Rafael Echenique played his final eight holes at the BMW Championship in eagle-birdie-birdie-par-birdie-par-birdie-DOUBLE EAGLE. The temerity of the thief, attempting to steal a tournament that Nick Dougherty had seized by the throat with a nearly-flawless first 15 holes of 8-under par. Nearly-flawless Nick, the annointed successor to Nick Faldo as best British Professional Nick, has been close before but had never assumed leadership as he did today. In Echenique’s defense, the Argentine testified that he was merely attempting to follow the example set by countryman Angel Cabrera, who was last seen burgling the Masters when Kenny Perry and Chad ... full post »

I was driving home tonight, debating whether to listen to Vanessa Carlton sing -A Thousand Miles- again (always gets to me, makes me think of Latrell in White Chicks) or check out some John Seibel on the radio. Imagine my surprise when JS seized the opportunity laid bare by Jim Brown to slap Tiger Woods with a backhanded compliment. Goes something like this: JB says Tiger could do better. Says Tiger teaches kids to play golf and that’s all. What I want to know is, was JB effecting change while still active in the NFL? Was he wearing ... full post »

I was driving home tonight, debating whether to listen to Vanessa Carlton sing “A Thousand Miles” again (always gets to me, makes me think of Latrell in White Chicks) or check out some John Seibel on the radio. Imagine my surprise when JS seized the opportunity laid bare by Jim Brown to slap Tiger Woods with a backhanded compliment. Goes something like this: JB says Tiger could do better. Says Tiger teaches kids to play golf and that’s all. What I want to know is, was JB effecting change while still active in the NFL? Was he wearing ... full post »

One of the great USGA final match performances is taking place as I type. Jennifer Song, an underdog heading into the championship match with Kimberly Kim, is currently nine under par through 28 holes of the scheduled 36 holer. That performance places her 7 up with 8 to play, as close to dormie as one can imagine. The command performance is taking place at Red Tail Golf Club in Devens, Massachusetts. Song has marked 10 birdies, 1 bogey and 17 pars on her scorecard. Kim is one under on her own card, but has been unable to ... full post »

As it is fun to make predictions, how about a rematch of the 2002 US Amateur final between Barnes and Mahan? As we know, Barnes struggle mightily during his first 6 or so years as a pro while Mahan made the 2008 Presidents Cup and 2009 Ryder Cup teams. The irony is, Barnes won that US Amateur final, 2 and 1, having dispatched Bill Haas in the semifinals. There were three titans of amateur golf that year, Barnes, Mahan and Haas, and all three made the semis of the Amateur. Barnes had also qualified for the ... full post »

the US Open. Let us face it, brethren, the gods of golf have much wet weather in store for the valiant cut-makers over the next three days. If you, as I, can only stomach so many replays, highlights, lowlights and the ilk, then it is time to go to a nearby book store and make a purchase. I’m going to give you three titles from which to choose, each of a different genre. ***** To begin, “A disorderly compendium of golf” from Lorne Rubenstein (Toronto Star) and Jeff Neuman is a woven amalgamation of factual trivia related, for the ... full post »

Tiger does not care much once the tournament is finalized. Once this Open at Bethpage is completed, with a trophy inscribed with some other name, he will focus his attention on his continued recovery (did you forget that he is still rehabilitating?) and the next two major championships, at Birkdale and Hazeltine (not a legal firm, keep in mind.) Tiger finished second behind the fortunate Richard Beem in the PGA of 2002 and third behind O’Meara and Watts at the Other Open championship of 1998. The total margin of shots that kept him out of playoffs on those Sundays ... full post »

…A few years back, I went to Kohler with some friends and played the four courses of Herb Kohler/Pete Dye. As we walked up 17, our two caddies played a prank on us by describing a lake condition they called “delineation of the Turbidity.” As I watched water flow across greens and fairways at Bethpage, I almost believed that I might see some D of the T. It’s that wet. …The USGA learned a great deal from 2002. Before the weather became an issue, many things had changed since the first visit to the Black. Security ... full post »

…A while ago, I anticipated attending at least 5 US Opens this decade. Having a daughter whose birthday falls on Bloomsday, June 16th, made Winged Foot and Oakmont impossibilities. Bethpage Black marks my third, following Shinnecock and Bethpage Da’ First Time. The bloom is off the rose. …I stayed six days in 2002, four days in 2004, and only two days this year. Six days may be too many, while two are certainly too few. Four or five seems about right. In a perfect week, I’d come Monday and Tuesday, skip Wednesday and Thursday, and return for ... full post »

Want a small piece of history? No, not the red shirt that got fist-pumped to great heights last Open Sunday at Torrey Pines. Yes, its predecessors from days one, two and three. Upper Deck is selling (not auctioning, as far as I can tell, for charity) the shirts from the early triumvirate of hours that Tiger Woods wore at Torrey Pines. Here is the link to the sale, which begins today, Tuesday, the 16th of June. If you would like to watch Sir Eldrick sign and date the swank apparel, here is the YouTube link. full post »

All right, we have seen it for two consecutive years: average Joe fails to break 100 on US Open course. The late John Atkinson missed by a bunch at Torrey and Larry Giebelhausen failed by a deuce this year at Bethpage. Do I anticipate next year’s guinea pig succeeding at Pebble? Not if the following change isn’t made… GET RID OF THE CELEBRITIES! Have celebrities caddie and have one celebrity in the group. Choose two average Joes and one long-hitting Josephine and triple the chances for success. It’s clear to me that the fact ... full post »

Five playoffs this week! Here they are, in no particular order: Duramed Futures Tour…Mina Harigae over Sofie Andersson Nationwide Tour…Kevin Johnson over Bradley Iles European Ladies Tour…Johanna Westerburg over Tania Elosegui European Seniors Tour…Delroy Cambridge over Mike Clayton European Challenge Tour…Robert Coles over Nicolas Colsaerts And just as huge, Bryce Molder coming in second, moving from #185 on the money list to someplace more heavenly. P.D…Canadian Tour has about four holes to go and a three-stroke separation between first and second…if we get another playoff, I’ll update. full post »

For every individual that sulks and says “Why not me? Why him?” I have the following suggestion: avoid loaded questions. John Atkinson passed away. He was the first winner of the Golf Digest US Open contest to pick a rank-and-file amateur as guinea pig under US Open conditions. Why him? Why not me? He started well, tired in the middle and smiled at the end of his round last year at Torrey Pines. There was a reason. There were multiple reasons. I know the following: Atkinson had inoperable lung cancer, despite having never smoked a ... full post »

Kevin Foley autographed a scorecard yesterday for 11 birdies, 2 bogeys and a 61. It means nothing at the Sunnehanna amateur. In fact, it merely tied the course record for 18 holes. The guys to fear are named Harmon and Fowler and they lurk five and six strokes back, respectively. If Foley breaks 70 today, I’ll be impressed. If neither Harmon nor Fowler breaks 65 today to seize the lead, I’ll be stunned. Harmon and Fowler reside in the high-birdie comfort zone; Foley does not. Nothing better to start the Walker Cup season ... full post »

The golf man from television, Jimmy Roberts, released a book in 2009 titled “Breaking The Slump.” His aim was to consult 15 male professionals, 1 ex-speed skater, 1 female professional and 1 ex-USA president and determine how they assessed, coped with, and ultimately emerged from career-threatening slumps. Outrage over the obvious omissions is justified: why only one ex-president? uncomfortable around over-thighed olympic athletes? afraid of women? The book, for what it is, is a nice compendium of stories from other people. There are no profound Roberts insights here. The language is not his, but ... full post »

There was a time in the 1980s, before John Daly and the other (were there any other?) bad boys of the PGA Tour, when a guy with dark green shoes and apparel ruled the roost. He was Mark Calcavecchia’s foil and friend, a guy with loads of talent who fell off the face of the earth for a while. When he reappeared around the turn of the millenium, we asked what had happened to Ken Green. The answer, plain and simple, was humanity. He was human, suffered through problems and mistakes, and paid more than he should have ... full post »

This is not a long limb on which to go out. I have never been a risk-taker, though, so it should come as no surprise that I have selected one of five young players to win the McDonald’s LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola at Bulle Rock in Maryland. A brief recap: Yani Tseng defeated Maria Hjorth in sudden-life last year. Annika and Lorena tied for 3rd and Morgan Pressel, Seon Hwa Lee and Creamer all fit nicely into the top ten. How times have changed! Annika is retired, Lorena is not the victory machine of yore, Pressel is ... full post »

1. Peter Karmis wins on the South African PGA Tour with…3 eagles, 7 birdies for the first 59 in SAPGA Tour History. Second Place Jaco Van Zyl watches helplessly as his third round 66 gets him within four strokes of the champion golfer of the week. 2. Mina Harigae wins by 10 strokes on the Duramed Futures Tour, the AAA Tour of the LPGA. Harigae has 64-67-69 for -16, good for the double-digit victory over Whitney Myers. Harigae had previously won the 2007 USWAPL and played for the 2008 Curtis Cup team, so our guess is ... full post »