Photo op: you pic the winner

There are plenty of golf pics online. Occasionally, we'll scavenge for some interesting pics. Today, we have 2 pics from the Evian Masters tournament, both demonstrating tremendous extension with the driver. Which do you like more?

A. Natalie Gulbis driving pic: "getting airborne"
B. Michelle Wie driving pic: "whirlybird"

review: Natalie Gulbis show, Episode 3

I turned on the Natalie show with some pretty low expecations after last week. But I was very pleasantly surprised. Much, much better.

1. Papa Gulbis teaching Natalie how to drive stick in a rented Dodge Viper was the best part for me. I must confess, though: I love sports cars, so I would've loved the entire show devoted to this segment. And any air time with Papa Gulbis is entertaining, and he delivered again. If you've ever learned how to drive stick or had the pleasure of "letting out" a sports car, you would enjoy Natalie's spin around with the Viper. She's a quick learner, apparently.

2. I was wrong. Good friend Cristie Kerr did make it on the show, sharing a Monday at the spa with Nat. The gossiping was great, particularly hearing Natalie and Cristie talking about the men's tour and some of the men from their junior golf days. The behind the scenes banter was made even more dramatic by Cristie's "reading" of her horoscope of "winning the Michelob Open" -- which she in fact did later that week. Good moment.

3. Natalie's visit to the Best Damn Sports Show was also pretty entertaining. Is it true, though, she didn't know who Arsenio Hall was?

4. Bogey: I found the entire bit with Danielle from Big Break pretty annoying. Natalie found her hilarious, but I found her unbearable.

Grade: A

Time for Reform: Changing the Majors

I'm not a golf purist. I'm a hack on the course. But I know what's a good idea when I see one. And I think it will soon be time to change the 4 Majors in men's golf. Why? With the world competitors from Europe, South Africa, Asia, and Australia, there will no way that the U.S. can justify having a monopoly on 3 of the 4 Majors. In tennis, the U.S. Open is the only major in the U.S., with the French, Wimbledon, and Australian Opens. For golf, I don't think we have to go that far, but I think the U.S. should only have 2 Majors. Here's what I propose.

1. Masters - permanent Major
2. U.S. Open and PGA Championship - combined Major or rotating Majors
3. British Open
4. International Open - rotating among other countries that bid the most money and with the best golf courses

Natalie show, Episode 3

This week, Natalie's at the Michelob Ultra Open. I remember way back when the promo for this show had both former beau Ben Roethlisberger and Natalie's gal pal Cristie Kerr. I'm not sure, but both may have hit the chopping block. Now we get Danielle.

The New Skins Game

Some people have written in suggesting that Annika should be canned from the Skins Game. I agree. She played remarkably well (including that eagle on 9) her first year, but, for the past two years, she's been blanked. As Mulligan said, yesterday Annika played like a 15-handicapper on the final two holes right when she could have won the whole kit and kaboodle. Fred Funk bested Annika at her own game: accuracy. By the way, Funkie has had a great year winning the TPC and being the big winner at the Skins game.

So who should play in the Skins Game next year?

Tiger Woods is a shoe-in. He hasn't done well in the Skins Game, but, hey, who the heck cares? I'd change the format, though, to have 2-person teams playing best-ball for the skins. I'd pair Tiger Woods with his "favorite" playing partner Phil Mickelson, just for the perverse drama of seeing yin and yang reunite.

Then, on the other team, I'd pair Ernie Els with Michelle Wie -- the Big Easy with Big Wiesy.

Just for fun, I'd field a six-some. I'm kinda torn, but I'll have to go with John Daly and Laura Davies. Or, if you really want some "Skin," sub in Natalie Gulbis.

Fred Funk wins Skins Game and $925K

OK, so he started out by wearing a skirt after Annika outdrove him on Hole No. 3. But Fred Funk proved that you don't necessarily need length to score, if you have accuracy. Funk eagled No. 9 yesterday, and today he hit a 3-wood onto the par-5 18th hole, where he 2 putted for birdie. Bombers Tiger Woods and Fred Couples both missed the green in two, while Annika started playing like a 15-handicapper, weekend golfer on the final 2 holes.

The scariest scene: Fred Couples lined up a wood from the rough, aiming directly over the gallery. The ball came out pretty hot and flew directly over the fans, some of whom kind of ducked.

The Wie report

Dear diary,

I missed the cut by 1 stroke at the Casio Open in Japan. It was very disappointing. But, hey, look on the brightside: at least I didn't get DQ'd. Just kidding. I know I have a lot more work to do to improve, but I'm working hard with Leadbetter. Each day, I feel my swing changes are coming together. It will take some more time. Now that I have my driver's license, I can hit the range on my own.

Of course, I know that I have a lot of naysayers out there. I'm guessing that the most vocal naysayers are men who are twice as old as I am -- they may even be older than my dad, and that's scary. It comes with the territory, though. I understand it. But it doesn't really affect me. I know where I'm heading.

Michelle

Related post
Wie announcement

I'll say it first: Wie's a choker

Though perhaps not as terrible a label as "cheater," the label "choker" is one that every athlete surely hopes to avoid. But, after her bogey, bogey finish to miss the cut in Japan (and a number of other late round melt-downs in big spots), I am ready to hang the choker label on Michelle Wie.

Of course, it is terrible to put this caustic label on a 16-year-old developing golfer. But when you now earn a million dollars just for showing up, you have to start dealing with adult criticisms.

Wie bogeys final 2 to miss cut by 1 at men's Casio Open

Michelle Wie almost made the cut again at a men's pro tournament, but she suffered back to back bogeys coming in on the final 2 holes. That left her one above the cut line, having shot rounds of 73 and 75 at the Casio Open in Japan. (More here.) Don't worry about Michelle, though, she did pick up $1 plus million in appearance money.

UPDATE: ESPN's Eric Adelson has this excellent report from Japan. In it, he explains Michelle's Achilles heel: her putting. In Japan, she three putted too often to make the cut. "Asking how good Wie would be if she putted like Tiger is like asking how good Shaq would be if he made his free throws."

Growing up in Hawaii playing on bermuda greens has been a disadvantage for Wie. "Leadbetter says Wie may eventually live in Florida, in part so she can get more practice on different surfaces. Whatever the cause, she never looked comfortable on the slippery greens in Japan, and even short putts turned into white-knucklers."

redux: what's the over/under on Annika outdriving Funk?

Fred Funk will join Tiger, Annika, and Fred Couples at the Skins Game during Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 26-27. What should the over/under be on Annika outdriving Fred Funk and, if so, how many holes? Annika's tour average is 266.4 yards, while Fred's at 269.1 yards. I'll put the number at 7 holes. So will Annika go over or under that number of holes outdriving Funk?

"Tiger came up to me the other day and said Annika is the fourth," Funk said. "He said, 'If she outdrives you once, you will never, ever, ever hear the end of it."'

Thanksgiving UPDATE: Fred Funk said he bought a skirt and will wear it if Annika outdrives him. He sounded kind of nervous, almost expecting to be outdriven. Oh, and, yes, he did get Annika's permission and approval for the skirt stunt. Good man.

review: Natalie show, episode 2

OK, first things first: I can't imagine any other professional golfer pulling off a swimsuit calendar. Apparently, there's no bathing suit that Natalie doesn't look great in. The shot of Natalie poised on the rock was a sight to behold.

But this week's episode struck me as less entertaining as last week's. First, no Papa Gulbis, no hilarious banter or expletives. Although Natalie's mom was at the shoot, she wasn't hooked up to a mike. That left Natalie to carry the "dialogue" with others whom we really don't get to know on TV. Last week, we had Papa Gulbis and Butch Harmon, both of whom are interesting characters in their own right. To fill the lack of conversation or drama this week, The Golf Channel kept on repeating the same sound bites from Natalie after the return from commercial breaks and even at other times. I felt like I was in Groundhog Day.

Grade: B

Grand Slam: Tiger in charge

Tiger Woods hit some massive bombs off the tee, consistently outdriving Vijay, Phil, and Michael Campbell by 20 or so yards at the the Grand Slam of Golf at Poipu Bay. Tiger's at -5, Phil -2, Cambo +1, and Vijay +3. This is the same course that Phil hit 59 last year. But, after a 5 week layoff, Phil says he doesn't feel another 59 coming.

Natalie show, not to be missed: the swimsuit episode

Natalie November returns on Tuesday, 10 p.m., on The Golf Channel. We'll see Natalie at her 2006 swimsuit calendar shoot. Need we say more?

Is the pro golf season way too long?

Answer: yes. I couldn't help but wonder while watching the NFL today, Why exactly is the LPGA holding its season ending event the ADT Championship (which, of course, Annika won) in the middle of November? Let me see, we currently have the NFL, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, NCAA football, and NCAA basketball all competing for airtime and viewers along with golf. The only thing that sparked my interest in golf this week was the so-called cat fight between Annika and Paula, but it was way overblown, since there wasn't much of a dispute at all, let alone any hair-pulling. By the way, I wanted to thank The Golf Blog crew for letting me air this rant.

move over Natalie, John Daly agrees to reality show

The Golf Channel must be happy enough with the Natalie show because, now, it's enlisted John Daly to do a reality show, too. The shows will start airing in January. If you've ever read Rick Reilly's book "Who's Your Caddy?" and the chapter on JD, you know this is going to be good -- or at least interesting. More here.

Paula Creamer and Annika squabble

Things got testy -- and maybe even a little catty -- between Paula Creamer and Annika Sorenstam over where Annika's ball had crossed the plane of the water hazard on the 18th hole. This followed a dispute earlier on the 16th hole in which Annika was able to fix a mark on the green that Paula originally said was a spike mark. So who prevailed? In both cases, Annika did. On the 18th, the rules official sided with Annika; on the 16th, Creamer backed down when Annika called a rules official. My question: If it had been Michelle Wie, and not Annika, who was in question, would the LPGA rules official had pulled out the video tape and then asked Annika to recreate what happened? In this case, the right call was made: Annika was left to stand by her integrity and honor on a call in which there was debatable evidence. If there was a rules violation (I'm not suggesting there was), it's Annika's to live with. I do have to admire, though, the fire of that 19-year-old Paula. More here. Hee-Won Han is leading at -5; Creamer, -4, Annika, -3 with others. Leaderboard.

Dunlop Open: David Duval fires 64 in 1st place

Holy smokes! David Duval fires a 64 in the first round in Japan to take a 1 stroke lead over Tiger Woods. I don't want to jinx the guy, but is this the return of the real David Duval after four long years?? (More here.) Round 2 has already started, and Tiger's pulled ahead at -6 with Duval at -5. Full leaderboard.

review: Natalie Gulbis show, episode 1

Episode 1 of the Natalie Gulbis show just ended, and I must admit: it was pretty entertaining. Only 30 minutes, but, if you didn't get enough, The Golf Channel replayed it back-to-back.

Highlights:

1. Natalie's father is a real character. That guy stole the show. His gruff, hypercritical remarks about Natalie's mistakes provided some amusing "color" commentary. Good thing for the censor beep.

2. If she wasn't one of FHM's 100 Sexiest Women, you might think that Natalie Gulbis was a guy. The woman loves sports and has a bunch of sports memorabilia in her home (Mickey Mantle, Jack Nicklaus, Mike Vick, Terry Bradshaw, Tiger Woods, you name it). Is this woman too good to be true? She also has what appears to be a fleet of pick-up trucks, with a favorite she purchased from Texas over the Internet.

3. Lesson with Butch Harmon. Going to the Butch Harmon school was pretty cool. His office opens right onto the driving range, and Natalie was hitting balls from the indoor part. The footage of Natalie's swing from 1997 -- what Butch called the "funky swing" -- was a sight to behold.

Grade: A- (nice debut, better than expected after the postponing of the show due to concerns about the editing).

redux: Natalie November 15 preview

The first of Natalie Gulbis's reality show will air in one week, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 10 p.m., on The Golf Channel. Time to set Tivo. I could be wrong, but I'm predicting the highlight of week 1 will be the tour of Nat's house. It's either that or seeing the clowns on Best Damn, like Ron Dibble and Spider Salley. And if none of this piques your interest, the swimsuit shoot is Episode 2 -- seriously.

Episode 1: We will follow Natalie as she shares with us a look behind the scenes. From a BBQ at the Takefuji Classic with the friends and family to a tour of her house on Lake Las Vegas. We also tag along to Los Angeles as she appears on FOX’s Best Damn Sports Show Period.

Mental Game

As an amateur golfer, at least once in every round you probably hear one of the guys in your regular foursome announce, “I’m taking a lesson next week to fix my driver/long irons/chipping/putter.” Then they go through a session or sessions, perhaps even come back to the course with a strong start to a round, gravitate towards their old golf habits and swing flaws, and proceed to make a snowman on that same par 3 they usually butcher. They assume the instructor was not worth a second session, try a different instructor, and begin the same circular route all over again.
For most amateurs, having the ability to question an instructor about a developing swing flaw on a regular basis just isn’t available. Also, most amateurs will follow the practice instructions prescribed in a lesson for a few weeks, and then slowly go back to their original practice routine. Lastly, most amateurs never realize that their body type, personality, and swing is unique, and can not perform on the same plane, pendulum, and speed as any professional golfer. Have you ever gone to a lesson, had your swing superimposed onto Tiger’s, and had the instructor show you where your plane and head position are different? Guess what…you just wasted $60 and an hour of your life. Congratulations. So what can an amateur golfer over 30 years old with a single digit handicap do to get that slight advantage over his foursome and win that coveted $10? Forget the physical aspect of the game and recognize what the professional have in the last ten years. The six inches between your ears make a huge difference on your golf score.
Granted, as an amateur golfer, you don’t want to pay for a psychiatrist for your weekly golf match any more than you want to pay for a regular swing coach. Unless of course, you followed the advice of the broker you share with Martha Stewart, sold a ton of Webvan stock short, and have a few extra houses the instructor could live in. But for most amateur golfers, a psychiatrist isn’t even needed. All you have to do is develop your mental game on the golf course with a few tips that you can practice in every round.
So, Master Bubba, how do I get to the Dark Side? Do I practice “Zen Golf,” Hypnosis, “Finding the Zone,” or a lobotomy as my foursome suggested? Funny thing is, they are pretty much all the same, even the lobotomy, as you will see. They all focus on clearing all the junk out of your head to force the mind to focus on a specific target.
For example, when Brad Faxon, one of the best putters in the current era, is asked what he thinks about while he is putting, the response is always the same. “Nothing.” When they measure his heartbeat, timing, and putting stroke, there is no other player that is as consistent.
When a profession baseball pitcher takes the mound, most will admit that their body somehow blocks out the sound of the crowd and their surroundings. In fact, some have even said that their vision is limited to a small space around the point that they are aiming. And the same can be said for batters. Their vision is so focused on a small area, that they can read the spin of the ball by the seams as it comes out of the pitcher’s hands, indicating the type of pitch and likely position it will end up at the plate. In fact, batters often admit that when they hit a ball well, they cannot feel the impact in their hands.
Sounds easy enough, right? But you always have swing thoughts swimming around in your head. And then there is that perfect drive down the middle of the fairway that takes a bounce off an anthill and shoots into a lake. Ok, so maybe it isn’t too easy.
First things first. Think about the last great round you had score wise. Whenever I have one, it always seems to be the hardest round to recall despite the fact that I had the fewest number of strokes. Not only that, but when you think about the round, you are likely to say, “Boy, I could have shot a lot lower.” When Johnny Miller shot his jaw-dropping 63 at the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont, his first response to the press was, “I’m not complaining, but I didn’t get a lot out of the round. It wasn’t like I was making chip-shots and 30-footers.” And the same is true when I shoot my low rounds. The target you shoot for on the green is smaller, and you hardly worry about those 30-footers because you hardly miss by that margin. As another example, I remember a round where I went 14 straight holes with 0 or 1-putts. By six holes into the stretch, I no longer even looked at where the pin was located and made a swing solely to put the ball on the green. On the 15th hole of the stretch, my playing partners started talking about it, predicting on whether I might have less than 9 putts on the back nine, and I promptly 3-putted the hole. Thus confirming the emphasis on the concept of clearing your mind of outside thoughts.
So why has reaching “the Zone,” become a major factor for the professionals, and the sole teaching point for some coaches? Professionals have always conceded that the mental side of the game makes up 50 to 80 percent of the game of golf. And yet hardly any players, outside of Gary Player, ever spent more than 10% of their practice time on it. And when you look at professional players, almost every swing is uniform and similar. The mental game is the one item that can give one the edge. In addition, Eastern philosophy has grown increasingly popular in almost every aspect of the Western world, whether it is exercise (yoga), eating (vegetarians), Literature (Golf in the Kingdom), or entertainment (Martial Arts movies). And lastly, the notion that the zone was a short lived spurt that may occur randomly throughout a round is no longer the belief. Scientists have come to the conclusion that with highly developed physical and mental skills, an athlete can will himself into the zone or close to it for extended periods of time (Michael Jordan claimed he was in the zone 2% of the time in his career, but this ignores the large portion of the time that he was at 90% or better of his potential).
So how can you do it? How do you clear your head and get into “The Zone,” achieve “Zen,” or reach a “Higher Plane.” Well, as I mentioned, a lobotomy will clear out your head. Literally. Hypnosis sounds like the lazy man’s way of achieving it, but unless you have your psychiatrist on the bag, a patron might say, “hamburger helper”, and you start clucking around the fairway like a chicken. But as a teenager, Tiger Woods underwent hypnosis, so there might be something to it.
So that brings us to Zengolf and Reaching the Zone, two of the most popular methods out there right now. But these as well as the multiple of other methods out there right now are all based on the same principle: learn how to clear your head in competition to play your best mental golf as often as possible. Michael Murphy described it 33 years ago when he wrote his golf classic, “Golf in the Kingdom,” and commented during the 2004 Masters that he could see Phil Mickelson had reached a higher state during that week. But centuries before that, religions, communities, and even nations have been aware (whether it is through meditation or otherwise) that an individual free of cognitive chatter will perform at an elevated state and experience their true potential as a human being.
As I described earlier and later, every player is an individual. Some will have the mindset to will him or her self into the zone easily, while others may need to work weeks to get there. But if you remember a day where you shot a career round, not even realizing at the time you were doing it, oblivious during the round about your playing partners, and solely engrossed with each shot, you have the ability to take yourself to a higher level of play. Every player has heard that he should picture exactly how he wants his shot to look before he pulls the trigger. Sounds easy enough, but with partners talking about the greenie bet, their poker winnings the night before, and your tendency to pull the ball on a hole where the left side is surrounded by water, visualizing your shot can be difficult. So the first thing you need to do is to remove some of the clutter from the brain. In your next round, make a vow to do three things throughout the next round, no matter how your score is progressing:
1) Limit yourself to only one swing thought. Sounds easy enough, but you’ll be surprised about how difficult it is. For example, if your swing thought is to swing through the ball towards your target, step away from the ball any other swing thought pops into your head. That being the case, you should not have thoughts about grip, stance, or moving the wrists to shape the ball. Every other part of your swing should solely rely on that swing you’ve made thousands of times on the range. When approaching the ball, come up with the shot you want to hit, pull the club, and hit the shot. Try and keep any reservations about your tendencies to pull it on the backburner for one round. This holds true for putts as well. Pick a line and speed and hit it. Only one swing thought is harder than it seems, but it will clear your head of negative swing thoughts.
2) Lessen the chatter outside and you’ll lessen the chatter inside. Try to stay out of as many discussions with your playing partners before a shot as possible. This is especially true on the tee box (assuming you are not waiting for the group in front of you to clear for 15 minutes every hole) and the putting green. Instead, use the time to create a picture in your head of exactly how you want the ball to travel, picking out a square foot spot where you want your drive to land, or a particular piece of grass you want your putt to roll over. As you come closer to reaching the zone, this will become easier and easier to do, and your focus will become tighter.
3) After any bad shot, try to reboot your brain. Sounds silly, but it is a fairly simple process. After a poor shot, as you are approaching the spot of your next shot (or the following tee box), walk with your eyelids so relaxed that they are almost closed. Relax your jaw and tongue to the point that it drops open and it is to the point of almost being unhinged. Focus on nothing. With your eyes closed or almost closed, eliminate every thought from your head so that when you close your eyes it is merely a black screen without a single thought going through your head. As you try this more often, it will become easier to do to the point where you will be able to do it with your eyes wide open.
While these three things will automatically help you begin to limit your focus, you will begin to find small gold nuggets that seem to work best for you as an individual on fine-tuning your focus to the shot at hand. As said previously, each player is different, and no one method will work for everyone. Just as a strong grip would not work for all players. But for some, there will be that one set-up step that gives the player a balanced emotional level despite what has occurred previously that can help them to play at a higher zone on a consistent basis.
Need more help seeing what works on the practice range so you can take the information to the course. Golfpsych has created a golf tool called the Mind Meter, a product the size of a cigarette pack that can read the tension level of a player as he is put into different situations. Have I tried it? No, and for the $399 price tag, I don’t plan to. But for those players that rely on feedback on the range (are you a right brain or left brain player?), this might give you the answer to what is working.
So get out there and try it. Can’t hurt. And who knows, a career round might be right around the corner.

Does almost winning contribute to greatness?

Now that Tiger Woods has finished second to David Howell at the HBSC Championship, I am thinking about whether often coming close to winning plays any role in measuring a golfer's greatness. Notably, fewer close finishes is perhaps the most distinguishing aspect of Tiger career when compared with Jack Nicklaus.

To go along with his 73 official tour victories, Jack had 94 finishes in second or third (including ties). And in majors, Jack had 28 such close calls to go along with his 18 victories. (Of course, Jack also said, after finishing second as an amateur to Arnold Palmer in the 1960 Open, that "Nobody ever remembers who finished second at anything".)

Meanwhile, though the 2003 season, Tiger had won 39 official PGA events, but had only finished second or third in another 23 (in 2004 and 2005, Tiger has had more close calls than victories, though he has had a lot of both). In majors, even with his second place showing in this year's US Open, Tiger only has two seconds and two thirds to go with his 10 professional majors.
Of course, there is one golfer who would surely be eager to have close calls contribute to assessments of greatness: Phil Mickelson. In the majors, Phil has had 10 finishes in second or third to go along with his two victories. (Ernie Els also does pretty well by this metric, with eight close calls along with his three victories in majors.)

Jack Nicklaus: Presidential Medal of Freedom

Jack Nicklaus was among those honorees awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom today by Pres. Bush. The award is the highest recognized for a civilian. Among the other honorees were Muhammed Ali, Aretha Franklin, and Alan Greenspan.

Bart Bryant: late bloomer

He's 42 years old and balding, and a journeyman golfer before this year. But then, back in June, he won The Memorial, Jack's tournament. And, yesterday, he won The Tour Championship -- by 6 strokes over the elite golfers in the field. Bart Bryant, you've finally arrived.

One insider has told me that Bart Bryant is an impostor -- he's really Tom Lehman in disguise. Well, you be the judge -- pic of Bart v. pic of Tom. Lehman doesn't hit the fade, so I'm pretty skeptical about this claim. Bart was throwing darts yesterday with laser-like precision, including left to right. I must confess, though, I've never seen Bart and Tom together.

Annika wins Mizuno 5x in a row

Well, she did it. Annika set another record. No other pro golfer -- male or female -- has won a tournament five times in a row. Today, Annika did it in Japan, shooting an 8-under 64 to win the Mizuno Classic. (more here)

This only further validates the views of many of our readers who wrote back in September that Annika Sorenstam had the more impressive year than Tiger. (see here)

PGA playoff system: doomed to fail

In order to salvage its abysmal TV viewership and secure a decent TV contract, the PGA has proposed a playoff point system leading to the end of the year Tour Championship. Sound familiar? Well, yes, of course, it's modeled on the NASCAR Nextel point system. And, in fact, the LPGA has already announced earlier this year that it was adopting a playoff system.

Why it will fail: Once you have 4 "majors," everything else plays second fiddle, especially when you have Tiger Woods measuring his entire career only by the number of majors he wins instead of total tournaments won. The reason people don't watch golf is not because there is no playoff. It's because, for most non-golfers, golf is way too boring. At least with NASCAR, objects are flying, and there's the occasional crash and even fisticuffs.

So what PGA should do: Well, if the nitwits need someone to copy, copy the Super Bowl. The PGA will be the NFC, and the LPGA will be the AFC. Each league will field a team of 10 to play a Ryder Cup like event one weekend. There'll be a halftime show in between morning and afternoon matches. Maybe get someone like Faith Hill, or, if you really want some controversy, Janet Jackson.

Natalie November

It's finally November. For those of you who were disappointed back in July, when Natalie Gulbis's reality show was indefinitely postponed, your wait is almost over. We hope. It's scheduled to debut now on November 15 on The Golf Channel.

To get you warmed up, if you're not already, here's a tidbit from Natalie about her favorite foods: "I love steak and salmon and cookies. I think I eat those three foods more than any others." Being a big cookie lover (chocolate chip) myself, I'm very glad to see it made the list!

Question of the Month: LPGA, these girls ...

The best thing that could happen to the LPGA in terms of increasing its future marketing power and overall viewership for the next 3 years is:

A. Michelle Wie dominating
B. Paula Creamer dominating
C. Natalie Gulbis dominating
D. Morgan Pressel dominating
E. Annika dominating
F. No one dominating, but all 5 winning big tourneys
G. Jean Van de Velde winning the Women's British Open