Picking up the golf-plated medals at the weekend were...

David Toms, who scraped a win at the FedEx St.Jude Classic by a mere six shots over Bob Estes.

Normal service was resumed on the LPGA Tour as Annika Sorenstam picked up the LPGA Corning Classic.

On the European Tour, the Volvo PGA Championship trophy now graces the mantelpiece of Scott Drummond, on his first appearance in the competition. Not bad.

And the Senior PGA Championship was dominated by...the weather. A human winner will emerge later today...
Monday, May 31, 2004

Golf the driving force of Volvo's global plan
An intriguing little bit of insight into why companies sponsor tournaments, in case you'd ever wondered.

Monday, May 31, 2004

Tournament stuff
If you're interested in seeing the stars live, I've been building out my tournament directory with advice on how to get tickets, traveling and similar. Just added pages for the Fall's top stops, including the Funai Classic, Las Vegas Invitational, the TOUR Championship and the Chrysler Championship, as well as two international events taking place in 2005, the Presidents Cup and the Solheim Cup.
Friday, May 28, 2004

Ballesteros, golf's king of style
This Reuter's report suggests that Seve Ballesteros may finally have to give up the game due to arthritis. Most of the article is a nice review of his career and impact.
Friday, May 28, 2004

Davies calls for parity
British golfer Laura Davies pleads for women to get a chance on the European Tour and mentions the obligatory Wie word. All part of the build up of historical momentum to Michelle's PGA Tour card sometime this decade or next...
Thursday, May 27, 2004

Michigan pros analyze Woods' swing, mind-set
Four teaching pros weigh in on golf's great debate and come up with four different opinions...
Thursday, May 27, 2004

A Wie bit contradictory?
Ron Sirak gets into this section again with an extended piece arguing that the USGA's decision to grant Michelle Wie an exemption to the US Women's Open is unfair. Fair or unfair, I guess we have to face the fact that commercial realities are bound to continue to dominate decision making as golf chases the mighty sponsorship dollar.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004

The Colonial, one year later
Ron Sirak -- who always seems to make sense -- argues that Annika Sorenstam playing last year's tournament was good for golf, but now the novelty value has worn off, female golfers should qualify for men's tournaments on merit.

We know that history likes a good story and that some stories have a way of building up their own momentum. So don't be surprised if Michelle Wie ends up with a PGA Tour card in a few years' time.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Getting their golfing Palme d'Or at the weekend were...
Steve Flesch, who won the Bank of America Colonial with a shot to spare. Anyone else noticed how Stephen Ames has quietly run up a bunch of good performances this year? He was third on Sunday and T7, T4, T7, T13 and T6 prior to that.

On the Champions Tour, it was DA Weibring who had the beating of the rest of the field at the Allianz Championship.

On the LPGA Tour, Sherri Steinhauer took home the Sybase Classic Presented by Lincoln Mercury.

And finally, in Europe, Trevor Immelman won the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe. Is it me, or are tournament names getting longer?
Monday, May 24, 2004

Tiger this, Tiger that
Just about every second article I read these days seems to be analyzing Tiger's swing changes and suggesting any of a hundred different reasons why he's not performing to his previous levels. Not sure how a golfer can live under that kind of public and media scrutiny. The very fact that he remains a sane human being is worthy of applause.
Friday, May 21, 2004

What has happened to Tiger?
I don't want to keep on this topic, because I'm not sure Tiger deserves the hassle. But this article is a very good summation of how a lot of people probably feel. It's not anti-Tiger in any way - quite the contrary. But it articulates very well the disappointment felt at his recent performances (let's ignore whether such disappointment is deserved or not).
Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Rivals re-emerging
Ron Sirak with another thoughtful piece at GolfDigest.com where he suggests that the big difference in golf this year is that Tiger's main rivals know they can beat him, and he knows they know that.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Break out the champagne - it's the weekend winners!
And lining up for a glass of bubbly are...

Sergio Garcia, who demonstrated that you can rebuild your swing and win, taking the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in a playoff against Dudley Hart and Robert Damron. Ole Sergio.

Miguel Angel Jimenez - who's showing a Vijay-like consistency this season - winning his third title of the year at the BMW Asian Open.

Lorena Ochoa captured the Franklin American Mortgage Championship, her first victory on the LPGA Tour.

So a big week for Spain and the Spanish-speaking golf world.
Monday, May 17, 2004

Big Ben
An interesting commentary in a Scottish Sunday paper which is a kind of reflective tribute to Ben Curtis. While it describes his lack of success before and after last year's British Open win, it points out that he's basically a down-to-earth guy, with a good attitude, and that's more than you can say about a lot of pro golfers.
Monday, May 17, 2004

It's been a wild and wacky week for golf's poster boy
Chris Lewis runs the rule over some of the Tiger rumors of late, and then takes a longer look at the ones relating to his swing.
Monday, May 17, 2004

There's more danger on a golf course than a sand trap
Something you probably won't see at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship...a wild boar like the one that's got them excited at Changi Golf Club in Singapore.
Friday, May 14, 2004

Sindelar still celebrating Wachovia Championship victory
Long and heartwarming article on the aftermath of Joey Sindelar's victory in the Wachovia Championship. He describes the barrage of congratulatory activities he's been faced with and pays tribute to a lot of people who helped him make the win.
Friday, May 14, 2004

Tiger Woods Golf 2005
If you're into video games, here's a sneak preview of what EA Sports has lined up for the next release of their Tiger Woods PGA Tour game. Ben Hogan makes a comeback, for example.
Thursday, May 13, 2004

LPGA now experiencing phenom phenomenon
This article takes a broader look at the idea of letting young prodigies play at the highest professional level, citing examples from the NBA, MLS and elsewhere. There's a focus on Michelle Wie and comments from coaches and experts on when (and when not) to let youngsters step up to the big time.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Ladies golf scores two aces
Big global sports honors went to two female golfers today. Annika Sorenstam was named as the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year and Michelle Wie as Laureus World Newcomer of the Year.
Monday, May 10, 2004

The sun shone for these people Sunday...

Wowing them at the Wachovia Championship was Joey Sindelar, who beat Arron Oberholser in a playoff. It was his first title in almost 14 years.

Se Ri Pak pulled a 65 out of her top draw to win the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill. And the good news for Se Ri is that the win qualifies her for the Hall of Fame, assuming she stays an LPGA member for ten years.

Barry Lane took home the Daily Telegraph Damovo British Masters, his first win in ten years.

On the Champions Tour, Larry Nelson captured the FedEx Kinko's Classic.
Monday, May 10, 2004

Westwood fury at Ryder Cup rule
Seems like I'm not the only one who finds the European "rules" for qualifying for the Ryder Cup a little odd. Lee Westwood's pretty upset that Europeans who choose not to play the required number of events on the European Tour should be eliminated from selection.

The problem for all concerned is that what's good for the European Ryder Cup team (an unlimited choice from all golfers with a passport from a European country) is not necessarily good for the European Tour. Because at least some top European golfers would then not bother playing in Europe any more.
Sunday, May 09, 2004

Ryder Cup woes
Jesper Parnevik ruled himself out of the Ryder Cup because he won't play the required 11 tournaments on the European Tour. Which is fair enough, frankly. But it's a shame because it looks like the US team will not necessarily face the world's best Europeans, only the best Europeans who also fulfilled the eligibility requirements.
Friday, May 07, 2004

Wachovia Event Gets Woods, Top Golfers With Perks, Tough Course
Another behind-the-scenes look at a tournament, this time explaining how the Wachovia Championship manages to attract so many top golfers, even though it's only in its second year.
Thursday, May 06, 2004

Radical changes help Ames elbow his way up PGA money list
You don't hear a lot about Stephen Ames, but he's been quietly working his way up the ranking list. This article explains how the changes he's made to his nationality, clubs and career support have helped him improve.
Thursday, May 06, 2004

Shut out of the open
According to this article by Brian Hewitt, the R&A decided to reduce the 10 year exemption to the British Open given to US Open winners to 5 years from 10. But didn't bother informing the likes of Corey Pavin, who won in 1995. And I always thought golf was a game strong on etiquette.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004

LPGA raises a toast to Kingsmill
A behind the scenes look at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill, including insights into the kind of decision making that determines whether a company sponsors a tournament or not. In this case, it's Anheuser-Busch.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Tiger's practice round draws big crowd
A nice piece from a local paper in Charlotte describing the atmosphere around a simple practice round when Tiger's in town. He must really cherish every private moment he gets.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Plagued by my ignorance...
I looked up how the World Golf Rankings work. Rather than summarize, I'll just point you to the page that explains it - click here.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004

How Do You Sell A Golf Legend? Very Carefully
Some interesting insight into the commercialisation (or not) of the Bobby Jones name. Clothes are in, video games aren't.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004

That has to be worth a few ranking points
One week after his triumph in the Shell Houston Open, Vijay Singh added the HP Classic of New Orleans to his win list, with a final round 63 today.

I have no idea how the world rankings are calculated, but if Singh keeps on winning, and Woods doesn't, then however they calculate it, the former is going to end up ranking higher than the latter.

I know people have divided opinions on him, but you have to admire Singh's consistency. I just looked up his tournament record. He finished in the top 10 in 19 of the last 25 tournaments he's played.
Monday, May 03, 2004

Weekend winners
Well, we still don't know the PGA Tour winner, because the weather gods have been giving the golf gods a bit of a hard time of late. Expect a result from the HP Classic of New Orleans later today.

Elsewhere, it was a maiden tour win for Jennifer Rosales at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship (a big tournament to get your first win at).

On the Champions Tour, Bruce Fleisher took the Bruno's Memorial Classic for his second win this year.

Over in Europe, Graeme McDowell won the Telecom Italia Open, beating Thomas Levet in a playoff.
Monday, May 03, 2004

Monty loses more than Monopoly
An analysis and self-analysis of Colin Montgomerie in the context of his recent trials and tribulations on and off the golf course.
Monday, May 03, 2004

Harinder's tale makes a compelling tell
A nice story which puts some perspective on the life of a typical US tour pro. It's a report on the third amateur ever to win a pro event on the Indian Tour.
Monday, May 03, 2004

Royal and Ancient back golf at Beijing Olympics
Just as an aside, The Guardian reports that golf looks a strong bet to become an olympic sport.
Monday, May 03, 2004