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Teenage sensation Minjee Lee admits she is in no rush to follow New Zealand's Lydia Ko by turning professional as she plots a path to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The 17-year-old Australian has assumed Ko's crown by becoming the world's top-ranked amateur and making waves with her performances at professional events.
Last month, Lee won the Victorian Open by six strokes and was runner-up to Tiger Woods's niece Cheyenne at the Australian Ladies Masters.
She tied for fourth in a star-studded field at last week's World Ladies Championship in China -- and was then invited to her first major, next month's Kraft Nabisco Championship in California.
It's a run which, together with warm praise from the likes of world No.1 Park In-Bee, could tempt Lee to leap into the professional ranks at the first opportunity.
But the level-headed Lee, who comes from Perth, said she was not about to abandon her plan to turn professional late this year and build towards the next Olympics.
"There's no rush," she said at Mission Hills Haikou, during the World Ladies Championship.
"I am happy with my game but I still feel I have a lot to learn. The aim is to get my card at the end of the year and turn pro then."
Ko has started her first professional season in solid if unspectacular fashion as she makes the big adjustment to life on tour and a new coaching and management set-up.
And Lee said this year, she plans to restrict herself to a handful of professional events and the top amateur tournaments before taking the plunge into full-time golf.
She said the ultimate goal is Rio 2016, where golf returns to the Olympic programme for the first time in more than 100 years.
"Well, you'd be representing your country and what else could you hope for as an athlete?" said Lee.
"Going to the Olympics, playing for your country and playing the sport that you love -- it doesn't get better than that."
At the $US600,000 ($A670,000) World Ladies Championship, Lee was only out-scored by three women, all top 10 players and major-winners: Park, Suzann Pettersen and Ryu So-Yeon.
Paired with Park over the first two days on Mission Hills's Blackstone course, she was a study in concentration, following the world No.1's every move.
"(This event) definitely gives me confidence that I can mix it with the pros and compete with them," said Lee, who learned the game at the Royal Fremantle Golf Club.
Lee's talent and composure wasn't missed by eventual winner Park, who predicted great things ahead for the teenager.
"She has the game, there's no doubt about that," Park said.
"And the way she handles herself shows she is doing all the right things.
"She has a big future in the game for sure."
Aussie teen has sights on Olympic golf
The 17-year-old Australian has assumed Ko's crown by becoming the world's top-ranked amateur and making waves with her performances at professional events.
Last month, Lee won the Victorian Open by six strokes and was runner-up to Tiger Woods's niece Cheyenne at the Australian Ladies Masters.
She tied for fourth in a star-studded field at last week's World Ladies Championship in China -- and was then invited to her first major, next month's Kraft Nabisco Championship in California.
It's a run which, together with warm praise from the likes of world No.1 Park In-Bee, could tempt Lee to leap into the professional ranks at the first opportunity.
But the level-headed Lee, who comes from Perth, said she was not about to abandon her plan to turn professional late this year and build towards the next Olympics.
"There's no rush," she said at Mission Hills Haikou, during the World Ladies Championship.
"I am happy with my game but I still feel I have a lot to learn. The aim is to get my card at the end of the year and turn pro then."
Ko has started her first professional season in solid if unspectacular fashion as she makes the big adjustment to life on tour and a new coaching and management set-up.
And Lee said this year, she plans to restrict herself to a handful of professional events and the top amateur tournaments before taking the plunge into full-time golf.
She said the ultimate goal is Rio 2016, where golf returns to the Olympic programme for the first time in more than 100 years.
"Well, you'd be representing your country and what else could you hope for as an athlete?" said Lee.
"Going to the Olympics, playing for your country and playing the sport that you love -- it doesn't get better than that."
At the $US600,000 ($A670,000) World Ladies Championship, Lee was only out-scored by three women, all top 10 players and major-winners: Park, Suzann Pettersen and Ryu So-Yeon.
Paired with Park over the first two days on Mission Hills's Blackstone course, she was a study in concentration, following the world No.1's every move.
"(This event) definitely gives me confidence that I can mix it with the pros and compete with them," said Lee, who learned the game at the Royal Fremantle Golf Club.
Lee's talent and composure wasn't missed by eventual winner Park, who predicted great things ahead for the teenager.
"She has the game, there's no doubt about that," Park said.
"And the way she handles herself shows she is doing all the right things.
"She has a big future in the game for sure."
Aussie teen has sights on Olympic golf
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2006/12/07
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wrote:
@kevin LOL!! You have a point dude the golf car is way easier to drive or maybe he had mistaken it for his car since he is really drunk to recognize his own belongings. The good thing is that no one got hurt in this incident.
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A model is suing Playboy and a radio host after a 2012 stunt left her struck in the backside with a golf club.
Elizabeth Dickson, 28, is suing Playboy Enterprises and radio host Kevin Klein for $500,000 plus punitive damages after he whacked her in the behind with a golf club while trying to hit a ball off a tee placed between the cheeks of her buttocks during an amateur golf tournament in California.
The model claims in a copy of the lawsuit reviewed by MailOnline that she gave no consent for the ball to actually be hit and that she has suffered pain, worrying and anxiety as a result of the incident.
Dickson was invited to the Playboy Golf Finals held March 30, 2012 at the Industry Hills, according to the complaint. Klein is a co-host of the Playboy Morning Show.
She complied with a request early in the day to lie ‘flat on her stomach with her buttocks partially exposed for a photograph’ with Klein, the suit first reported by TMZ alleges.
‘A golf tee was then placed between the cheeks of her buttocks and a golf ball was balanced on top of the tee,’ the suit continues.
Dickson was led to believe that the pose would include only a depiction of Klein hitting the ball of the tee for a picture, and not him actually swinging the golf club – but he did swing the club, and he missed badly.
‘[Dickson] sustained severe bodily injuries, a portion of which are permanent,’ according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims Dickson was an ‘unwilling participant’ in his ill-fated swing and that it caused severe emotional and physical trauma.
Both Dickson’s lawyer and a Playboy spokesperson did not immediately respond to MailOnline messages left for comment.
Read more: Playboy model suing after golf tee in butt stunt goes wrong | Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Elizabeth Dickson, 28, is suing Playboy Enterprises and radio host Kevin Klein for $500,000 plus punitive damages after he whacked her in the behind with a golf club while trying to hit a ball off a tee placed between the cheeks of her buttocks during an amateur golf tournament in California.
The model claims in a copy of the lawsuit reviewed by MailOnline that she gave no consent for the ball to actually be hit and that she has suffered pain, worrying and anxiety as a result of the incident.
Dickson was invited to the Playboy Golf Finals held March 30, 2012 at the Industry Hills, according to the complaint. Klein is a co-host of the Playboy Morning Show.
She complied with a request early in the day to lie ‘flat on her stomach with her buttocks partially exposed for a photograph’ with Klein, the suit first reported by TMZ alleges.
‘A golf tee was then placed between the cheeks of her buttocks and a golf ball was balanced on top of the tee,’ the suit continues.
Dickson was led to believe that the pose would include only a depiction of Klein hitting the ball of the tee for a picture, and not him actually swinging the golf club – but he did swing the club, and he missed badly.
‘[Dickson] sustained severe bodily injuries, a portion of which are permanent,’ according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims Dickson was an ‘unwilling participant’ in his ill-fated swing and that it caused severe emotional and physical trauma.
Both Dickson’s lawyer and a Playboy spokesperson did not immediately respond to MailOnline messages left for comment.
Read more: Playboy model suing after golf tee in butt stunt goes wrong | Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
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2006/12/07
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The golf industry is still trying to chip out of the rough after the Great Recession.
The National Golf Foundation, a nonprofit trade association, reported participation in the sport is stagnant, and that the number of course closures exceeded openings for the eighth straight year in 2013.
Two local courses face uncertain futures. In addition to the possible redevelopment of the McKenzie River Golf Course, the RiverRidge Golf Complex along Delta Highway has been put up for sale. Last year, RiverRidge’s owners completed landuse changes to allow most of the course to be developed with housing.
“Golf is really a rough business to be in,” said Debbie Jeffries, who owns the complex with her husband, Ric. “It’s been flat for a number of years, and it was flat even before the recession.”
Golf enthusiasts in Lane County and Oregon echo those comments, although they say there are signs that an upswing may be on the horizon. In the meantime, some courses are making adjustments, big and small, to try to drum up business.
Membership in the Oregon Golf Association has declined 20 percent in the last 10 years, from about 53,000 in 2003 to about 42,000 last year. It did see a small uptick in 2013.
Barb Trammell, the association’s chief executive officer, said the economy was a major factor in the decline.
“As the economy was good in the 1990s and people were spending more money, they had more discretionary income to spend on entertainment,” said Trammell, who notes that fewer OGA members doesn’t mean there are fewer golfers in Oregon. “With the downturn, that started to turn around and people were really becoming pickier with what they do with their discretionary income.”
As a result, golf participation has remained largely unchanged. The golf foundation reported that 25.3 million people played at least one round of golf in 2012, virtually unchanged from the prior year and down from the 2005 peak of 30 million.
The surge in golf participation in the years leading up to the economic collapse led investors and developers to open thousands of new courses across the country. More than 4,500 courses opened between 1986 and 2005. Hundreds of them have since closed as there are fewer golfers playing rounds, the foundation reported.
Last year, 14 new courses opened, while 157.5 closed, it reported; 9-hole courses are counted as 0.5 in its analysis.
The economy wasn’t the only thing sapping interest in golf. Busy family lives and even Duck football games in August also keep people from the local golf course, said Mark Giustina, general manager at Tokatee Golf Club in Blue River.
“Finding time to spend four hours playing golf isn’t always there,” said Giustina, who added that the number of rounds played at Tokatee has remained relatively flat.
Like a golfer adjusting his or her swing, local golf courses are making changes to bring in more business.
Jeffries said RiverRidge is planning to open a “footgolf” course at its underplayed par-3 course this summer. Instead of hitting a ball with a club, footgolf players kick and roll a soccer ball into a much larger hole in as few attempts as possible.
The Springfield Country Club in 2011 reverted to a being semi-private course. Nonmembers can play there if tee times are not reserved by members.
The country club gained 40 new members last year. It has about 200 members, which is down from 400 members a decade or ago, said Jeff Gaskill, the country club’s general manager and head golf professional.
The change has led to more business.
“Most of the increase we’ve seen are from lapsed golfers, people who gave it up for a while or just played less,” Gaskill said.
Trammell, the state golf association’s executive director, said she expects two upcoming events to drive more interest in the sport.
Golf will return to the Summer Olympics in 2016 after a 112-year absence.
And in 2015, the Chambers Bay golf course in University Place, Wash., will play host to the U.S. Open, the first time one of golf’s major championships will be held in the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s going to generate renewed interest, at least in this area,” she said.
Golf industry took big hit from recession | News | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon
The National Golf Foundation, a nonprofit trade association, reported participation in the sport is stagnant, and that the number of course closures exceeded openings for the eighth straight year in 2013.
Two local courses face uncertain futures. In addition to the possible redevelopment of the McKenzie River Golf Course, the RiverRidge Golf Complex along Delta Highway has been put up for sale. Last year, RiverRidge’s owners completed landuse changes to allow most of the course to be developed with housing.
“Golf is really a rough business to be in,” said Debbie Jeffries, who owns the complex with her husband, Ric. “It’s been flat for a number of years, and it was flat even before the recession.”
Golf enthusiasts in Lane County and Oregon echo those comments, although they say there are signs that an upswing may be on the horizon. In the meantime, some courses are making adjustments, big and small, to try to drum up business.
Membership in the Oregon Golf Association has declined 20 percent in the last 10 years, from about 53,000 in 2003 to about 42,000 last year. It did see a small uptick in 2013.
Barb Trammell, the association’s chief executive officer, said the economy was a major factor in the decline.
“As the economy was good in the 1990s and people were spending more money, they had more discretionary income to spend on entertainment,” said Trammell, who notes that fewer OGA members doesn’t mean there are fewer golfers in Oregon. “With the downturn, that started to turn around and people were really becoming pickier with what they do with their discretionary income.”
As a result, golf participation has remained largely unchanged. The golf foundation reported that 25.3 million people played at least one round of golf in 2012, virtually unchanged from the prior year and down from the 2005 peak of 30 million.
The surge in golf participation in the years leading up to the economic collapse led investors and developers to open thousands of new courses across the country. More than 4,500 courses opened between 1986 and 2005. Hundreds of them have since closed as there are fewer golfers playing rounds, the foundation reported.
Last year, 14 new courses opened, while 157.5 closed, it reported; 9-hole courses are counted as 0.5 in its analysis.
The economy wasn’t the only thing sapping interest in golf. Busy family lives and even Duck football games in August also keep people from the local golf course, said Mark Giustina, general manager at Tokatee Golf Club in Blue River.
“Finding time to spend four hours playing golf isn’t always there,” said Giustina, who added that the number of rounds played at Tokatee has remained relatively flat.
Like a golfer adjusting his or her swing, local golf courses are making changes to bring in more business.
Jeffries said RiverRidge is planning to open a “footgolf” course at its underplayed par-3 course this summer. Instead of hitting a ball with a club, footgolf players kick and roll a soccer ball into a much larger hole in as few attempts as possible.
The Springfield Country Club in 2011 reverted to a being semi-private course. Nonmembers can play there if tee times are not reserved by members.
The country club gained 40 new members last year. It has about 200 members, which is down from 400 members a decade or ago, said Jeff Gaskill, the country club’s general manager and head golf professional.
The change has led to more business.
“Most of the increase we’ve seen are from lapsed golfers, people who gave it up for a while or just played less,” Gaskill said.
Trammell, the state golf association’s executive director, said she expects two upcoming events to drive more interest in the sport.
Golf will return to the Summer Olympics in 2016 after a 112-year absence.
And in 2015, the Chambers Bay golf course in University Place, Wash., will play host to the U.S. Open, the first time one of golf’s major championships will be held in the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s going to generate renewed interest, at least in this area,” she said.
Golf industry took big hit from recession | News | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon
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2006/12/07
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The Valspar Championship fittingly came down to the Snake Pit, the signature stretch of holes 16, 17 and 18 on Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course, and Australian John Senden was the ultimate survivor. Senden, 42, chipped in for birdie on the 16th to grab the lead, birdied the 17th and parred the 18th for a final-round 70 to finish at 7 under, one shot ahead of Kevin Na.
Na, who started the day one shot off the lead, appeared out of contention when he shot 3-over 39 on the front nine, but he rallied on the back, including a birdie on the 17th that left him needing another birdie on 18 to tie Senden. His 40-foot birdie bid never had a chance, however.
Final leaderboard: John Senden (-7), Kevin Na (-6), Scott Langley (-5), Will MacKenzie (-4), Luke Donald (-4), Robert Garrigus (-4)
What it means: It was the second win in 13 years on the PGA Tour for Senden, coming eight years after his first, the 2006 John Deere Classic. He is the first player older than 40 to win on Tour since Woody Austin, then 49, won the Sanderson Farms Championship last July. Senden had twice been a runner-up in this event.
Round of the day: Sang-Moon Bae moved up 44 spots with a final-round 67. He made the turn in 1-under 35, then had three birdies and no bogeys on the back for 32-67.
Biggest disappointment: Looking for his second PGA Tour win, Robert Garrigus went into the final round with a one-shot lead. But he double-bogeyed the third and sixth holes, turned in 41 and shot 75.
John Senden Wins 2014 Valspar Championship | Golf Channel
Na, who started the day one shot off the lead, appeared out of contention when he shot 3-over 39 on the front nine, but he rallied on the back, including a birdie on the 17th that left him needing another birdie on 18 to tie Senden. His 40-foot birdie bid never had a chance, however.
Final leaderboard: John Senden (-7), Kevin Na (-6), Scott Langley (-5), Will MacKenzie (-4), Luke Donald (-4), Robert Garrigus (-4)
What it means: It was the second win in 13 years on the PGA Tour for Senden, coming eight years after his first, the 2006 John Deere Classic. He is the first player older than 40 to win on Tour since Woody Austin, then 49, won the Sanderson Farms Championship last July. Senden had twice been a runner-up in this event.
Round of the day: Sang-Moon Bae moved up 44 spots with a final-round 67. He made the turn in 1-under 35, then had three birdies and no bogeys on the back for 32-67.
Biggest disappointment: Looking for his second PGA Tour win, Robert Garrigus went into the final round with a one-shot lead. But he double-bogeyed the third and sixth holes, turned in 41 and shot 75.
John Senden Wins 2014 Valspar Championship | Golf Channel
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Tiger Woods is the two-time defending champion this week at Arnie's place. Woods' health remains in question heading into Bay Hill with the Masters looming a few weeks away.
After this week, Woods likely won't tee it up in competition again for 18 days. That's a good bit of time for rust to develop, but it's plenty of time for him to seek help for that bothersome back.
So what's next for Woods? And what does he need to do to stay on the list of contenders for the year's first major? Our scribes dive into those topics and more in the latest edition of Four-Ball.
1. How important is a strong, healthy showing this week for Tiger Woods?
Michael Collins, ESPN.com senior golf analyst: Not important at all. As with Fred Couples' bad back, one good week does not necessarily mean the back is good to go for the future. Can anyone see back spasms coming? Neither can Tiger.
Farrell Evans, ESPN.com senior golf writer: Tiger hasn't had a good tournament in 2014. If he can be competitive and finish inside the top 10 at Bay Hill, it should give him some confidence heading into the break before the Masters. Another week of back spasms and inconsistent play probably won't bode well for his chances of winning his fifth green jacket.
Bob Harig, ESPN.com senior golf writer: More important than how he plays is how he feels. Tiger needs to be healthy, and everything really flows from there. If he's healthy, he can practice, and that ultimately is what will enable him to compete. Figuring that he's probably not been able to practice much, we should not expect a great result.
Kevin Maguire, ESPN.com senior golf editor: It's vitally important if he is to have even a remote shot at breaking that major drought that's closing in on six years. If Woods can't get 72 reasonably healthy holes in at Bay Hill, what kind of shot does he have at a fifth green jacket? At least this week he won't need practice-round work since he's won on this course eight times, including the past two years.
2. Fill in the blank: For Tiger to be a contender at Augusta National, he'll have to ________ this week at Bay Hill. Collins: Putt well. The best thing for Tiger's game going into Augusta will be his putting. Last year he averaged 28.85 putts per round in 68 rounds. This year in 14 rounds he's averaging 27.7 and we know at Augusta it's all about the flatstick. One thing he can always keep sharp is the putter.
Evans: He'll have to play four rounds without back spasms and find a way to shoot four rounds under par, something he hasn't done in an event since he finished in a tie for second last August at the Barclays. For him to pull off this feat at Bay Hill, where he has won eight times, he needs to be more consistent with his driver.
Harig: He'll have to be healthy this week. How he finishes in the tournament matters little. It's more about feeling good and getting his game in shape.
Maguire: Not only play four rounds without any serious grimacing, but Woods also needs to get himself into contention so he can feel that Sunday back-nine pressure that has been missing so far in 2014. Nothing can replace competitive pressure when you're under the gun, so barring that, his chances at Augusta will continue to slide.
3. Give us a player outside the top 50 in the world rankings that you think will play his way into the Masters field.
Collins: How about Kevin Stadler and Scott Stallings? Oh you mean guys who aren't already qualified! (I know, low blow for a bad joke.) OK. Ryan Palmer has had a horrible record at the Arnold Palmer Invitational but has fared pretty well in San Antonio, so I think he could play his way from 60th as of last week to inside the top 50 by the time the Valero Texas Open is all done.
Evans: Will MacKenzie. The 39-year-old, two-time tour winner took his fourth top-10 of the season with a tie for fourth at the Valspar Championship. The native of Greenville, N.C., has only finished outside the top 25 once in the nine cuts that he has made in the wraparound season.
Harig: Richard Sterne. The South African is the hard-luck story of the moment, having been bumped out of the top 50 at the end of 2013. He dropped to 65th earlier this year but jumped back up to 52nd after a tie for fourth last week at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He's got two more weeks to try and move into the top 50.
Maguire: Chesson Hadley. His win in Puerto Rico didn't get him a Masters invite since it was an opposite-field event, but the PGA Tour rookie followed up the victory with a T-14 showing in Tampa proving he's got a hot hand to continue his rise in the rankings.
4. Pace-of-play issues reared their head again at the Valspar Championship. What are the odds the PGA Tour takes a stand to stamp out slow play?
Collins: No chance. Especially since Kevin Na specifically said in his post-round interview that we should talk about how he had to wait on every tee. Slow play has been an issue so long, I bet the King of Scotland complained at the pace of play and no one was beheaded. You think the tour is going to start now? Want to buy a bridge in Brooklyn? I'm selling cheap!
Evans: The tour doesn't want to impose stroke penalties for slow play that could change the outcome of a tournament or impact a player's chances of making a cut. The tour's aim is to monitor the issue and make sure players stay in position and when they get bad times warn them of the consequences. The tour will never end slow play, unless they have some kind of play clock with a buzzer on every hole. And that's never going to happen.
Harig: It remains the longest of long shots. The PGA Tour has rules that allow for 1-shot penalties, but it never takes that step, as was the case on Saturday with Kevin Na. One warning followed by a bad time at any point the rest of the season should be enough to bring a penalty, and it would serve as a huge deterrent. But it never happens.
Maguire: I'll go 500-to-1. Until there are punitive penalties
After this week, Woods likely won't tee it up in competition again for 18 days. That's a good bit of time for rust to develop, but it's plenty of time for him to seek help for that bothersome back.
So what's next for Woods? And what does he need to do to stay on the list of contenders for the year's first major? Our scribes dive into those topics and more in the latest edition of Four-Ball.
1. How important is a strong, healthy showing this week for Tiger Woods?
Michael Collins, ESPN.com senior golf analyst: Not important at all. As with Fred Couples' bad back, one good week does not necessarily mean the back is good to go for the future. Can anyone see back spasms coming? Neither can Tiger.
Farrell Evans, ESPN.com senior golf writer: Tiger hasn't had a good tournament in 2014. If he can be competitive and finish inside the top 10 at Bay Hill, it should give him some confidence heading into the break before the Masters. Another week of back spasms and inconsistent play probably won't bode well for his chances of winning his fifth green jacket.
Bob Harig, ESPN.com senior golf writer: More important than how he plays is how he feels. Tiger needs to be healthy, and everything really flows from there. If he's healthy, he can practice, and that ultimately is what will enable him to compete. Figuring that he's probably not been able to practice much, we should not expect a great result.
Kevin Maguire, ESPN.com senior golf editor: It's vitally important if he is to have even a remote shot at breaking that major drought that's closing in on six years. If Woods can't get 72 reasonably healthy holes in at Bay Hill, what kind of shot does he have at a fifth green jacket? At least this week he won't need practice-round work since he's won on this course eight times, including the past two years.
2. Fill in the blank: For Tiger to be a contender at Augusta National, he'll have to ________ this week at Bay Hill. Collins: Putt well. The best thing for Tiger's game going into Augusta will be his putting. Last year he averaged 28.85 putts per round in 68 rounds. This year in 14 rounds he's averaging 27.7 and we know at Augusta it's all about the flatstick. One thing he can always keep sharp is the putter.
Evans: He'll have to play four rounds without back spasms and find a way to shoot four rounds under par, something he hasn't done in an event since he finished in a tie for second last August at the Barclays. For him to pull off this feat at Bay Hill, where he has won eight times, he needs to be more consistent with his driver.
Harig: He'll have to be healthy this week. How he finishes in the tournament matters little. It's more about feeling good and getting his game in shape.
Maguire: Not only play four rounds without any serious grimacing, but Woods also needs to get himself into contention so he can feel that Sunday back-nine pressure that has been missing so far in 2014. Nothing can replace competitive pressure when you're under the gun, so barring that, his chances at Augusta will continue to slide.
3. Give us a player outside the top 50 in the world rankings that you think will play his way into the Masters field.
Collins: How about Kevin Stadler and Scott Stallings? Oh you mean guys who aren't already qualified! (I know, low blow for a bad joke.) OK. Ryan Palmer has had a horrible record at the Arnold Palmer Invitational but has fared pretty well in San Antonio, so I think he could play his way from 60th as of last week to inside the top 50 by the time the Valero Texas Open is all done.
Evans: Will MacKenzie. The 39-year-old, two-time tour winner took his fourth top-10 of the season with a tie for fourth at the Valspar Championship. The native of Greenville, N.C., has only finished outside the top 25 once in the nine cuts that he has made in the wraparound season.
Harig: Richard Sterne. The South African is the hard-luck story of the moment, having been bumped out of the top 50 at the end of 2013. He dropped to 65th earlier this year but jumped back up to 52nd after a tie for fourth last week at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He's got two more weeks to try and move into the top 50.
Maguire: Chesson Hadley. His win in Puerto Rico didn't get him a Masters invite since it was an opposite-field event, but the PGA Tour rookie followed up the victory with a T-14 showing in Tampa proving he's got a hot hand to continue his rise in the rankings.
4. Pace-of-play issues reared their head again at the Valspar Championship. What are the odds the PGA Tour takes a stand to stamp out slow play?
Collins: No chance. Especially since Kevin Na specifically said in his post-round interview that we should talk about how he had to wait on every tee. Slow play has been an issue so long, I bet the King of Scotland complained at the pace of play and no one was beheaded. You think the tour is going to start now? Want to buy a bridge in Brooklyn? I'm selling cheap!
Evans: The tour doesn't want to impose stroke penalties for slow play that could change the outcome of a tournament or impact a player's chances of making a cut. The tour's aim is to monitor the issue and make sure players stay in position and when they get bad times warn them of the consequences. The tour will never end slow play, unless they have some kind of play clock with a buzzer on every hole. And that's never going to happen.
Harig: It remains the longest of long shots. The PGA Tour has rules that allow for 1-shot penalties, but it never takes that step, as was the case on Saturday with Kevin Na. One warning followed by a bad time at any point the rest of the season should be enough to bring a penalty, and it would serve as a huge deterrent. But it never happens.
Maguire: I'll go 500-to-1. Until there are punitive penalties
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Each week of the season, our experts share their insights into which players fit the criteria for our four categories: Horse for the Course (a golfer who knows the track inside and out), Birdie Buster (a guy who could take it low this week), Super Sleeper (a player who could unexpectedly contend) and Winner.
This week's tournament: The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla.
Horse for the Course
Michael Collins, ESPN-com senior golf analyst: None
He (Tiger Woods) pulled out late Tuesday afternoon, which means the title is vacant like a heavyweight belt in boxing.
Farrell Evans, ESPN-com senior golf writer: Justin Rose
Since 2011 at Bay Hill, the reigning U.S. Open champion has had a T-3, a T-15 and a second last year, 2 shots back of the winner, Tiger Woods.
Bob Harig, ESPN-com senior golf writer: Justin Rose
With Tiger Woods -- who has won at Bay Hill eight times -- out of the tournament, there is no obvious candidate, but Justin Rose has played well on the venue, with top-three finishes in two of the past three years and four top-15 finishes overall. He was also in contention last week at Innisbrook.
Kevin Maguire, ESPN-com senior golf editor: Justin Rose
Apparently that shoulder situation is under control enough as shown by his T-8 last week in Tampa. Now he heads to a course in Bay Hill where he has produced a pair of top-three finishes in the past three years.
Birdie Buster
Collins: Zach Johnson
Have you ever seen a guy who shouldn't be able to compete on "big" courses play as well as Johnson? Me neither. If I told you he's played 10 times in this tournament and missed only one cut, I wouldn't be offended if you double (triple) checked me. Won't change the facts, though. If the course stays dry through the week, you can expect Johnson to get his fourth top-10 of the year.
Evans: Will MacKenzie
Unless you have been watching PGA Tour leaderboards closely of late, you probably don't know much about this 39-year-old journeyman with two career wins at the unglamorous Reno-Tahoe Open and the Viking Classic. But after his fourth top-10 of the wraparound season -- a tie for fourth at the Valspar Championship -- MacKenzie is fully prepared for a prestigious stage like Bay Hill.
Harig: John Senden
He didn't make many birdies at Innisbrook, but he did convert two key ones down the stretch to capture his second PGA Tour title at the Valspar Championship.
Maguire: Bubba Watson
The 2012 Masters champ sits tied for second on tour in top-10 finishes with five, including four in a row that read: T-2, 1, T-9, T-2, with the win coming at Riviera. Now he's gearing up for Augusta, and a high finish at Bay Hill wouldn't exactly be a stretch.
Super Sleeper
Collins: Harris English
Twelve events, 12 cuts made including a win and five top-10s. Even though he has not had great success here in his two previous starts, the guy who's playing this week isn't the same guy who finished 57th here last year.
Evans: Chesson Hadley
The 26-year-old PGA Tour rookie got his first career win earlier this month at the Puerto Rico Open. The former Georgia Tech star followed up that stellar performance with a solid tie for 14th at the Valspar Championship.
Harig: Will MacKenzie
The two-time tour winner has struggled in recent years. His tie for fourth at Innisbrook was his fourth top-10 of the season. Since the Frys-com Open, he has eight top-15 finishes to rank 20th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Maguire: Retief Goosen
If it weren't for a final-round 79 at Innisbrook Sunday, Goosen had his sights set on his first top-10 in a couple of months. A return to Arnie's Bay Hill, where the South African has missed the cut only once since 2000, could see him make a much-needed jump on the money list.
Winner
Collins: Justin Rose
Coming off an eighth-place finish last week, Rose now has full confidence in his previously injured shoulder. He has a solid history at this event, including a runner-up finish last year. Rose has already won Jack Nicklaus' event and has voiced what it would mean to him to win Arnie's as well.
Evans: Kevin Na
Always a source of controversy over his slow play and quirky pre-shot routines, the 30-year-old South Korean has one of the best short games in golf. He showed it off last week with a second-place finish at the Valspar Championship, his third top-5 finish of the season. At his last appearance at Bay Hill in 2012, Na finished in a tie for fourth.
Harig: Graeme McDowell
A contender at Bay Hill two years ago, McDowell is ranked 15th in the world and is off to a nice start in 2014, with three top-10s in four starts. He gets his third PGA Tour title this week.
Maguire: Keegan Bradley
Big hitters tend to win here (see Woods, Tiger), and Bradley certainly fits that mold as he's 18th on tour in driving distance. Last year, the 2011 PGA Championship winner finished tied for third. This year, he'll get over the hump and pull down the fourth victory of his still-young career.
Arnold Palmer Invitational experts' picks -- golf - ESPN
This week's tournament: The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla.
Horse for the Course
Michael Collins, ESPN-com senior golf analyst: None
He (Tiger Woods) pulled out late Tuesday afternoon, which means the title is vacant like a heavyweight belt in boxing.
Farrell Evans, ESPN-com senior golf writer: Justin Rose
Since 2011 at Bay Hill, the reigning U.S. Open champion has had a T-3, a T-15 and a second last year, 2 shots back of the winner, Tiger Woods.
Bob Harig, ESPN-com senior golf writer: Justin Rose
With Tiger Woods -- who has won at Bay Hill eight times -- out of the tournament, there is no obvious candidate, but Justin Rose has played well on the venue, with top-three finishes in two of the past three years and four top-15 finishes overall. He was also in contention last week at Innisbrook.
Kevin Maguire, ESPN-com senior golf editor: Justin Rose
Apparently that shoulder situation is under control enough as shown by his T-8 last week in Tampa. Now he heads to a course in Bay Hill where he has produced a pair of top-three finishes in the past three years.
Birdie Buster
Collins: Zach Johnson
Have you ever seen a guy who shouldn't be able to compete on "big" courses play as well as Johnson? Me neither. If I told you he's played 10 times in this tournament and missed only one cut, I wouldn't be offended if you double (triple) checked me. Won't change the facts, though. If the course stays dry through the week, you can expect Johnson to get his fourth top-10 of the year.
Evans: Will MacKenzie
Unless you have been watching PGA Tour leaderboards closely of late, you probably don't know much about this 39-year-old journeyman with two career wins at the unglamorous Reno-Tahoe Open and the Viking Classic. But after his fourth top-10 of the wraparound season -- a tie for fourth at the Valspar Championship -- MacKenzie is fully prepared for a prestigious stage like Bay Hill.
Harig: John Senden
He didn't make many birdies at Innisbrook, but he did convert two key ones down the stretch to capture his second PGA Tour title at the Valspar Championship.
Maguire: Bubba Watson
The 2012 Masters champ sits tied for second on tour in top-10 finishes with five, including four in a row that read: T-2, 1, T-9, T-2, with the win coming at Riviera. Now he's gearing up for Augusta, and a high finish at Bay Hill wouldn't exactly be a stretch.
Super Sleeper
Collins: Harris English
Twelve events, 12 cuts made including a win and five top-10s. Even though he has not had great success here in his two previous starts, the guy who's playing this week isn't the same guy who finished 57th here last year.
Evans: Chesson Hadley
The 26-year-old PGA Tour rookie got his first career win earlier this month at the Puerto Rico Open. The former Georgia Tech star followed up that stellar performance with a solid tie for 14th at the Valspar Championship.
Harig: Will MacKenzie
The two-time tour winner has struggled in recent years. His tie for fourth at Innisbrook was his fourth top-10 of the season. Since the Frys-com Open, he has eight top-15 finishes to rank 20th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Maguire: Retief Goosen
If it weren't for a final-round 79 at Innisbrook Sunday, Goosen had his sights set on his first top-10 in a couple of months. A return to Arnie's Bay Hill, where the South African has missed the cut only once since 2000, could see him make a much-needed jump on the money list.
Winner
Collins: Justin Rose
Coming off an eighth-place finish last week, Rose now has full confidence in his previously injured shoulder. He has a solid history at this event, including a runner-up finish last year. Rose has already won Jack Nicklaus' event and has voiced what it would mean to him to win Arnie's as well.
Evans: Kevin Na
Always a source of controversy over his slow play and quirky pre-shot routines, the 30-year-old South Korean has one of the best short games in golf. He showed it off last week with a second-place finish at the Valspar Championship, his third top-5 finish of the season. At his last appearance at Bay Hill in 2012, Na finished in a tie for fourth.
Harig: Graeme McDowell
A contender at Bay Hill two years ago, McDowell is ranked 15th in the world and is off to a nice start in 2014, with three top-10s in four starts. He gets his third PGA Tour title this week.
Maguire: Keegan Bradley
Big hitters tend to win here (see Woods, Tiger), and Bradley certainly fits that mold as he's 18th on tour in driving distance. Last year, the 2011 PGA Championship winner finished tied for third. This year, he'll get over the hump and pull down the fourth victory of his still-young career.
Arnold Palmer Invitational experts' picks -- golf - ESPN
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Golfers are urged to swing with care after scientists at UC Irvine proved that titanium-coated clubs can cause course-side vegetation to burst into flames.
Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said Wednesday that the results confirm a suspicion investigators have had for years: that titanium alloy clubs were the cause of at least two blazes on area golf courses, including one that burned 25 acres at Irvine's Shady Canyon in 2010. A second fire, sparked at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, burned close to homes.
"The common denominator was each golfer used a titanium club, and hit the ball [from] just out of bounds next to dry vegetation, where the ground was extremely rocky," he said.
Investigators who were "laughed at" when they first floated the golf club theory have been vindicated, according to Concialdi.
Scientists painstakingly re-created in the lab the course conditions on the days of the fires. Using high-speed cameras and electron microscopes, they found that if hit upon a rock, clubs containing titanium can produce sparks of up to 3,000 degrees that will burn for more than a second, said James Earthman, a chemical engineering and materials science professor and an author of the study.
"And that gives the spark plenty of time" to ignite nearby foliage, he said. "Titanium reacts violently with both oxygen and nitrogen in the air."
In contrast, when standard stainless steel clubs were used, there was no reaction.
Most golf clubs have steel heads but many manufacturers also make ones with a titanium alloy component in the head. Such alloys are 40 percent lighter, which can make the club easier to swing, researchers said.
Concialdi said the Fire Authority is giving golfers using titanium clubs permission to break the rules and "improve their lie" -- that is, to move their ball away from rocks and dry vegetation.
"If they need to take a penalty, take a penalty," he said.
Titanium golf clubs can ignite fires, study finds - ESPN
Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said Wednesday that the results confirm a suspicion investigators have had for years: that titanium alloy clubs were the cause of at least two blazes on area golf courses, including one that burned 25 acres at Irvine's Shady Canyon in 2010. A second fire, sparked at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, burned close to homes.
"The common denominator was each golfer used a titanium club, and hit the ball [from] just out of bounds next to dry vegetation, where the ground was extremely rocky," he said.
Investigators who were "laughed at" when they first floated the golf club theory have been vindicated, according to Concialdi.
Scientists painstakingly re-created in the lab the course conditions on the days of the fires. Using high-speed cameras and electron microscopes, they found that if hit upon a rock, clubs containing titanium can produce sparks of up to 3,000 degrees that will burn for more than a second, said James Earthman, a chemical engineering and materials science professor and an author of the study.
"And that gives the spark plenty of time" to ignite nearby foliage, he said. "Titanium reacts violently with both oxygen and nitrogen in the air."
In contrast, when standard stainless steel clubs were used, there was no reaction.
Most golf clubs have steel heads but many manufacturers also make ones with a titanium alloy component in the head. Such alloys are 40 percent lighter, which can make the club easier to swing, researchers said.
Concialdi said the Fire Authority is giving golfers using titanium clubs permission to break the rules and "improve their lie" -- that is, to move their ball away from rocks and dry vegetation.
"If they need to take a penalty, take a penalty," he said.
Titanium golf clubs can ignite fires, study finds - ESPN
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If you thought your golf game was hot, try swinging a titanium club. Especially in a rocky dry area. Actually, don’t.
After fires broke out at two golf courses in Irvine and Mission Viejo, Calif., fire investigators determined the only common factor was that each golfer used titanium-plated clubs on the rocky grounds.
“Each golfer had used titanium-plated three irons at the courses before the fire,” Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi told USA Today. He said each course had rocky ground and it was the only solution they had.
The fire investigators contacted University of California Irvine scientists to help discover whether titanium clubs could start fires. Most golf clubs have stainless steel heads, but some use a titanium alloy component, which makes the club lighter and easier to swing. And in California, many of the roughs at clubs are in rocky areas with flammable scrub brush, according to UC Irvine.
The scientists recreated the conditions on the days of the fires in their lab. They used high-speed video cameras and “powerful scanning electron microscope analysis” which showed that when the titanium clubs struck or grazed a hard surface, very hot sparks were produced. The sparks were up to 3,000 degrees and lasted up to one second. When they used stainless steel clubs, there were no sparks.
Chemical engineering and materials science professor James Earthman said:
“Rocks are often embedded in the found in these rough areas of dry foliage. When the club strikes a ball, nearby rocks can tear particles of titanium from the sole of the head. Bits of the particle surfaces will react violently with oxygen or nitrogen in the air and a tremendous amount of heat is produced. The foliage ignites in flames.”
Earthman was lead author of the study’s paper, along with four other scientists. Concialdi told Associated Press that the department is asking golfers who use titanium-coated clubs to move their balls away from rocks and vegetation and over to the fairways. “If they need to take a penalty, take a penalty,” he said.
The next time you golf in a dry, rocky area, you might reach for the stainless steel clubs instead.
A golf club so hot, it can burn down your house
After fires broke out at two golf courses in Irvine and Mission Viejo, Calif., fire investigators determined the only common factor was that each golfer used titanium-plated clubs on the rocky grounds.
“Each golfer had used titanium-plated three irons at the courses before the fire,” Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi told USA Today. He said each course had rocky ground and it was the only solution they had.
The fire investigators contacted University of California Irvine scientists to help discover whether titanium clubs could start fires. Most golf clubs have stainless steel heads, but some use a titanium alloy component, which makes the club lighter and easier to swing. And in California, many of the roughs at clubs are in rocky areas with flammable scrub brush, according to UC Irvine.
The scientists recreated the conditions on the days of the fires in their lab. They used high-speed video cameras and “powerful scanning electron microscope analysis” which showed that when the titanium clubs struck or grazed a hard surface, very hot sparks were produced. The sparks were up to 3,000 degrees and lasted up to one second. When they used stainless steel clubs, there were no sparks.
Chemical engineering and materials science professor James Earthman said:
“Rocks are often embedded in the found in these rough areas of dry foliage. When the club strikes a ball, nearby rocks can tear particles of titanium from the sole of the head. Bits of the particle surfaces will react violently with oxygen or nitrogen in the air and a tremendous amount of heat is produced. The foliage ignites in flames.”
Earthman was lead author of the study’s paper, along with four other scientists. Concialdi told Associated Press that the department is asking golfers who use titanium-coated clubs to move their balls away from rocks and vegetation and over to the fairways. “If they need to take a penalty, take a penalty,” he said.
The next time you golf in a dry, rocky area, you might reach for the stainless steel clubs instead.
A golf club so hot, it can burn down your house
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Adam Scott left the field trailing in his wake as he closed in on a victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational which could see him defend his US Masters title as world number one.
Scott holds a three-shot lead after a stunning opening 10-under-par 62 at Bay Hill, which equalled the course record held by Andy Bean and his fellow Australian Greg Norman. And the 33-year-old extended his advantage to seven strokes with a second round of 68, marred only by bogeys on the seventh and 18th, where he three-putted from long range.
Victory on Sunday would leave Scott fractionally behind the absent Tiger Woods in the world rankings, but if neither man played again before Augusta, Scott would assume top spot in the rankings in time for the first major of the year.
The world number two got off to a slow start on Friday with five straight pars and although he two-putted the par-five sixth for his first birdie of the day, he promptly gave that shot back on the next after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker. Another bogey looked possible on the ninth after his drive into the rough left him with an awkward angle to the green, but a superb approach to 10 feet actually set up another birdie.
Scott’s birdie attempt on the 10th caught the edge of the hole and span out, but that proved to only be a temporary blip as he holed from four feet on the 11th and five feet on the 12th. Further birdies on the 16th and 17th took Scott eight clear of the field and a superb drive down the last left him just 150 yards from the pin, but he paid the price for a conservative approach, three putts from 50ft for a bogey dropping him back to 14 under par.
Italy’s Francesco Molinari and American duo JB Holmes and Chesson Hadley were Scott’s closest challengers on seven under par, with Welshman Jamie Donaldson carding a 71 to lie six under alongside former US PGA champion Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker.
Ian Poulter also returned a 71 to lie five under, but it was not such a good day for his Ryder Cup team-mate and fellow Orlando resident Graeme McDowell, who followed his opening 68 with a second round of 77 that did not feature a single birdie. After starting from the 10th, McDowell dropped shots at the 13th and 18th to be out in 38 and then finished in nightmare fashion with a double-bogey on the eighth and bogey on the ninth.
McDowell at least made the cut on one over par, while US Open champion Justin Rose made an early exit after crashing to a second round of 79. Rose carded six bogeys, two double bogeys and three birdies to finish three over par, 17 shots behind playing partner Scott.
Pádraig Harrington had a second successive 70, which included an eagle on the par five 16th, while Darren Clarke shot a disappointing 78 including a double bogey at the last to lie nine over and to miss the cut.
Adam Scott stays in control at Bay Hill - Golf News | World & Ireland Golf Results, Fixtures & Tables - Fri, Mar 21, 2014
Scott holds a three-shot lead after a stunning opening 10-under-par 62 at Bay Hill, which equalled the course record held by Andy Bean and his fellow Australian Greg Norman. And the 33-year-old extended his advantage to seven strokes with a second round of 68, marred only by bogeys on the seventh and 18th, where he three-putted from long range.
Victory on Sunday would leave Scott fractionally behind the absent Tiger Woods in the world rankings, but if neither man played again before Augusta, Scott would assume top spot in the rankings in time for the first major of the year.
The world number two got off to a slow start on Friday with five straight pars and although he two-putted the par-five sixth for his first birdie of the day, he promptly gave that shot back on the next after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker. Another bogey looked possible on the ninth after his drive into the rough left him with an awkward angle to the green, but a superb approach to 10 feet actually set up another birdie.
Scott’s birdie attempt on the 10th caught the edge of the hole and span out, but that proved to only be a temporary blip as he holed from four feet on the 11th and five feet on the 12th. Further birdies on the 16th and 17th took Scott eight clear of the field and a superb drive down the last left him just 150 yards from the pin, but he paid the price for a conservative approach, three putts from 50ft for a bogey dropping him back to 14 under par.
Italy’s Francesco Molinari and American duo JB Holmes and Chesson Hadley were Scott’s closest challengers on seven under par, with Welshman Jamie Donaldson carding a 71 to lie six under alongside former US PGA champion Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker.
Ian Poulter also returned a 71 to lie five under, but it was not such a good day for his Ryder Cup team-mate and fellow Orlando resident Graeme McDowell, who followed his opening 68 with a second round of 77 that did not feature a single birdie. After starting from the 10th, McDowell dropped shots at the 13th and 18th to be out in 38 and then finished in nightmare fashion with a double-bogey on the eighth and bogey on the ninth.
McDowell at least made the cut on one over par, while US Open champion Justin Rose made an early exit after crashing to a second round of 79. Rose carded six bogeys, two double bogeys and three birdies to finish three over par, 17 shots behind playing partner Scott.
Pádraig Harrington had a second successive 70, which included an eagle on the par five 16th, while Darren Clarke shot a disappointing 78 including a double bogey at the last to lie nine over and to miss the cut.
Adam Scott stays in control at Bay Hill - Golf News | World & Ireland Golf Results, Fixtures & Tables - Fri, Mar 21, 2014
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Matt Every is finally a winner on the PGA Tour, and he's still not sure how it happened.
He was nine shots behind Masters champion Adam Scott going into the weekend at Bay Hill. He was still four back of the Australian he referred to as a "stud" going into the final round Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Every figured even par over the last three holes would do the trick. He made two bogeys.
Even after a hearty handshake from the tournament host and a shiny trophy an arm's length away from, Every summed up this wild day with just the right words.
"I ... I ... I can't believe I won," he said. "I just ... I really can't."
The tee shot that he feared might be out-of-bounds on No. 9 somehow bounced along a cart path and led to an unlikely birdie. He surged to a three-shot lead when Scott's touch with the putter vanished. Even with two bogeys on the last three holes - he missed a 4-foot par putt on the 18th - Every still closed with a 2-under 70.
The last bogey made him sweat out the finish. Keegan Bradley, who birdied the 16th and 17th holes, had a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have forced a playoff. It was similar to the putt Tiger Woods has made so often to win at Bay Hill. Bradley's putt stayed left of the hole, and he finished one shot behind.
Every finished at 13-under 275, one shot ahead of Bradley, who needed two late birdies for a 72. Scott was third.
In his 92nd start as a pro on the PGA Tour, Every finally won at just the right time and just the right place.
The 30-year-old who grew up 90 minutes away in Daytona Beach used to come to Bay Hill as a kid to watch the tournament. And he beat the Masters champion to earn his own spot in the Masters next month.
"Being close to winning out here, it can be kind of discouraging because if you don't win, you just wonder if it's ever going to happen," Every said. "And sometimes you tell yourself, `Well, maybe it's meant to be somewhere else, somewhere better.' I don't see how it could get much better than this - being so close to where I grew up and all the fans out there that were cheering me on. It was awesome."
It was a nightmare for Scott.
He shattered the Bay Hill record by taking a seven-shot lead after 36 holes and still led by three shots over Bradley going into Sunday. His putting stroke betrayed him. Scott made only five bogeys over 54 holes. He made five on Sunday alone. And he didn't make a birdie over the last 14 holes for a 76.
"I'm annoyed that I didn't do better today," Scott said. "Sometimes you've got to be hard on yourself. Sometimes you don't. And I think I was getting into a really good spot, and an opportunity here to run away with an event and really take a lot of confidence. I'm taking confidence anyway, from just some good play. But some opportunities you've got to take."
Cocky by nature, Every choked back tears when he realized he had won.
"It's hard," he said, stopping to compose himself. "It's tough, man. You just never know if it's going to happen. You get there so many times. It's nice to get it done."
He made it hard on himself.
Every had a three-shot lead on the par-5 16th hole - the easiest at Bay Hill - when he drove into the woods, hit a tree trying to pitch out, laid up short of the water to play it safe and had to grind out a bogey. Scott, playing in the final group behind him, drilled 6-iron to 20 feet for an eagle putt that would have tied him for the lead.
He three-putted for par.
It was the second time in six tournaments that Scott lost a big lead on the last day. He had a four-shot advantage in the Australian Open and lost on the final hole to Rory McIlroy. This time, he didn't even have a realistic chance playing the 18th.
"I really think the putting has let me down on both of those occasions," Scott said. "Today was a bit shaky. But this course was asking a lot of everyone today, and my short game just wasn't there. So that needs to be tightened up and probably shows that I need to do a bit more work on it to hold up under the pressure."
Scott finished alone in third. He had to win Bay Hill to reach No. 1 in the world ranking when he arrived at Augusta National. Now, the No. 1 spot that Woods has held for the last year will be up for grabs at the Masters among Woods, Scott and Henrik Stenson, who tied for fifth at Bay Hill.
Until Sunday, about the only time Every made news on the PGA Tour was when he was arrested and jailed on a misdemeanor drug possession charge at the 2010 John Deere Classic after agents were called to a casino hotel because of a strong odor of marijuana coming from the room he was in.
Every paid the price with a three-month suspension that kept him from retaining his PGA Tour card. He once said earning his card back was his greatest achievement, though that sure takes a seat back to his win at Bay Hill.
"It's just cool that I can say that I won on the PGA Tour," Every said. "But I always felt like my game was plenty good enough to win out here."
Read more: Matt Every wins Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill - GOLF-com
He was nine shots behind Masters champion Adam Scott going into the weekend at Bay Hill. He was still four back of the Australian he referred to as a "stud" going into the final round Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Every figured even par over the last three holes would do the trick. He made two bogeys.
Even after a hearty handshake from the tournament host and a shiny trophy an arm's length away from, Every summed up this wild day with just the right words.
"I ... I ... I can't believe I won," he said. "I just ... I really can't."
The tee shot that he feared might be out-of-bounds on No. 9 somehow bounced along a cart path and led to an unlikely birdie. He surged to a three-shot lead when Scott's touch with the putter vanished. Even with two bogeys on the last three holes - he missed a 4-foot par putt on the 18th - Every still closed with a 2-under 70.
The last bogey made him sweat out the finish. Keegan Bradley, who birdied the 16th and 17th holes, had a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have forced a playoff. It was similar to the putt Tiger Woods has made so often to win at Bay Hill. Bradley's putt stayed left of the hole, and he finished one shot behind.
Every finished at 13-under 275, one shot ahead of Bradley, who needed two late birdies for a 72. Scott was third.
In his 92nd start as a pro on the PGA Tour, Every finally won at just the right time and just the right place.
The 30-year-old who grew up 90 minutes away in Daytona Beach used to come to Bay Hill as a kid to watch the tournament. And he beat the Masters champion to earn his own spot in the Masters next month.
"Being close to winning out here, it can be kind of discouraging because if you don't win, you just wonder if it's ever going to happen," Every said. "And sometimes you tell yourself, `Well, maybe it's meant to be somewhere else, somewhere better.' I don't see how it could get much better than this - being so close to where I grew up and all the fans out there that were cheering me on. It was awesome."
It was a nightmare for Scott.
He shattered the Bay Hill record by taking a seven-shot lead after 36 holes and still led by three shots over Bradley going into Sunday. His putting stroke betrayed him. Scott made only five bogeys over 54 holes. He made five on Sunday alone. And he didn't make a birdie over the last 14 holes for a 76.
"I'm annoyed that I didn't do better today," Scott said. "Sometimes you've got to be hard on yourself. Sometimes you don't. And I think I was getting into a really good spot, and an opportunity here to run away with an event and really take a lot of confidence. I'm taking confidence anyway, from just some good play. But some opportunities you've got to take."
Cocky by nature, Every choked back tears when he realized he had won.
"It's hard," he said, stopping to compose himself. "It's tough, man. You just never know if it's going to happen. You get there so many times. It's nice to get it done."
He made it hard on himself.
Every had a three-shot lead on the par-5 16th hole - the easiest at Bay Hill - when he drove into the woods, hit a tree trying to pitch out, laid up short of the water to play it safe and had to grind out a bogey. Scott, playing in the final group behind him, drilled 6-iron to 20 feet for an eagle putt that would have tied him for the lead.
He three-putted for par.
It was the second time in six tournaments that Scott lost a big lead on the last day. He had a four-shot advantage in the Australian Open and lost on the final hole to Rory McIlroy. This time, he didn't even have a realistic chance playing the 18th.
"I really think the putting has let me down on both of those occasions," Scott said. "Today was a bit shaky. But this course was asking a lot of everyone today, and my short game just wasn't there. So that needs to be tightened up and probably shows that I need to do a bit more work on it to hold up under the pressure."
Scott finished alone in third. He had to win Bay Hill to reach No. 1 in the world ranking when he arrived at Augusta National. Now, the No. 1 spot that Woods has held for the last year will be up for grabs at the Masters among Woods, Scott and Henrik Stenson, who tied for fifth at Bay Hill.
Until Sunday, about the only time Every made news on the PGA Tour was when he was arrested and jailed on a misdemeanor drug possession charge at the 2010 John Deere Classic after agents were called to a casino hotel because of a strong odor of marijuana coming from the room he was in.
Every paid the price with a three-month suspension that kept him from retaining his PGA Tour card. He once said earning his card back was his greatest achievement, though that sure takes a seat back to his win at Bay Hill.
"It's just cool that I can say that I won on the PGA Tour," Every said. "But I always felt like my game was plenty good enough to win out here."
Read more: Matt Every wins Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill - GOLF-com
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New Zealand's Lydia Ko has fallen short of claiming her maiden win on the LPGA Tour, finishing one stroke behind Karrie Webb at the JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix.
Ko led by three strokes early into her round before giving up the lead to a surging Webb. Webb finished at 19-under following a final round eight-under 63 today.
Ko missed a number of birdie chances on the final three holes which would have forced a playoff. Instead she had to settle for a five-way tie for second at 18-under following a two-under 70 today.
The second placing sees Ko move from ninth to five in the season points standings.
Earlier, Ko began the final round with a one-stroke lead and got off to a hot start on the front nine as she made four-straight birdies after she parred the opening hole.
Bogeys at the sixth and ninth stunted her momentum though and she eventually made the turn at 18-under as she held a share of first place before three putting at the par five 11th to drop another shot.
Ko cut the margin back to one shot with a birdie on the par five 15th. She missed birdie putts at 16 and 17 before a 24 footer to force a playoff on the 18th just fell short.
In her first full year on tour as a professional, Ko is yet to finish outside of the top 20.
Golf: Ko finishes second in Phoenix - Sport - NZ Herald News
Ko led by three strokes early into her round before giving up the lead to a surging Webb. Webb finished at 19-under following a final round eight-under 63 today.
Ko missed a number of birdie chances on the final three holes which would have forced a playoff. Instead she had to settle for a five-way tie for second at 18-under following a two-under 70 today.
The second placing sees Ko move from ninth to five in the season points standings.
Earlier, Ko began the final round with a one-stroke lead and got off to a hot start on the front nine as she made four-straight birdies after she parred the opening hole.
Bogeys at the sixth and ninth stunted her momentum though and she eventually made the turn at 18-under as she held a share of first place before three putting at the par five 11th to drop another shot.
Ko cut the margin back to one shot with a birdie on the par five 15th. She missed birdie putts at 16 and 17 before a 24 footer to force a playoff on the 18th just fell short.
In her first full year on tour as a professional, Ko is yet to finish outside of the top 20.
Golf: Ko finishes second in Phoenix - Sport - NZ Herald News
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Perhaps it’s the lure of team golf. Perhaps it is putting down a marker for the Ryder Cup later in the year. Perhaps it’s down to the money.
Whatever the true lure, Graeme McDowell and Jamie Donaldson departed Orlando following the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday night to head for Kuala Lumpur, via London, a journey as the crow flies of 10,232 miles, to take part in this week’s EurAsia Cup. It’ll represent their last outings prior to the Masters.
It may be a poor relation of the Ryder Cup but, unlike the most famed team event in golf which carries no prizemoney, the Europe-Asia equivalent has a pot worth $4 million to be divvied up and Donaldson, with his eyes on a debut appearance on Paul McGinley’s team at Gleneagles come September, is eager to show what he can do in matchplay.
Final round
“Team Europe is certainly strong on paper – look at what Victor Dubuisson did at the WGC–Accenture Match Play and Pablo Larrazábal shot a 67 in the final round in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship to hold off Rory McIlroy,” claimed Donaldson of the men assembled by captain Miguel Angel Jimenez, adding:
“Stephen Gallacher won the Dubai Desert Classic title and then there’s Ryder Cup legend Graeme McDowell – it’s an exciting team!”
McDowell showed good form over the weekend – with rounds of 67-70 – at Bay Hill to finish tied-10th.
Indeed, only champion Matt Every played better golf in the final two rounds. Part of the reason for McDowell’s improvement in the Arnold Palmer Invitational was a switch in drivers mid-tournament, an older Cleveland Classic model put back into the bag at the expense of a new Srixon driver.
Of putting the Cleveland driver back into play, McDowell explained: “This driver is not as long as I have been using this year, but it is a hell of a lot more accurate.”
The club stayed with him for the onward trip to Malaysia.
Main task
McDowell is the lone Irishman in the Europe team for the event in Kuala Lumpur, with Jimenez – who arrived ahead of his team – claiming that his main task as captain was to ensure his players “stay calm, in my experience golfers tend to play their best when they are in a good frame of mind”.
All ten of Jimenez’s team are currently ranked inside the top 70 of the world rankings and are hot favourites to claim the trophy.
Meanwhile, Pádraig Harrington – who shot a final round 80 in Bay Hill which saw hip drop out of the top-30 down to tied-68th – has moved on to San Antonio for the Texas Open aware that time is running out in his quest to earn a late, late invite into next month’s Masters tournament.
The Dubliner needs to win either this week or at next week’s Houston Open if he is to earn a spot in the field at the season’s first Major.
His round of 80 on Sunday equalled his worst ever round on the PGA Tour – which came in the final round of last year’s Travelers Championship in Connecticut – but he claimed that he would take a “lot of positives” with him to a tournament where he had a top-10 finish last season.
The statistics would indicate much of Harrington’s problems come with his putting in the 15-25 feet range, where he has only a 5.88 per cent strike rate on tour this season. Harrington had 34 putts in his final round at Bay Hill.
Jamie Donaldson aiming to make a big impression - Golf News | World & Ireland Golf Results, Fixtures & Tables - Wed, Mar 26, 2014
Whatever the true lure, Graeme McDowell and Jamie Donaldson departed Orlando following the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday night to head for Kuala Lumpur, via London, a journey as the crow flies of 10,232 miles, to take part in this week’s EurAsia Cup. It’ll represent their last outings prior to the Masters.
It may be a poor relation of the Ryder Cup but, unlike the most famed team event in golf which carries no prizemoney, the Europe-Asia equivalent has a pot worth $4 million to be divvied up and Donaldson, with his eyes on a debut appearance on Paul McGinley’s team at Gleneagles come September, is eager to show what he can do in matchplay.
Final round
“Team Europe is certainly strong on paper – look at what Victor Dubuisson did at the WGC–Accenture Match Play and Pablo Larrazábal shot a 67 in the final round in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship to hold off Rory McIlroy,” claimed Donaldson of the men assembled by captain Miguel Angel Jimenez, adding:
“Stephen Gallacher won the Dubai Desert Classic title and then there’s Ryder Cup legend Graeme McDowell – it’s an exciting team!”
McDowell showed good form over the weekend – with rounds of 67-70 – at Bay Hill to finish tied-10th.
Indeed, only champion Matt Every played better golf in the final two rounds. Part of the reason for McDowell’s improvement in the Arnold Palmer Invitational was a switch in drivers mid-tournament, an older Cleveland Classic model put back into the bag at the expense of a new Srixon driver.
Of putting the Cleveland driver back into play, McDowell explained: “This driver is not as long as I have been using this year, but it is a hell of a lot more accurate.”
The club stayed with him for the onward trip to Malaysia.
Main task
McDowell is the lone Irishman in the Europe team for the event in Kuala Lumpur, with Jimenez – who arrived ahead of his team – claiming that his main task as captain was to ensure his players “stay calm, in my experience golfers tend to play their best when they are in a good frame of mind”.
All ten of Jimenez’s team are currently ranked inside the top 70 of the world rankings and are hot favourites to claim the trophy.
Meanwhile, Pádraig Harrington – who shot a final round 80 in Bay Hill which saw hip drop out of the top-30 down to tied-68th – has moved on to San Antonio for the Texas Open aware that time is running out in his quest to earn a late, late invite into next month’s Masters tournament.
The Dubliner needs to win either this week or at next week’s Houston Open if he is to earn a spot in the field at the season’s first Major.
His round of 80 on Sunday equalled his worst ever round on the PGA Tour – which came in the final round of last year’s Travelers Championship in Connecticut – but he claimed that he would take a “lot of positives” with him to a tournament where he had a top-10 finish last season.
The statistics would indicate much of Harrington’s problems come with his putting in the 15-25 feet range, where he has only a 5.88 per cent strike rate on tour this season. Harrington had 34 putts in his final round at Bay Hill.
Jamie Donaldson aiming to make a big impression - Golf News | World & Ireland Golf Results, Fixtures & Tables - Wed, Mar 26, 2014
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Construction work on the Olympic golf course for the 2016 Rio Games is behind schedule and a planned test event may not be possible, International Golf Federation president Peter Dawson has warned.
Dawson, also the chief executive of golf's overseer the Royal and Ancient, said that while he was impressed with the proposed coastal layout, progress was worryingly slow.
"We are not satisfied," Dawson told reporters in St Andrews. "I was down there just recently, and while the design of the course looks really good, the progress with the construction is not where we want it to be.
"There are no green shoots on the course yet - unless they are weeds."
Golf will make its first appearance at the Olympics since 1904 after being voted back in, but the Venue Reserva de Marapendi course has been snagged with problems.
Work was held up for months by legal wrangling over land ownership and environmental issues, meaning the original completion date of 2014 now looks unlikely.
As is the case in all Olympic venues, the IOC requires organisers to carry out test events in the build-up to the Games so that problems can be ironed out in good time.
However, Rio organisers are running out of time to organise a tournament on the Gilbert Hanse-designed course.
"There have been so many revisions to the plan it's quite hard to say how far behind they are, but I think we are going to struggle to get a test event a year before the Games," Dawson said.
"I'm not writing that off completely, but we have to recognise that might be difficult.
"There have been meetings held last week in Rio to revise the plan, to increase manpower and facilities, designed to bring the project back on track."
"I wouldn't say I'm disturbed at this point. I'd much rather we were further ahead. I still think it will be ready in time for the Olympics," Dawson added.
Golf chiefs worried by Olympic course delays - RTÉ Sport
Dawson, also the chief executive of golf's overseer the Royal and Ancient, said that while he was impressed with the proposed coastal layout, progress was worryingly slow.
"We are not satisfied," Dawson told reporters in St Andrews. "I was down there just recently, and while the design of the course looks really good, the progress with the construction is not where we want it to be.
"There are no green shoots on the course yet - unless they are weeds."
Golf will make its first appearance at the Olympics since 1904 after being voted back in, but the Venue Reserva de Marapendi course has been snagged with problems.
Work was held up for months by legal wrangling over land ownership and environmental issues, meaning the original completion date of 2014 now looks unlikely.
As is the case in all Olympic venues, the IOC requires organisers to carry out test events in the build-up to the Games so that problems can be ironed out in good time.
However, Rio organisers are running out of time to organise a tournament on the Gilbert Hanse-designed course.
"There have been so many revisions to the plan it's quite hard to say how far behind they are, but I think we are going to struggle to get a test event a year before the Games," Dawson said.
"I'm not writing that off completely, but we have to recognise that might be difficult.
"There have been meetings held last week in Rio to revise the plan, to increase manpower and facilities, designed to bring the project back on track."
"I wouldn't say I'm disturbed at this point. I'd much rather we were further ahead. I still think it will be ready in time for the Olympics," Dawson added.
Golf chiefs worried by Olympic course delays - RTÉ Sport
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Danny Lee has gone from overnight leader to missing the cut for the second time in a fortnight on the PGA Tour.
This time Lee, 23, has crashed out of the Texas Open with an 11-over par second round 83, missing the cut by four shots on a windy day at TPC San Antonio.
The New Zealander began the day tied for the lead on four-under par after posting an opening round 68 yesterday. But today he carded the worst round in the field recording only one birdie against nine bogeys and a triple.
Lee, whose primary objective this year is maintaining his PGA Tour card, also went from being the 18-hole leader to missing the cut two weeks ago at the Valspar Championship.
Wins at either of the Valspar Championship or Texas Open would have qualified Lee for the first major championship of the year - the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in a fortnight.
Already known as one of the least consistent players on tour, Lee's latest collapse has done nothing to bolster his reputation or his money list status, the prime influence in his goal to retain his tour credentials.
There was some good news from Texas however, with fellow New Zealander Tim Wilkinson qualifying for the weekend by being in a halfway tie for 33rd.
Wilkinson carded 70 today, in tougher conditions, after an opening 74 and is even par for the tournament, eight strokes adrift of Australian 36-hole leader Steven Bowditch.
American's Chad Collins and Andrew Loupe are tied second, one shot behind Bowditch.
Danny Lee misses cut at Texas Open - golf - sport | Stuff.co.nz
This time Lee, 23, has crashed out of the Texas Open with an 11-over par second round 83, missing the cut by four shots on a windy day at TPC San Antonio.
The New Zealander began the day tied for the lead on four-under par after posting an opening round 68 yesterday. But today he carded the worst round in the field recording only one birdie against nine bogeys and a triple.
Lee, whose primary objective this year is maintaining his PGA Tour card, also went from being the 18-hole leader to missing the cut two weeks ago at the Valspar Championship.
Wins at either of the Valspar Championship or Texas Open would have qualified Lee for the first major championship of the year - the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in a fortnight.
Already known as one of the least consistent players on tour, Lee's latest collapse has done nothing to bolster his reputation or his money list status, the prime influence in his goal to retain his tour credentials.
There was some good news from Texas however, with fellow New Zealander Tim Wilkinson qualifying for the weekend by being in a halfway tie for 33rd.
Wilkinson carded 70 today, in tougher conditions, after an opening 74 and is even par for the tournament, eight strokes adrift of Australian 36-hole leader Steven Bowditch.
American's Chad Collins and Andrew Loupe are tied second, one shot behind Bowditch.
Danny Lee misses cut at Texas Open - golf - sport | Stuff.co.nz
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It's infuriating to see golf's leading ambassadors, the professionals, hammering nails into the sport's coffin. Golf club members in Ireland are melting away, the majority complaining they haven't the time, never mind the money, to play the game.
At this time of crisis, golf's principal recruiting officers, the Tour stars who fill our TV screens every weekend, make the average glacier look quick.
All of which must be blamed on the PGA Tour's utter dereliction of duty.
The abject failure of US Tour officials to enforce their own slow play regulations is the reason why a generation or more of young golfers around the world have grown up thinking it's their inalienable right to walk 30 yards to the green before playing a chip shot or to examine the line of every putt from three or four different angles.
It plumbed new depths on Sunday at the Valero Texas Open, when, for example, the final three-ball took one hour and 50 minutes to reach the fifth green, went through the turn in three hours and, at the urging of referees, played the back nine in a 'breakneck' two hours and 34 minutes.
SNAILS
Tournament winner Steven Bowditch and his playing companions Matt Kuchar and Andrew Loupe needed more than five and a half hours to complete 18 holes. A gusting wind made conditions difficult, partially explaining the snail's pace of play and, indeed, why Bowditch shot 76, the highest final-round score by a US tournament winner in nearly 10 years.
Yet nothing can excuse Sunday's stultifying death march.
Just as worrying was the response of former Masters champion and US Ryder Cup star Zach Johnson when asked why the pace of play has become so appallingly slow on Tour.
"There's a ripple effect, there's four or five factors which all collide," Johnson explained in all sincerity to Golf Channel, listing "the amount of guys in the field; the distance between tee-times; the course set-up and daylight timing thing, especially on Thursday and Friday."
Principally, he recommended trimming the field playing on Saturday and Sunday to 60 and ties!
Sadly, this is typical of a massive blind spot in US professional golf. The professionals, especially the big names, get away with metaphorical murder when it comes to slow play because the Tour is unwilling to risk damaging its image by penalising its members.
MacGinty: Golf's slow death - Independent.ie
At this time of crisis, golf's principal recruiting officers, the Tour stars who fill our TV screens every weekend, make the average glacier look quick.
All of which must be blamed on the PGA Tour's utter dereliction of duty.
The abject failure of US Tour officials to enforce their own slow play regulations is the reason why a generation or more of young golfers around the world have grown up thinking it's their inalienable right to walk 30 yards to the green before playing a chip shot or to examine the line of every putt from three or four different angles.
It plumbed new depths on Sunday at the Valero Texas Open, when, for example, the final three-ball took one hour and 50 minutes to reach the fifth green, went through the turn in three hours and, at the urging of referees, played the back nine in a 'breakneck' two hours and 34 minutes.
SNAILS
Tournament winner Steven Bowditch and his playing companions Matt Kuchar and Andrew Loupe needed more than five and a half hours to complete 18 holes. A gusting wind made conditions difficult, partially explaining the snail's pace of play and, indeed, why Bowditch shot 76, the highest final-round score by a US tournament winner in nearly 10 years.
Yet nothing can excuse Sunday's stultifying death march.
Just as worrying was the response of former Masters champion and US Ryder Cup star Zach Johnson when asked why the pace of play has become so appallingly slow on Tour.
"There's a ripple effect, there's four or five factors which all collide," Johnson explained in all sincerity to Golf Channel, listing "the amount of guys in the field; the distance between tee-times; the course set-up and daylight timing thing, especially on Thursday and Friday."
Principally, he recommended trimming the field playing on Saturday and Sunday to 60 and ties!
Sadly, this is typical of a massive blind spot in US professional golf. The professionals, especially the big names, get away with metaphorical murder when it comes to slow play because the Tour is unwilling to risk damaging its image by penalising its members.
MacGinty: Golf's slow death - Independent.ie
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The first thing I considered when I learned that Tiger Woods had withdrawn from the upcoming Masters Tournament wasn't that the event would suffer from the absence of its four-time champion.
Sure, it's a big deal for the game that Tiger won't play in Augusta next week, but the Masters is bigger than any one player.
Instead, I began to wonder how this latest injury, which will keep Woods out of his first Masters in 20 years, is a setback that could severely hurt his chances of breaking Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships.
Nicklaus' record is all that keeps Tiger playing. It's not to win FedEx Cups or to break Sam Snead's mark of 82 career PGA Tour wins or to amass more millions in earnings.
Nicklaus' record alone holds our attention.
This was supposed to be a special year in the majors for Tiger -- one that was sure to end his six-year winless drought in these events.
Woods had won six of his 14 majors on 2014's major courses. Even with the incredible depth in the game, it was a good bet that Tiger was going to win on at least one of these courses.
Now nothing is certain about his season of majors.
The back surgery this week is just one more calamity to derail Tiger's path to Jack in a long line of injuries and personal trials over the past several years.
How is Tiger going to beat kids nearly half his age with a bad back?
It's a shame.
Can you imagine if Henry Aaron got to 550 home runs and injuries kept him from reaching Babe Ruth's all-time record of 714? Or if Pete Rose had been kicked out of baseball nearly 1,000 hits shy of Ty Cobb's record?
Wouldn't it put a small blemish on one of the greatest sports stories of all time if Tiger couldn't complete the fairy tale and best Nicklaus? Wouldn't Tiger getting to 19 majors complete that wonderful arc that started with his 12-shot win at the 1997 Masters?
This injury and absence from Augusta has to scare the hell out of Tiger. How many more majors does he have to realistically be a top contender?
It's very presumptuous to think that Tiger would have won next week at Augusta. He had three victories last year going into Augusta and didn't break 70 in a tie for fourth. At the next three majors, his play was uninspired.
Withdrawing from the Masters just renders a win that was doubtful in the first place merely impossible to achieve because he's not in the field to create buzz about what he will do.
No need now to get your hopes up that he will do something miraculous to win his fifth green jacket.
For Tiger, Nicklaus' record must now feel like a very difficult climb at this point in his career. He turns 39 in December, and no matter what you do in terms of diet and exercise, the body continues to age.
But the good news is that when Tiger is healthy and in the field, he has at least a chance of competing. What's for sure is that he can't break the record if he is not healthy enough to play.
The game is at its best when he is competing at his best in the majors, and even better when he is winning these tournaments.
Down the line, what we may remember most about this time is not whether Tiger broke Nicklaus' record, but everything that he went through to try to do it.
After all the injuries that he has struggled through over the years, it's likely that whatever befalls him in his remaining days on tour will be borne out of great struggle and some pain.
Tiger Woods' record chase slipping away? -- golf - ESPN
Sure, it's a big deal for the game that Tiger won't play in Augusta next week, but the Masters is bigger than any one player.
Instead, I began to wonder how this latest injury, which will keep Woods out of his first Masters in 20 years, is a setback that could severely hurt his chances of breaking Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships.
Nicklaus' record is all that keeps Tiger playing. It's not to win FedEx Cups or to break Sam Snead's mark of 82 career PGA Tour wins or to amass more millions in earnings.
Nicklaus' record alone holds our attention.
This was supposed to be a special year in the majors for Tiger -- one that was sure to end his six-year winless drought in these events.
Woods had won six of his 14 majors on 2014's major courses. Even with the incredible depth in the game, it was a good bet that Tiger was going to win on at least one of these courses.
Now nothing is certain about his season of majors.
The back surgery this week is just one more calamity to derail Tiger's path to Jack in a long line of injuries and personal trials over the past several years.
How is Tiger going to beat kids nearly half his age with a bad back?
It's a shame.
Can you imagine if Henry Aaron got to 550 home runs and injuries kept him from reaching Babe Ruth's all-time record of 714? Or if Pete Rose had been kicked out of baseball nearly 1,000 hits shy of Ty Cobb's record?
Wouldn't it put a small blemish on one of the greatest sports stories of all time if Tiger couldn't complete the fairy tale and best Nicklaus? Wouldn't Tiger getting to 19 majors complete that wonderful arc that started with his 12-shot win at the 1997 Masters?
This injury and absence from Augusta has to scare the hell out of Tiger. How many more majors does he have to realistically be a top contender?
It's very presumptuous to think that Tiger would have won next week at Augusta. He had three victories last year going into Augusta and didn't break 70 in a tie for fourth. At the next three majors, his play was uninspired.
Withdrawing from the Masters just renders a win that was doubtful in the first place merely impossible to achieve because he's not in the field to create buzz about what he will do.
No need now to get your hopes up that he will do something miraculous to win his fifth green jacket.
For Tiger, Nicklaus' record must now feel like a very difficult climb at this point in his career. He turns 39 in December, and no matter what you do in terms of diet and exercise, the body continues to age.
But the good news is that when Tiger is healthy and in the field, he has at least a chance of competing. What's for sure is that he can't break the record if he is not healthy enough to play.
The game is at its best when he is competing at his best in the majors, and even better when he is winning these tournaments.
Down the line, what we may remember most about this time is not whether Tiger broke Nicklaus' record, but everything that he went through to try to do it.
After all the injuries that he has struggled through over the years, it's likely that whatever befalls him in his remaining days on tour will be borne out of great struggle and some pain.
Tiger Woods' record chase slipping away? -- golf - ESPN
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Alabama's Emma Talley won the NCAA women's individual golf championship Monday to become the fifth player to win the title and the U.S. Women's Amateur.
Talley holed an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole after a weather delay for a 3-under 69 and a one-stroke victory over Arkansas' Gaby Lopez and Duke's Leona Maguire.
"It was just an incredible week," said Talley, a junior from Princeton, Kentucky. "I had been playing well up to this point, and everything kind of came together and clicked just at the right time. God's blessed me with so much, and I just took it and ran with it."
Talley, the 2013 U.S. Women's Amateur champion, finished at 3-under 285 at The Concession Golf Club. Lopez shot a 66, and Maguire had a 68.
Southern California took the top spot in the eight-team, match-play field for the team title. Duke was second, followed by Baylor, Stanford, Arizona, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Washington.
Southern California will face Washington in the quarterfinals.
Alabama's Emma Talley wins NCAA golf title | Boston Herald
Talley holed an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole after a weather delay for a 3-under 69 and a one-stroke victory over Arkansas' Gaby Lopez and Duke's Leona Maguire.
"It was just an incredible week," said Talley, a junior from Princeton, Kentucky. "I had been playing well up to this point, and everything kind of came together and clicked just at the right time. God's blessed me with so much, and I just took it and ran with it."
Talley, the 2013 U.S. Women's Amateur champion, finished at 3-under 285 at The Concession Golf Club. Lopez shot a 66, and Maguire had a 68.
Southern California took the top spot in the eight-team, match-play field for the team title. Duke was second, followed by Baylor, Stanford, Arizona, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Washington.
Southern California will face Washington in the quarterfinals.
Alabama's Emma Talley wins NCAA golf title | Boston Herald
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Mainland and Vancouver Island golf fans are making their way down to Chambers Bay for the first-ever U.S. Open to be held in the Pacific Northwest.
They’re taking their positions on a piece of property formerly used as a sand and gravel mine as it prepares for its major moment.
According to USGA officials, thousands of B.C. residents are expected in the Seattle/Tacoma area as the likes of World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, Masters champion Jordan Speith and fan favourites Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods et al challenge the course designed and built specifically for a U.S. Open.
The tournament, which begins Thursday but has been busy with official practice rounds since Monday, is expected to bring a $140 million economic impact to Pierce County, say USGA officials, drawing the most Canadian fans, volunteers and media than ever before.
“I can tell there will be a ton of people from out of town because the hotels in Seattle are pricey this weekend,” Victoria native Matt Parkes said with a chuckle.
Parkes, his brother Adam, mom Carolyn and dad Terry Parkes are all making their way down for Friday’s Round 2 of the second golf major of the year. The brothers and their families decided it would be the perfect birthday present for dad, who turned 65 at the end of May.
- See more at: B.C. golf fans flocking to Chambers Bay for U.S. Open
They’re taking their positions on a piece of property formerly used as a sand and gravel mine as it prepares for its major moment.
According to USGA officials, thousands of B.C. residents are expected in the Seattle/Tacoma area as the likes of World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, Masters champion Jordan Speith and fan favourites Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods et al challenge the course designed and built specifically for a U.S. Open.
The tournament, which begins Thursday but has been busy with official practice rounds since Monday, is expected to bring a $140 million economic impact to Pierce County, say USGA officials, drawing the most Canadian fans, volunteers and media than ever before.
“I can tell there will be a ton of people from out of town because the hotels in Seattle are pricey this weekend,” Victoria native Matt Parkes said with a chuckle.
Parkes, his brother Adam, mom Carolyn and dad Terry Parkes are all making their way down for Friday’s Round 2 of the second golf major of the year. The brothers and their families decided it would be the perfect birthday present for dad, who turned 65 at the end of May.
- See more at: B.C. golf fans flocking to Chambers Bay for U.S. Open
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So what's in store for the world No. 1 golfer as he prepares for the Masters? And what are we to make of WGC-Cadillac Championship winner Patrick Reed's comments about being a top-five player in the world?
Our scribes dive into those topics and more in the latest edition of Four-Ball.
1. Should Tiger Woods play next week at Bay Hill or rest his back prior to the Masters?
Michael Collins, ESPN-com senior golf analyst: Tiger needs a week with Patrick Reed eating ice cream and watching Netflix. If the back isn't 100 percent Monday of Bay Hill, he has to shut it down that week as well. He can make some covert trips to Augusta and privately get his reps in and be ready for four rounds in April.
Farrell Evans, ESPN-com senior golf writer: Tiger should not play competitive golf again until the Masters in mid-April. All he can do is exacerbate a nagging injury by playing in another so-called Masters tune-up like Bay Hill. If his game is rusty headed into Augusta, at least the bad back will be rested.
Bob Harig, ESPN-com senior golf writer: He needs to play at Bay Hill. It is a course he knows well, meaning it doesn't require a great deal of practice. And that then gives him two full weeks off prior to the Masters. Woods appears to be in a state where he needs several days off to recover, and then has to be careful about practice going into tournaments.
Kevin Maguire, ESPN-com senior golf editor: Right now, he shouldn't do anything but get that back "calmed down" as he was saying Sunday. I'm sure he wants to play Bay Hill, but Mr. Palmer will understand if he skips the event to make sure his back is 100 percent going into the Masters. That being said, if he passes on Arnie's place, that would put him without hitting a competitive shot for a month prior to Augusta. Adding Houston to his schedule the week before might be a good idea, albeit a far-fetched one.
2. What positives does Tiger take from his T-25 finish at Doral?
Collins: The putter. With 26 putts on the toughest day, followed by 25 putts, that's when he made a mini charge. Two rounds of 30 putts is marginal but one was stop and go (Thursday-Friday) and one was Sunday when the back just wasn't going to be on your side.
Evans: Tiger stuck it out and finished 72 holes through a bad back. Beyond that, it's hard to find any positives to a week that he finished with a 78 after starting the final round 3 shots off the lead and in the second-to-last group.
Harig: The 66 on Saturday was the kind of round he could have built upon had Sunday's back relapse not occurred. He hit the ball beautifully, putted well. And Friday's gut-check in brutal conditions was also impressive. There was a lot of good golf, but once again, not a complete tournament.
Maguire: Well, he did have his best finish of 2014. Seriously, though, his 66 in the third round showed he can still take it low like he did on Saturday at the Honda Classic. The biggest question mark will be, can he manage that balky back and will it flare up at an inopportune moment, like the back nine at Augusta on Sunday?
3. Doral winner Patrick Reed, 23, said he feels he's a top-five player in the world. Agree or disagree?
Collins: What did Ric Flair always say? "To be the man you gotta beat the man (WOO)!!" Well, did he not just beat the best? Are there five guys who've had a better seven-month stretch? I say no. Now if he was playing against only the top 10 guys every week, could he consistently beat five of them? Glad that isn't the case, but I'll say he might be closer than people think.
Evans: Disagree. However, most rankings are problematic. Is Tiger Woods the No. 1 player in the world right now? Yes, according to the Official World Golf Rankings, but he hasn't played like it in many months. Reed's claim is as subjective as the belief held by many that Tiger is the best player to ever play the game. Reed's problem is that he dared to claim that lofty place for himself without letting someone else put him there first.
Harig: It depends on the definition. Right now, yes. Three victories in 14 events is pretty stout, matched only by Jimmy Walker. Both have been surprises in the early part of the season. And he might well get to top five in the world based on the rankings sooner than anyone ever imagined.
Maguire: Not yet, but he's very close. It's hard to argue with a kid who has three wins since August. Is he cocky or confident? That's a fine line, especially when you're so much younger than everyone else. When you back up the talk with victories, though, it's perceived more as confidence.
4. What grade would you give the newly redesigned Doral?
Collins: C. Tweaks need to be made. The good news is they got wind from almost every direction so Gil Hanse now knows what worked and what didn't. The bad news is, when is he going to have time to come make the changes? I'm thinking he's got a bunch to do in Brazil for a while. Just saying.
Evans: The new Doral is a demanding but fair setup that retained the best virtues of the old layout. It's an A-minus.
Harig: B-minus. The course is much better than before, a sterner test than it has been in years. But it's hard around the edges. A few greens -- the third and 15th come to mind -- likely need to be softened. And the course will need to mature, which is expected before the players come back next year.
Maguire: I'd give it a B. Toss out Friday's play due to brutal winds, and overall, the course seemed hard but fair, which is what most players appreciate. Sure, Doral could use a few more seasons of letting the grass grow in a bit, but considering what they did in the past 12 months, Gil Hanse's work at the direction of Donald Trump is nothing short of a miracle.
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