Q School

It must be nerve-wracking for the likes of Lee Janzen, Bob May, Chris Riley, and Duffy Waldorf to find themselves fighting to play on the PGA. There's no job security on the PGA tour, even if you've won 2 majors or recently played in the Ryder Cup (Riles shot 83 today!).

The most hated word among the pros must be "Q-School, "which begins today and ends on Monday after 6 grueling rounds of golf. Top 30 (and ties) qualify, but 163 players are competing. This is the tourney that can reduce grown men into crying boys. Luckily, this is one school that Michelle Wie has avoided.

Leaderboard.

Millionaires on the LPGA and other reflections of a new era

Though I doubt Michelle Wie should get the credit, it is notable that in her first year as a pro a record number of players earned more than a million dollars on the LPGA Tour. As detailed on the 2006 LPGA money list, this year 11 players made over a million; in 2005, only six players made that much.

Intriguingly, though I expected 2006 to be the year that young guns like Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel and Natalie Gulbis would rise to the top, these three all had disappointing years. Meanwhile other lesser-known youngsters, like Julieta Granada and Brittany Lincicome, scored big victories.

Of course, the biggest news was the emergence of Lorena Ochoa as perhaps the best female golfer in the world. Also the strong resurgence of Karrie Webb, after three years out of the top 10, was quite a story. Ochoa and Webb became the first two women not named Annika to win two million dollars in one year on the LPGA, and they also both bested Annika to total winnings this year. Sign of a new era or will Annika bounce back in 2007?

Tiger Woods owns the PGA Grand Slam

After a lackluster first round that left him 3 behind Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods proved once again why he is the best golfer on the planet. Tiger shot 66 at Poipu Bay, to win his 7th straight Grand Slam (of 8 times). (More from TGC)

The PGA Grand Slam begins - live on Internet

The winners of the majors (minus Mickleson, plus Mike Weir and Jim Furyk) will be in Kauai, Hawaii, at Poipu Bay, Wednesday and Thursday. The PGA has set up its website so that you can watch online here. Air times are listed below.

Tiger Woods blows final round lead to lose to Harrington in playoff

Is the apocalypse upon us? Did Tiger Woods just blow a final round lead? Bidding to become a threepeat champion of the Dunlop Phoenix Open in Japan, Tiger Woods looked to be in control of the tournament. But Tiger uncharacteristically messed up. With a 2-stroke lead on the 16th, Tiger missed a three-footer while Paddy Harrington rolled in a birdie. Two shot swing; all tied.

On the second hole of the playoff, Paddy drove in the rough and then went for broke splitting his ball through a "Y" shaped tree. With shades of Phil Mickelson's shot at the U.S. Open overhanging, Paddy made his miraculous shot. His next shot was within two feet for a tap in birdie. Tiger uncharacteristically missed a twelve footer for birdie to lose the tourney. (More from TGC)

LPGA 's ADT live on NBC

I just turned on the ADT Championship as the ladies turn to the back nine. As noted here and here, the women are playing for their largest payday ever in an innovative format that has eight diverse players shotting for the $1 million prize (second only pays $100,000 and third only $20,000). Turn it on to see if anyone can stop the golf machine that is Lorena Ochoa.

Annika eliminated

Not a good year for Annika Sorenstam. Even with the one major, her play has been inconsistent. Today, she didn't even make the cut to play in the second round of the year end playoff in the ADT Championship. The reign may be over.

ADT Championship has innovative format for women

I like the playoff format of the top 32 women playing at the ADT Championship. Today, top 16 will make it to Saturday (playoff if needed to determine No. 16). Saturday, scores carry over and then the top 8 will be selected after the third round. Sunday, everyone starts from scratch to play 18 holes for $1 million. Cool beans.

Natalie Gulbis fires way into contention for $1million payday

The first round of the ADT Championship saw Japan's star Ai Miyazato claiming the lead at -4, at Trump International in Florida. Ai usually has a huge following of Japanese press wherever she goes, so this would be epic in Japan if she wins. Il-Mi Chung and Karrie Webb are tied for second at -3, while Julieta Granada, Mi Hyun Kim, and Natalie Gulbis are back at -2.

Surprisingly, Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa shot +2 and +3, respectively, and will have to hustle today in order to make the cut.

Leaderboard

Mandatory drug testing on tour -- for the women

The LPGA announced a mandatory drug testing program will go into effect for women golfers on tour for the 2008 season. I don't think the women have anything to worry about (have you seen the size of POY Lorena Ochoa?), but will the PGA be next?

Ladies to play for the big bucks this week at ADT Championship

The money for winning an LPGA event is relatively paltry compared to what the men earn on the PGA Tour. In every PGA tour event, the winner makes over $500,000, and the average winner's take is over $800,000. Meanwhile, on the LPGA, the women rarely take more than $200,000 home for a win, and often much less than that.

This week, however, in which the LPGA culminates its new LPGA Playoffs at the ADT Championship, the ladies with be playing for the big bucks. As detailed here, the "2006 winner of the ADT Championship will earn $1 million, the largest first-place prize in the history of women's golf."

Lorena Ochoa, who I believe has now dethroned Annika Sorenstam as the best female golfer in the world, has to be the favorite going in.

Tiger loses to Yong-Eun Yang

It was bound to happen: Tiger lost a tournament. Four-time winner on the Japan tour, Yong-Eun Yang pulled out a 2-stroke victory (at -14) over Tiger Woods, who finished strong with 3 birdies in the last five holes. This was Yang's first European Tour victory, albeit in a tournament in China (go figure).

On the final holes, Yang apparently had an out-of-body experience: "I wasn't nervous at all, but the last three holes I couldn't get it on the green, then I got nervous. I feel like I'm up in the air. I can't grasp it in words."

Leaderboard.

Video: a cure for your slice

Tiger Woods catapults into contention in China

After a rusty even par yesterday, Tiger Woods came out on fire today, shooting a course record, 8-under 64. That put Tiger right back into contention, in a tie for third, 2 strokes behind the talented Indian golfer Jyoti Randhawa. This is the biggest golf event in China, and Tiger Woods has already thrilled the audiences. Smart money would be on Tiger winning yet again! Leaderboard here.

Tiger: it's hard to find others who relate to being the best

Tiger Woods is back in action (even par today) in Shanghai. So is he new pal Roger Federer, the world No.1 tennis player and perhaps best tennis player ever. Tiger was sitting in Federer's player's box at the finals of the U.S. Open, which Federer won. Well, today, Federer watched Tiger play a few holes of somewhat lackluster golf.

About his frienship with Roger, Tiger said, "It's nice to pick his brains. I've been lucky to get to know Michael Jordan pretty well and it's good to find people you can talk to about preparations and distractions, about getting to the top and then moving forward."

Tiger Woods unveils new website + blog

Tiger Woods (or his people) found the time to redesign his website. Red is still the dominant color, but the site's been updated with flash photos and other features. There's even a blog, but apparently you have to enter a password to read it. What's up with that? Basically the blog contains the content from Tiger's monthly emails.

Said Tiger, "I'm excited about the new look and hope you enjoy it. As always, I welcome your feedback. I also want to let you know that I have started a new company called Tiger Woods Design. I have always wanted to create my own golf courses around the world and am thrilled to embark on this new opportunity. I've played golf in more than 20 countries and look forward to sharing my first-hand knowledge and experience by designing fun, interesting and playable courses for golfers of all abilities. I'll keep you posted on our progress.That's it for now. Hope you had a great Halloween - Elin and I handed out candy to the neighborhood kids. Talk to you next month."

Zinger as Captain... New Qualifying Rules for US Ryder Cup Team

In an interesting move, the PGA of America announced new qualifying rules for the 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup Team. New Captain Paul Azinger was the mastermind behind the changes. See the video here.

Here are the highlights:

8 qualifiers based on the following formula:

Tournaments played from August 27-November 5, 2006 -- 1/4 point for each $1,000 earned for US players who finished in the top 10.

Tournaments played opposite the Majors and World Golf Championship Events between January 1 and August 11, 2008 -- 1/2 point for each $1,000 earned.

Majors in 2008 -- 2 points for each $1,000 earned

Official Events from January 1 to August 11, 2008 -- 1 point for each $1,000 earned, except events opposite the Majors and WGC events.

Majors in 2007 -- 1 point for each $1,000 earned

Then... Zinger gets to pick 4 "Captains Picks"

So...

US Players no longer have to finish in the top 10 to get points.
US Players will be ranked according to Earnings, which makes sense.
There are no points in 2007, other than those offered in the Majors and those earned prior to this announcement.

Overall, it is a great choice and hopefully will give Zinger a "better" team! However, they still need to play like a team, instead of a bunch of individuals.

Adam Scott wins Tour Championship, Furyk second

Shooting 11-under par, Adam Scott won his first PGA event of the year, in the last PGA tournament of the year. Steady Jim Furyk finished second at 8-under. (More from TGC)

Adam Scott is only 26 years old. Maybe he will finally live up to his potential, fill the huge vaccuum left by Phil Mickelson's implosion at the U.S. Open, and give some challenge to Tiger Woods. Hope springs eternal.

After his victory, Adam said: "Yeah, I think it is. I mean, yeah, that's what I'm one day hopefully going to get to is No. 1. It might take a while, but I think if I was to be No. 1 in the world at some point in my career, then I think that would be maybe the best achievement I could ever do in golf is get past Tiger Woods."

Karrie Webb beats Annika -- Is Karrie the Player of the Year?

Karrie Webb chased down and then passed Annika Sorenstam with a final round 66 to win her 5th tournament of the year at the Mizuno Classic. Although Webb still trails Lorena Ochoa in the money list, Webb has one major victory this year (while Lorena has none). Does this victory clinch Webb's selection as Player of the Year, or should both Webb and Ochoa share that honor?

More from TGC

Hal Sutton goes on tirade against U.S. golf, present + future

TGC Rich Lerner has a stunning interview with Hal Sutton, who apparently is the kind of guy who sees the glass half empty. Sutton rips into just about everything that is going on in U.S. golf today. Here's only some of what Hal said:

“I’m so disgusted with where everything’s gone I don’t even want to play the game."

"We’re in a vacuum in golf in America. We’re consumed by the almighty dollar. We’ve forgotten that we all play the game because we love it. Greatness doesn’t worry about money. Greatness worries about bein’ great.”

"We got too many people in leadership capacities that don’t understand the game at its core. We’re conforming to what they say the market wants and what manufacturers are giving us and it’s weakening our players.”

"Everyone’s trying to be like Tiger. No individualism. They’re all trying to swing like Tiger.”"

"We [in the U.S.] don’t have world class players in their 20s. That’s a failure on our part.”

Take a mulligan: PGA "season" should not extend to November

Let's see: The PGA season officially starts in January. Wait a second, that's only a couple months away. But why then are the players still playing now in November? When does the PGA "season" really end?

While all other major professional sports have a true off-season (so their fans can take a rest and get rejuvenated and excited for the next season), professional golf believes that the season should last nearly 11 out of 12 months of the year , giving the fans an overdose of golf tournaments.

The result? Burnout. Can you blame Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods for saying: enough is enough? Especially in a year with the Ryder Cup, golfers and, yes, fans need a break from golf. Dear PGA, do the smart thing and put an end to the "season." Golf fans can get their fix of golf during the winter months by watching reruns of Big Break XXXXII and Shell's Wonderful World of Golf.

New Natalie Gulbis calendar released for 2007

Natalie Gulbis has released her 2007 calendar, available here.