Archive for April, 2010
April 26, 2010
Australias Marcus Fraser broke a seven-year title drought Sunday, shooting a 3-under 69 to complete a wire-to-wire win with a four-stroke victory in the weather-shortened Ballantines Championships.
Fraser had just one bogey going into final round and added only one more, on the 18th hole. He finished at 12-under 204 at Pinx Golf Club, where the tournament was shortened to 54-holes after fog delayed the first day of play for nearly seven hours.
The 31-year-old Australian last won a European Tour title in a playoff at the 2003 Russian Open.
“Ive had so many chances to win over the last seven years,” Fraser said. “So to go out there and play like I did today and this week is a big relief.”
Northern Irelands Gareth Maybin (72) held a share of the lead at the turn, but went 3 over on the back side and finished in a tie for second with Brett Rumford (71) of Australia.
“I didnt play the back nine great, so a few things need a bit of improvement, but overall Im happy enough,” Maybin said.
Ernie Els surged to a share of the lead after birdies on his first two holes Sunday, but three bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine ended his chances of adding to his two victories worldwide this year.
The South African finished at 5 under to tie for ninth in a group of five that included defending champion Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand (75).
The days low round came from 18-year-old Noh Seung-yul of South Korea, who shot a 68 to finish in a tie for fourth with Oliver Fisher of England.
Noh became the second youngest winner on the European Tour last month when he won the Maybank Malaysian Open. He moved to the top of the Asian Tours Order of Merit following his performance this week, ahead of Australias Andrew Dodt.
The $2.9 million Ballantines Championship is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korea PGA.
Anthony Kim of the U.S. ground out a 71 to finish at 1-over and tie for 16th.
April 26, 2010
Mark OMeara got the help he needed to win for the first time on the Champions Tour.
OMeara and Nick Price teamed to beat Joey Sindelar and John Cook on the second hole of a playoff Sunday in the better-ball Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.
“Its very special, obviously,” OMeara said. “Ive been practicing hard and Ive finished second a number of times. Having Nick as a partner out there helped a lot. To be honest, I was relaxed out there.”
OMeara, the 1998 Masters and British Open winner, won for the first time since the PGA European Tours 2004 Dubai Desert Classic
“I felt like the timing was right, because were both playing pretty well,” said Price, who rolled in a 40-foot putt for eagle on No. 7. “Im really happy for Mark and Im happy because its been over a year since Ive won.”
It looked as if this one might slip away, too, until Cook missed a 4-foot putt that would have won it on the final hole of regulation.
“We dodged a bullet there,” Price said. “I feel bad for John, too, because he was probably playing the best of all of us today.”
Playing in rain and heavy wind, both teams bogeyed the first playoff hole and returned to play the 457-yard 18th again, where Price won it with a 7-foot par putt.
“It was probably playing 500 yards today,” Price said. “It was at least 20 yards of wind on each shot, and it was two clubs. And its just so hard to keep the ball on that green.”
Cook and Sindelar (61) and OMeara and Price (62) finished at 28-under 188 in the 54-hole event at The Club at Savannah Harbor, an island layout in the Savannah River.
Andy Bean and Lu Chien-soon (64) were a stroke back, and Bernhard Langer-Tom Lehman (63) and Fred Couples-Jay Haas (64) tied for fourth at 23 under.
Ken Green, making his first Champions Tour start since having his lower right leg amputated after an auto accident in June that killed his brother and girlfriend, teamed with Mike Reid tied for 26th at 12 under. They had a 71 on Sunday.
Notes
OMearas winless streak included 181 events on the PGA Tour and 57 on the Champions Tour. Couples remained in the lead in the season-long Schwab Cup race with 1,015 points. Langer is second with 818, followed by Price with 461. The team of Tom Watson and Andy North, who were playing together in this event even before it was for official money, made bogey at No. 6, ending at 257 holes their string of never going over par.
April 25, 2010
Hard to believe it was nine years ago, but given the advantage of perspective, the beginning felt a lot like the ending.
First time I laid eyes on Lorena Ochoa, she was a skinny freshman at Arizona and was locked in a playoff for the NCAA Division I title at a course outside Orlando. She played sloppily and lost to Dukes Candy Hannemann, then was asked to make a few comments in English afterward.
Lorena Ochoa is certainly a Hall of Fame player but will leave the game short of automatic qualification. (AP) Clearly swept up in the magnitude of what, at the time, was the biggest event of her career, Ochoa was downright weepy as she tried to describe her disappointment.
The eye ducts were flowing freely again Friday in Mexico City, when Ochoa, 28, appeared before a throng of friends, family and business associates to formally announce that she is quitting the LPGA, and that outside of an event she hosts annually in the fall, isnt expecting to play regularly again.
As she spoke in Mexico City, her 12-minute speech was interrupted several times when she was unable to keep her composure. She went out like she came in, tugging at heartstrings and wrestling to keep it together.
“Probably the most special day of my career,” she told American reporters afterward. “When you are a professional athlete, you have a date when you start and a date when you finish. This was the right time for me.
“Its all joy.”
Thus, there were Srixon-sized lumps in many a throat in the audience as she wrestled to stay on point and keep her tears from refilling Lake Texcoco. Which brings us to the touchy, vs. touchy-feely, question of
Perhaps cascading emotion was too much a part of the retirement decision to begin with. Plenty has changed lately for Ochoa, who with 27 wins on the U.S. tour has already qualified for a spot on the World Golf Hall of Fame based on LPGA points (but three seasons short of the longevity requirement). Sometimes, tears do more than cloud a persons vision.
Heart, meet head.
Ochoa is a transcendent player, one of the most athletic in recent tour history. She has grace, style, power and panache. She has been respectful, deferential and possesses a work ethic that could have qualified her as an honorary South Korean. She was a worthy star by any definition.
Outside of her devotion to family, she was seriously single-minded. In the fall of 2007, curious as to whether she had any vestiges of a social life, I asked her whether she had a boyfriend. She almost blushed.
“No,” she said shyly, offering no more illumination.
She met Andres Conesa, the CEO of Aeromexico and a divorced father of three, soon thereafter and they became engaged after a year of courtship. He tur all of four months ago. Thus, they are still veritable newlyweds, quite likely still holding hands and noodling in public. Lorenas probably still picking rice out of her hair. Good for them. She deserves it and will surely make a fantastic mother and wife.
Yet for those of us who have done the matrimonial thing, or have been involved in long-term relationships along the way, you can probably sense where we are going here.
Whats the rush to flush the career and go whole-hog in another direction? Sure, Ochoa has always claimed that she would play for perhaps a decade because she wants to raise a family, but its only natural to wonder whether shes too quickly diving headlong into a decision with such big ramifications. Actually, Ochoa says she has been considering stepping away for months.
“I just was thinking of other things,” she said Friday. “I wanted to get home. I wanted to start working on the [charitable] foundation. I wanted to be here close to my family.
“Once you reach your [career] goals, its really hard to find that motivation. You need to be brave to see that. Just to really listen to your heart and your feelings and be able to see that and make a decision.”
When she informed LPGA commissioner Mike Whan, who has been on the job for all of three months, he apparently tried to talk her out of it. After he picked his jaw up off the floor.
“He said, Are you sure, are you sure, are you sure? Can I convince you to stay?” Ochoa recalled.
His motivations were largely economic, since the tour unequivocally needs her desperately. Shes the second No. 1 player to bail in a little over a year, joining Annika Sorenstam on the retiree sideline. Like Sorenstam, Ochoa said she hopes to have kids of her own in a year or two.
Us, were looking at this issue pragmatically, and probably a bit selfishly. In her handful of starts this year, Ochoa said she wasnt feeling the same level of enthusiasm about her golf game, beginning with the season opener in Thailand. She was, in a word, homesick.
For all we know, Lorena and her husband have a perfect relationship, but finishing out the 2010 season doesnt seem an unreasonable notion while considering such a career-impacting decision. Her own status aside, the quick exit not only pulled the rug out from under the flagging LPGA, it probably set back the progress of golf in Mexico in ways we cant begin to measure. The tours three stops in Mexico face uncertain futures. This was transition via machete. Whack, excise done, Lorena gone.
Well tread lightly here for obvious reasons, but there deaf and dumb are sometimes part of the equation, too. Lets hope, for her sake as well as that of the LPGA, that single-mindedness isnt single-blindedness.
Down the road, theres nothing stopping Ochoa from making a U-turn, a la Brett Favre. Shell forfeit a few million in endorsement earnings, would cause eyes to roll and raise questions about whether she still has what it takes on the competitive front. Facts are, as her enthusiasm for playing has declined over the past few months, so have the victories. By her own standards, she sputtered through 2009 and cemented her fourth LPGA Player of the Year award with a birdie on the final hole of the season, barely holding off South Koreas Jiyai Shin, now the de facto world No. 1.
But love conquers all, with no regard for ranking. Ochoa said Friday that she didnt seek the counsel of other players before making the retirement decision, though she did speak with a few tour peers, like American veteran Juli Inkster, who has juggled being a mother and a prominent tour player for two decades.
“I didnt talk to anybody,” Ochoa said. “Its just something I knew. I made a decision from my heart.”
Were all happy for her. Two or three years from now, I hope the same sentiment still applies.
April 25, 2010
When regular partner Jerry Pate was unable to play, Andy Bean turned to Lu Chien-soon. Turned out to be a good move.
Bean and Lu teamed to shoot a better-ball 12-under 60 in a steady, light rain Saturday for a 125 total and a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.
“We have one more round to play, but Im sure Ill be getting a phone call from Jerry,” Bean said with a laugh.
Is it possible Pate will have to find a new partner next year?
“I think I got a pretty good one right now,” Bean said. “Yes.”
Bean and Lu played the final 10 holes in 10-under par to pull ahead of the teams of Blaine McCallister and Bob Tway (63) and first-round co-leaders Nick Price and Mark OMeara (64).
John Cook and Joey Sindelar (65) shared the first-round lead and were alone in fourth place at 127 heading into Sundays final round of the Champions Tour event at The Club at Savannah Harbor, an island layout in the Savannah River.
Bean and Lu started the day at 7 under, three shots out of the lead. Beans birdie from 8 feet at No. 9 got them to 10 under at the turn and started their charge up the leaderboard. Bean holed out from 126 yards with a 9-iron for an eagle at No. 10. The duo birdied every hole after that until the 18th, where they settled for par.
Lu, a native of Taiwan, was an outstanding player in Asia who had to survive an eight-hole playoff for the final spot during Champions Tour qualifying school last fall.
“Good horse, man,” Bean said of Lu. “He lasts a long time. Load the wagon.”
McCallister and Tway made just two birdies on the front nine. But Tway hit a 3-wood to 20 feet and made the putt for an eagle at No. 11, then used an 8-iron from 157 yards for a hole-in-one at No. 15. It was the seventh ace of his career.
“Its obviously a lot of luck,” Tway said. “You could hit a lot of good shots that dont go in and it happened to go in.”
Winners of this event each will earn $230,000 of the $2.7 million purse.
Notes
John Bland and Graham Marsh won the 36-hole Raphael division for players under 69 years of age at 13-under 131. Bruce Lietzke and Bill Rogers were a shot back. Gary Player and Bob Charles won the Demaret division for players over 70 earlier in the week. Sundays forecast calls for additional rain showers with possible thunderstorms.
April 24, 2010
Hard to believe it was nine years ago, but given the advantage of perspective, the beginning felt a lot like the ending.
First time I laid eyes on Lorena Ochoa, she was a skinny freshman at Arizona and was locked in a playoff for the NCAA Division I title at a course outside Orlando. She played sloppily and lost to Dukes Candy Hannemann, then was asked to make a few comments in English afterward.
Lorena Ochoa is certainly a Hall of Fame player but will leave the game short of automatic qualification. (AP) Clearly swept up in the magnitude of what, at the time, was the biggest event of her career, Ochoa was downright weepy as she tried to describe her disappointment.
The eye ducts were flowing freely again Friday in Mexico City, when Ochoa, 28, appeared before a throng of friends, family and business associates to formally announce that she is quitting the LPGA, and that outside of an event she hosts annually in the fall, isnt expecting to play regularly again.
As she spoke in Mexico City, her 12-minute speech was interrupted several times when she was unable to keep her composure. She went out like she came in, tugging at heartstrings and wrestling to keep it together.
“Probably the most special day of my career,” she told American reporters afterward. “When you are a professional athlete, you have a date when you start and a date when you finish. This was the right time for me.
“Its all joy.”
Thus, there were Srixon-sized lumps in many a throat in the audience as she wrestled to stay on point and keep her tears from refilling Lake Texcoco. Which brings us to the touchy, vs. touchy-feely, question of
Perhaps cascading emotion was too much a part of the retirement decision to begin with. Plenty has changed lately for Ochoa, who with 27 wins on the U.S. tour has already qualified for a spot on the World Golf Hall of Fame based on LPGA points (but three seasons short of the longevity requirement). Sometimes, tears do more than cloud a persons vision.
Heart, meet head.
Ochoa is a transcendent player, one of the most athletic in recent tour history. She has grace, style, power and panache. She has been respectful, deferential and possesses a work ethic that could have qualified her as an honorary South Korean. She was a worthy star by any definition.
Outside of her devotion to family, she was seriously single-minded. In the fall of 2007, curious as to whether she had any vestiges of a social life, I asked her whether she had a boyfriend. She almost blushed.
“No,” she said shyly, offering no more illumination.
She met Andres Conesa, the CEO of Aeromexico and a divorced father of three, soon thereafter and they became engaged after a year of courtship. He tur all of four months ago. Thus, they are still veritable newlyweds, quite likely still holding hands and noodling in public. Lorenas probably still picking rice out of her hair. Good for them. She deserves it and will surely make a fantastic mother and wife.
Yet for those of us who have done the matrimonial thing, or have been involved in long-term relationships along the way, you can probably sense where we are going here.
Whats the rush to flush the career and go whole-hog in another direction? Sure, Ochoa has always claimed that she would play for perhaps a decade because she wants to raise a family, but its only natural to wonder whether shes too quickly diving headlong into a decision with such big ramifications. Actually, Ochoa says she has been considering stepping away for months.
“I just was thinking of other things,” she said Friday. “I wanted to get home. I wanted to start working on the [charitable] foundation. I wanted to be here close to my family.
“Once you reach your [career] goals, its really hard to find that motivation. You need to be brave to see that. Just to really listen to your heart and your feelings and be able to see that and make a decision.”
When she informed LPGA commissioner Mike Whan, who has been on the job for all of three months, he apparently tried to talk her out of it. After he picked his jaw up off the floor.
“He said, Are you sure, are you sure, are you sure? Can I convince you to stay?” Ochoa recalled.
His motivations were largely economic, since the tour unequivocally needs her desperately. Shes the second No. 1 player to bail in a little over a year, joining Annika Sorenstam on the retiree sideline. Like Sorenstam, Ochoa said she hopes to have kids of her own in a year or two.
Us, were looking at this issue pragmatically, and probably a bit selfishly. In her handful of starts this year, Ochoa said she wasnt feeling the same level of enthusiasm about her golf game, beginning with the season opener in Thailand. She was, in a word, homesick.
For all we know, Lorena and her husband have a perfect relationship, but finishing out the 2010 season doesnt seem an unreasonable notion while considering such a career-impacting decision. Her own status aside, the quick exit not only pulled the rug out from under the flagging LPGA, it probably set back the progress of golf in Mexico in ways we cant begin to measure. The tours three stops in Mexico face uncertain futures. This was transition via machete. Whack, excise done, Lorena gone.
Well tread lightly here for obvious reasons, but there deaf and dumb are sometimes part of the equation, too. Lets hope, for her sake as well as that of the LPGA, that single-mindedness isnt single-blindedness.
Down the road, theres nothing stopping Ochoa from making a U-turn, a la Brett Favre. Shell forfeit a few million in endorsement earnings, would cause eyes to roll and raise questions about whether she still has what it takes on the competitive front. Facts are, as her enthusiasm for playing has declined over the past few months, so have the victories. By her own standards, she sputtered through 2009 and cemented her fourth LPGA Player of the Year award with a birdie on the final hole of the season, barely holding off South Koreas Jiyai Shin, now the de facto world No. 1.
But love conquers all, with no regard for ranking. Ochoa said Friday that she didnt seek the counsel of other players before making the retirement decision, though she did speak with a few tour peers, like American veteran Juli Inkster, who has juggled being a mother and a prominent tour player for two decades.
“I didnt talk to anybody,” Ochoa said. “Its just something I knew. I made a decision from my heart.”
Were all happy for her. Two or three years from now, I hope the same sentiment still applies.
April 24, 2010
Dark clouds rolled in hours before the rain started at the Zurich Classic on Friday. However, even the brisk winds before the storm did not seem to hamper those who teed off early.
Lightning forced play to be halted at 12:57 p.m., and heavy rain continued for hours. Play was officially called for the day at 5:21 p.m.
According to the National Weather Service, 1½ to 2 inches of rain had fallen by 3 p.m.
By the time play was halted were atop the leaderboard at 7 under after two rounds.
Janzen shot a bogey-free 66, to snap a string of four straight missed cuts coming into the tournament.
“When you hear players talking about the difference between the guys barely making the cut or barely missing the cut and the guys that are leading the tournament, its a very fine line,” Janzen said.
Janzen said he made a putt on the first hole and that relaxed him.
“Physically or technically my swing, everything about my game is as good as its ever been,” Janzen said.
Davis also had a 66 and Cejka shot a 67. Greg Chalmers had a 68 and was one stroke back at 138, and Chris Riley (66) was at 139.
Jason Bohn, who led at 7 under after the first round, was about 20 minutes away from teeing off when play stopped.
“This golf course has a lot of bunkers, a lot of long bunkers and a lot of the edges have fallen down,” PGA Tour director Steve Carman said. “So the maintenance crew is going to have to pull up all those edges.”
It would take more than an hour to complete, Carman said. By that time there would not be enough daylight to play.
Officials said play would resume at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. They hoped that the rain would end during the night and groundskeepers would be able to get the course in shape so the second round could be finished and the third round started.
The forecast for Saturday calls for more rain. Tournament officials had planned to start players in groups of three from both the first and 10th tees early Saturday to beat the rain. But when the storm arrived on Friday, they hoped it would end early as well.
“The forecast for tomorrow isnt very good,” Carman said. “Well get them out there and if we can play, well do that. Weve got about six hours of golf to finish in the second round.”
Bill Lunde withdrew on Friday with one hole left to play because of a shoulder injury.
April 23, 2010
This will require the use of sandpaper to rough up the rubber grips and steel wool to scrape the rust residue off the shafts. Those leather golf gloves have gotten downright crusty after the layoff, too.
Might Lorena Ochoa go from first lady of golf to first lady of her home country? (AP) But if Tiger Woods can return from a 144-day layoff and make some noise at the Masters, theres no reason Knockdown Shots, after a comparably lengthy, mysterious exile, cant likewise be revived and reincarnated.
No Buddhism is required, no platelets have been injected into this story, no Canadian quacks were indicted and no doors were slammed in the face of Highway Patrol troopers.
In other words, theres no real excuse for the slacking off. Nobody has been in hiding, doling out hush money, ducking paparazzi or busy comparing themselves to Ben Hogan, whose lone addiction was to packs of Chesterfield cigarettes, not packs of chesty bimbettes. No trees or fire hydrants were maimed in the making of this column.
Going forward, I promise to wear a rubber band around my wrist to remind me that my personal roots lie in writing smarmy smackdowns that seem to salve the souls of at least a few readers.
Its been s at our intended target, there are bound to be some sprays and strays. But then, that explains the twisted appeal of the punchy Knockdown Shots, not to mention their original intent.
When its this windy, swing hard and aim low.
News item: In a surprising and potentially crippling blow to the LPGA fortunes, star player Lorena Ochoa will announce the details of her withdrawal from the game on Friday in Mexico City at age 28.
Knockdown shot: The figurative new world No. 1 is South Koreas little-known Jiyai Shin, who has all of three LPGA wins in her career. In fact, if you throw out the U.S. victory totals of fading Hall of Famer Karrie Webb, the eight players situated behind Ochoa in the womens world top 10 have a combined total of 33 career wins. Ochoa has 27. An astounding six of the 10 players have four LPGA wins or fewer. Thats not just a lack of marquee electricity, its a complete power outage.
• • •
News item: Returning from nearly five months off from professional play, world No. 1 Tiger Woods draws scathing criticism at the Maste after claiming he would clean up his deportment on the course.
Knockdown shot: Hey, the guy gave up circus-acrobat sex already. You expect him to stop cussing overnight, too?
• • •
News item: In a laugh-out-loud moment following his feel-good win at the Masters, a beaming Phil Mickelson is photographed at the drive-through window of an Augusta donut shop the following morning, his kids in the car, loading up on three dozen Krispy Kremes while adorned in his green jacket and Masters-logoed lid.
Knockdown shot: Remember how Lefty told us after winning that one of his daughters fractured an arm while roller-skating and had to be fitted for a splint late Saturday night? Maybe it was just a cover story. Maybe she broke it while reaching for that last maple bar.
• • •
News item: Veteran Brian Davis is rightly celebrated for calling a penalty on himself in a sudden-death playoff at Hilton Head, essentially sealing a victory for Jim Furyk. Davis search for his first U.S. victory continues.
Knockdown shot: Dont feel too badly for Davis, who finally played well after completely losing his putting stroke earlier in the year. How bad was it? Last month at Bay Hill, a Knockdown Shots operative spied Davis on the practice green getting putting tips from his wife, Julie. In the decidedly macho sports culture of today, thats almost as bad as dressing like Ian Poulter.
• • •
News item: A volcanic eruption in Iceland disrupts travel plans all over Europe, even raining down ash in the ancestral home of golf, Scotland.
Knockdown shot: Most of the fallout was taking place in the northern part of Scotland, not in the area where the British Open will be held this summer in St. Andrews. Besides, the Scottish golf fans are used to unpredictable, volcanic emissions, having followed Monty for all these years.
• • •
News item: The betting website Bodog.com posts a gambling line on the future of Woods marriage, said to be destined for divorce, according to magazine.
Knockdown shot: You can log bets on the financial size of the divorce settlement, whether Elin will root for the Europeans at the Ryder Cup and whether her next husband will be a professional musician (like, Richie Sambora or Tommy Lee?). I think theres even an over-under bet on how long it will take Woods to get over-under his next girlfriend.
• • •
News item: In a stunning reversal of one of his most annoying habits, Woods commits eight days early to play in the Quail Hollow Championship, to be held next week in Charlotte. Woods on Wednesday also committed early to playing in the Players Championship May 6-9.
Knockdown shot: Gee, Tiger, did that hurt? By giving tournaments a modest week of lead time, it allows officials to more properly market the event and prepare for his arrival. It also gave former porn star Joslyn James time to cement a booking at a local strip club, where she will be appearing while Woods is playing. Were not suggesting that James is capitalizing on Woods predicament, but Charlottes Downtown Cabaret is swapping out its chrome runway pole for a double-X graphite shaft.
• • •
News item: Network ratings data indicates that the demographic of Masters viewers skewed older than last year, with an average age of nearly 58 years, causing some to wonder why the broadcast didnt attract the anticipated younger audience interested in the salacious details of the Woods scandal. In fact, the younger age demos actually dropped compared to last year.
Knockdown shot: The problem was, the ratings analysis not only didnt explain why the younger viewers tuned out, it didnt solve the question of why more older viewers elected to watch. Based on feedback received at CBSSports.com, older and more conservative readers seemed the most upset by the Woods revelations, which leaves us with one conclusion: They must have tuned in to root him.
• • •
News item: World No. 23 Sergio Garcia switched from an overlap grip to the interlock in an experiment last week at Hilton Head but still missed the cut.
Knockdown shot: This guy was ranked No. 2 in the world entering the 2009 season, or a mere 15 months ago, and his best finish since then is fourth. At this point, he maybe ought to go back to that endlessly fidgety, nervous and annoying grip he was using at Bethpage Black a few years ago, when he almost won a U.S. Open. At age 30 and diving in the rankings, people are starting to wonder whether his grip is all hes lost.
• • •
News item: One week after shooing 80-76 at the Masters to miss the cut, Furyk wins the Hilton Head event for this third victory in a world-rankings eligible event since December.
Knockdown shot: His 36-hole total at the Masters, relative to par, was his worst as a tour player since he shot 73-80 at the 2002 U.S. Open. By the way, he won the U.S. Open the following year. Fittingly, Furyk missed the cut at Hilton Head in 2009, proving that anybody who bets on a golf tournament doesnt know much about cents and sensibility.
• • •
News item: Amputee Ken Green returns to the Champions Tour this week in a team event in Savannah, his first tournament since losing a leg in a horrific car accident last year that claimed the lives of his brother and girlfriend. Worse, Greens son died while attending college earlier this year.
Knockdown shot: If you thought karma owed Phil Mickelson a green jacket, then Green has an entire wardrobe coming. Nobody other than Woods has suffered through a worse year, with the difference being Woods brought it on himself.
• • •
News item: The PGA Tour Wives Association, which is involved in several charitable and laudable projects, has announced an ambitious new program to help curb illiteracy.
Knock getting Anthony Kim to read, for the first time, a book that doesnt have pictures or a drawing of a cartoon superhero.
• • •
News item: In a move that tournament director Craig Smith first began considering last year, the Texas Open will provide pickup trucks to players in lieu of courtesy cars when the event is staged next month in San Antonio.
Knockdown shot: Its an attempt to add a uniquely Tejas touch, like gun racks or whizzing on the Alamo. In a recent NTSB study, black boxes were installed in pickups trucks and it was learned that in 49 states, the final words uttered before a majority of traffic accidents were, “Oh, god, no.” In 90 percent of Texas truck crashes, however, the last words recorded were, “Hey, hold my beer and watch this.”
• • •
News item: Tournament director of the Wegmans LPGA event says that Ochoas husband, AeroMexico CEO Andres Conesa, has his sights set on public office. “Her husband has national leadership aspirations and apparently shares her passion for wanting to improve life for everyone in their country,” Wegmans tournament director Linda Hampton told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Knockdown shot: Wow, can you envision the classy and conscientious Ochoa as first lady of Mexico? I surely can. Now that would be a game-changing position worth leaving her perch as world No. 1, wouldnt it?
April 22, 2010
Y.E. Yang may have the local knowledge but on the European Tour betting at Bet365 Sports betting the Korean is 13.00* third favourite on the Ballantine’s Championship odds for the event from his hometown on Jeju Island in South Korea this week. Yang is looking to follow on last weeks success at the Volvo China Open. Golf bettors are advised to check the field for this weeks event which may be missing some European participants struggling to get out to South Korea because of the flight chaos caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland. Get the best odds to win the Ballantine Championship at Bet365 Sports betting, offering match-ups priced to less than 103%.
European Tour Betting - Ballantine Championship
A Jeju Island native, YE Yang is looking to become the second player this year to cash back-to-back tourneys on the European Tour; Charl Schwartzel bagged a brace on the South African leg of the tour in January. After coming in eighth at the Masters, Yang - the current USPGA Champion - finished two strokes ahead of Rhys Davies and Stephen Dodd to win the Volvo China Open last week.
Ernie Els (9.00*) and Anthony Kim (11.00*), defending champion Thongchai Jaidee (21.00*), Henrik Stenson (21.00*), and Graeme McDowell (21.00*) are also in the field at Jinx Golf Club. Els emerged victorious at back-to-back tournaments on the PGA Tour last month (WGC-CA Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational), while Kim is coming off his impressive third-place showing at the Masters, and victory at the Shell Houston Open in early April. McDowell was the winner on Jeju Island at the inaugural event two years ago, and should attract attention from bettors.
Keep checking back at Bet365 Sports betting for full Ballantine Championship betting, pricing to 60% better value than traditional sportsbooks.
April 22, 2010
Golf odds: Charles Howell III
Online betting players will continue a wonderful stretch of golf on the PGA Tour as we head to Louisiana for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this weekend, and the winner will be a guy who many tipped for a major championship, yet he hasn’t won since 2007.
Golf Betting odds: Charles Howell III
What: Golf odds
When: Thursday, April 22nd-Sunday, April 25th
Where: TPC of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA
Defending Champion: Jerry Kelly
The Storyline
The TPC of Louisiana isn’t a very long course, but it places a premium on iron play and getting the ball close, because the greens are very difficult. Jerry Kelly held on for a one-stroke victory over Rory Sabbatini Charlie Wi and Charles Howell III last year.
New Orleans Classic Picks – The Favorite
Steve Stricker (+1215), Ian Poulter (+1415) and K.J. Choi (+1815) are the favorites here, and while Stricker and Poulter are ranked in the world top 10 at third and sixth, respectively, Choi is all the way back in 34th, but playing the best golf of the three. Choi finished T-41 at Harbour Town last week, but he also shot a 64 to grab the first-round lead. He has tried to play a lot lately, so fatigue could be a factor. All three fared well here last year as Stricker was T-7, Poulter was T-13, and Choi was T-24.
New Orleans Classic Picks – The Second Tier
Charles Howell III (+2550), Steve Marino (+2550) and David Toms (+3250) highlight the next group of challengers, and all three were good to best sportsbook players last year here as Howell III was T-2, followed by Marino and Toms at T-5. Toms is a Louisiana boy and won this event back in 2001. Marino has a run of three straight top-15s, including a T-14 at the Masters, which Howell III would have loved to play in as an Augusta native. Howell III has been very consistent this season, making the cut in nine of 11 events, and he’s finished no higher than fourth, but no lower than 28th.
New Orleans Classic Picks – The Longshots
Kelly (+4050) and Boo Weekley (+4050) are worth looking at, and Kelly has been up and down all season, finishing last in putting at Harbour Town en route to a T-59 result. Weekley looks to be coming around as he finished T-12 at Harbour Town, and it’s all about his putter. Weekley is 177th on the Tour in putting, which hurts his birdie chances because he is 27th in greens-in-regulation. He has three top-25s in his last four starts, and Weekley was T-13 here in 2009.
New Orleans Classic Prediction & Outlook
Charles Howell III has a pair of runner-up finishes in this event, and he’s playing his best golf in the last few years right now, so look for him to strike this weekend. His biggest worry is that he’s not a great bunker player and there is plenty of sand around the TPC at Louisiana. If he can avoid the traps, look for Howell III to punch his ticket back to his hometown tournament, the Masters. Go with CHIII in your sports betting picks.
Pick: Charles Howell III
April 22, 2010
Augusta Chronicle
Heres a change-up on the firs who is the No. 1 player in golf at the moment?
ELLING: Now theres a topical question worth dissecting. Glad I get to go first, because I would have to agree with the self-assessment of a certain star who has been at the top of his game in the majors for some time now. No, not Woods or Mickelson. Last week, Lee Westwood, who has finished third or better in the last three major championships and is the reigning European Tour money leader, said what many were already thinking. “Im playing the best golf of anyone,” he said. “Its hard to argue for anyone else. If you are [at the top], you might as well say it. It builds confidence he isnt winning much. For all the headlines in the majors, he has two victories in two years and has never won a Grand Slam event. But who else is there? Woods has barely played, Mickelson was a walking zombie before winning the Masters, while Steve Stricker has cooled off after a strong start. Those are Nos. 1-2-3 in the current official rankings, while Westwood technically stands fourth. If golf is really all about the majors, then Westwood is the most consistent at the moment, his victory total notwithstanding. By the way, in magazines weekly Sagarin ratings, where recent performance is greatly accentuated, Westwood is fifth behind Woods, Furyk, Lefty and Stricker. So this is clearly a subjective call on our behalf.
MICHAUX: There are plenty of ways to look at it. Furyk has won twice in the last month, but whiffed badly at the Masters. Ernie Els won back-to-back in March, then turned to Jell-O again at Augusta. Mickelson sleep-walked through the first three months of the season, then went off on the weekend to win a third green jacket. And your boy Westwood has been a model of bridesmaid consistency in three straight majors. Take that foursome plus Tiger Woods and its 2000 all over again. But in my book, that “official” world ranking still has it right. TW might have looked pretty awful at times at Augusta, but I saw nothing that would justify a demotion. Despite hitting it sideways after a five-month layoff and dealing with a world of hurt he brought upon himself, the guy finished fourth. Given the same circumstances, I dont think any of those other guys could have beaten Charles Coody that week. Considering the considerable room for improvement as the rust and distrust wear off with practice and participation, I believe everyone else on this list might be in trouble at the next few majors. I expect Westwood wont back down from the challenge, and Mickelsons game has elevated in the last year every time he gets in the mix with Woods. But to think any of them could lay claim to No. 1 is as silly now as it was 10 years ago.
Veteran Brian Davis, who made a memorable birdie on the 72nd to force a playoff Sunday at Hilton Head, was zapped with a two-shot penalty in sudden death after unwittingly hitting a so-called loose impediment during his backswing while in a greenside hazard. It was unintentional and he gained no advantage. If you could modify one golf rule, what would it be?
ELLING: Rules are all about ensuring a level playing field for every competitor. Cheating, by definition, is about seeking an unfair advantage, usually by intentional means. So, what advantage did Brian Davis receive while unwittingly whacking his ball out of the seaside sand, nicking a dead bit of beach flotsam in the process? Zero, thats what. It was such a lame violation that the PGA Tour rules official who was stationed 20 feet away didnt notice it, and had to call his brethren on the walkie-talkie (what, no Verizon phone?) to verify that a penalty had occurred. Had the rotting reed that Davis nicked with his takeaway been rooted and alive, no penalty would have been assessed. Reed-iculous. But if there were one rule I could erase forever, it would be penalizing guys for filing incorrect scorecards. Players have enough on their minds with millions of dollars at stake, yet are expected to keep score both for themselves and a playing partner, all while there are roving scorers with wireless electronic devices keeping track. Moreover, if I made the rules, a players score would become inviolate and official at the end of the day. No more overnight penalty situations or next-day DQs because of incorrect scorecards, late-night reviews of TV video or improper rulings.
MICHAUX: All good points you make. No arguments here on any of them. But since youre asking, l OB. I absolutely loathe the out-of-bounds rule. It makes no sense to me. A guy jacks the ball deep into the ocean and its a lateral hazard. Drop where the ball last crossed the hazard line, take your stroke and play on. But if, instead of an ocean, a ball dribbles an inch past a white stake into somebodys manicured back yard, youve got to trudge back to the spot of the previous shot, take your penalty and try again. Is this really a bigger sin than hitting it into a lake and worthy of stroke distance? Ridiculous. Make me King of the USGA or Lord of the R&A for one day and my first executive order would be to instantly declare all out-of-bounds areas in the world as lateral hazards, effective immediately, with all penalties applied as such. Not only would this rectify a fairness issue, but it would help speed along the increasingly glacial pace of play that is plaguing the game.
According to reports, the World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony is expected to be moved from its usual sleepy slot in November to an early-week position next May before the Players Championship in nearby Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. You guys both vote on the inductees. Thoughts?
ELLING: Gee, its a suggestion thats been bandied about in the press room for some time, and its impossible to come up with many negatives. Much of the global press will be in town for the Players Championship, so it ensures the HoF a bigger audience, which it deserves. Over the years, the Hall has greatly improved since it began focusing on the players and personalities in the game, and not on snooze-inducing fare like agronomy (seriously, the Hall had a lawnmower display at one time). The November time slot was terrific in that there were no distractions or competing events to siphon off the attention, but being a part of the Players festivities will help increase the stature of both the induction and the tournament proper. Maybe they can admit Players ticketholders for free, which might add some electricity to the otherwise stiff inductions proceedings. Unless commissioner Tim Finchem announces a drug suspension an hour before the festivities, as he did last November, its all green lights to me.
MICHAUX: This is a no-brainer. Should have been done 20 years ago. You get press exposure. You get audience. You get another reason to look forward to the fifth of four majors. The window might be a little tight, but they could spice it up even more by announcing the induction class the Wednesday before the Legends of Golf senior event in Savannah (which would be cool if they would do the right thing and raise the minimum qualifying age to 50). If thats too late, unveil the new inductees during the week of the World Golf Championship event at Doral in March when another decent-sized international media contingent is on hand to herald the news. There are rumors that they might move the induction ceremony to New York, which seems like a dumb idea and does little to increase the traffic at the actual Hall itself. The PGA of America already implemented that stupid plan with its Ryder Cup selection show, taking it away from the already captive press audience attending the PGA Championship or FedEx Cup event. That Big Apple stage has truly added nothing to the process but hassle and unnecessary expense. You dont see the NFL taking its induction out of Canton or baseball moving its ceremony from Cooperstown. Keep it on-site, that way people might actually realize that the WGHOF is located in St. Augustine, Fla.
