Birdies for breast cancer
A nice charity initiative by Cristie Kerr, who has pledged $50 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for every tournament birdie she makes. Mutual of Omaha has agreed to match her contribution, and everyone else is invited to join the effort with donations.
Friday, April 30, 2004

New players at Golf Stars Online
Just a to let you know that I added two new categories to the site. You can now find information and resources on Alex Cejka and Karen Stupples.
Thursday, April 29, 2004

Keeping it Real
Another great "man behind the golf clubs" article - this time about Jonathan Kaye. The story of how he got his swing confidence back in 98 is especially nice.
Thursday, April 29, 2004

Fifth Annual Nancy Lopez Award
...goes to Virada Nirapathpongporn. The award honors the "world's most outstanding female amateur," and previous winners like - Lorena Ochoa - have gone on to professional status on the LPGA Tour. Among her many amateur achievements last year, Nirapathpongporn won the US Women's Amateur Championship and was second in the US Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. Watch out for her name in future.
Thursday, April 29, 2004

Wachovia Commitment List
Anybody looking for the next big golf showdown need look no further than the Wachovia Chamionship next week. Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson are all scheduled to play.

Now that Singh won again last week, the "will Tiger lose his No.1 ranking?" murmurings have started up again. Wonder how he'll respond to the challenge, assuming he feels he needs to. After all, there's more to life than winning golf tournaments.
Thursday, April 29, 2004

Irwin has set the bar
Gary Van Sickle pays tribute to the Champions Tour record of Hale Irwin and explains why he doesn't think anyone will ever beat his record of 39 victories on that tour. Sign of the times - Irwin's senior golf career has earnt him triple the money he won when playing the main tour.
Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Monday's plaudits
Vijay Singh is back to winning ways with a victory in the rain-delayed Shell Houston Open, which only finished a few minutes ago today. The weather delay was a godsend to journalists, who came up with 101 different ways to use "Houston, we have a problem" in their articles.

A big round of applause for Hale Irwin, who celebrated his Champions Tour comeback after a short layoff with a back injury with a win - in the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.

Over in Yurp, Christian Cevaer topped the leaderboard at the Canarias Open de Espana. It was the first victory on the European Tour for the Frenchman. Allez, allez.
Monday, April 26, 2004

Every day is a bonus
This article gives a little insight into the daily challenge faced by Casey Martin - who suffers from Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome - before he even starts to worry about where and how to hit the golf ball. Also traces his career since the big legal battles with the Tour about the use of a golf cart during tournaments.
Friday, April 23, 2004

Dave Marr Memorial Award
The Shell Oil Company and family of Dave Marr established this award to honor contributions to golf and the community. This year's award, to be presented on Friday, goes to Arnold Palmer.
Thursday, April 22, 2004

Happy to be back
Aaron Baddeley has started a monthly diary for the folks over at the Golf Channel - read the first installment at the above link.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Scott splits with caddie
Seems Adam Scott just split with his caddie of 18 months. So ladies, now's your chance...
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

TIME 100: Heroes and Icons
Tiger Woods made it into Time magazine's top 100 people for 2004. He's in the "heroes and icons" category, sharing shelf space with, for example, his Holiness the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi, all Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Mastery not required
Bud Shaw recounts the tale of the round he played at Augusta on the Monday after Mickelson's win. As well as recalling the great Masters shots associated with the various holes, it's a lovely insight into the awe and majesty of the course.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Monday's congratulatory telegram goes to...
Stewart Cink, who made up a nine shot deficit on Sunday to edge out rookie Ted Purday in a playoff at the MCI Heritage.

On the LPGA Tour, Cristie Kerr captured her second career victory at the LPGA Takefuji Classic, also in a playoff.

In Europe, Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez landed the inaugural Open de Sevilla.

And on the Champions Tour, Tom Jenkins shot a final round 63 to take home the Blue Angels Classic.
Monday, April 19, 2004

Good news for British golf fans
If you're hanging around Loch Lomond in July, you might take a peep at the Scottish Open. Phil Mickelson's just confirmed his presence at the tournament, where he'll cross irons with Mr. Els again.
Monday, April 19, 2004

Spectre at victory feast will give guests food for thought
Bill Elliot holds up David Duval as both a salutary warning and shining example to the leading golfers of today. You'll have to read it to see what I mean.
Monday, April 19, 2004

Mickelson win a victory for families in all walks of life
A little commentary from a pastor, who sees Phil Mickelson's Masters win as evidence that you can be a family-oriented person and still succeed in your profession. It's an interesting observation, not least because the topic is a hot one, with family distractions one hypothesis cited for Tiger Woods' dip in form.
Monday, April 19, 2004

Bobby Jones - Stroke of Genius
April 30th sees the release of the movie, a biography pic of possibly the world's greatest ever golfer (at least until Tiger gets a bit older). The above link takes you to the official homepage.
Monday, April 19, 2004

The long and windy road to the PGA Tour plays like brutal dogleg
This article by Patrick Kinmartin gives you a look at the PGA Tour from another angle, highlighting the trials and tribulations that a typical gofler goes through just to qualify for a place on the tour.
Friday, April 16, 2004

Cancer-free Green to return to action
After golf lost caddie Bruce Edwards to disease recently, it's nice to read that Hubert Green is winning his fight against cancer.
Thursday, April 15, 2004

Golf woes?
One of the interesting factoids to come out of the Masters was a 20% drop in viewing ratings compared to last year. Various factors are to blame, but commentators are suggesting two absences were key. First, no Tiger Woods in contention. Second, nobody else who can capture interest like Tiger.

I'm not so pessimistic. Tiger's blip is probably just that - a blip. And once he's back in full flow, all will be well again. Second, there are hopes on the horizon. Perhaps a David Duval comeback, a Mickelson multi-major season, the growth of the LPGA with superstars like Sorenstam and (soon) Wie, and a few "youngsters" who I know from the emails I get are already bringing new interest into the game - chief among them Adam Scott.

Unless the game of golf loosens up enormously, which isn't likely to happen (and why should it?), there's never going to be a huge surge of interest anyway - it's not the people's game in the same way that basketball or soccer is.

Just some thoughts.
Thursday, April 15, 2004

Enjoy Gary Player
The Black Knight has signed a five-year representation deal with Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa. Apparently he'll be acting as spokesman and ambassador for the company's "healthier products," but I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds the match-up a little unexpected.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Golfer as brand
Here's an in-depth article exploring the idea of golfer as brand. The focus is on Mike Weir, and how his 2003 Masters victory set him up to develop business interests in the future. More insight into the off-course activities of your favorite golfers.
Monday, April 12, 2004

Finally
I tend to hold off on posting until Monday, but I'm pumped to see Phil Mickelson win his first major today. And not just because I predicted the win ;-) Now the media can leave him in peace and we can go find someone else to be the "best player never to win a major." Round of applause for Ernie Els too for a super second place.
Monday, April 12, 2004

Better news for Adam Scott
He's missed the cut at Augusta, but a small consolation is getting the European Tour Golfer of the Month award for March.
Friday, April 09, 2004

Turn sad news into something positive
Like the poet John Donne said, "any man's death diminishes me." The loss of caddie Bruce Edwards has saddened the golf world. If you got some pleasure out of the Edwards/Watson caddie/golfer team, you can return the favor by making a donation to ALS research through the Driving 4 Life website.
Friday, April 09, 2004

Insert pun involving words Weir, Taylor and Made
TaylorMade and Mike Weir announced that they're continuing their relationship. No details in the press release, so I'm not sure if this is news or a "Government to continue collecting taxes" anouncement. Either way they both just got some free PR out of me. Though Weir deserves plaudits, given his excellent form in 2003 and 2004.
Friday, April 09, 2004

Quick Masters thought
As I checked out the leaderboard during yesterday's play, there was a Jack Nicklaus holding steady at T14. Wasn't that cool? I actually thought, hey, that can't be right? Wow. He eventually finished 2 over with one hole to play, so looks certain to put one over the likes of Singh, Scott, Daly and other current stars.
Friday, April 09, 2004

Masters buzz
I'm kind of going light on article links this week. Every golf site and publication out there is full of Masters-related material, and I figured I'd just keep out of it. There's more than the usual excitement, with no clear favorite for the event, and the additional pep of Palmer's 50th Augusta appearance. Anyway, do enjoy the broadcasts and let's hope we get a thrilling finish Sunday.
Wednesday, April 07, 2004

More practice round inside stories
This article relates the experiences of Kent State University coach Herb Page while caddying for Ben Curtis during a practice round at this year's Masters. You can feel the Masters buzz all around golf, can't you?
Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Legacy of golf's iron lady
David Smith comments on the lasting effects of last year's gender battle around Augusta and the club's membership rules. He draws on a new book by Alun Shipnuck which covers the topic in depth...

* The Battle for Augusta National (book page at Amazon)
Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Masters predictions
My crystal ball (with a urethane outer layer) says the winner will come from one of Woods, Mickelson or Harrington. Woods because...well do I really need to explain? Mickelson becuse the golf gods like a good story and he's right there form-wise. And Harrington because of intuition.
Monday, April 05, 2004

My day with Tiger Woods
A British journalist remembers how he spent a day with Tiger Woods ten years ago, at a time when he wasn't the world's greatest sportsman. Quote: "I want to be the best golfer around." Now there's a kid who aimed high...and made it.
Monday, April 05, 2004

A tale of two extremes
First year on the tour and you're already a winner. Zach Johnson took home the BellSouth Classic on Sunday to the relief of those many pundits who had him pegged for stardom at the beginning of this season.

From a first-time winner to a fifty-time winner; Annika Sorenstam won the Office Depot Championship to rack up another notch on a very notched golf bedstead.

Over in Europe, Miguel Angel Jimenez won his second event of the year at the Algarve Open de Portugal Caixa Geral de Depositos. Which puts him in a good position for a Ryder Cup place come September.
Monday, April 05, 2004

Born to greatness
The Sunday Mail has a piece on Adam Scott, with some anecdotes from his childhood. Fans will like the color photo of him aged 11 - check out that swing technique!
Monday, April 05, 2004

It's not just titles falling at Scott's feet
A small commentary on Adam Scott, which I point you at simply because I know a lot of female readers want to know if he has a girlfriend and that question is answered here. Bad news, I'm afraid.
Friday, April 02, 2004

Beem brings cheer to pro-am
Dave Shedloski tells the story of his pro-am round with Rich Beem. Some insight into the off-camera personality of a top golfer and nice guy.
Friday, April 02, 2004

Dawn patrol
For those of you looking for more insight into the life and loves of Tiger, here's a big article looking at his practice rounds.
Thursday, April 01, 2004