You think that McCain picking Sarah Palin as running mate was out of the blue? What happens if Kevin Streelman wins this weekend? Can Azinger avoid picking the guy? We know he had the chops to lead the US Open and he will have performed exceedingly well on two successive playoff stages. True that he didn’t qualify to play in the PGA Championship but heck, none of the other potential captain’s choices did much at the SlimFast PGA at Oakland Hills. As of 6:03 EST on Saturday the 30th of September, here are the never-set-in-stone Big Four ... full post »

The male team is already in trouble. Walter Driver, the most insignificant and disruptive USGA president in recent memory, is in charge of the Team USA. Rickie Fowler, Billy Horschel and Jamie Lovemark will play, with Kyle Stanley and Drew Kittleson as alternates. I guess winning the USGA Public Links, in which Fowler and Horschel competed, wasn’t enough to get Jack Newman an alternate slot. Driver attempted to get himself elected President of the USGA for an unprecedented and unwanted third term, but cooler heads prevailed and graciously gave him the boot. Here are three excellent articles that ’splain ... full post »

Leave it to a Canuck to organize my thoughts for me. In today’s Toronto Globe and Mail, Lorne Rubenstein nails a point that Chris Baldwin, Will Wolfrum and I have already taken a crack at. Here is Rubinstein’s most salient point, on which I wish to focus: The LPGA could lose some tremendous players if it’s not careful. Imagine a scenario where a player who can’t speak English to LPGA standards wins a major championship in her rookie year. She has two years to learn English or face suspension. She doesn’t learn it, and she’s suspended. The LPGA says ... full post »

Not to be outdone by their female counterparts, the PGA Tour of America has issued the following requirements for membership maintenance: 1. Lawyer, not Sociology, to be the new language of the tour. The majority of PGA Tour players majored in Sociology in college. One anonymous linksman indicated “It’s easy and we don’t expect to graduate.” All future golfers hoping to play the PGA Tour of the USA in the future must demonstrate a basic level of fluency in lawyer. Both courtroom and real estate dialects will be accepted. Current members are exempted, but… 2. ... full post »

Danny Lee got Kittleson 6 down after 20 holes but the tall lad has come back to 3 down with 12 to go. It might be conditioning, it might be nerves, but Drew Kittleson is -3 for the afternoon round to even par for Lee. We’ll see. UPDATE: Kittleson eagled number 7 to Lee’s birdie and is now only 2 holes down…crazy!!! full post »

The doppleganger effect has taken hold…which Gordon Brand will triumph, the good or the evil, the Scot or the Brit? Currently in England at the PGA Seniors Championship, Gordon Brand and Gordon Brand are disputing a playoff after both tied for first at +4. Gordon Brand bogied the 72nd hole to fall into a tie with Gordon Brand. Stay tuned for more… full post »

Some crazy Aussie shook down a sand shot in overtime to win at Brunei, the country formerly as wealthy as Dubai (they even rhyme!) The European seniors are getting blasted by something supernatural in England. +3 leads with +4s cold on its heels. Danny Lee is -5 after 18 and 5 up on Drew Kittleson. First time an oriental aussie (whoooops, he’s a Kiwi!) wins the US Amateur…soon the overseas contingents will own that championship, too. Duramed Futures Tour season is drawing to a close…six of the seasons top ten money winners are in the top ten with one round to ... full post »

Brady Riggs has always been one of my favorite writing pros. He had been involved with third-tier magazines before being snapped up by a first-tier magazine in 2007. Until today, I was a devotee. Now, I am adrift in the seas of disillusionmentationism. Riggs suggests, sadly, that B. Obama has the potential to become a good golfer, better than Clinton and Bush Junior. Here’s a link to his blog entry on the topic, accompanied by a video. Honestly, it’s crap. There’s nothing smooth about Lefty’s abbreviated back swing, Cal Peete (without the diamonds in the ... full post »

Colleague Tim McDonald and I had the same, simultaneous inspiration…too much USA coverage, not enough Euro. He focused on Luke Donald’s absence, which I consider overrated and he feels is underrated. Good thing…disagreement makes for a solid conversation. Numbers 1 through 3…Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia Unquestionably strongest in the clutch is Harrington…better than anything not limping on the US side. Westwood has been to the bowels of Baker-Finch and back, so he knows how to survive a tough patch. Despite some petulance, Garcia is one of the best four from tee to green in the game. ... full post »

Today in Kentucky, three LPGA stars may have twinkled in a dynamic matchup. Kudos to Mindy Kim, who held off Vicky Hurst by one, the best player by a mile on the DFT this season, and Stacey Lewis by two. Lewis is the recent Arkansas graduate who led the US Open heading into Sunday. Kim and Hurst are assured of top ten finishes on the LPGA developmental tour and the 2009 tour cards that are bestowed on the lucky decagon. Lewis can avoid LPGA tour school by finishing in the top ten. Her seven grand payday ... full post »

Three other events have our attention this week. In the annual “this event predicts success for no one” event for women, Amanda Blumenhurst takes on Azahara Munyoz (no tilde for the “n,” so I substituted a “y") in the 2-round final. Both finalists played poorly (lots of bogies) in their semifinal wins, although each had a hot quarterfinal round (lots of birdies), so who knows what we’ll see. Other than Morgan Pressel (2005 champion and what has she done lately?), there’s been little success from the winners. Pat Hurst in 1990 is the last winner to ... full post »

Two points on Tim’s blog entry…the bloom is off the rose and the Cup events are seen in their entirety as the money-making shams they are. Sure, there’s some history, but that certainly doesn’t matter to the organizers. It might be the most stressful, busiest golf week of the year (Ryder and Presidents) for the players. Second point, Trahn, O’Hair and Snedeker are in the top 15 for points and in the top 20 heading through round three of the PGA. If all can make a splash (unlikely) they should bump Mahan out (who shot 160 ... full post »

I am most certainly not encouraging the young Hawaiian lass to get drunk in a British way. I am encouraging her to get angry after her 3rd-hole bogey. I have never seen her pump herself up like Dottie Pepper used to do, like many great players do. She seems to get dour, like Bob Tway, like Weiskopf. That is not certainly not the way to go. Must be a tall, thin person thing. Get pissed, Michelle! (Or, it will be the “same old same old” for the next two to three weeks.) full post »