The Steve Stricker saga of 3 years ago was fantastic as he totally lost his confidence and his PGA Tour Card with it. Then, like a phoenix slowly rising from the ashes, he successfully navigated the horrors of Qualifying School and played well enough afterwards to be named Comeback Player of the Year two years on the bounce. He went from PGA Tour winner and major championship contender, to the depths of despair, and back again. Unbelievable. But that has nothing on what we’re seeing now. As I predicted four years ago, David Duval just finished second in the US Open ... full post »

Under the direction of the USGA, the groundskeepers at Bethpage Black are cutting back the rough to a manageable level for about 20 feet from the fairway. Now, to be fair, the USGA’s idea of exactly what is manageable is a bit extreme but they are making it more playable than years past, nonetheless. Which brings me to my point: Local greenskeepers should instruct their crews to keep the rough lower than 2 inches at all times, save perhaps around club championship time. Such a direction in course maintenance would provide many positives, the most important of which is speeding up ... full post »

Only the blue bloods of New Jersey could manage to both elate and grate on the same day. The USGA announcement of holding the 2014 Women’s US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 on the week following the men’s Open is the kind of bold and innovative thinking you’d want from a national governing body. Personally, I think this will prove to be a brilliant move. The only potential stumbling block is if there is the out-dated Monday 18 hole playoff to the men’s championship. Perhaps, if we’re lucky, infringing on the Women’s Open will provide them with a convenient “excuse” ... full post »

If you are any kind of a golf fan, and you have high speed internet access, you’ve likely tried Shot Tracker, the newest feature on the official website of the PGA Tour. At first glance it appears to be the next best thing to watching a live broadcast. Upon closer inspection, I’ve noticed a couple of annoying glitches that could be cleaned up. Before I make my minor complaints, let me say that it really looks magnificent, detailing shot by shot each player’s round as it occurs and all at the same time. For those of us accustomed to looking ... full post »

The leader in the clubhouse for best golf story of 2009 is 22 year old Irish amateur Shane Lowry’s sudden death win over Robert Rock in the Irish Open at County Louth last weekend. The field was strong, including many of Europe’s top players. Mother Nature threw every type of condition at them that you might expect on a links course. It was alternately sunny, windy, cold and raining, and sometimes a combination of these conditions. I hope some of you were able to watch the final round and playoff, as it was pure Irish magic. But better than the competition ... full post »

So now, European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie gets three picks instead of two. And it means precisely what? To get that “extra” pick, one less world class champion will automatically qualify from the World Rankings list. Insignificant, it is. In 2008, the number 5 European player in the world rankings was Robert Karlsson, who was a stud in Kentucky last Fall. Had he not qualified from that list, he would have been in on the European Order of Merit, effectively kicking Soren Hansen out of automatically qualifying. Six of one, half dozen of the other. full post »

There’s a fair chance that The Players Championship will produce a winner that only golf fans will recognize. The course favors no one. Rather it appears to handicap the big hitters so much that only a magnificent week with the short game will keep them in contention. Typically, the cream rises to the top on Saturday and Sunday. However this course lets very little cream get there. Can you see the trend? Recent winners Stephen Ames and Fred Funk should be evidence enough. Historically there are other examples as well, like an old Hal Sutton, Jodie Mudd and the Mine That ... full post »

Some people might think that Tiger Woods curling in another winning putt on the 72nd hole at Bay Hill is exciting. And it is, to an extent. But it’s not nearly as exciting as your boy Shanks here occupying first place in a fantasy league. Woo hoo!!!! The lead is a minute $400K in earnings over second place and $1 million over third. Being in a fantasy league for any amount is something most real fans of golf would enjoy. It definitely adds a little spice to your viewing experience when you’ve got something riding on the outcome of every ... full post »

Listed by increasing level of stupidity, here are three LPGA rules currently in place. Stupid Rule #3 – Any earnings from an official LPGA event are considered unofficial if earned while playing on a sponsor’s exemption, even if the player is a current LPGA member. LPGA rookie Jiyai Shin won an unofficial $24,349 in the Honda LPGA Thailand event 2 weeks ago. If these earnings were counted she would be on top of the current Official Money List. While that may not seem very important now, it certainly could be at the end of the year. Stupider Rule #2 – Any ... full post »

The 2009 LPGA tournament schedule begins this Thursday in Hawaii amid what seems to be an unprecedented amount of fluctuation. The world financial situation has resulted in a shocking four tournaments being lopped off of the schedule from last year. One has to wonder how many others are on shaky ground. The great Annika Sorenstam has hung up her Hall of Fame soft spikes to pursue other challenges in life. While she had been quite the box office draw, will the promising career of Michelle Wie finally come to fruition and help fill the void? Lorena Ochoa is currently number one ... full post »

If you did not watch the golf tournament in Dubai, you missed one helluva coming out party. Nineteen year old Rory McIlroy took the measure of a very strong European Tour field and fulfilled enormous expectations by bringing home the chalice last Sunday. Left in his wake was nearly the entire Ryder Cup team that played in Valhalla, save Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter. McIlroy showed amazing poise for a teenager. After opening with birdies on the first three holes of his final round, he hit a rough patch where he gave back all three of those shots by the eighth ... full post »

It’s official now. Colin Montgomerie will captain the Euro Ryder Cup ship next year at Celtic Manor in Wales. If anyone were to argue against the Scotsman Monty being Captain, that person would be an idiot. His qualifications are unquestionable. But it seems premature to me. One thing that absolutely twists my shorts in a knot is that the committee has now made it virtually impossible for 50 year old Sandy Lyle to ever be honored with the captaincy. That is a travesty, much in the way that Larry Nelson was snubbed by the PGA of America, perhaps even more so. ... full post »

Happy New Year to everyone. Last night was one of my favorite events of the year: the annual golf fantasy league draft. Oh my, how this night illustrates that hope really does spring eternal. If you’re a golf nut like me and don’t participate in one of these things, I urge you to do so. There’s nothing like having a personal rooting interest in every tournament of the year. The night started in the corner of my local Greene Turtle Pub with an hour or so of collecting entry fees and reviewing the ground rules. This league is based solely on ... full post »

I hope that Tiger Woods shows his respect for the game of golf and fires his caddie, the obviously classless Steve Williams. Known for his aggression in dealing with the crowd, Williams has always had a supporter in myself because anything less would be detrimental to the play of his man. Woods has to put up with teen idol type crowds more often than you can believe. But now, Williams has just leapt totally out of bounds with both feet in recent degrading comments to the New Zealand press regarding Phil Mickelson. You can read them here. This is a black ... full post »

It was quite amusing to listen to the announcers on The Golf Channel at the start of the round 5 broadcast talking about what final score will be needed to get into the top 25 to qualify for the PGA Tour. The soda I was drinking nearly shot out my nose as Curt Byrum noted that currently 25+ players were at 13 under par, did the simple math and reasoned that about 20 under par would do the trick. He and Brian Hammond went on to have a long discussion about what everyone needed to shoot to get to that ... full post »