gift, almost as good as the one JD gave Tiger. (More from the San Fran Chronicle.)

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Daly v. Woods

Nicole Perrot wins first, Natalie Gulbis goes low

Chilean Nicole Perrot secured her 1st LPGA victory, shooting an even par 71 to finish -14 for the tournament. Congrats to Nicole.

Natalie Gulbis shot the low round of the day, a 7-under 64. The round included 8 birdies and a bogey on 17. Nat leads the tour in birdies this year. Today was a valiant comeback from the 3rd round blip of 76. Had Nat shot 69 yesterday, things could've been interesting. Here's a great pic of Natalie from last week, showing how she generates so much power. Notice the extension, and then the elevation of her left heel. Don't try this at home.

Tiger to TGB: Recount

After winning the AMEX, Tiger just phoned into TGB. He wants a recount on September's Question of the Month.

Daly v. Woods

The AMEX turned out to be one of the most exciting tournaments of the year, perhaps matching the excitement of the duel between Tiger and Phil at the Ford Championship where they matched shot for shot.

Today, it was John Daly's tournament to lose. Up by a stroke and safely on the 17th hole, JD looked poised to win. An unforced error, 3-putt from 30 feet, though, cost JD. Daly had a chance to win with a 20 footer on the final hole that was on line, but stopped short by less than a foot. Playoff with Tiger, now. It doesn't get better than this!

Playoff hole 1 (on 18): Tiger just bombed a drive way out there, some 340 yards. Not to be outdone, JD just launched his 10 yards past Tiger's. Tiger stuck his wedge to 2 feet, but the backspin rolled it back onto the fringe. JD then kinda chunked his wedge, which rolled back to the fringe, too. 2 putts for JD, 2 putts for Tiger.

Playoff hole 2 (on 16): Tiger tees off with 2-iron stinger. Taking a gamble to drive the green, Daly uses driver and slices it into the trees. 2 balls fall out of the trees -- Daly's gets the better lie. Tiger hit his wedge shot a little short, from 70 plus out. Meanwhile, JD took a huge whack with this lob wedge, hitting it 60 plus yards to about 20 feet. The fans go nuts. Tiger hits an awesome putt, 1 roll short, though. JD hits a nice putt, but it slides by 1 1/2 feet. Fans start running to the 17th hole. JD steps up to putt, but hits it poorly and it lips out on the edge -- oh, no, not another 3 putt!! Daly looked like he flat out pulled it the left, although he was above the hole so there might have been some break. Tiger kinda of looks in disbelief. Dude, what a let down. Someone tell the fans to stop running to 17.

Final parting shot: I love John Daly, but when you 3-putt twice on 17th and then on the 2nd playoff hole, you've committed the unforced error that we weekend hacks fall prey to. It's hard to believe, especially after the amazing lob wedge from the woods on the final playoff hole. We know JD likes to play really fast, but maybe a little bit more time in lining up those putts and getting focused?

UPDATE: Here's a pic of Daly's missed putt. Based on the TV telecast, I had it at a foot and a half.

El nino, Sergio!

I just saw Tiger Woods hit an incredible flop shot on the 7th hole. But then Sergio Garcia, playing in the last group, hit an even better shot. Sergio just wedged in a 110 yard sandwedge, by spinning it back right into the hole. Unbelievable! Sergio's tied Daly for the lead at -9, with Woods and Monty back at -8.

The Daly show

John Daly, hitting some major bombs off the tee, just pulled into a tie for the lead with Colin Montgomerie at 8-under. Tiger is 2 back at -6. Leaderboard here.

So which of these is more fun to yell:

A. C'mon Monty!
B. C'mon Daly!
C. C'mon Tiger!

public courses: US v. UK

So Harding Park, a public course in San Fran, is holding its own, contrary to the predictions of local yokel Power Fade that at least 20-under would win the World Golf Championship. People are making such a big deal that Harding Park is a public course, hosting a world class tournament. Well, here's a news flash: all of the British Open courses are open to the public. For a country that started out as anti-royalty/privileges, it's a shame that the U.S. doesn't host more of the major tournaments at public courses.

The day after going really low

Colin Montgomerie -- C'mon Monty! -- followed up his 6-under 64 with a 1-under 69 to maintain a 1-shot lead at the AMEX World Golf Championship at Harding Park. Meanwhile, not too far away in Auburn, California, Cristie Kerr followed up her 9-under 62 (which include a stretch of birdie-birdie-eagle-eagle-birdie) with a 4-over 75. Not surprisingly, Cristie fell from atop the leaderboard.

I can't say I ever had a problem following up a 62 or 64 with another low round, but it must be difficult.

Supreme Court update: Chief Justice Roberts and golf

Continuing our expanding coverage of the Supreme Court (see here), we've determined that the newly confirmed Chief Justice John Roberts plays golf as a member at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, which, of course, hosted this month's President's Cup. What a nice course!

As mentioned in an earlier post, Roberts has a 14 handicap, listed. One former colleague from the law firm Hogan & Hartson seemed to dispute that, though, saying Roberts' is "not great" at golf -- "he works for a living." Now, as Chief Justice, Roberts will have summers to look forward to -- when the Supreme Court is not in session from July through September. Even with two young kids, he should have more time to hit the driving range. One of our own bloggers from The Golf Blog can attest to that.

The Signature Hole

Sitting on a Thursday morning, I saw par after boring par on #18 at Harding Park, and I commented that it didn't seem to be much of a trouble hole. Well, it is time to admit my wrongs:
1) #18, by the end of the day, was the hardest hole on the course. Sure, there were a lot of pars, but you also had a mass of three-putts, failed up-and-downs, and then some like Couples, who hit the longest drive of the day on that hole (344 yards), and still went on and double bogeyed. In fact, not one of the six players that hit their drive over 300 yards on 18 birdied it. But I watched Monty birdie it...all a matter of putting your irons on the right quadrant of the green. All week, every hole.
2) After the first day, on a day where conditions were benign and perfect for low scoring, the average score was more than a half-shot over par. The course is holding up well, and the players seem to have nothing but praises for it (outside of the 18th hole, which has taken a few punches from the players regarding its design). Even Hensby, who we know can spout off on things, predicted that the winning score would be around 6 under par, 6 strokes worse than any other player spoken to before the first round began.
3) At 7,000 yards, the course is short on paper. But it plays long in reality. Not a single birdie on #9. There hasn't been hardly any wind yet, and 15-20 mph wind is not unusual. Remember, the 473 yard 6th, the 230 yard 8th, and the 474 yard 9th will play directly into the wind, and as it stands now, they are already playing long.
4) Daly may have been the longest driver of the day, including putting it on the green on the 349 yard par 4 7th hole, putting it oin the green-side bunker on #16 318 yard par 4, hitting a 325 yard drive on #18, and hitting a 332 yard drive on #16. But Tiger picked his holes, and hit some monster drives when he felt like it. He was the 2nd longest driver, depite being the shortest drive on one hole, and hitting irons off the tee on several occasions (Just for the record, he hit a 361 yard drive on #13...no other player came close to that distance on that hole, and only one other hit a longer drive during the day).
5) Colin has never won on American soil. Give him a break out there.

HOT off the presses: Natalie Gulbis calendar 2006

Now available on Natalie's website, extensive preview pics. For purchase, here. She's already No. 2 on the bestseller list of calendars. Let's see how long it takes for Natalie to overtake Andy Roddick. After looking at the preview pics, all I can say is: Andy who?

On the Battlefield

OK. On the battle field is slightly exaggerated, but since I was out at Harding, I thought I'd give an update on how the course is shaping up.
Well, I'll keep most individual scores out of this in case you will be watching later on TV, but I have to mention a few.
Tiger is on top. Shocker. Actually, after hurting his back at the President's Cup, I wasn't sure he would fare well, but he is driving the ball insanely long. In the practice round Tuesday, he tried to cut off the entire dogleg on 18, firing it over the last tree to the left over the lake. It has to be around 300 yards over a 40-50 foot tree line. He clipped the final tree, but it was close to putting him less than 100 yards from the hole. Today, he is hitting almost every green, which brings up two factors that define who will win this tournament.
Now, around 70% of the field is even or better (I know, I know, it is early). But even those that are missing fairways half the time are hitting the green 75% of the time (per a statistics guy I spoke to at the course). Greens in regulation are extremely high in this tournament. so the two statistics you have to look at are if they are hitting greens and putting OK. For the players I've watched today, everything depends on where their ball ends up on the green. On most holes, outside of the few 450 plus par fours, the players have around 135 yards in, and if they can't put it to the right quadrant of the green, you see very few one-putts. For example, Leonard is hitting a lot of greens (despite hitting few fairways), but not putting it remotely close, and his putting is horrible. Thus, he is at the bottom of the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Daly is missing fairways like he misses his bourbon, yet he is putting really well, and is at the top of the leaderboard. All about placement with your irons.
Bunkers don't appear to be a factor. In fact, I have yet to see a player hit out of one. Strange.
18 hasn't been much of a problem. Most players have about an 8 iron to the green. Colin just birdied it, which brings me to him.
Colin has been getting a lot of support from the croud, and is putting well and at the top of the leaderboard. Sitting 2nd on the Order of Merit behind Campbell, he is definitely looking to win another this year.
#9, the converted par 5 to a long par 4, seems to be the trouble hole. Players are not hitting the fairway, and have 200 yards left on their 2nd shot in most cases. Not many birdies (well, I have yet to see one), and mostly it is a hole where the players are attempting to get up and down to save par in most cases.

Michelle Wie: here's looking at you, Tiger

Growing up, Michelle Wie had posters of Tiger plastered in her bedroom (the same way Tiger did with Jack). OK, so it was Michelle's dad (not Michelle) who put them up there (story here). Here's a classic photo of Michelle Wie teeing off, with the image of Tiger looming in the background. That is the future of golf: Wie in the shadow of Woods.

Wie announcement

Dear diary,

Only 6 more days until my 16th birthday -- I can't wait, I can finally drive legally. Oh, and today, before I go to high school, I've decided to call a press conference so that I can announce that I'm turning pro. At the press conference (2 pm ET) will be my sponsors Nike and Sony, who have agreed to pay me $10 million making me the highest paid female athlete in the world. Pretty cool, I haven't even won a pro tournament yet. I'm being represented by the William Morris agency -- they represent Clint Eastwood and John Travolta. I don't know what the big deal is, but The Golf Channel will be airing my announcement live. Hello world!

Michelle

Related post
Question of the Month: Hello world, I am ... Tiger Woods or Michelle Wie

Harding Park in a nutshell

Getting ready for the AMEX, I thought I’d give some insight into the holes for those of you not lucky enough to live in the Bay Area. When you look at the reports from the World Golf Championship, most times the difficulty of the hole is described by the contours of the greens. I cannot agree with this more, although with brand-new greens that are not particularly hard, the professionals should be able to cope easily with the slopes. Thus, my prediction that there will be some low scores shot this week. Also, after seeing a number of tournaments in Arizona, Pebble Beach, and North Carolina, it should be noted that the fairways have been pinched in severely. You would expect that at a short par 70 course (they have it marked at 7,086 for the tournament, but that is at the tips on every hole, and it should be shorter in total). Also, the rough is thick, and stays reasonably wet (San Francisco dew and fog), but the professionals should have less trouble than myself muscling it out of the thick stuff.

Hole 1: A birdie hole, in short. Not much trouble, less than 400 yards, and straight away.

Hole 2: At 450 yards, it is a little longer, but again there is little trouble off the tee. Expect the Sunday placement to be back left on a nob. Shouldn’t be too tough.

Hole 3: A par 3 straight uphill. The pros should get used to the blind green in their practice rounds.

Hole 4: At 600 yards, it would seem unlikely that the pros will get there in 2, but you can cut off the dogleg left with a high shot over the trees. Expect a lot of 350 yard drives on this hole. The green is easy to putt and generally flat.

Hole 5: Again, a fairly straightforward hole with a very sloped green. Expect a lot of birdies…especially if you put the ball in the correct quadrant of the green.

Hole 6: toughest hole on the course for amateurs. Very tight off the tee with trees, and long (473 yards). The green is no picnic, and there are well placed bunkers around the green. Expect some bogeys, but nothing worse unless your drive is dramatically off-line.

Hole 7: Short par 4 (344 yards) that the pros will eat up. No real trouble.

Hole 8: A long par 3 (230 yards) that always seems to have the one hard green on the course. Right back pin placement on Sunday will have the pros just hoping to get a par. It is downhill though, so it shouldn’t be that difficult of a hole.

Hole 9: This is one of the converted par 5s. Now, as a par 4 at 474 yards, it will be long, but not for the pros. Most people can reach the green in two in amateur tournaments, and that is playing from a further tee box.

Hole 10: Another hole where a low score is waiting. The pros will reach the green in two
regularly, and the green is fairly benign. OB on the left, so you can shoot a high score if you really duck-hook it, but don’t expect that to happen often.

Hole 11: A 200 yard downhill par 3 with a narrow front. The only difficulty is if the fairways are wet, and the pin is on the front. That being the case, shots that you hope to hit short and run onto the green will stop in the fairway, while those that hit the green will roll to the back. Putting spin on the ball is the key here.

Hole 12: Another converted par 5. Hard dogleg left off the tee to a blind fairway. Oh, and there is OB left as well. Plenty of places to make a mistake, and the blind shots will prove difficult for the pros who have not played the course (which includes everyone). Distance shouldn’t be a factor, but it will be difficult to hit the fairway.

Hole 13: Another blind shot, but with a strong drive moving left to right over the bunkers on the right, you shouldn’t have much left to the green. There is a lot of slope on this green.

Hole 14: Straightaway par 4 that plays long to an elevated green. Trouble left and right, so just get it in the fairway. Holes 12-14 will decide your round.

Hole 15: Dogleg left downhill from the tee, uphill to the green. Same as the prior hole. Expect irons off the tee. The hole is not tough, just avoid the trees on the left. The pros will enjoy the gun club shooting across the lake on the last two holes.

Hole 16: Another hole to eat up. 336 yards, and the pros might be able to get it on the green from the tee, although there are some trees to avoid. This is a birdie hole every time.

Hole 17: Only a 164 yard par 3, and I play it well every time. For some reason my foursome does not. I would expect a lot of birdies.

Hole 18: The signature hole for the course. Hard dogleg left over a lake. The 220 yard carry from the tee box makes it hard for some amateurs, but I expect the pros to be able to hit irons off the tee, and get an easy par. By taking driver, and cutting off the dogleg, you can carry the trees, and give yourself less than 150 yards in. But this can spell trouble since it is a blind shot. The green has a lot of slope, so par isn’t a bad score.

AMEX buzz: how hard (or soft) will Harding Park be?

So the latest buzz on the PGA is not about a player, but about Harding Park Golf Course, a public course in San Fran, site of this week's AMEX World Golf Championship. The buzz is not about how great the course is, but whether the pros are going to eat it for breakfast because it's too easy. Sandy Tatum has done his best to spruce the course up (more here), but, hey, this is San Francisco, so you can't add much more distance to a 6,845 yard muni course. Bethpage Black, it ain't. Want a prediction on the low score this weekend? Read on...

Powerfade reports: I woke up on Sunday, got my paper, and was bombarded with countless articles about how the AMEX comes to San Fran this week. All week, I'll get to hear about the magnificent design of Harding Park Golf Course, a municipal course, (I have to admit it is nice, but not one of my top 10 in the Bay Area), and how it is in perfect shape (I'll argue against this one forever). When I first took up golf a few years ago (OK...more like 7), I played Harding many times. Graffiti everywhere, bumpy horrible greens, no sand in the traps, and fairways that looked like an experiment to see which weed could beat out all others. Amazing that they have a PGA tournament there now. But the traps are not uniform (some soft, some hard), the fairways still have multiple types of grasses, but the greens are fantastic (and completely new). They took two par 5s and converted them to par 4s. No biggie to the pros. I'm predicting a low score will win. 20 under minimum. And it won't be a blow-out. Yes, they have grown out the rough and cut in the fairways (which drove me crazy last week since my driver was not on, but as a 3 handicap, I shouldn't be able to shoot close to par from where the pros are playing), but the pros should tear the course apart. Only two things may change this. None of the pros will have played the course in its new glory, and it may take a few rounds to get used to the course, and the gun range across the lake will startle quite a few pros on their backswing (you get used to it as a