David Feherty, golf analyst and my personal favorite funnyman, is finding himself in a tub o’ hot water due to his latest column written for a Dallas local magazine, opining on his new neighbors, George and Laura Bush. The line in question? From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there’s ... full post »

So I went out today for my first 18-hole round in quite a while. Knowing that I was in it for the long haul and also knowing that I would be playing with some ladies from my club, I arrived a half hour early and started warming up at the range. This isn’t remarkable in itself other than the fact that I never “hit the range” before a round of golf. Why? Because I usually play with my husband, and he would rather poke needles in his eyes than arrive a half hour early to warm up before a round of ... full post »

This weekend marks the Mercedes Championship, official opener for the 2009 PGA Tour season. But I know what you’re thinking: With Tiger Woods’ knee issues keeping him out of the field, there’s not much point in tuning in just yet. So I offer you this, five reasons to watch the Mercedes Championship. 1. It’s in Hawaii. I don’t know about you, but from where I sit in my windy, rainy, 30-degree state, Hawaii’s looking pretty good to me. That Barack Obama, who knew he could solve the global warming crisis before even taking office? Remarkable. But frankly, I wouldn’t object to ... full post »

A few years ago I penned a column opining on the primary difference between male and female golfers. In my view, it’s pretty simple: men cheat more. In light of recent events concerning one J.P. Hayes, I take it all back. If you’ve been living under the proverbial rock, Hayes is a golf pro who’s been trying to earn his Tour card for next year. At Q-school last week, he was doing just fine until he realized, after finishing a par 3, that he had played a ball other than the type he’d started his round with. Being the upstanding golf citizen that ... full post »

(This one’s for you, UK Wendy) So… my golf club is revamping their locker rooms, and the ladies were asked: what would you like in your locker rooms? Being busy and frankly, a little lazy (hence the frequency of my latest posts), I got as far as “spray-on sunscreen and a full-time massage therapist.” But the more I think about it, the more it occurs to me, I should really take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity. I mean, how often do you get asked: if you could have anything you wanted, anything at all, what would it be? So I ... full post »

The British Open is drawing all the attention this weekend, so golf fans can be forgiven for missing what was a pretty major story at the LPGA State Farm Classic. Once again, Michelle Wie found herself disqualified. Her error this time was the sin of omission—after a stellar round of 65 on Friday that put her in second place, she forgot to sign her scorecard. Volunteers called her back, she walked back and signed it, and thought everything was fine. It wasn’t. She had already stepped outside the roped area around the scorer’s tent before she was called back, a no-no according ... full post »

You’ve heard people make the claim before, I’m sure. After a bad shot, they hit another one “just for practice,” and rather than be happy with the results of their second, perfect shot that lands two feet from the pin, they just get bitter. I found myself alone on the golf course yesterday, with not a soul in front or behind me. With time on my hands and an extra ball in my pocket, I decided this was an ideal opportunity to test the theory for myself. Sure, it’s one thing to follow up one shot with another. But if you were ... full post »

With news of Annika’s imminent retirement from professional golf, chances to see her go head to head with Lorena Ochoa are lessening with every tournament. Last weekend at the Michelob Ultra Open, it was looking like a heated battle as the two players were placed first and second going into the weekend. But Sorenstam pulled ahead while Ochoa fell apart, and the final round ended up somewhat less than climactic. But it’s a new day, a new tournament. The second round of the Sybase Classic is underway, and both Annika and Ochoa have spots in the top ten, Annika now tied for ... full post »

Big news in the golf world: Annika Sorenstam announced this afternoon that she’s planning to “step away from competitive golf” after this season. Wow and wow. Sorenstam has achieved pretty much every honor known to pro golf. The Hall of Famer has won 72 tournaments to date, including ten majors and a career Grand Slam. She’s been the LPGA player of the year a record eight times. How appropriate that the former world number one is going out on top, having recovered from the back and neck injuries that plagued her last season. She’s finally back to peak form, having won three ... full post »

Take a look at the leaderboard at the Michelob Ultra Open, and you might think you’re looking at the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. The world’s two best women golfers are currently leading the pack, with Annika at 12 under, Lorena three strokes behind at 9 under. It’s a real live showdown, folks. The pair have finished 1st and 2nd at two other tournaments this season, but Ochoa’s always gotten the best of Annika, by five strokes at the Kraft Nabisco, and by eleven at the HSBC Women’s Champions. Annika’s two victories this season, meanwhile, have both come on weekends when Ochoa ... full post »

Annika Sorenstam edged out Paula Creamer in a one-hole sudden death playoff to pick up her 71st victory today at the Stanford International Pro-Am, her second win of the season. After Thursday’s first round, Sorenstam called the course “silly tough.” I’m sure Creamer is thinking along the same lines today after one missed birdie opportunity after another. The playoff hole (Creamer’s first playoff as a pro) was particularly underwhelming. Both Sorenstam and Creamer laid up on the long par-5, then hit their third shots over water, Sorenstam hitting the green, Creamer landing on the fringe. Both missed their birdie putts, Creamer ... full post »

Lorena Ochoa showed she’s perfectly capable of a come-from-behind win this weekend at the Ginn Open. Entering the weekend a stroke behind rookie Yani Tseng, she went seven under on Saturday, three under on Sunday to make up all the ground she needed and then some, for her fourth consecutive win. The four-peat ties the LPGA record of most consecutive wins currently held by Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, and Annika Sorenstam. One more win will put her in the record books for good. What was most surprising about Ochoa’s win wasn’t the relatively small three-stroke victory margin (she’s been winning by as ... full post »

After winning four of her five tournaments this season, it’s getting to the point where the big news isn’t when Lorena Ochoa is ahead, but when she’s not. “It’s nice to be a few shots behind,” Ochoa said yesterday after her second round at the Ginn Open. Yes, I’m sure it gets old to always be ten or eleven strokes out front. It must be a real drag. Ochoa shot 68, 67–good enough for her current position of T3, three strokes behind the current leader, rookie Yani Tseng. The Taiwanese teenager shot a blistering 64 yesterday to take the lead going into ... full post »

I don’t really need to write the rest of this blog, you got the main dope right there in the headline. That’s right, Lorena Ochoa shot three consecutive 66s and is entering the final round of the Corona Championship with a seven-stroke lead over current runner-up Inbee Park. Think she’s going to win? At the risk of jinxing the woman, I’d say it’s a safe bet. Of the three wins she’s already chalked up this season, the smallest margin she won by was five strokes. Improving her chances is the fact that several of the LPGA’s top performers–Annika Sorenstam, Paula Creamer, ... full post »

Sports writers love a good storyline. And in the world of golf, the storyline this season has been “Will Tiger win the Grand Slam?” Personally, I think we might see not just one Grand Slam this year, but two. That’s right, two Grand Slams. One for the men, and one for the ladies. This weekend we’re treated to the Masters, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who’s betting against Tiger. But Lorena Ochoa is already a quarter of the way there with Sunday’s win at the Kraft Nabisco. This has been a season of supremacy for Ochoa. She’s played in four tournaments and ... full post »