EDINA, Minn. - Lorena Ochoa just walked off the Interlachen Country Club, having played four rounds in the U.S. Women’s Open without once shooting under par. This on one of the easiest Women’s Open courses ever. This from the overwhelming No. 1 ranked player in women’s golf, a player that drew some ridiculous Tiger Woods comparisons from the mainstream media earlier this year. Sorry, but it’s time to admit that Ochoa might not be as good as many thought she was. Again, it’s hard not to love the way Ochoa handles herself. She’s one of the classiest figures in all of sports, ... full post »

EDINA, Minn. (June 29, 2008) - You’ve probably dated a woman like Cristie Kerr at some point in your life (and have the war stories to tell about it). Or you probably complain to your girlfriends about the woman at work who’s like Cristie Kerr. Watching Kerr play in the U.S. Women’s Open, one can only come to one conclusion: Kerr’s a little batty. And you can probably drop the little. She holds an almost running monologue with her clubs, her ball, the grass, the trees. And yes, a lot of golfers talk to the ball as it’s in the air, but ... full post »

EDINA, Minn. (June 29, 2008) - Tiger Woods received a lot of Ben Hogan comparisons during his gutsy, but hardly courageous U.S. Open win at Torrey Pines. Which is like comparing the years of his career Ted Williams missed to serve his country to the year of his career PacMan Jones missed because he likes to throw money into the air at strip clubs - and get enraged if any of the strippers reach down to grab it. To his credit, even after Tiger won his 14th major and let the news out about his season-ending knee surgery, he dismissed any ... full post »

EDINA, Minn. (June 28, 2008) - Michelle Wie is a professional golfer. She’s an adult, old enough for Dick Cheney to send her to war (if rich kids ever went to war). Everyone might want to remember these facts as they madly congratulate Wie for acting like a pro. Yes, Michelle Wie got up early on this Saturday morning and came back to the course in the Minneapolis suburbs to play one hole and finish her second round even though she had no chance of making the cut. Yes, she didn’t withdraw. And so? A number of other players with no chance ... full post »

EDINA, Minn. - It’s 12:09 p.m. here on a rain-delayed Saturday at the U.S. Women’s Open and Lorena Ochoa is done as a contender. The No. 1 ranked player in women’s golf - the player with two career major wins who’s been ridiculously compared to Tiger Woods when she hasn’t even earned the right to be compared to Annika Sorenstam yet - just played herself out of another major. Starting on her third round on the 10th hole, Ochoa went bogey, double bogey, bogey on 11, 12 and 13, putting her at 5-over for the Open, a whopping 11 shots out ... full post »

EDINA, Minn. (June 27, 2008) - You know that Paula Creamer has to love the fact that Michelle Wie continues to throw up all over herself in any pressure golf situation. Just like about 150 other women out here at the U.S. Women’s Open delight in it. After Creamer posted a 1-under 72 in her second round, to move to four under for the Open, within three shots of the lead at this moment, she was served up a question that allowed her to take a swipe at the Wie duck-all-comers way without having to mention Wie by name. When someone asked ... full post »

EDINA, Minn. (June 27, 2008) - Minnesotans are sort of wacky. OK, forget the sort of. I say this with all appreciation. I’m staying with my version of a host family this week (more on this in a future blog) at U.S. Women’s Open rather than going the usual hotel route for example. So you know if they’re inviting me into their homes, they’re absolutely bonkers. How out of his mind is the average guy from Minnesota? Well, no matter where he’s really from, I consider TravelGolf.com’s liberal loony professor Kiel Christianson an honorary Minnesotan. Enough said. So it was with some ... full post »

EDINA, Minn. (June 27, 2008) - Annika Sorenstam sounded a lot like Phil Mickelson at Torrey Pines after she stumbled to a first round 75 in the U.S. Women’s Open. Minus the crazy no-driver decision. Sorenstam talked about sticking to her gameplan, which is the same thing Mickelson spewed before blowing up in the second round of his dream Open. Well, it turns out that the difference between Sorenstam and Mickelson is that her gameplans actually work. For the longtime face of the LPGA Tour is 3 under through 12 holes this morning, putting her 1 under for the Open with 6 ... full post »

EDINA, Minn. (June 26, 2008) - Two golfers talked openly of their plans to win the Grand Slam this season. Neither Tiger Woods or Lorena Ochoa are going to come close. But while Tiger got ripped for being supposedly arrogantly presumptuous by plenty of clueless louts - including WorldGolf.com’s own Tim McDonald - after finishing second at the Masters, Ochoa received a free pass after she never really challenged on Sunday at the LPGA Championship. Now, it’s the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open and Ochoa shots an even par 73, putting her six shots out of the lead on ... full post »

EDINA, Minn. (June 26, 2008) - So I walk into Interlachen Country Club to begin WorldGolf.com’s live coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open and Michelle Wie is putting together an 8-over 81 first round that puts her only 14 shots behind Ji Young Oh’s tournament lead. So much for all those comically predictable stories that led into today on Wie being on the comeback trail after a tie for 24th. The more things change in golf, the more they stay the same. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been away from the women’s game, show up at a major tournament and you’ll ... full post »

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Phil Mickelson and I were scheduled to play the same golf course Wednesday - albiet at different times. We were both set up on the renovated Tom Fazio at the new Grand Del Mar Resort about 25 minutes from downtown San Diego. I showed and Phil canceled after the news that Tiger Woods was out for the season came out. Hopefully Mickelson didn’t cancel because he thought some WorldGolf.com pain would have been pestering him for Tiger comments. (None of the powers that be let me in on the fact that you planned to be there, Phil, ... full post »

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (June 18, 2007) - Sometimes athletes are idiots when they ignore a doctor’s advice. Tiger Woods was brilliant. Shrugging off the recommendation of his doctors - who are no doubt some of the most highly-regarded doctors in the world - to not play in the U.S. Open because of a left knee that needs season-ending ACL surgery and two stress fractures in his left shinbone, Tiger kept the bigger legend in mind. Who cares if the decision assured that he’d miss the first two majors of his career - next month’s British Open and the PGA Championship in ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 16, 2008) - The trophy from his 14th major championship in his arms, Tiger Woods is now going to trudge off into the sunset for a good long month. Ago, maybe it’s more likely that he’ll be on the yacht or lounging in one of his palatial coastal mansions. But the next time anyone is going to see Woods swinging a golf club after his epic 91-hole, sudden-death, five-day U.S. Open Championship will be at the British Open in mid July. Woods even left the British Open in a little doubt during a smaller right-off-the-trophy-presentation with a few ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 16, 2008) - When one of the most exhilarating, suprise-filled, dramatic events in the history of sports finally finished at Torrey Pines, Tiger Woods went on to call the 108th U.S. Open his “greatest major.” Moments later, away from an 18th hole that turned into a mosh pit of fans during the trophy ceremony, but still a ways from his formal sit-down media center press conference, Woods amended that slightly - but still mostly stuck to it. “Just all the things I went through, how close it is was, I have to think that this is my greatest ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 16, 2008) - There’s no doubt that sportswriters and TV talking heads have played up Tiger Woods’ knee injury to an incredible degree in a sometimes desperate attempt to make it into a Ben Hogan moment. Anyone with even a shred of common sense knows that’s ridiculous. Getting a routine knee operation does not compare to putting your entire body back together after being smashed head on by a Greyhound Bus. With that said, the backlash the other way - charging that Tiger Woods is pain acting - is almost just as moronic. It’s the same ballpark ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calfi. (June 16, 2008) - Think Tiger Woods is the only certified master of mind games on the PGA Tour? Think again. Here’s Rocco Mediate coming out wearing red - you know Tiger’s color - for the 18-hole U.S. Open playoff. In fact, Mediate didn’t just have on a red shirt. He was wearing almost the exact same overall-colored outfit as Tiger. Woods had a little black pullover on too in the morning like Rocco, but he took it off to play. Say what you want what Rocco, but this guy has guts. Of course, only he’s light-hearted enough to ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 16, 2008) - The danger in this 18-hole U.S. Open playoff is that a tournament packed with crazy dramatics - one of those majors that is going to remembered decades from now (is John Feinstein already pitching the book?) - will end with an anti-climatic dud. This U.S. Open needs more than that, it needs Rocco Mediate to somehow stay close to Tiger for 18 holes and to force another great finish to win it. This stroke play version of match play is worrisome though. No one seems to outplay Tiger when they’re in the same group. Lee ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. - A few days ago, I wrote a column about how the par 5 18th finisher at Torrey Pines was the now the most exciting hole in major championship golf, urging the USGA to ignore Tiger Woods’ knocks about it being too easy and continue to set it up as a the rare risk-reward eagleable hole. Especially for Sunday. So the final round’s here and with many of the players expecting the USGA’s course setup guru Mike Davis to stretch 18 back to the very back tee in the multiple tee system in use in this U.S. Open, ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 15, 2008) - Imagine if Sergio Garcia stood right there with Tiger Woods in the final pairing for the final round of the U.S. Open later this afternoon. Or even if he was just a group or two and a shot or two back. An Open that’s already felt like more of a Super Bowl with all the buzz it’s produced, not to mention a caddie rolling around on the ground under the ropes with a fan, would be ratcheted up to a New England Patriots-New York Giants stratosphere. It could have happened too if Garcia had prepared ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 14, 2008) - After Tiger Woods put on one of the greatest shows in golf with not one, not two, but three shots in one U.S. Open round that will all forever remain on golf’s permanent highlight reel, one golf writer compared him to Jesus near Torrey Pines’ glass-enclosed scoring room. And he didn’t seem to be joking that much. Of course with one ridiculous extreme on the kind of day that just makes you happy to be a sports fan, there’s always another. So there were a few other writers in the mammoth press center - guys ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 14, 2008) - If the true power players at the United States Golf Association had any guts, if PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem wasn’t just an insanely high-paid excuse maker, Adam Scott would have needed to get a new caddie for today’s third round. There is no way that Tony Navarro should be back on the bag in any professional golf event anytime soon. Navarro went into the gallery at the end of Scott’s second round late Friday night California time. He went into the crowd and turned some verbal remarks into a physical confrontation. Navarro rolled around ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 14, 2008) - So there’s Phil Mickelson on the first tee at Torrey Pines South, pulling out driver. Two days too late. It was obvious the driver would be back if you heard a downtrodden Mickelson talking about his incredibly lame fairways hit numbers (less than 50 percent for the No. 2 golfer in the world) after his 4-over second-round 75 crushed his self-proclaimed U.S. Open dream. Mickelson deserves a little credit - with the emphasis on little - for not stubbornly keeping a driver out of his bag for the third straight day to try and ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 13, 2008) - Tiger Woods is your sure U.S. Open winner after that near-record 30 on his back nine. You want to say there are two rounds to go? Go read how freaked out and bowing down most of the other contenders were after Tiger’s Torrey Pines roar-a-thon on the front of WorldGolf.com later this morning. So with The How the only question to go with The Who that gets the trophy, it’s time to turn to the man you should root for. Even though he has about as much of a chance of taking this major ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 13, 2008) - Adam Scott didn’t think himself out of a U.S. Open like the man made for tragic novels - Phil Mickelson. But if you watched and listened to Scott for two days, you might conclude that’s because Scott is not smart enough to outthink a mole. Scott’s the No. 3 ranked player in the world has the mental game of a weekend handicapper. And that may be a put down to weekend handicappers. All the talent in the world and what does Scott do? He manages to four putt 18. No. 18 may be the most ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 13, 2008) - Kevin Streelman is one of the better stories in golf, a tale that average people (you know the type that get bused in all the way from the San Diego Chargers stadium just to pay big money to watch the U.S. Open while never complaining like the media often does) can relate with. A career mini tour player, the 29-year-old Streelman finally found his way onto the PGA Tour this year. And he’s done relatively well, making nine cuts in 16 events, pocketing $219,164. Sure, that’s tip money to someone like Phil Mickelson or ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 13, 2008) - It’s 10:45 a.m., nearly three hours before Tiger-Phil Duel II, and Phil Mickelson is the lone golfer on the putting green. He hits putt after putt as his apparently ever-increasingly-influential guru Dave Pelz looks on. Pelz is wearing his trademark wide-brimmed straw hat and Mickelson’s trying to correct a problem from round one (a problem besides the fact that he couldn’t find a fairway on the front nine using his brainchild 3-wood strategy off the tee). Despite rallying to post an even-par 71 on day one, Mickelson didn’t hit any long putts. Or many ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. - Shortly after scrambling back for a first round even par 71 in his dream U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson admitted that this is the first time he’s ever not had a driver in his bag during any pro tournament round. It’s also the first time he ever had a hybrid in his bag. But Phil insists - it’s a well-thought-out, sound game plan - and he will stick with the no-driver strategy as long as it doesn’t rain at Torrey Pines. If the fairways aren’t softened by water, Mickelson says he’s sticking with his 3-wood or hybrid off ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. - After Tiger Woods’ very tame (much too tame) funny dig at hockey turned into an even more comical puckhead furor - and the predictably lame backtrack came out - it was safe to wonder whether the greatest golfer in history would ever make a public joke again. But there Tiger is after posting a 1-over 72 in his prize fight bout with Phil Mickelson, cracking on himself. Specifically his double bogey on the first hole of a round that already had golf writers all but holding vigils for his surgically repaired knee. When asked if he’d “gotten in ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 12, 2008) - It’s no secret on the PGA Tour that Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods hate each other like the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons loathed the other’s very being in the late 1980s. You know back when Rasheed Wallace and everyone else in the NBA didn’t conduct regular hug-a-thons (probably figuring that the league’s allegedly fixed anyways, so why sweat your opponent). Still, Phil and Tiger mostly try to pretend everything’s fine with their relationship in press conferences. But anybody who watched Mickelson and Woods from upclose today in the much-anticipated U.S. Open showdown at Torrey ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 12, 2008) - Phil Mickelson made sure he wouldn’t have to worry about another driver blunder like Winged Foot in the first round of his dream U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. But in his never-ending quest to prove he’s the smartest, most creative golfer in the world, he helped put himself in an Open hole he might not recover from. Part of Mickelson’s decision to not have a driver in his bag at Torrey centers around his obsession with wedges. Mickelson’s been carrying as many as five wedges in his bag during some rounds this year and ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 12, 2008) - With Tiger Woods walking and moving fine as he warms up, it’s time to turn to the real perplexing injury in the prize-fight-hyped Top 3 threesome grouping of this morning’s U.S. Open. Yes, I’m talking Adam Scott’s broken pinky. Scott - who hasn’t talked to the media all week - has reported that he smashed his pinky finger in a car door, breaking it. Now I’m not saying this isn’t possible, but if an NFL or Major League Baseball player came out with that type of injury explanation, the beat writers would be rolling their ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 12, 2008) - Tiger Woods just walked right behind me to the putting green (the world’s No. 1 keeps following me I swear, some privacy please) and there wasn’t even the slightest hint of a gimp in his stride. This after a few days at Torrey Pines where it seemed like Tiger did have something of a noticeable hitch with that surgically repaired left knee during his practice rounds. But today, with Tiger-Phil about an hour away, Woods walks fine. Could it be that Tiger was just playing with everyone all along? Is this the ultimate mind game ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. - Sometimes you get a PGA Championship in August in Tulsa and sometimes you get a U.S. Open in San Diego in June. It’s one of those days at Torrey Pines that reminds everyone why San Diego is such a great summer golf getaway. Sixty six degrees and sunny with just enough ocean breeze to eliminate any chance of sweat. Having come in from the East Coast, which was locked in a stifling near historic heat wave, and knowing I’ll be heading back to Arizona soon where locals remind visitors “It’s a dry heat” when it hits 120 ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 11, 2008) - I’m not saying that Masters champion Trevor Immelman is a definite subscriber and loyal reader to WorldGolf.com’s weekly newsletter, but the South African is at least clearly one of great minds in golf. For on the same day that I blasted golf writers for complaining about things in this Torrey Pines Open that are going to make it great for the fans, Immelman echoed one of the points by noting how few veteran golf scribes actually leave the press center and go out onto the course. After saying that he “would pay to watch ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 10, 2008) - Phil Mickelson is not about to let Tiger Woods and his left knee completely dominate the spotlight in the U.S. Open in his hometown. Not by a rim shot. So Mickelson threw the gauntlet down on himself today, putting the pressure (and the focus) right where he probably feels it belongs. “I’ve come close to winning this championship four times,” Mickelson said. “I’ve had four second places. This is a tournament I know and believe I can win. “This golf course gives me the greatest opportunity to do that.” Mickelson wasn’t done either. By the time he’d ... full post »

LA JOLLA, Calif. (June 10, 2008) - So Tiger Woods makes his first appearance at a microphone at Torrey Pines with the start of the U.S. Open less than 48 hours away and what’s he talk about? Hockey of course. Yes, forget that balky knee that has Tiger admitting he still hasn’t walked 18 holes since the final round of the Masters - despite playing four practice rounds in the last six days at Torrey Pines. It’s hockey gate that is truly dogging Tiger Woods. When Woods was asked today about the comical furor that’s built over his hockey dismissal, he weakly backtracked. ... full post »

Michelle Wie made the field for the upcoming U.S. Women’s Open the old-fashioned way on Monday, taking the path that Team Wie tried to avoid at every opportunity the last several years. She earned it. Without any special perks or exceptions, Wie shot a 70-67 at two different courses in Maryland, giving her the second best score on the day against a field that included many fringe LPGA players who hadn’t qualified yet. For the first time in a long time, the first time really since the days she first captured the public’s attention in that carefully constructed hype blitz of ... full post »

A good portion of the follow-along-with-anything mainstream golf media has gone gaga over the Dallas Cowboys’ playoff-choking specialist Tony Romo shooting an 84 at Torrey Pines in supposed U.S. Open conditions. What’s gone largely unnoticed though is that it took Romo nearly seven hours to play his round and record that 84. Seven hours for a round in which the foursome of Romo, real celebrity (and all-around good golf guy) Justin Timberlake, news reader Matt Lauer and courageous regular guy John Atkinson basically had the course to themselves. Sure, there were NBC TV cameras there and maybe they had to wait ... full post »

Traveling around you’ll run into some wacky laws when it comes to drinking and gambling - two of any self-respecting golfer’s favorite pastimes. But you haven’t seen anything yet until you’ve been in Idaho. Idaho has Native American Indian casinos. But they are unlike any casinos you’ve been in before. For starters, there are no actual cards in the “card” games. But there are still dealers. Confused yet? You will be once you walk into a casino. Take the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort & Hotel, home of the can’t-miss Circling Raven Golf Club. Dealers behind what are marked as blackjack tables will try ... full post »

Hockey fans like to think they understand the joys of a game that no one else can get, when in reality they’re mostly just dumber than a box of rocks. Put your average hockey fan in front of a test pattern and he’d get a kick out of that too. Who do you think watches Two and a Half Men anyway? So it’s really no surprise that hockey’s savants have gotten their missing teeth in a bunch over Tiger Woods’ supposed slight of the Stanley Cup Finals. I say supposed because I was on the PGA Championship media day conference call where ... full post »

In one of his rare media appearances - probably his last media appearance before he arrives at Torrey Pines for next week’s U.S. Open - Tiger Woods revealed moments ago that he hasn’t even played one full round of golf since he went out for knee surgery after the Masters. “I have been around 18 holes for an outing,” Woods said in a conference call to promote the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills in August, which even he surely isn’t thinking about just yet. “But I haven’t played 18 holes yet.” Ten days till the first round of the Open begins and ... full post »