Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The Mess That is John Daly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6HXfA__e14
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Marlene Floyd.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Fujikawa Wins
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to David Ishii.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Hoch Chokes Again
As bad as Hoch’s performance was, Mark Wiebe’s was even worse. With a three-shot lead and for holes to play, Wiebe made a triple bogey, a double bogey and a bogey to not only lose the tournament but a chance to get into the playoff. He finished T-5.
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to David Graham.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Surgery for Woods, Daly
Daly, on the other hand, is blaming his lackluster performance for the past two years on a torn stomach muscle that he will have repaired by a surgeon who treats University of Arkansas football players. Daly, who has eight WDs and14 MCs in 33 tournaments, might consider liposuction on a gut that looks like the result of too much beer and too many dinners at Hooters.
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Danny Briggs.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
USGA Revises Stupid Bunker Rule
The USGA reviewed the rule, which frankly makes no sense. Under the old interpretation, a player would not risk having his caddie rake a fairway bunker or a greenside bunker for that matter, until he had safely holed out. Imagine the delay if caddies were scurrying back down the fairway to rake bunkers. That’s nuts. Now the USGA has determined that players in Cink’s situation would not be considered testing if their ball lies in a similar but different hazard.
The new interpretation saved LPGA player Shi Hyun Ahn a two-stroke penalty at the Kraft Nabisco Championship when her caddie raked a fairway bunker that another member of her group hit from as a courtesy. Sometimes the USGA does get it right.
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Don Bies.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Immelman, Yes; Tiger, No
Trevor Immelman winning the Masters is a feel good story and congrats to him for a major accomplishment. No disrespect to the South African, but the media and the public are obsessed with Tiger’s failure to win at Augusta and the derailment of his Grand Slam bid. Oh well, there’s always next year. A few observations on the 20087 Masters:
ESPN did a very nice job showing the par three tournament on Wednesday. Live shots of aces by Couples and Azinger, coverage of Palmer, Nicklaus and Player were interspersed with nice little features. Quick memo to Ian Baker Finch: Never say “fans” at Augusta. It’s “patrons.” Finch caught his mistake and corrected it immediately.
I have a real problem with ESPN and CBS in that they do not show the leader boards often enough during the telecasts. Is there something in the contract that prohibits the use of either an alphabetical scroll (preferable) or a scroll by score? A scroll doesn’t take up much space or much time. They should run it every 15 minutes.
The lack of low scores on Sunday and the lack of drama shows that the Masters is now paying the price for lengthening the course. Yes, scores were down because of 35 mph winds. But the reason the Masters used to be fun and exciting and different from other majors was that players could aggressively attack the course on Sunday afternoon on the back nine. There was great risk-reward in going for those two par fives. The added length has taken that out of the equation. Snedeker was the perfect example. He had to make something happen so he went for the green and rinsed his ball. Certainly watching his fellow competitor hit it in the creek affected Immelman’s decision not to go for it even though he was much closer (that and the wind). The green coats cannot make the course 9,000 yards so now they also are growing rough to defend the course, but they do so forgetting what made the tournament unique. I liked it the old way.
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Brian Tennyson.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Azinger Zings Faldo
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Dick Mast.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Masters Clothes
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Doug Sanders.
Friday, April 4, 2008
ESPN Benches Berman for Masters
Speaking of ESPN, the all-sports network will broadcast the Masters on Thursday and Friday. The good news is that fans will not have to listen to the biggest blowhard on television, Chris “Boomer” Berman and his stupid nicknames at Augusta. Masters officials apparently were appalled at the thought of Berman bellowing, “Back-back-back-back” on Tiger Woods drive. The ESPN coverage will be led by the capable Mike Tirico.
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Richard Crawford.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Wie Finds a Boy; Bubba Punks Elk
Bubba Watson called out veteran Steve Elkington during Friday’s round in New Orleans for walking while he was hitting an approach shot on the 10th hole. “Are you going to stop walking, man?” Watson asked Elk. “Damn. You did it all day yesterday, (expletive). I tell you what, man, veterans can kiss my (expletive).” Golf Channel microphones picked up the comments. Watson and Elkington apparently had a further discussion in the scorer’s tent after the round. Mr. Fairway’s take: Go get him, Bubba. Nothing is more irritating than playing partners who move when you are hitting a shot or worse, trying to putt.
Finally, Tiger is having trouble with clicking cameras again. The PGA Tour has very specific rules for credentialed photographers who are allowed to take pictures during play. If any player, not just Tiger, has a problem then it’s up to tour officials to enforce the rules. If that means limiting access, so be it.
Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Jane Geddes.