Tour golfer update
Kraft Nabisco Championship
If you're missing the domination of Tiger Woods over on the PGA Tour, you might switch allegiance to the LPGA, where they have their own Tiger Woods named Annika Sorenstam.
The Kraft Nabisco Championship was her fifth straight tournament win, and her eighth major. In fact, if Tiger gets back into top form, we can start to call him the PGA Tour's Annika Sorenstam.
She beat second-placed Rosie Jones by eight strokes, all of which she gained in the pressure-soaked atmosphere of the weekend rounds.
It's hard to pick out other good performances when the winner is 8 shots ahead, but Michelle Wie (still a teenage amateur remember) came in T14. And was disappointed.
Elsewhere, Thaworn Wiratchant picked up the long-named Enjoy Jakarta Standard Chartered Indonesia Open. The tournament also saw Colin Montgomerie come within one 10 foot putt of a sub-60 final round.
The PGA Tour suffered yet more weather problems, with the PLAYERS Championshsip savaged by wind and rain. None of the favorites did justice to their rankings, and it was Fred Funk who eventually won on the Monday.
Monday, March 28, 2005
If you're missing the domination of Tiger Woods over on the PGA Tour, you might switch allegiance to the LPGA, where they have their own Tiger Woods named Annika Sorenstam.
The Kraft Nabisco Championship was her fifth straight tournament win, and her eighth major. In fact, if Tiger gets back into top form, we can start to call him the PGA Tour's Annika Sorenstam.
She beat second-placed Rosie Jones by eight strokes, all of which she gained in the pressure-soaked atmosphere of the weekend rounds.
It's hard to pick out other good performances when the winner is 8 shots ahead, but Michelle Wie (still a teenage amateur remember) came in T14. And was disappointed.
Elsewhere, Thaworn Wiratchant picked up the long-named Enjoy Jakarta Standard Chartered Indonesia Open. The tournament also saw Colin Montgomerie come within one 10 foot putt of a sub-60 final round.
The PGA Tour suffered yet more weather problems, with the PLAYERS Championshsip savaged by wind and rain. None of the favorites did justice to their rankings, and it was Fred Funk who eventually won on the Monday.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Bay Hill Invitational
The event didn't quite live up to expectations, thanks largely to worse-than-usual performances by the stars, with Tiger Woods and Ernie Els sharing 23rd place on Sunday.
The big winners were Kenny Perry, who took home a victor's check for $900,000. And Vijay Singh, who returned to the no.1 ranking slot on the strength of his joint second place.
Are we set for a topsy turvy year where the no.1 position changes hands every few weeks? Let's hope so.
Elsewhere, Annika Sorenstam made up a four shot deficit in the final three holes to hunt down Lorena Ochoa and eventually beat her in a playoff. They may have stopped taking bets on next week's Kraft Nabisco Championship, given that Annika has now won six of her last eight LPGA tournaments.
On the Champions Tour, Mark Johnson won the Toshiba Senior Classic.
And in Europe, Paul Casey put his recent troubles behind him with a win in the TCL Classic in China, just edging Paul McGinley in a playoff.
Monday, March 21, 2005
The event didn't quite live up to expectations, thanks largely to worse-than-usual performances by the stars, with Tiger Woods and Ernie Els sharing 23rd place on Sunday.
The big winners were Kenny Perry, who took home a victor's check for $900,000. And Vijay Singh, who returned to the no.1 ranking slot on the strength of his joint second place.
Are we set for a topsy turvy year where the no.1 position changes hands every few weeks? Let's hope so.
Elsewhere, Annika Sorenstam made up a four shot deficit in the final three holes to hunt down Lorena Ochoa and eventually beat her in a playoff. They may have stopped taking bets on next week's Kraft Nabisco Championship, given that Annika has now won six of her last eight LPGA tournaments.
On the Champions Tour, Mark Johnson won the Toshiba Senior Classic.
And in Europe, Paul Casey put his recent troubles behind him with a win in the TCL Classic in China, just edging Paul McGinley in a playoff.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Ford Championship at Doral
The galleries at Doral echoed to the sound of TV executives licking their lips as Sunday's round produced a final pairing of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson battling for victory honors.
And you could see the same execs swooning with delight as the tournament went all the way down to the 18th, where the width of a dollar bill stood between Mickelson and the birdie he needed to tie Woods; his attempt to chip in was that close.
So Tiger took home his second tournament of 2005, and returned to the top spot in the world rankings to boot.
The rest of the field almost disappeared in the Tiger-Phil faceoff, but David Toms confirmed his Match Play form with fifth place. And it was good to see fan favorite Jose Maria Olazabal up there among the leaders, eventually claiming a share of sixth place.
One big gun not playing at Doral was Ernie Els. He was doing his thing over in Dubai, where a strong European field contested the Dubai Desert Classic.
Els was one behind Stephen Dodd and Miguel Angel Jimenez as he approached the 18th, and one in front when he finished, thanks to a timely eagle. It was his third win in this tournament.
On the LPGA, normal service resumed Sunday when Annika Sorenstam came from three behind to win by three from a resurgent Karrie Webb. Third round leader Cristie Kerr missed her chance with a 3 over 75 in the final round.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
And you could see the same execs swooning with delight as the tournament went all the way down to the 18th, where the width of a dollar bill stood between Mickelson and the birdie he needed to tie Woods; his attempt to chip in was that close.
So Tiger took home his second tournament of 2005, and returned to the top spot in the world rankings to boot.
The rest of the field almost disappeared in the Tiger-Phil faceoff, but David Toms confirmed his Match Play form with fifth place. And it was good to see fan favorite Jose Maria Olazabal up there among the leaders, eventually claiming a share of sixth place.
One big gun not playing at Doral was Ernie Els. He was doing his thing over in Dubai, where a strong European field contested the Dubai Desert Classic.
Els was one behind Stephen Dodd and Miguel Angel Jimenez as he approached the 18th, and one in front when he finished, thanks to a timely eagle. It was his third win in this tournament.
On the LPGA, normal service resumed Sunday when Annika Sorenstam came from three behind to win by three from a resurgent Karrie Webb. Third round leader Cristie Kerr missed her chance with a 3 over 75 in the final round.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
