Tour golfer update
Buick Invitational
You can imagine some weak smiles in the locker room Sunday, as PGA Tour players got another reminder at the Buick Invitational that there's nothing more dangerous than an injured Tiger.
After Tuesday's first round, Woods was six shots off the lead. Worse, his score came on the easier North course. So faced with the more difficult South course Friday, cut speculation was rife and reporters were lining up stories along the lines of "inauspicious start to the season for Tiger."
To the undoubted relief of tournament officials, a second round 68 saw Woods make the cut. And by Saturday night he was sitting one shot behind leaders Rod Pampling and Sergio Garcia.
On Sunday, nobody really made a big push out front. Garcia and Pampling, for example, faded with scores of 3 over and 4 over respectively for the day. And at the end of play, a 10 foot birdie putt on the 18th saw Tiger tie the lead with veteran Jose Maria Olazabal and Australia's Nathan Green.
None of the playoff contenders had truly fabulous fourth days, with Olazabal noting, "I was just pleased to be in the playoff," Green admitting, "I was pretty much shitting myself for the last six holes out there," and Tiger himself claiming "...I was very fortunate just to get into a playoff."
But with the statistical inevitability that now has him with a global playoff record of 12-1, Tiger won the tournament on the second playoff hole, thanks to Olazabal missing a short putt for par. It was his fourth Buick Invitational title and leaves him with an early season record of Played 1 Won 1.
Full reports:
ESPN
GolfOnline
Monday, January 30, 2006
After Tuesday's first round, Woods was six shots off the lead. Worse, his score came on the easier North course. So faced with the more difficult South course Friday, cut speculation was rife and reporters were lining up stories along the lines of "inauspicious start to the season for Tiger."
To the undoubted relief of tournament officials, a second round 68 saw Woods make the cut. And by Saturday night he was sitting one shot behind leaders Rod Pampling and Sergio Garcia.
On Sunday, nobody really made a big push out front. Garcia and Pampling, for example, faded with scores of 3 over and 4 over respectively for the day. And at the end of play, a 10 foot birdie putt on the 18th saw Tiger tie the lead with veteran Jose Maria Olazabal and Australia's Nathan Green.
None of the playoff contenders had truly fabulous fourth days, with Olazabal noting, "I was just pleased to be in the playoff," Green admitting, "I was pretty much shitting myself for the last six holes out there," and Tiger himself claiming "...I was very fortunate just to get into a playoff."
But with the statistical inevitability that now has him with a global playoff record of 12-1, Tiger won the tournament on the second playoff hole, thanks to Olazabal missing a short putt for par. It was his fourth Buick Invitational title and leaves him with an early season record of Played 1 Won 1.
Full reports:
ESPN
GolfOnline
Monday, January 30, 2006
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
If at first you don't succeed, lower your standards. Or so I learnt from a rather cynical friend of mine. But Chad Campbell chose to take the more conventional approach of "try, try again" at the 2006 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
After playing second fiddle to David Tom's Sony Open exploits, Campbell went one better on Sunday, carding a final round 71 to finish three shots clear of the chasing pack.
The 71 was his worst of the tournament, leading him to say afterwards, "glad it's over...to be able to win shooting 1 under on Sunday doesn't happen too often."
Second place went to Jesper Parnevik and Scott Verplank, with the former enjoying a return to the top of the leaderboard... "It was just fun to be back in the top and having a chance to win the tournament."
Other notable performances included Phil Mickelson making T5 on his first outing in 2006. Mickelson's in the field again this week for the Buick Invitational. As is a certain Mr. Woods. For many golf fans, that's when the PGA Tour season really gets underway.
Full reports:
The Golf Channel
ESPN
Monday, January 23, 2006
After playing second fiddle to David Tom's Sony Open exploits, Campbell went one better on Sunday, carding a final round 71 to finish three shots clear of the chasing pack.
The 71 was his worst of the tournament, leading him to say afterwards, "glad it's over...to be able to win shooting 1 under on Sunday doesn't happen too often."
Second place went to Jesper Parnevik and Scott Verplank, with the former enjoying a return to the top of the leaderboard... "It was just fun to be back in the top and having a chance to win the tournament."
Other notable performances included Phil Mickelson making T5 on his first outing in 2006. Mickelson's in the field again this week for the Buick Invitational. As is a certain Mr. Woods. For many golf fans, that's when the PGA Tour season really gets underway.
Full reports:
The Golf Channel
ESPN
Monday, January 23, 2006
Sony Open
The pre-tournament talk at the 2006 Sony Open was all about Michelle Wie and her latest attempt to make a cut in a professional men's event.
The extent of the buzz around Wie's participation can be gauged by the number of articles written about the fact there there wasn't as much buzz as some had expected.
Unfortunately for the 16 year old (yes, still just 16), her first round was one to forget. She shot a 79 (9 over par), a score only one other player failed to match or beat.
You could sense a lot of heads shaking grimly, plus the sound of whetstones as the anti-Wie mob sharpened their knives.
Fortunately for young Michelle, she redeemed herself in the next round, shooting a 68, almost the best round of the day. Nevertheless, she missed the cut again, and left the field clear for the media to return to the matter of who was actually winning the event.
Talking of which...
In Wie's absence, the tournament saw David Toms and Chad Campbell open up a 7-shot lead on the Saturday, thanks to rounds of 61 and 62 respectively.
Only Toms kept the pace up on the Sunday, taking a 65 to win by five clear shots from Campbell and Rory Sabbatini.
Full reports:
PGA Tour
Golf Channel
BBC
Monday, January 16, 2006
The extent of the buzz around Wie's participation can be gauged by the number of articles written about the fact there there wasn't as much buzz as some had expected.
Unfortunately for the 16 year old (yes, still just 16), her first round was one to forget. She shot a 79 (9 over par), a score only one other player failed to match or beat.
You could sense a lot of heads shaking grimly, plus the sound of whetstones as the anti-Wie mob sharpened their knives.
Fortunately for young Michelle, she redeemed herself in the next round, shooting a 68, almost the best round of the day. Nevertheless, she missed the cut again, and left the field clear for the media to return to the matter of who was actually winning the event.
Talking of which...
In Wie's absence, the tournament saw David Toms and Chad Campbell open up a 7-shot lead on the Saturday, thanks to rounds of 61 and 62 respectively.
Only Toms kept the pace up on the Sunday, taking a 65 to win by five clear shots from Campbell and Rory Sabbatini.
Full reports:
PGA Tour
Golf Channel
BBC
Monday, January 16, 2006
Mercedes Championships in Hawaii
Another golf year begins with the traditional start to the season in the sunny climes of Hawaii with the 2006 Mercedes Championships.
This year's tournament didn't have quite the classic look intended by the winners-only format. No Ernie Els, no Tiger Woods, no Phil Mickelson, to name but three.
And three was the number of the hour when the final scorecards were signed, as Stuart Appleby won for the third time in succession.
The real winner, though, was the Kapalua golf course, where pretty much the entire field failed to break 70 on any day. The only two that did were Olin Browne, with a 69 on the Thursday, and Vijay Singh, with a 66 on the Sunday.
That 66 pushed Singh into a playoff with Appleby, with the latter persevering on the first hole.
The stars put the high scores down to the wind and the refurbished greens, with the golfers needing more time than was available to adapt to both. The poor scores drew comparisons with the US Open.
Appleby now has the luxury of knowing he's already booked a return for next year, plus his earnings for the season stand at more than $1 million, and it's only January 9th. If he carries on at that average, he'll have made just over $48 million by the end of the year.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Another golf year begins with the traditional start to the season in the sunny climes of Hawaii with the 2006 Mercedes Championships.
This year's tournament didn't have quite the classic look intended by the winners-only format. No Ernie Els, no Tiger Woods, no Phil Mickelson, to name but three.
And three was the number of the hour when the final scorecards were signed, as Stuart Appleby won for the third time in succession.
The real winner, though, was the Kapalua golf course, where pretty much the entire field failed to break 70 on any day. The only two that did were Olin Browne, with a 69 on the Thursday, and Vijay Singh, with a 66 on the Sunday.
That 66 pushed Singh into a playoff with Appleby, with the latter persevering on the first hole.
The stars put the high scores down to the wind and the refurbished greens, with the golfers needing more time than was available to adapt to both. The poor scores drew comparisons with the US Open.
Appleby now has the luxury of knowing he's already booked a return for next year, plus his earnings for the season stand at more than $1 million, and it's only January 9th. If he carries on at that average, he'll have made just over $48 million by the end of the year.
Monday, January 09, 2006
