Archive for August, 2009
August 31, 2009
Englands Gary Christian won the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic on the ninth playoff hole Sunday to equal a Nationwide Tour record.
Christian made a short birdie putt to beat Mathias Gronberg of Sweden and earn his first Nationwide title.
Everything has to end eventually, Christian joked. I needed to get into the record book somehow. To be honest, I lost count.
Christian needed only to two-putt for par from 5 feet after Gronberg made bogey.
Christian and Gronberg each started the final round at 9 under and two shots behind 54-hole leader Guy Boros. Both players shot a 64.
The playoff began and ended on the 435-yard, uphill 18th hole. The two went to the tee at 4:52 p.m. local and kept going back for more than two hours.
In the 1998 Lehigh Valley Open, Eric Booker finally beat Notah Begay III in nine playoff holes.
August 31, 2009
Scores Sunday from The Barclays, a $7,5 million US PGA Tour playoffs event at 7,419-yard, par-71 Liberty National Golf Club Course.
Final Round
Heath Slocum 66-72-70-67-275
Ernie Els 72-68-70-66-276
Padraig Harrington 67-75-67-67-276
Tiger Woods 70-72-67-67-276
Steve Stricker 69-70-68-69-276
Nick Watney 68-73-69-67-277
Fredrik Jacobson 66-72-68-71-277
Webb Simpson 66-68-72-72-278
Scott Verplank 73-70-68-68-279
Ian Poulter 67-72-70-70-279
Paul Goydos 65-71-68-75-279
Brandt Snedeker 72-75-67-66-280
Brian Gay 70-72-71-67-280
Jason Day 70-73-70-67-280
Dustin Johnson 70-74-73-64-281
Robert Allenby 68-75-69-69-281
Jim Furyk 69-73-70-69-281
Greg Owen 71-74-65-71-281
Steve Marino 65-71-68-77-281
Lee Janzen 68-75-70-69-282
Hunter Mahan 72-72-68-70-282
Troy Matteson 71-71-69-71-282
Y.E. Yang 71-72-68-71-282
Kevin Na 73-72-71-67-283
Jonathan Byrd 72-74-67-70-283
Tim Clark 71-70-71-71-283
Bill Haas 72-70-69-72-283
Stewart Cink 70-72-71-71-284
Matt Kuchar 68-73-68-75-284
Zach Johnson 70-72-67-75-284
J.B. Holmes 73-73-69-70-285
Sergio Garcia 65-76-74-70-285
D.A. Points 70-71-74-70-285
Justin Leonard 68-75-72-70-285
Luke Donald 73-69-73-70-285
Mike Weir 71-71-72-71-285
David Toms 67-75-71-72-285
Richard S. Johnson 68-71-73-73-285
Charley Hoffman 66-74-71-74-285
Bo Van Pelt 70-74-66-75-285
Boo Weekley 75-70-74-67-286
Ben Crane 74-73-69-70-286
Fred Couples 71-76-69-70-286
Justin Rose 73-72-69-72-286
Rod Pampling 68-73-69-76-286
Tim Petrovic 69-76-74-68-287
Chad Campbell 72-75-70-70-287
Bob Estes 73-74-70-70-287
Chris Riley 72-75-70-70-287
Davis Love III 70-75-72-70-287
John Mallinger 74-72-70-71-287
Kevin Sutherland 69-76-75-68-288
Jerry Kelly 72-74-76-66-288
Phil Mickelson 70-75-74-69-288
Anthony Kim 75-71-71-71-288
Kenny Perry 71-75-71-71-288
Harrison Frazar 73-71-72-72-288
Mark Wilson 72-75-72-70-289
James Nitties 71-75-73-70-289
Adam Scott 75-72-72-70-289
Daniel Chopra 77-69-71-72-289
Cameron Beckman 70-72-74-73-289
Kevin Streelman 68-78-69-74-289
Vaughn Taylor 71-76-69-74-290
John Senden 72-73-71-74-290
Bill Lunde 70-73-71-76-290
Brett Quigley 70-77-72-72-291
Charlie Wi 73-73-73-72-291
J.J. Henry 72-73-74-72-291
Ryan Moore 68-78-77-69-292
Charles Howell III 76-70-72-74-292
Retief Goosen 70-74-74-74-292
Jeff Overton 72-71-77-73-293
Alex Cejka 71-72-77-73-293
John Rollins 71-73-73-76-293
Joe Ogilvie 73-72-78-76-299
Todd Hamilton 71-74-79-76-300
August 31, 2009
Scores Sunday from the LPGA Tours $1,7 million Safeway Classic, played on the par-72, 6,546-yard Pumpkin Ridge Golf Clubnfsf Ghost Creek Course.
Final Round
(x-won on second hole of playoff)
x-M.J. Hur 69-69-65-203
Suzann Pettersen 68-68-67-203
Michele Redman 67-69-67-203
Michelle Wie 68-71-66-205
Ai Miyazato 67-68-70-205
Seon Hwa Lee 65-70-70-205
Anna Nordqvist 65-69-72-206
Paige Mackenzie 70-71-66-207
Christina Kim 68-70-69-207
Angela Stanford 66-71-70-207
Hee Young Park 74-65-69-208
Jill McGill 72-71-66-209
Maria Hjorth 70-71-68-209
Russy Gulyanamitta 71-67-71-209
Jeong Jang 68-70-71-209
Natalie Gulbis 68-69-72-209
Sarah Lee 72-68-70-210
Eun-Hee Ji 70-70-70-210
Jennifer Rosales 68-70-72-210
Sandra Gal 75-69-67-211
Julieta Granada 73-69-69-211
Candie Kung 66-76-69-211
Young Kim 70-71-70-211
Amy Hung 73-67-71-211
Cristie Kerr 69-70-72-211
Beth Bader 64-73-74-211
Rachel Hetherington 76-68-68-212
Stacy Lewis 72-72-68-212
Kristy McPherson 71-73-68-212
Mika Miyazato 69-73-70-212
Momoko Ueda 70-71-71-212
Stacy Prammanasudh 66-73-73-212
Sophie Gustafson 71-67-74-212
Mikaela Parmlid 77-67-69-213
Teresa Lu 74-70-69-213
Morgan Pressel 74-70-69-213
Vicky Hurst 74-69-70-213
Song-Hee Kim 73-70-70-213
Jimin Kang 72-71-70-213
Yani Tseng 68-75-70-213
Katie Futcher 72-70-71-213
Hye Jung Choi 72-70-71-213
Sun Young Yoo 70-70-73-213
Eva Dahllof 69-70-74-213
Lisa Strom 73-71-70-214
Alena Sharp 71-71-72-214
Na Yeon Choi 73-68-73-214
Moira Dunn 67-73-74-214
Amy Yang 73-71-71-215
Laura Diaz 70-74-71-215
Janice Moodie 66-78-71-215
Lorena Ochoa 70-72-73-215
Karen Stupples 70-71-74-215
Meena Lee 70-69-76-215
Irene Cho 71-73-72-216
Heather Bowie Young 72-71-73-216
Anna Rawson 72-71-73-216
Brandi Jackson 71-72-73-216
Brittany Lang 73-69-74-216
Haeji Kang 71-72-74-217
Jee Young Lee 75-67-75-217
Giulia Sergas 72-69-76-217
Shi Hyun Ahn 70-71-76-217
Pornanong Phatlum 71-68-78-217
Samantha Richdale 71-73-74-218
Jiyai Shin 74-69-75-218
Il Mi Chung 69-74-75-218
Lindsey Wright 72-69-77-218
Becky Morgan 70-71-77-218
Kris Tschetter 76-68-78-222
August 30, 2009
Scores Saturday from the Boeing Classic, a $1,8 million Champions Tour event on the 7,192-yard, par-72 TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.
Second Round
Mark McNulty 68-65-133
Loren Roberts 68-65-133
Bernhard Langer 69-66-135
Mark OMeara 66-69-135
Craig Stadler 70-66-136
Dan Forsman 69-67-136
John Cook 69-69-138
Nick Price 69-70-139
John Jacobs 68-71-139
Tim Simpson 73-67-140
Mark James 71-69-140
Hale Irwin 70-70-140
Russ Cochran 70-70-140
David Eger 75-65-140
Jeff Sluman 72-69-141
Blaine McCallister 72-69-141
Brad Bryant 71-70-141
Hal Sutton 71-70-141
Tom Jenkins 74-67-141
R.W. Eaks 70-71-141
Bob Gilder 70-71-141
Don Pooley 69-72-141
Jim Thorpe 76-65-141
Bobby Wadkins 72-70-142
Andy Bean 74-68-142
Tom Kite 69-73-142
Mark Wiebe 72-71-143
Robert L. Thompson 72-71-143
Gary Hallberg 71-72-143
Sandy Lyle 71-72-143
Jay Don Blake 73-70-143
Scott Simpson 71-72-143
James Mason 69-74-143
Ronnie Black 72-72-144
Bruce Fleisher 73-71-144
Bruce Lietzke 70-74-144
Morris Hatalsky 71-73-144
Eduardo Romero 76-68-144
Allen Doyle 68-76-144
Gene Jones 73-72-145
Larry Mize 73-72-145
Fulton Allem 74-71-145
John Harris 71-74-145
Olin Browne 74-71-145
Fuzzy Zoeller 71-74-145
Bruce Summerhays 75-70-145
Kirk Hanefeld 75-70-145
Joe Ozaki 69-76-145
Gil Morgan 69-76-145
Chip Beck 69-76-145
Mike Goodes 79-66-145
Fred Funk 72-74-146
Jerry Pate 73-73-146
Phil Blackmar 73-73-146
Dave Eichelberger 74-72-146
Tom Purtzer 76-70-146
John Morse 76-70-146
Bruce Vaughan 69-77-146
Jeff Coston 75-72-147
Ben Crenshaw 76-71-147
Denis Watson 76-71-147
Keith Fergus 77-70-147
Graham Marsh 74-74-148
David Ogrin 78-70-148
Lonnie Nielsen 72-77-149
Jeb Stuart 74-75-149
Steve Thomas 74-75-149
Mike Reid 77-72-149
Mike Hulbert 79-70-149
Wayne Levi 72-78-150
Mike McCullough 71-79-150
Tom McKnight 74-76-150
Tom Wargo 75-75-150
Lanny Wadkins 75-75-150
Gary Player 77-75-152
David Edwards 77-75-152
Isao Aoki 77-78-155
Jim Albus 84-76-160
August 30, 2009
Rookie Anna Nordqvist shot a 3-under 69 to take a 1-shot lead over Seon Hwa Lee and Ai Miyazato going into the final round of the Safeway Classic on Saturday.
Nordqvist, who won the U.S. LPGA Championship this year in just her fifth professional tournament, was at 10-under 134 after the first two rounds at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
Miyazato had three straight birdies on Nos. 8-10, all par-5 holes, to climb up the leaderboard with a 68, while Lee sank a birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole and wound up with a 70.
Ominous clouds and a few heavy downpours passed over the course west of Portland. In the afternoon, the U.S. Air Forces Thunderbirds roared nearby as part of their performance for the Oregon International Air Show.
Nordqvist, from Sweden, was her usual unflappable self, following up bogeys on the eighth and 14th holes with birdies.
I just kept hanging in there, she said.
Lee, a South Korean who won twice on the tour last year but has yet to have a victory this season, joked about her strategy for Sundays round.
My plan for tomorrow is to hit the fairways, hit the greens and make putts, she said with a giggle.
Miyazato won on the U.S. tour for the first time at the Evian Masters in July.
Michele Redman (69) and Suzann Pettersen (68) were at 8 under.
Beth Bader, who led by a stroke after the first round, had a 73 and was three shots off the pace at 7 under. Bader opened with a 64, her best round since 2007 and her best start at a tournament since the season opener in 2003.
Defending champion Cristie Kerr had a 70, while Michelle Wie shot a 71. Each goes into the final round at 5 under. Both were on the U.S. Solheim Cup team that defeated Europe last weekend.
Before Saturdays round got under way, Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak withdrew for undisclosed reasons. She shot a 69 on Friday.
August 30, 2009
Scores Saturday from The Barclays, a $7,5 million US PGA Tour playoffs event at 7,419-yard, par-71 Liberty National Golf Club Course.
Third Round
Paul Goydos 65-71-68-204
Steve Marino 65-71-68-204
Fredrik Jacobson 66-72-68-206
Webb Simpson 66-68-72-206
Steve Stricker 69-70-68-207
Heath Slocum 66-72-70-208
Tiger Woods 70-72-67-209
Zach Johnson 70-72-67-209
Padraig Harrington 67-75-67-209
Matt Kuchar 68-73-68-209
Ian Poulter 67-72-70-209
Bo Van Pelt 70-74-66-210
Greg Owen 71-74-65-210
Rod Pampling 68-73-69-210
Nick Watney 68-73-69-210
Ernie Els 72-68-70-210
Y.E. Yang 71-72-68-211
Scott Verplank 73-70-68-211
Troy Matteson 71-71-69-211
Bill Haas 72-70-69-211
Charley Hoffman 66-74-71-211
Hunter Mahan 72-72-68-212
Robert Allenby 68-75-69-212
Jim Furyk 69-73-70-212
Tim Clark 71-70-71-212
Richard S. Johnson 68-71-73-212
Lee Janzen 68-75-70-213
Jason Day 70-73-70-213
Stewart Cink 70-72-71-213
Brian Gay 70-72-71-213
David Toms 67-75-71-213
Jonathan Byrd 72-74-67-213
Bill Lunde 70-73-71-214
Justin Rose 73-72-69-214
Mike Weir 71-71-72-214
Brandt Snedeker 72-75-67-214
Justin Leonard 68-75-72-215
Luke Donald 73-69-73-215
Kevin Streelman 68-78-69-215
D.A. Points 70-71-74-215
J.B. Holmes 73-73-69-215
Sergio Garcia 65-76-74-215
Harrison Frazar 73-71-72-216
John Senden 72-73-71-216
Kevin Na 73-72-71-216
Cameron Beckman 70-72-74-216
John Mallinger 74-72-70-216
Vaughn Taylor 71-76-69-216
Ben Crane 74-73-69-216
Fred Couples 71-76-69-216
Dustin Johnson 70-74-73-217
John Rollins 71-73-73-217
Davis Love III 70-75-72-217
Kenny Perry 71-75-71-217
Anthony Kim 75-71-71-217
Daniel Chopra 77-69-71-217
Bob Estes 73-74-70-217
Chris Riley 72-75-70-217
Chad Campbell 72-75-70-217
Retief Goosen 70-74-74-218
Charles Howell III 76-70-72-218
Phil Mickelson 70-75-74-219
J.J. Henry 72-73-74-219
Tim Petrovic 69-76-74-219
Boo Weekley 75-70-74-219
Charlie Wi 73-73-73-219
James Nitties 71-75-73-219
Adam Scott 75-72-72-219
Brett Quigley 70-77-72-219
Mark Wilson 72-75-72-219
Jeff Overton 72-71-77-220
Alex Cejka 71-72-77-220
Kevin Sutherland 69-76-75-220
Jerry Kelly 72-74-76-222
Joe Ogilvie 73-72-78-223
Ryan Moore 68-78-77-223
Todd Hamilton 71-74-79-224
August 29, 2009
Its the only accolade missing from Mark OMearas golf resume: a win on the Champions Tour.
Hes a third of the way to filling that void.
OMeara eagled the 18th hole on Friday to finish a round of 6-under 66 and take a two-shot lead over a jumbled field after the first round of the Boeing Classic.
Its been 11 years since OMeara hosted a trophy in a PGA event, when he won both the Masters and British Open in 1998 and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the world. But its been an official victory drought for OMeara since - he won the Dubai Desert Classic in 2004 and a handful of specialty events since he hoisted the claret jug at Royal Birkdale 11 years ago.
Absolutely, it would be nice to win. Besides winning at Dubai the last thing I won was the par-3 competition at Augusta National two years ago, OMeara joked. It would be nice to get my first win and hopefully soon.
OMeara was 5 under after making birdie on No. 12, but fell back into the pack after a bogey on 16. On the uphill, 498-yard par-5 finishing hole - that ranked the easiest hole in last years tournament - OMeara knocked a 3-iron from about 205 yards to 17 feet. He then curled in the eagle putt, one of only two golfers on Friday to eagle the closing hole.
It was OMearas best opening round of the year and the second time hes led after the first round of a Champions Tour event. But leading after the first round at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, the picturesque foothills course about 30 miles east of Seattle has not been a good thing in the first four years of the tournament. No first-round leader has gone on to win.
Today the difference was I putted well. Last week I hit the ball well … and didnt putt very well, OMeara said. This week, so far Ive putted a lot better and hit some really good shots.
Australian Mark McNulty had the best round of the day going, shooting a sizzling 6-under 30 on his first nine holes - the back nine at Snoqualmie Ridge. But with the big names of OMeara, Nick Price, Gary Player and defending champion Tom Kite sent off on the front side, very little attention was paid to McNulty. He made the turn and played his 10th hole with a gallery of just seven people watching.
But McNulty couldnt keep the rhythm from his hot start going. He scrambled for pars on the first three holes of his backside, then bogeyed his 13th hole. He bogeyed his last - the par-3 ninth - when his tee shot on the 207-yard hole with water fronting the green found one of the greenside bunkers.
You shoot 6 under the first nine and come back 2 over its always disappointing, McNulty said.
Joining McNulty at 4 under were Allen Doyle, Loren Roberts and John Jacobs, who has played in just one tournament in the last two months. Jacobs, who limits himself to 11 tournaments a year, eagled No. 8, his 17th, to jump into contention.
The oldest winner on the Champions Tour was Mike Fetchick, who won the Hilton Head Seniors Invitational on his 63rd birthday in 1985. Jacobs wouldnt mind supplanting him.
Ive thought about that, the 64-year-old said. It might not happen this week, but I tell you what, if I behave myself it will happen.
Fifteen players were within three shots of OMeara, including Kite, the two-time champion, John Cook and Bernhard Langer. Its been a busy week for Kite, who played in last weeks Tradition in Sunriver, Ore., then jetted to the East Coast to promote Liberty National, the course he helped design and is being used this week for The Barclays.
Then it was back to Seattle, where Kite birdied three straight on the back nine before pulling his second shot into a bunker on 18 and making bogey. Thirty-two golfers broke par Friday, including Hale Irwin (70), Craig Stadler (70), Fuzzy Zoeller (71) and Hal Sutton (71).
August 29, 2009
Apart from a bogey on the second hole of the day, Beth Bader breezed through the first round of the Safeway Classic.
Bader shot an 8-under 64, finishing her round early in the day Friday before showers moved in over the course at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
Just a nice, relaxing day, she said. I had a great groove.
Bader finished a stroke in front of Anna Nordqvist and Seon Hwa Lee, who each had 65s.
Nordqvist and Lee were a shot in front of a group that were two shots back of Bader going into Saturdays second round.
Baders round was her best since 2007. It was her best start to a tournament since the season-opening event in 2003.
Its nice to get off to a good start, Bader said. Ive had a tendency of not getting off to a very good start and I havent been able to come back from that.
Defending champion Cristie Kerr had a 69, playing in a star-studded group with Michelle Wie and Lorena Ochoa.
Kerr misplayed a chip shot from the rough on the 18th green to bogey her last hole of the day.
Just before Kerrs chip, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds roared overhead. The aerial squadron was performing at the Oregon Air Show in Hillsboro, Ore., nearby.
It was an interesting day, Kerr said. I hit it pretty bad, pretty poorly.
Ochoa finished with a 70, while Wie birdied the final hole to end with a 68.
Wie, playing a full schedule on the tour for the first time this year, made a putt of some 30 feet for her birdie. She raised her arms and hopped when it dropped.
It was pretty cool, she said. And I called it, too. I told my caddie, I might chip this in.
Wie and Kerr were on the U.S. Solheim Cup team which defeated Europe last weekend at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.
Ten of the teams 12 players were at the Safeway Classic. Paula Creamer withdrew before Fridays first round because of illness.
She said it was a lingering bug she likely caught while playing in the team competition. She missed two tournaments earlier this year because of a stomach ailment.
Fellow teammate Juli Inkster withdrew earlier in the week.
It was fun out there today, Wie said. I thought after last week it was going to be anticlimactic, but there were a lot of fans out there and they were really riled up to see us play.
The large galleries from early in the day shrank quickly after Wies group finished their round. A light rain fell for about an hour, although play was never suspended.
The Safeway Classic was played for the previous 19 years at Columbia Edgewater Country Club near Portland International Airport.
Pumpkin Ridge, which opened in 2009, is made up of the private Witch Hollow course and the public Ghost Greek Course, about a 20-minute drive west of Portland. The club has hosted numerous events, including the 1996 U.S. Amateur, won by Tiger Woods, and the 2003 U.S. Womens Open.
The Safeway Classic was being played on Ghost Creek, a par-72, 6,457-yard course with three straight par-5 holes.
Karrie Webb had a hole in one with a 4-iron on the 184-yard No. 5 hole Friday.
Last year at Columbia Edgewater, Kerr beat Swedes Helen Alfredsson and Sophie Gustafson with a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole.
August 27, 2009
Bud Cauley made a 30-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole in a 3 and 1 victory over Rickie Fowler in the first round of the US Amateur Championship on Wednesday.
Fowler, who played two seasons at nearby Oklahoma State before declaring his intention to turn professional after the Walker Cup, was one of the days big draws along with former Cowboys teammates Morgan Hoffmann and Kevin Tway.
Unfortunately for the home crowds, Hoffmann was eliminated in 19 holes by Charlie Holland while Tway, with PGA Tour father Bob as his caddie, was knocked off when he bogeyed the final hole, losing 1 up to Brett Kanda.
All the cheers were for the other guy, and thats okay, Kanda said. All the OK State guys are popular here. Its nice to be able to take one of them down.
Fifty-year old medalist Tim Jackson beat John Kostis 5 and 4. Jackson will face Holland in the second round, while Cauley plays David Lingmerth of Sweden, who defeated Scott Strohmeyer of Auburn, Ala., 3 and 2.
Im hitting the ball well and Im confident, said Jackson, who led the U.S. Senior Open after two rounds before finishing 11th. Ive been putting well for the last two months as well. I think I can do well on a course like this when Im clicking.
Two Oklahoma State players did manage to advance. Peter Uihlein edged James Sacheck of The Woodlands, Texas, in 19 holes, while Trent Whitekiller also went one extra hole to defeat Welsey Bryan of Chapin, S.C.
The second and third rounds will be held Thursday. The 36-hole final is Sunday.
August 27, 2009
Tiger Woods missed an uphill 5-foot par putt on the par-4 third hole in his pro-am round Wednesday at Liberty National, then took the ball and tossed it up the steep slope and watched it nearly roll off the front of the green.
He didnt have to say a word to convey his feelings, instead rolling his eyes and flashing a bemused look as he headed for the next tee.
After finishing his round, his first look at the $250 million course a couple of par 5s from the Statue of Liberty, he still had that youve-got-to-be kidding me look.
Its interesting, Woods said.
In a good way?
Its interesting, Woods repeated.
He struggled on the undulating greens on the long, tight, links-style course before spending about 45 minutes on the practice green in preparation for the start of play Thursday in The Barclays.
They are tough. They are going to be severe this week, Woods said. If the wind blows like this, its going to be tough - tough to get the ball close. Some of the more severe greens actually are the longest holes. And the holes that are 480 and above, its going to be hard to get the ball close, but everyones got to play them.
Twenty years ago only a deep-pocketed dreamer could have imagined playing golf on the old oil refinery site, then dotted with empty tanks and 12 rotting warehouses - one controlled by the Gambino crime family.
The first time we showed up here, it was a nightmare, said Bob Cupp, the course architect who teamed with Tom Kite to design the layout. We were pretty sure any travesty known to man was on this property.
Paul Fireman, the billionaire Reebok founder and chairman, brought in Cupp and Kite in 1992. After seemingly endless environmental studies and red tape, they broke ground in 2003 and opened the course in 2006.
It was all worth it, said son Dan Fireman, looking over a Hudson River inlet from a dining table in the $60 million clubhouse. Its everything we ever hoped for.
Nearly three million cubic yards of clay and soil were hauled in - 200 trucks a day for 18 months - to cap the toxic site and sculpt the scenic course.
Everything out there is 100 percent created, Kite said. Theres nothing out there thats natural. The big thing in golf course design right now is theres some minimalist design, finding a great piece of property and touch it as little as possible. This is light years on the other side of the spectrum.
The property was covered with plastic and millions of tons of clay, followed by another plastic liner, a 4-foot layer of sand, and finally soil.
In essence, we have built an umbrella over the oil tanks, Cupp said.
When they finished, they had a 160-acre layout with 4,000 feet of waterfront and magnificent views of the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan skyline and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and Patriots owner Robert Kraft were founding members and Phil Mickelson, Giants quarterback Eli Manning and LPGA Tour player Cristie Kerr have joined the ultra-exclusive club.
I do a lot of outings here and I wanted to develop a relationship with the club, Mickelson said. This is the ideal club. Its right by Manhattan. The practice facilities are great and the golf course is fun to play, so it was a natural to join.
The location and views attracted the PGA Tour.
Location-wise from a television standpoint, its probably unique in the world, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. I think its going to be an absolute stunning presentation on HD television.
Mickelson had a lot more fun on the tricky greens than Woods.
I love it because I think the shots around the greens have been very well thought out, Mickelson said. I think the greens have movement to them, but its subtle movement. Its not these big humps and hollows that modern architecture seems to have.
The rough doesnt go right up to the edge of the green. Theres a lot of shaved areas that extend out. Theres a lot of movement, so you get different lies, and I think around the greens its very well thought out. I think its hard, though. Its a hard golf course. Tee to green its very demanding.
Liberty National is a big change for the tournament after 41 years at Westchester Country Club and one at Ridgewood Country Club, both traditional, tree-lined courses.
You know, you can like blondes and redheads. You dont have to be so exclusive that you only like blondes, Kite said. Brunettes are pretty good, too.
