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 »