Monday, August 30, 2010
Monty names '10 Ryder Cup team
Colin Montgomerie has named Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari as the three men to complete his line-up.Colin Montgomerie, faced with arguably the most difficult decision any Captain has had regarding wild cards, has named Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari as the three men to complete his line-up.
They join automatic qualifiers Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Ross Fisher, Francesco Molinari, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Peter Hanson in Europe’s Ryder Cup Team.
Montgomerie was left with five players in the Official World Golf Ranking Top 22 chasing a pick.
No brothers have played in the same match since Bernhard and Geoff Hunt in 1963 and Edoardo Molinari piled on the pressure with a three-birdie finish to win the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in dramatic fashion.
In Harrington's favour was that he was the only three-time Major winner amongst the candidates.
The biggest pluses for Donald, who missed the last match following wrist surgery, were that he has lost only one of seven Ryder Cup games, has a perfect four wins out of four in foursomes, was third at The Celtic Manor Resort in June's Celtic Manor Wales Open and was ranked tenth in the world.
Casey was one higher than that and his head-to-head record also strengthened his hand. He won the World Match Play at Wentworth in 2006 and was a finalist in the last two World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play in Arizona.
Rose scored three points out of four on his debut, partnering Poulter to two wins and beating Phil Mickelson in the singles. He also had two brilliant US PGA Tour victories earlier this summer.
And then there was Edoardo Molinari, whose brother clinched his debut on Thursday when England's Ross McGowan pulled out of the final counting event through injury.
They won the Omega Mission Hills World Cup together last November and Edoardo, winner of The Challenge Tour last season, also staked his claims by winning the Dunlop Phoenix title in Japan and the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond - as well as coming second to Ernie Els in the US PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Only eight of the American side are known at the moment. Captain Corey Pavin adds four wild cards on Tuesday week and Tiger Woods is among those waiting for a call.
After announcing that Sergio Garcia will join the team as a fourth Vice Captain, Montgomerie went on to explain the reasons behind his three picks.
He said: "Padraig Harrington has won three Major Championships in the last three years...the stature of Padraig...he is someone we feel that nobody in match play golf wants to play.
"He is a great competitor and someone that will bring everything to The Team that we know about European golf.
"Luke Donald has played seven times in Ryder Cup and has lost only once.
"And Edoardo Molinari, what can one say about his performance today?
"In my time on the European Tour, over 24 years, I have never seen a finish like that. All credit to him, having to win and doing just that."
Montgomerie suggested he already knew his three picks before the Gleneagles event but admitted this evening he may have been stretching the truth.
He said: "I was lying at that stage!
"What Edoardo Molinari did this week was incredible, he is the kind of player we need to regain The Ryder Cup.
"I have managed to speak to some of the players today, to let people know of a decision which will go against them.
"I haven't spoken to Paul Casey as he is playing but I have spoken to Justin Rose as he was on the driving range.
"But I thought it was better for him to hear from me.
"I must have made a dozen phone calls today, I wasn't on to apologise because we have an embarrassment of riches."
Asked if had pulled rank over his Vice Captains - Darren Clarke, Thomas Björn, Paul McGinley and Garcia- Montgomerie replied: "I have not managed to pull rank at this stage and that's a good thing.
"I've been very fortunate to have three (and now four) Vice Captains. I spoke to Sergio in Spain for his advice this afternoon.
"We are all unanimous in our decision that we have the strongest possible team for Europe.
"I just want to think positively about the team that we have selected. I think the three picks are strong in every way. We are thinking about pairings.
"Since my day - I was a Ryder Cup rookie in 1991 - I don't think any Captain has had the difficulty I have had today picking three from a possible ten.
"It has been fraught in so many ways but watching Edoardo birdie the last three holes, he has made our job very easy for us with his performance today."
Montgomerie said it was not the case that Edoardo Molinari had to win at Gleneagles to be one of the three wild cards.
"It made our job easier that he did win but I don't think he had to win. What he did in the first three rounds was enough to show us that this player can handle incredible pressure.
"I don't think I have to tell you who his partner will be in the fourballs or foursomes."
Michelle Wie wins in Canada
Michelle Wie closed with a 2-under 70 Sunday for a three-shot win at the CN Canadian Women's Open, her second career victory on the LPGA Tour.
Wie, who was 12 under for the tournament, earned the winner's check of $337,500 in the $2.25-million event at the St. Charles Country Club -- the LPGA's only stop in Canada.
Wie had five birdies, including three in a row on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes.
"I made a lot of crucial putts today," said Wie, who at 10 years old was the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Championship.
Jiyai Shin of South Korea shot a 73 and tied for second with Kristy McPherson (66), defending champion Suzann Pettersen of Norway (69) and South Korea's Jee Lee Young (69).
Wie led wire-to-wire after an opening 65 and was tied with Shin for the lead entering the final round at 10 under.
"My shot was really good, but my putting was so bad," said Shin, who has four victories since joining the LPGA Tour last season.
"I (had) lots of chances for birdies, but I couldn't make it just a couple times."
Ai Miyazato (69) of Japan, the No. 1-ranked player heading into the Open, finished tied for 15th, while No. 2 Cristie Kerr (69) tied for eighth.
After the 20-year-old Wie ended her round on the 18th green, her longtime friend and fellow American player Christina Kim sprayed her with champagne.
"I was trying to run away from her," Wie said with a laugh. "All I was thinking in my mind was I'm wearing white pants, please be nice Tina."
Wie's first career win came in November at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational during her rookie season. Her opening round this week featured the second hole-in-one of her pro career.
Wie said she's heading back to school at Stanford after the LPGA's next event -- the P&G NW Arkansas Championship beginning Sept. 10.
Next year's tournament will be played in Montreal and then Vancouver in 2012.
Wie, who was 12 under for the tournament, earned the winner's check of $337,500 in the $2.25-million event at the St. Charles Country Club -- the LPGA's only stop in Canada.
Wie had five birdies, including three in a row on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes.
"I made a lot of crucial putts today," said Wie, who at 10 years old was the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Championship.
Jiyai Shin of South Korea shot a 73 and tied for second with Kristy McPherson (66), defending champion Suzann Pettersen of Norway (69) and South Korea's Jee Lee Young (69).
Wie led wire-to-wire after an opening 65 and was tied with Shin for the lead entering the final round at 10 under.
"My shot was really good, but my putting was so bad," said Shin, who has four victories since joining the LPGA Tour last season.
"I (had) lots of chances for birdies, but I couldn't make it just a couple times."
Ai Miyazato (69) of Japan, the No. 1-ranked player heading into the Open, finished tied for 15th, while No. 2 Cristie Kerr (69) tied for eighth.
After the 20-year-old Wie ended her round on the 18th green, her longtime friend and fellow American player Christina Kim sprayed her with champagne.
"I was trying to run away from her," Wie said with a laugh. "All I was thinking in my mind was I'm wearing white pants, please be nice Tina."
Wie's first career win came in November at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational during her rookie season. Her opening round this week featured the second hole-in-one of her pro career.
Wie said she's heading back to school at Stanford after the LPGA's next event -- the P&G NW Arkansas Championship beginning Sept. 10.
Next year's tournament will be played in Montreal and then Vancouver in 2012.
Tiger on to second round of the playoffs
The good news for Tiger Woods is that he has at least two more tournaments left in his season after a 67 Sunday that will move him inside the top 60 in the FedExCup points standings. As for how close he is to winning again?
“If I would have putted like I did today in the middle two rounds, I would be up there,” said Woods, who is currently in a tie for ninth. “Ironically, I hit it better yesterday than I did today.”
That he did, hitting more fairways and greens in regulation than he did in his third-round 72. And that leaves Woods cofident heading to the Deutsche Bank Championship, which begins on Friday.
“The next three venues I’ve won on,” said Woods, referring to TPC Boston, Cog Hill for the BMW Championship and East Lake Golf Club for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola ‘’ — that’s assuming he gets to the final event of the season since only the top 30 after the BMW Championship make it to Atlanta.
For now, though, Woods will head home to Orlando to continue to work on the same things he’s been working on — “Just keep progressing what I’m doing,” he said.
And though he didn’t win, he’ll go home happy at least with the progress he’s made. “Very pleased,’” Woods said of that progress. “I found something in my stroke today when I was warming up and I went with it. I hit a lot of good putts today.”
Putting has been largely the hardest thing for Woods to get a handle on since he returned to golf in April, but that, too, is obviously coming around.
“This is a week I was very close [to winning],” Woods said. “If I would have put it together on the greens for all four days I would have been right there.”
“If I would have putted like I did today in the middle two rounds, I would be up there,” said Woods, who is currently in a tie for ninth. “Ironically, I hit it better yesterday than I did today.”
That he did, hitting more fairways and greens in regulation than he did in his third-round 72. And that leaves Woods cofident heading to the Deutsche Bank Championship, which begins on Friday.
“The next three venues I’ve won on,” said Woods, referring to TPC Boston, Cog Hill for the BMW Championship and East Lake Golf Club for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola ‘’ — that’s assuming he gets to the final event of the season since only the top 30 after the BMW Championship make it to Atlanta.
For now, though, Woods will head home to Orlando to continue to work on the same things he’s been working on — “Just keep progressing what I’m doing,” he said.
And though he didn’t win, he’ll go home happy at least with the progress he’s made. “Very pleased,’” Woods said of that progress. “I found something in my stroke today when I was warming up and I went with it. I hit a lot of good putts today.”
Putting has been largely the hardest thing for Woods to get a handle on since he returned to golf in April, but that, too, is obviously coming around.
“This is a week I was very close [to winning],” Woods said. “If I would have put it together on the greens for all four days I would have been right there.”
Friday, August 27, 2010
Michelle Wie leads @ the CN Canadian Women's Open
Michelle Wie carded a 7-under-par 65 Thursday to take a three shot lead after the opening-round of the 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open at St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg.After making the turn at 3-under-par, the 20-year old holed a 5-iron from 181 yards for the second LPGA ace of her career. The hole-in-one on No. 11 propelled Wie to 5-under-par to that point giving her sole possession of the lead. Despite a bogey at No. 12, she rallied with three birdies in her final six holes, including the 17th hole where she holed out from the greenside bunker.
“I just went out there and tried to go out there and have fun and focus on every shot,” Wie said following her round. “I didn't really think about my score. I just went out there and tried to hit every shot as best I could. The crowds were awesome. The people out there were cheering pretty loudly. It was just really fun today.”
Wie holds the first-round lead for the second time in her career dating back to the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open, where she went on to tie for 23rd.
Sarah Kemp took the early lead with a 4-under-par 68 and now trails Wie by three shots. The 25-year-old Australian is searching for her first top-10 as a member of the LPGA. “You just gotta stay patient, and I think that's what I've learned over the years,” she said. “Good things are going to happen if you just keep putting yourself in situations.” Kemp shined as an amateur in Australia before joining the Ladies European Tour (LET). A rookie on the LPGA in 2008, Kemp’s career-best finish came at the 2009 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic where she tied for 12th.
Defending CN Canadian Women’s Open champion and Rolex Rankings No. 3 Suzann Pettersen put herself in contention to defend her title and earn her first victory of 2010 by recording four birdies and a bogey en route to a 3-under par 69. The six-time LPGA Tour winner is currently four-strokes behind Wie heading into Friday’s second round.
If not for a ball-snatching tree on hole 16, Alexis Thompson’s day might have been a bit more enjoyable. The 15-year-old shot 1-under-par 71 on Thursday, but it was her seventh hole of the day – the 395-yard, par-4 16th – that left her in disbelief when her drive flew into a tree and never came down. She returned to the tee and finished the hole with double bogey, derailing an otherwise promising start. Thompson salvaged an under-par day with the help of an eagle at the 503-yard, par-5 fifth hole where she hit seven-iron to 15 feet.
There’s no place like home for Toronto’s Seema Sadekar. The 25-year old, who now lives in Las Vegas, NV, fired an opening-round 1-over par 72 to lead the pack of 14 Canadians in this week’s field.
Sunny skies and windy conditions helped to make St. Charles Country Club a nail biting test for 46 of the top 50 LPGA professionals on Thursday. With temperatures in the low 80’s and wind gusts up to 45 kph, the already firm Winnipeg golf course was all the more difficult. Balls were hopping on the greens and skidding through fairways with only 24 of the 156-player field finishing the day in red numbers. Tomorrow calls for mostly sunny skies with windy and warm conditions.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Mickelson talks about lifestyle changes after psoriatic arthritis, trying to take over #1
At The Barclays this week, for the ninth time this year, Phil Mickelson can overtake Tiger Woods as the No. 1 player in the world.
There are 10 mathematical scenarios by which Mickelson could claim the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career. But Woods will remain No. 1 as long as he finishes ahead of or tied with Mickelson at Ridgewood Country Club this week.
"I've been trying real hard to accomplish that. I just haven't played well enough yet," Mickelson said. "But hopefully I'll be able to put it together this week. I feel like I'm playing much better golf. I've been working on my driver again trying to get that thing in play, and I think I've kind of come on to something there, adding a little bit more loft and just getting the ball in play. So I expect to drive the ball well and hopefully have a good week.
A win obviously would give Mickelson, who ranks fourth in the FedExCup standings, the top spot. So would solo second if Woods does not win. Here are the other scenarios.
Mickelson could go to No. 1 if:
• he is third alone and Tiger is outside top 4
• he is fourth alone and Tiger is outside top 8
• he is fifth alone and Tiger is outside top 14
• he is sixth alone and Tiger is outside top 21
• he is seventh alone and Tiger is outside top 32
• he is eighth alone and Tiger is outside top 52
• he is ninth alone and Tiger is outside top 58 or misses cut
• he is 10th alone and Tiger is outside top 58 or misses cut
Mickelson, who shot 75 on a rainy Wednesday in the pro-am, won the Masters earlier this year and tied for fourth at the U.S. Open. His best finish since Pebble Beach, though, was a tie for 12th at the PGA on the strength of a closing 67.
Mickelson revealed at the PGA that he has been suffering from psoriatic arthritis, which now appears to be under control with shots and a vegetarian diet. So while the world No. 1 ranking is nice for the resume, Mickelson has had other concerns.
"I haven't thought about it too much," he acknowledged. "I'm trying to win. I'm trying to compete in tournaments and I haven't played that well the last couple of months.
"But, again, I feel like my game's been coming around. I've been able to practice and work hard. I feel great. I'm looking forward to the next five weeks."
Furyk disqualified from Barclays for oversleeping
Jim Furyk picked a bad time to sleep in.Furyk overslept Wednesday when his cell phone lost power overnight and the alarm didn't go off, causing him to be late for his pro-am tee time in The Barclays. That left PGA Tour officials no choice but to make him ineligible for the first of four FedEx Cup playoff events.
A two-time winner on tour this year, Furyk is No. 3 in the standings as the race for the $10 million prize gets under way at Ridgewood Country Club without him.
It is unlikely he will fall too far down the standings, although he eliminated any chance of improving.
"I'm kicking myself," Furyk said. "I have a way of climbing into situations that are all my fault."
Phil Mickelson appeared to be more furious than Furyk.
"The rule itself applies to only half the field," said Mickelson, noting that only 54of the 122 players were in the pro-am. "So if you're going to have a rule that does not apply to everybody, you cannot have it affect the competition. ... I cannot disagree with it more. I have no idea how the commissioner let this rule go through. It's ridiculous."
Mickelson said he told PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem how he felt at lunch.
Weir injury: Canadian Mike Weir has a partially torn ligament in his right elbow and is likely out for the rest of the season.
Weir, who said he had elbow pain before the British Open in July, told The Canadian Press on Tuesday that he had an MRI exam over the weekend. He plans to rest the elbow and seek treatment to avoid surgery.
Weir is coming off a season of eight missed cuts. His best finish was sixth at the Bob Hope Classic.
Blasberg case: The doctor who found the body of 25-year-old professional golfer Erica Blasberg told Nevada investigators he hid a suicide note and pills because he wanted to spare her family embarrassment, according to a court document.
A Henderson police affidavit detailed the hours Blasberg and Dr. Thomas Hess spent together playing golf, watching TV in a casino sports book and in her home in the days before he found her dead May 9 with a plastic bag over her head.
Detectives investigating the golfer's death searched the doctor's Mercedes-Benz, which was parked in Blasberg's driveway, and found a suicide note and Xanax pills obtained in Mexico.
Authorities have declined to release the contents of the note.
Tiger status: In his first tournament after getting engaged, Tiger Woods was runner-up to Davis Love III at the 2003 Target World Challenge. In his first tournament as a married man, Woods was runner-up to Retief Goosen in the 2004 Tour Championship.
The Barclays will be his first tournament as a divorced man.
Woods at least needs to make the cut, and probably needs to finish in the middle of the pack, to make it out of the first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Etc.: It has been 19 years since no one on the PGA Tour won more than twice in a season. With 10 tournaments left on the schedule, five players have two victories. ... How low was the scoring in Greensboro? John Merrick, Omar Uresti and Charles Warren shot in the 60s all four rounds and tied for 65th.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Elin Nordegren breaks the silence after divorce
(PEOPLE.com) -- Her divorce is final and she's ready to talk. Elin Nordegren breaks her nine-month silence in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE magazine."I have been through the stages of disbelief and shock, to anger and ultimately grief over the loss of the family I so badly wanted for my children," she says in the magazine's latest issue, out just days after her split from Tiger Woods was made official.
The 30-year-old mother of two, who is studying towards a college degree in psychology, says that despite her husband's betrayal, "I also feel stronger than I ever have. I have confidence in my beliefs, my decisions and myself."
In 19 hours over four visits to her Windermere, Florida, rental home, Nordegren shared never-before-seen personal photographs and opened up to PEOPLE about the emotional roller coaster she's been on, her life as a mother to Sam, 3, and Charlie, 19 months, and her hopes for the future.
"My immediate plan is for the kids and me to continue to adjust to our new situation. I am going to keep taking classes, but my main focus is to try to give myself time to heal," she says.
She tells the magazine this was her first -- and last -- interview, as she intends to remain a private person.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tiger fans snub golfer's brand as he continues to struggle in life and on the links
Tiger Woods fans have put up with the philandering, the text messages and the domestic spats. Now comes what may be the hardest thing of all to tolerate: Losing.
Woods has played through the year without a single tournament win, putting him at 83rd on the PGA Tour’s money list. As his performance slumps, so have sales of his apparel line through Nike Inc., according to retailers Golfsmith International Holdings Inc., Roger Dunn Golf Shops and Golf Discount Superstore.
Golf apparel sales overall are on the rise, signaling consumers are returning to the course, just not to Woods. Nike gets about 10 percent of its golf sales from the Woods brand, whose shirts, jackets and pants are among the most expensive clothing the sportswear maker sells.
“Apparel is hot right now,” said Laura Dowdy, the clothing buyer for Roger Dunn, which has more than 20 stores. “Everything -- Adidas, Puma, Nike, except the Tiger brand.”
Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon, doesn’t disclose sales for the Tiger Woods Collection. Nike gets about $650 million in sales tied to the sport, according to Matt Powell, an analyst at Charlotte, North Carolina-based researcher SportsOneSource, who provided the estimate for sales of the Woods line.
“We support Tiger and never underestimate his abilities as a competitor,” Nike spokeswoman Beth Gast said in an e-mail. “He’s a phenomenal athlete with over 70 wins on the PGA Tour and 95 wins worldwide.” She declined to comment further. Woods’s representatives did not return calls or e-mails seeking comment.
The line’s volume through the first half dropped 7.5 percent from a year earlier at Golfsmith’s 76 stores, Chief Executive Officer Martin Hanaka said in an interview. Total golf apparel sales climbed 11 percent over the same period at the Austin, Texas-based retailer.
Nike fell $1.34, or 1.9 percent, to $69.61 at 10:02 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had risen 7.4 percent this year before today.
Negative Tiger Effect
“The Tiger effect has been negative this year,” Hanaka said. “Fortunately, other Nike products and other brands have been doing well, so we’ve been able to overcome it.”
Nike’s apparel sales climbed 13 percent in the quarter ended May 31, and its golf apparel sales also have climbed about that much this year, according to Powell. The retailer is now selling the fall 2010 men’s collection on its website. The cover boy? Not Tiger. It’s 2009 British Open Champion Stewart Cink. Woods appears in a list of “athletes” on a linked page.
Other than his rookie season, when he finished 24th, Woods has been in the top four on the money list every year on tour. This month, he recorded the worst 72-hole score -- 18 over par - - of his professional career.
“When Tiger’s doing well, people watch and buy his brand,” said David Martin, a branding expert with almost three decades of experience who runs Interbrand’s New York office and global golf practice. “When he’s not, people decide not to watch and they buy something else.”
Fallen Champion
Online retailer Golf Discount Superstore said it’s seen a “definite decline” for the brand. Roger Dunn, a division of Santa Ana, California-based Worldwide Golf Enterprises Inc., says almost all other apparel products are growing save for Tiger’s line.
“Before, he was a champion,” said Patrick Rishe, a sports business professor at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, and director of Sportsimpacts, which analyzes the economic impact of sports events. “He conveyed discipline and consistency. Now he’s lost that aura of perfection, on and off the course, and there’s no way Nike can create that aura again.”
Woods’s personal problems haven’t helped. Yesterday his lawyer announced that his divorce from model Elin Nordegren was completed, nine months after reports of his extramarital affairs surfaced.
Cadillac Crash
Woods, 34, crashed his Cadillac sport-utility vehicle into a fire hydrant outside his Florida home last Thanksgiving, leading to his admission that he had relationships with several women during his marriage. One of those women, Joslyn James, created a website showcasing alleged text messages from the golfer that described various sex acts.
Nike first signed Tiger Woods to a five-year endorsement contract in 1996. The retailer has described the Tiger Woods Collection, launched in 1999, as “Nike Golf’s top-of-the-line apparel,” with sweaters and pants that cost more than $100 on the company’s Web site.
Nike hasn’t discounted its Woods Collection apparel and probably won’t, according to Powell, who says the company is counting on Woods returning to form and being “an important part of its portfolio.” Golfsmith also has no plans to lower prices for the brand, according to its chief marketing officer.
“The challenge to Nike is that we’ve never seen Tiger Woods weak before, and it’s completely antithetical to what his brand is,” Interbrand’s Martin said. “Some athletes can ski off into our memory as stars, but for Tiger, unless he gets it together this winter and starts winning, his career trajectory is a double-black diamond,” or exceptionally steep slope.
Diehard Fans
Not everyone has abandoned Woods. Clint Utz, 28, said he owns about 15 Tiger Woods Collection shirts and has bought several this year.
“All of a sudden, so many people were against him, but he’s still the same person that worked hard and achieved things no one else has ever achieved,” said Utz, a marketing director for Landscapes Unlimited, based in Lincoln, Nebraska. “Everyone loves a winner. They’ll come back.”
Woods has played through the year without a single tournament win, putting him at 83rd on the PGA Tour’s money list. As his performance slumps, so have sales of his apparel line through Nike Inc., according to retailers Golfsmith International Holdings Inc., Roger Dunn Golf Shops and Golf Discount Superstore.
Golf apparel sales overall are on the rise, signaling consumers are returning to the course, just not to Woods. Nike gets about 10 percent of its golf sales from the Woods brand, whose shirts, jackets and pants are among the most expensive clothing the sportswear maker sells.
“Apparel is hot right now,” said Laura Dowdy, the clothing buyer for Roger Dunn, which has more than 20 stores. “Everything -- Adidas, Puma, Nike, except the Tiger brand.”
Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon, doesn’t disclose sales for the Tiger Woods Collection. Nike gets about $650 million in sales tied to the sport, according to Matt Powell, an analyst at Charlotte, North Carolina-based researcher SportsOneSource, who provided the estimate for sales of the Woods line.
“We support Tiger and never underestimate his abilities as a competitor,” Nike spokeswoman Beth Gast said in an e-mail. “He’s a phenomenal athlete with over 70 wins on the PGA Tour and 95 wins worldwide.” She declined to comment further. Woods’s representatives did not return calls or e-mails seeking comment.
The line’s volume through the first half dropped 7.5 percent from a year earlier at Golfsmith’s 76 stores, Chief Executive Officer Martin Hanaka said in an interview. Total golf apparel sales climbed 11 percent over the same period at the Austin, Texas-based retailer.
Nike fell $1.34, or 1.9 percent, to $69.61 at 10:02 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had risen 7.4 percent this year before today.
Negative Tiger Effect
“The Tiger effect has been negative this year,” Hanaka said. “Fortunately, other Nike products and other brands have been doing well, so we’ve been able to overcome it.”
Nike’s apparel sales climbed 13 percent in the quarter ended May 31, and its golf apparel sales also have climbed about that much this year, according to Powell. The retailer is now selling the fall 2010 men’s collection on its website. The cover boy? Not Tiger. It’s 2009 British Open Champion Stewart Cink. Woods appears in a list of “athletes” on a linked page.
Other than his rookie season, when he finished 24th, Woods has been in the top four on the money list every year on tour. This month, he recorded the worst 72-hole score -- 18 over par - - of his professional career.
“When Tiger’s doing well, people watch and buy his brand,” said David Martin, a branding expert with almost three decades of experience who runs Interbrand’s New York office and global golf practice. “When he’s not, people decide not to watch and they buy something else.”
Fallen Champion
Online retailer Golf Discount Superstore said it’s seen a “definite decline” for the brand. Roger Dunn, a division of Santa Ana, California-based Worldwide Golf Enterprises Inc., says almost all other apparel products are growing save for Tiger’s line.
“Before, he was a champion,” said Patrick Rishe, a sports business professor at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, and director of Sportsimpacts, which analyzes the economic impact of sports events. “He conveyed discipline and consistency. Now he’s lost that aura of perfection, on and off the course, and there’s no way Nike can create that aura again.”
Woods’s personal problems haven’t helped. Yesterday his lawyer announced that his divorce from model Elin Nordegren was completed, nine months after reports of his extramarital affairs surfaced.
Cadillac Crash
Woods, 34, crashed his Cadillac sport-utility vehicle into a fire hydrant outside his Florida home last Thanksgiving, leading to his admission that he had relationships with several women during his marriage. One of those women, Joslyn James, created a website showcasing alleged text messages from the golfer that described various sex acts.
Nike first signed Tiger Woods to a five-year endorsement contract in 1996. The retailer has described the Tiger Woods Collection, launched in 1999, as “Nike Golf’s top-of-the-line apparel,” with sweaters and pants that cost more than $100 on the company’s Web site.
Nike hasn’t discounted its Woods Collection apparel and probably won’t, according to Powell, who says the company is counting on Woods returning to form and being “an important part of its portfolio.” Golfsmith also has no plans to lower prices for the brand, according to its chief marketing officer.
“The challenge to Nike is that we’ve never seen Tiger Woods weak before, and it’s completely antithetical to what his brand is,” Interbrand’s Martin said. “Some athletes can ski off into our memory as stars, but for Tiger, unless he gets it together this winter and starts winning, his career trajectory is a double-black diamond,” or exceptionally steep slope.
Diehard Fans
Not everyone has abandoned Woods. Clint Utz, 28, said he owns about 15 Tiger Woods Collection shirts and has bought several this year.
“All of a sudden, so many people were against him, but he’s still the same person that worked hard and achieved things no one else has ever achieved,” said Utz, a marketing director for Landscapes Unlimited, based in Lincoln, Nebraska. “Everyone loves a winner. They’ll come back.”
Monday, August 23, 2010
Ai Miyazato reclaims top spot on LPGA with win @ Safeway
Ai Miyazato was in uncharacteristic territory to start the final round of the LPGA Safeway Classic.She was nervous.
While Miyazato normally appears composed, the jitters were evident when the Japanese star bogeyed the par-4 second hole on the Ghost Creek Course at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club. Then she bogeyed the par-4 seventh.
It wasn't until a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole that she steadied herself -- and cruised to her fifth victory of the year. Miyazato, who also led after the first two rounds, closed with an even-par 72 to finish at 11 under.
"Today was a really tough day," she said. "I was really nervous on the front nine. But after nine holes I made a birdie and it gave me a gook kick."
With the win, Miyazato reclaimed the top spot in the world rankings, swiping that status from Cristie Kerr, who finished two strokes back along with Na Yeon Choi.
Kerr chased Miyazato throughout the final round until hitting into the water on the par-4 18th. The American finished with a 70, while Choi shot a 71.
Miyazato, ranked No. 1 for a week in June and again for a week in July, is among five players who have been jockeying for the top ranking, including Kerr, Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen and Yani Tseng. The spot came up for grabs when Lorena Ochoa retired earlier this season.
"My goal at the start of this year was to become Player of the Year. So I'm aiming for that," she said. "Everybody is so close at the top, so I don't really know what is going to happen. But it's a good motivator for me.
The Safeway Classic, in its second year at Pumpkin Ridge about a 20-minute drive west of Portland, was marred Saturday when veteran Juli Inkster, in strong position to contend in the final round, was disqualified.
The 50-year-old Hall of Famer used a weighted training aid on her club to stay loose while waiting for 30 minutes to make the turn at the 10th hole. That broke rule 14-3, which meant disqualification.
Miyazato and Kim, playing in the final pairing of the day, battled on the back nine holes after Kim pulled even with Miyazato with a jaw-dropping chip from under a tree to birdie the par-3 11th. But Kim dropped two shots with bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes.
In the pairing in front of them, Kerr missed a chance to pull even with Miyazato by misjudging a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 17. Her chances slipped away with the shot into the water on the final hole.
"I just said to myself, `How could you do that?'" she said.
Kerr has won twice on the tour this season, at the LPGA Championship and the State Farm Classic. She won the Safeway Classic in 2008 when it was at Columbia Edgewater Country Club near Portland International Airport.
"I'm not going to be far off as far as points, so this was an important week for me to finish up there even if I didn't win," she said.
Pettersen (69) and Song-Hee Kim (72) finished at 8 under.
Tseng, who the Women's British Open on Aug. 1 for her second major victory of the season and third in three years, finished 2 over.
M.J. Hur, the defending champion, was 4 over and did not make the cut. The Safeway Classic is her first and only title to date. Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and Christina Kim were among those who also missed the cut.
Inkster was in a three-way tie for second at 8 under with Kim and Choi after two rounds. But that was erased when she used the "doughnut" training aid to practice her swing before making the backed-up turn, and the image flashed on television.
LPGA Director of Tournament Competitions Sue Witters said a viewer watching the broadcast brought the violation to the attention of tournament officials via email. By that time, Inkster was almost done with her round.
"I had a 30-minute wait and I needed to loosen up," Inkster said in a statement. "It had no effect on my game whatsoever, but it is what it is. I'm very disappointed."
Ryan Moore does things his own way
It's a Monday morning and Ryan Moore is in a coffee house. He did, after all, grow up just outside Seattle.On this particular balmy summer day, the industrial looking building he's in houses the Chattanooga Coffee Company. The brew is fantastic -- they supply about 30 restaurants in the area and have a few stores scattered around the country -- and it's also just down the street from the old Southern Saddlery Co. building, which now houses Scratch Golf.
The space is raw and intentionally unfinished and when I meet Moore at the headquarters of the fledgling club company that was founded just seven years ago, he's wearing a hooded blue sweatshirt and black sweatpants, neither of which has a logo.
Clearly, money and whatever fame he's established haven't affected him -- Moore still flies commercial, and later when he and his brother/agent Jeremy leave, they'll have to drive their rental car some seven hours to their next destination in Greensboro, N.C., after the aforementioned commercial flight was canceled due to a wicked thunderstorm.
Of course it wasn't all that long ago that Moore's golf apparel was logo-less, too, until he signed an endorsement deal in the fall of 2009 with Scratch that gave him part ownership.
It was an interesting decision, especially in the current age of big-dollar deals from big-name companies. Like Ping, for example, which endorsed Moore until his contract expired in 2008 and the two couldn't come to an agreement on a new deal. There were others interested in the former U.S. Amateur champion, but Moore says it was less about the money than it was about feeling comfortable with what he was playing.
"I didn't want to be a walking billboard," Moore says.
Financially, it meant giving up some money up front for potentially bigger money down the road as part owner of the company. It also meant Moore wasn't locked into playing a certain driver or putter as is not the case with many equipment contracts.
Scratch doesn't make drivers. They're known for their forged irons and as Moore puts it, a lot of companies say an iron is forged, but these truly are, done so at the hand of Don White, who used to work for MacGregor.
When MacGregor shut down, White bought all his old equipment, including the huge lathe he used to make clubs for everyone from Jack Nicklaus to Greg Norman. Not long after, Scratch hired White. The company had to knock a wall down to make room for his equipment -- that's how big the lathe is.
White's skill is a lost art these days. You give the guy a block of 18/10 carbon steel and he'll give you a 5-iron that's precise down to a tenth of a degree and so soft you can actually feel the ball coming off the clubface. It's a little like having Michelangelo sculpt you a lawn ornament.
MOORE CAN'T SIT STILL
Moore is tinkering around in the back of the shop. That's what he does. He tinkers. "It can be overwhelming sometimes if you don't know what you want," says Moore, who seems to have no real purpose on today's visit other than to tinker, check in with the company and meet with me for a glimpse into what a typical day in his life is like.
In all, Moore visits Chattanooga once or twice a month and when he's not traveling from tournament to tournament, he splits time between Seattle and Scottsdale. He'll soon reside in Dallas, mostly because it's a 2-hour flight from everywhere, he says. Plus, the house he just bought is "amazing."
It's not long before the talk turns back to golf clubs. The ones in Moore's bag, at least on this day, are a version of the company's AR-1 model. They're a mid-cavity back iron shaved down to resemble a blade.
"Jack [Nicklaus] had different sets for everything from Don White," says Moore, whose longest tenured stick in the bag is actually his Adams driver at two years.
Moore said he had "very little fear" getting involved with the club business, mostly because he grew up around equipment on the driving range his dad owned. Moore's current swing coach and best friend Troy Denton is also an "equipment junkie," as Moore puts it. Denton is the one who turned Moore on to Scratch in the first place after hitting some of their wedges.
With all the talk about irons and wedges and grooves, the kid with the homemade swing eventually takes a swipe at the USGA and its set-up of Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open.
Moore takes exception with the USGA's David Fay calling the greens at Pebble Beach the best greens they've ever had there, recalling a perfect 4-iron he hit on No. 12 that landed on the front edge of the green, took two hops and bounced off.
Moore does give credit, however, to the USGA's Mike Davis, the man responsible for the U.S. Open set-up, for agreeing with him about the course in an article in the Boston Globe.
"In hindsight, I wish we had put more water on the 17th green, because it got firmer than we wanted. A guy could hit a really good shot and he couldn't hold it, and we never wanted that to happen, particularly when it's the 71st hole of a national Open," Davis told the Globe. "That wasn't the golf course staff, that was us.
"Sometimes I'll see player comments, and sometimes you're like, you know what, they're right. You live and learn.''
STAYING LOW KEY
Before long, it's time for lunch and we head to The Purple Daisy, a local barbecue joint where the low-key atmosphere seems to suit Moore and his Scratch entourage well. The talk is mostly about golf and it's clear these dudes are all junkies of the game, every last one of them, including company president Ari Techner.
Afterwards, we head back to Scratch for a Q&A with Moore (click here to read), who says, among other things, that a hand injury early in his career could have possibly ended it. In other words, if he couldn't play the kind of golf he knew he was capable of, why bother?
Moore also explains why he wears the ties and sweater vests and the spikeless TRUE linkswear shoes and why he's a cat person.
A half-hour later Moore is back to tinkering, playing with nearly every club resting against the wall of the launch monitor the company had installed.
The launch monitor doesn't seem to be working, though, so they have Moore pull his own clubs and when he starts hitting 200-yard 6-irons it's confirmed. "I hit my 6-iron 170 yards," Moore says. On it continues as Moore works his way through his bag, hitting 300-yard 3-woods.
Needless to say, the sound of the ball coming off his clubface is a tad more thunderous than when it comes off the rest of ours. The distance control is also ridiculously accurate -- nearly every shot Moore hits is exactly 30 yards longer than it should be. That should make for an easy fix of the launch monitor.
Most of the guys who work here look like they could be buddies of Moore's and in some ways they are, given his relationship with the company and his laid-back, left-coast personality.
With that, it doesn't take long for the cash to come out and a bet to be made on who can get closest to the pin on the seventh hole at Pebble Beach. Thankfully, the launch monitor is not set to U.S. Open conditions. Still, my wedge lands nearly on the eighth tee left of the green. Moore? He stuffs one inside a few feet.
Six hours after his day at Scratch started, it's over. Moore packs his clubs and heads to Sedgefield Country Club for the Wyndham Championship's media day.
The funny thing is Moore hadn't even really planned to play the Wyndham Championship a year ago, but it was his first PGA TOUR event after winning the 2004 U.S. Amateur so he feels a sense of loyalty. Now he's going back as the defending champion.
Where Moore's career goes from here, who knows, but after a day with him, it's obvious he's content with its current direction yet still restless about not having won more. At one point, he says he was a better player in college than he is now.
No matter what, though, he'll always be that kid from Seattle who's a little different and does things his own way. And that's exactly how he likes it.
-PGA Tour
Recent rulings leaving bad taste in mouth
The rules are there for a reason, and they make golf an enjoyable "gentleman's" game and pastime around the world.
The rules, however, have done golf no favours in the last week.
Last weekend, Dustin Johnson lost his chance at a major championship because of his own ignorance of a posted interpretation of the rules regarding bunkers at the PGA Championship. The affair also illustrated very poor implementation by the PGA of America, which conducts the tournament.
And in this case you're entitled to rant on architect Pete Dye, too.
Saturday, Mexico's Jose de Jesus Rodriguez tied the course record in Seaforth, Ont., and was leading the Canadian Tour event there by three shots.
Until he simply forgot to sign his scorecard after his 61. Small thing, but he was disqualified.
The same fate was accorded LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster at the Safeway Classic in North Plains, Ore.
And this penalty was most troubling. Inkster violated Rule 14-3 about artificial devices.
Her breach was simply slipping a weighted doughnut onto her 9-iron and taking a few loosen-up swings on the par-5 10th tee while she was waiting 30 minutes there to continue her round.
A specific interpretation of the rule does not permit the use of those doughnuts and weighted headcovers during a round.
Inkster, who had shot 67 and was tied for second, was busted by another of those loathsome TV viewers, who snitched by emailing tournament officials in Oregon. The LPGA took the information, reviewed it, even checked with the USGA and then gave Inkster the bad news.
I will undoubtedly be set straight this week by a rules guru, but it seems to me that this rule is designed to disallow the use of any training or swing aid during a round.
Of course, no outside device should help a player in the playing of any stroke.
But stretching muscles (oddly, there is a provision in the rules decisions about stretching devices being permitted) with a shaft doughnut is hardly that.
The application of this rule also showed golf organizations who enforce them to be hypocritical. Why was Inkster waiting 30 minutes on the tee of the par-5 hole? Why aren't slow-play standards (another column entirely) being enforced? "A good pace" are among the first words in the rule book.
Really, what Inkster did Saturday was tend to her health and fitness, not try to cheat the rules. What's the difference between what she did and eating a banana during her round?
Will the USGA and R&A, who write and administer the rules of golf, soon start approving supermarket products?
I also fail to understand why the LPGA or the consulted USGA couldn't find a way to get Saturday's decision correct in the spirit of the rules. It says right in the 14-3 text that: "A player is not in breach of this Rule if (a) the equipment or device is designed for or has the effect of alleviating a medical condition, (b) the player has a legitimate medical reason to use the equipment or device, and (c) the Committee is satisfied that its use does not give the player any undue advantage over other players."
The rules are necessary, but they have not helped a sport gain any new fans in the last week. Obscure or odd application of rules leave casual fans confused. It does nothing to excite them.
Think about it -- does the Inkster decision help the CN Canadian Open sell any more tickets this week? Well, Inkster, the class figure she has been for a long time, will be in Winnipeg this week and will undoubtedly take the high road, but the fact the LPGA missed out on a huge chance for a great story last week only hurts this week's buzz.
The Inkster incident brought back thoughts of a similar golf tragedy, the story of Mark Roe, who was having the tournament of his life and in contention at the 2003 British Open at Royal St. George's. After Round 3, he was disqualified because, essentially, he failed to swap scorecards on the first tee with Jesper Parnevik and their scores were simply recorded on the wrong scorecards. The rule standard has since been changed so that failure to exchange cards is no longer disqualification.
It will be tough do for the R&A and the USGA, for change never comes easily to those stodgy organizations, but maybe the Inkster incident will prompt another justifiable modification to make the punishment fit the golf crime, or lack of one.
-Tim Campbell; Winnipeg Free Press
The rules, however, have done golf no favours in the last week.
Last weekend, Dustin Johnson lost his chance at a major championship because of his own ignorance of a posted interpretation of the rules regarding bunkers at the PGA Championship. The affair also illustrated very poor implementation by the PGA of America, which conducts the tournament.
And in this case you're entitled to rant on architect Pete Dye, too.
Saturday, Mexico's Jose de Jesus Rodriguez tied the course record in Seaforth, Ont., and was leading the Canadian Tour event there by three shots.
Until he simply forgot to sign his scorecard after his 61. Small thing, but he was disqualified.
The same fate was accorded LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster at the Safeway Classic in North Plains, Ore.
And this penalty was most troubling. Inkster violated Rule 14-3 about artificial devices.
Her breach was simply slipping a weighted doughnut onto her 9-iron and taking a few loosen-up swings on the par-5 10th tee while she was waiting 30 minutes there to continue her round.
A specific interpretation of the rule does not permit the use of those doughnuts and weighted headcovers during a round.
Inkster, who had shot 67 and was tied for second, was busted by another of those loathsome TV viewers, who snitched by emailing tournament officials in Oregon. The LPGA took the information, reviewed it, even checked with the USGA and then gave Inkster the bad news.
I will undoubtedly be set straight this week by a rules guru, but it seems to me that this rule is designed to disallow the use of any training or swing aid during a round.
Of course, no outside device should help a player in the playing of any stroke.
But stretching muscles (oddly, there is a provision in the rules decisions about stretching devices being permitted) with a shaft doughnut is hardly that.
The application of this rule also showed golf organizations who enforce them to be hypocritical. Why was Inkster waiting 30 minutes on the tee of the par-5 hole? Why aren't slow-play standards (another column entirely) being enforced? "A good pace" are among the first words in the rule book.
Really, what Inkster did Saturday was tend to her health and fitness, not try to cheat the rules. What's the difference between what she did and eating a banana during her round?
Will the USGA and R&A, who write and administer the rules of golf, soon start approving supermarket products?
I also fail to understand why the LPGA or the consulted USGA couldn't find a way to get Saturday's decision correct in the spirit of the rules. It says right in the 14-3 text that: "A player is not in breach of this Rule if (a) the equipment or device is designed for or has the effect of alleviating a medical condition, (b) the player has a legitimate medical reason to use the equipment or device, and (c) the Committee is satisfied that its use does not give the player any undue advantage over other players."
The rules are necessary, but they have not helped a sport gain any new fans in the last week. Obscure or odd application of rules leave casual fans confused. It does nothing to excite them.
Think about it -- does the Inkster decision help the CN Canadian Open sell any more tickets this week? Well, Inkster, the class figure she has been for a long time, will be in Winnipeg this week and will undoubtedly take the high road, but the fact the LPGA missed out on a huge chance for a great story last week only hurts this week's buzz.
The Inkster incident brought back thoughts of a similar golf tragedy, the story of Mark Roe, who was having the tournament of his life and in contention at the 2003 British Open at Royal St. George's. After Round 3, he was disqualified because, essentially, he failed to swap scorecards on the first tee with Jesper Parnevik and their scores were simply recorded on the wrong scorecards. The rule standard has since been changed so that failure to exchange cards is no longer disqualification.
It will be tough do for the R&A and the USGA, for change never comes easily to those stodgy organizations, but maybe the Inkster incident will prompt another justifiable modification to make the punishment fit the golf crime, or lack of one.
-Tim Campbell; Winnipeg Free Press
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Miyazato seeking fifth win of the year at the Safeway Classic
Chasing her fifth LPGA Tour victory of the year, Ai Miyazato shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the LPGA Safeway Classic.The Japanese star was 11 under on Pumpkin Ridge’s Ghost Creek Course.
Alena Sharp of Hamilton shot 2-over 74 on Saturday and is tied for 44th at 1 over. Adrienne White of Red Deer, Alta., shot 74 and sits tied for 52nd at 2 over. Lisa Meldrum of Montreal shot 75 and made the cut at 3 over after two rounds.
Lorie Kane of Charlottetown, P.E.I., shot 2 over 74, and at 5 over for the tournament missed the cut.
Juli Inkster was tied for second at 8 under with Song-Hee Kim (64) and Na Yeon Choi (67) after an apparent 67, but was disqualified because she used a weighted training aid on her club to stay loose while waiting to make the turn at the 10th hole.
Miyazato has won four tournaments this season and is among five players in a tight battle for the No. 1 spot in the rankings. Cristie Kerr is currently No. 1, followed by Miyazato, Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen and Yani Tseng.
Julie Inkster DQed from Safeway Classic for using weight club during round
Juli Inkster was disqualified from the LPGA Safeway Classic for using a weighted training aid on her club while waiting on the tenth hole on the Ghost Creek Course.
After the 50-year-old Hall of Famer finished her round and was told of the disqualification, Inkster passed quickly by autograph seekers and reporters without comment. She quickly left in a course shuttle.
It was heartbreaking for Inkster, who shot a 67 and was 8 under after the first two rounds. She was in a group just three strokes behind leader Ai Miyazato.
Inkster, who had a 30 minute wait on No. 10's tee, apparently used a "doughnut" weight on her 9-iron to stay loose.
LPGA Director of Tournament Competitions Sue Witters said a viewer noticed the device from the television broadcast of the event and contacted tournament officials.
Inkster was already on the 17th hole of the course at Pumpkin Ridge when officials determined she had indeed used the device. She was told when she came off the course after the final hole, Witters said.
Witters said Inkster was surprised and unaware she had broken the rule.
"The rules staff here made the decision on the rule and we took it one step further and called the USGA," Witters said. "We would have loved to have some wiggle room on that. But it's pretty cut and dried.
"Being the professional she is, there wasn't much to say once the decision was read."
Inkster issued a brief statement.
"I had a 30-minute wait and I needed to loosen up," she said. "It had no effect on my game whatsoever, but it is what it is. I'm very disappointed."
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Does Woods deserve a Ryder Cup spot?
There was a time we watched Tiger Woods dominate golf like few athletes have done in any sport. Now we watch to see how badly he'll play and how far his fall from the top will be.
For that reason, Woods, despite precariously holding on as the No. 1-ranked player in the world (only because Phil Mickelson couldn't seize an opportunity when it's staring him in the face) should not be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
We all know he will be. U.S. captain Corey Pavin already has made the decision that Woods will be one of his four "wild-card selections," although he won't make it official until Sept. 7.
Pavin says Woods is "high" on his list of candidates as a pick, but you don't have to read between the lines on this one to know it's a done deal: Woods will be at Celtic Manor in Wales to face Colin Montgomerie's European squad Oct. 1-3.
He shouldn't be. While he may have posted top-5 performances in the first two majors of this season (tied fourth at the Masters and U.S. Open), he doesn't deserve consideration for the Ryder Cup.
Woods's game has slipped so much in his year of personal strife in the wake of the sex scandal that has left his marriage and family life in ruins that the only cause Pavin would have for wanting him is pure desperation.
You don't have to be a psychologist or psychiatrist to see how much all that's happened off the golf course has affected Woods's play on it. It's evident in every errant drive, each missed approach shot and bad putt. It's in his body language and every pained expression etched on his face.
There's no focus, concentration or mental toughness -and no fight, as we witnessed at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational this month where he turned in his worst performance since joining the PGA Tour. All those qualities once, not long ago, defined him.
And it's not likely to get better soon for a player who has failed to qualify for the U.S. team for the first time in his career.
Woods played in five consecutive biennial Ryder Cups before missing 2008 at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky., where the Americans won 161/2 to 111/2 while he was recovering
-in the news
from knee surgery after winning his last major that year at the U.S. Open.
He's played 25 Ryder Cup matches in his career and taken 11 points. While he's won 10 matches, his 13 defeats are the second most by an American behind Raymond Floyd's 16 (in 31 matches).
Based on those numbers alone, even if Woods was of healthy mind and swing, he couldn't be counted on to contribute much, so why make him a pick?
The eight players who've qualified on points for the U.S. are Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton and Matt Kuchar. Of them, Overton and Kuchar haven't won on the PGA Tour this season, and Watson and Johnson made the team on the strength of their play at last week's PGA Championship. Watson, Johnson, Overton and Kuchar also are Ryder Cup rookies.
After them, those ranked based on points ninth through 15th, respectively, are Anthony Kim, Lucas Glover, Zach Johnson, Woods, Bo Van Pelt, Stewart Cink and Ben Crane.
We'd take any four from that group, excluding Woods, simply because there are already enough distractions around the Ryder Cup. Why weigh down a team, further hampering its chances of victory, with excess baggage of which Woods has a boat load these days?
Pavin should go with some feisty youth in Kim and Glover and the veteran aspect of a Cink and Z.J.
It's not going to happen, but Woods would do best to shut it down for the season and take the necessary time to get his proverbial you-know-what together.
And besides, Ryder Cup tradition has players accompanied by wives or girlfriends for on-course support and social functions. Would Woods bring a date? If so, who?
Golf avoids trap of inconsistent officiating
The last couple of days have been tough ones for golf fans. That’s because we’ve been forced to defend our sport and its rules in the wake of the stunning finish at the PGA Championship on the weekend. In the span of just minutes, Dustin Johnson went from putting for his first major championship, thinking he was headed for a playoff, to finding out he was penalized two strokes, missing the playoff and joining golf history.
(Oh, by the way, Martin Kaymer beat Bubba Watson for his first major title.)
At the heart of this stunning result is Rule 13-4 (b), which states before playing a stroke, a player cannot touch the ground in a bunker with his club.
At every tournament, whether major championships or club championships, golfers are given a sheet containing the local rules. These are special rules or conditions that exist at the course being played.
At Whistling Straits, the stunning and intimidating Pete Dye design along Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, players were told that any area that was designed and built as a sand bunker would be played as a hazard, including areas outside the ropes where galleries would be. On a course where club officials can only estimate there are some 1,200 bunkers, that’s seemingly everywhere.
So Johnson hits into the gallery on the 72nd hole of the tournament with a one-shot lead. His ball is sitting on an innocent-looking patch of sand where thousands of fans would have walked during the week. He later admitted the idea this sandy patch was a bunker never crossed his mind.
He grounded his club, played his shot, missed his putt to win and expected he was headed for the playoff when a rules official broke the news: Johnson, we have a problem. (Imagine the heartbreak if Johnson had made the putt and thought he had won, then found out he lost.)
To a casual fan, this is what is wrong with golf. Johnson was denied a chance at victory by a silly rule, one of many in the sport. (Signing an incorrect scorecard always gets folks riled up.) Even diehard fans at Whistling Straits were chanting for Johnson to be allowed to take part in the playoff. Sports commentators, even golf commentators, think it all stinks.
The Rules of Golf are there to protect the player, but it is the player’s responsibility to know them. Johnson did not.
Tiger Woods knows the rules and used them to his benefit in the 1999 Phoenix Open. Stymied behind a boulder the size of a bar fridge, Woods called on a rules official to ask if it was a loose impediment. Since it wasn’t embedded in the ground, Woods — actually, a bunch of men from Woods’ gallery — was allowed to move the rock, estimated to weigh 500 kilograms.
Wouldn’t you rather see Rules of Golf administered with black-and-white clarity than some of the spectacles officiating in other sports has provided: France advancing to the World Cup on a hand ball in the penalty area by Thierry Henry, the Dallas Stars winning the Stanley Cup on a Brett Hull goal with his skate in the crease, and Jorge Orta being called safe at first when replays showed he was out in Game 6 of the World Series between the Royals and Cardinals, allowing Kansas City to win and take the series in seven games.
Those were blown calls. The penalty against Johnson was correct. The sport and its players should be proud golf administers the rules equally, regardless of the circumstance.
-The Chronicle Herard
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Martin Kaymer beats Bubba Watson in bizarre finish to win '10 PGA Championship
KOHLER, Wis. (AP) -- Martin Kaymer won his first major Sunday in a PGA Championship that will be remembered as much for the guy who tied for fifth.
The final stroke of this most bizarre major was Kaymer tapping in from 2 feet to win a three-hole playoff over Bubba Watson.
Equally significant was the 4-iron that Dustin Johnson gently placed in the sand behind his ball on the final hole of regulation at Whistling Straits, unaware that he was in one of more than 1,000 bunkers that litters this lunarlike landscape.
Johnson had a one-shot lead playing the 18th hole when he drove it well right into a tiny patch of sand where the gallery had been walking all week. He grounded his club, thinking it was grass that had been killed under a week's worth of foot traffic. Fans were packed so tight around him that he never gave it another thought.
"Walking up there, seeing the shot, it never once crossed my mind that I was in a sand trap," Johnson said. "It's very unfortunate. The only worse thing that could have happened was if I had made the putt on that last hole."
He missed the 7-foot par putt to seemingly slip into a three-man playoff with Kaymer and Watson. But the two-shot penalty turned his 71 into a 73, and instead of going to a playoff for redemption from his U.S. Open meltdown, Johnson tied for fifth and headed home.
As Johnson was leaving the course, Kaymer was coming up clutch again.
The 25-year-old German holed a 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole in regulation for a 2-under 70 to join Watson (68) at 11-under 277. One shot behind in the playoff, Kaymer made another 15-foot putt for birdie on the par-3 17th, then watched Watson implode.
"I don't realize what happened," Kaymer said. "I just won my first major. I've got goose bumps just talking about it."
It was the cruelest ending to a major since Roberto de Vicenzo signed for a higher score in the final round of the 1968 Masters that was won by Bob Goalby.
Watson was only disappointed for a few minutes until learning he had played his way onto the Ryder Cup team.
For Johnson, this might take far longer to recover from the U.S. Open, where he had a three-shot lead going into the final round, took triple bogey on the second hole and shot an 82.
The final major of the year proved to be the most thrilling over the final hour, even with Tiger Woods long gone before all the excitement began. Woods closed with a 73 and tied for 28th.
Six players had a share of the lead at some point Sunday, and six players were separated by one shot over the final 30 minutes.
That included Rory McIlroy, the 21-year-old from Northern Ireland who was trying to become the youngest major champion in 80 years. He had a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole to join the clubhouse leaders at 11 under, only for the putt to turn away.
Also one shot behind was former Masters champion Zach Johnson. Both of them needed a birdie on the 500-yard closing hole that only allowed one birdie in the final round.
For all the clutch putts by Kaymer, however, this PGA Championship came down to the bunkers.
The PGA of America posted a notice in the locker room and on the first tee throughout the week, reminding players that all bunkers would be treated like hazards -- even though the ropes go right through the middle of some of them, and fans can pitch a lawn chair in them.
Six years ago in the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Stuart Appleby was unaware of the rule and assessed a four-shot penalty.
Johnson never disputed that he grounded his club, yet he was no less stunned to realize he was in a bunker. Inside the scoring room, he could be seen erasing the 5 on this scorecard and changing it to a 7.
A PGA Rules Official approached him before he left the 18th green and said to Johnson and his playing partner, Nick Watney, that it appeared Johnson had grounded his club in a bunker.
"What bunker?" Johnson said he told him. "There's a lot going on. I'm excited I had a putt to win -- or thought I had a putt to win. Walking off ... I think I'm going to a playoff, and I've got a two-stroke penalty."
Dressed in street clothes as he spoke to reporters, Johnson had to watch Watson and Kaymer head for the three-hole playoff, the second in as many trips to Whistling Straits.
Watson, who had overpowered the back nine with his booming tee shots, struck first with a massive strike to just short of the par-4 10th green and a pitch to 4 feet for birdie. Kaymer answered with a 15-foot birdie on the 17th, sending them to the 18th hole.
That's where Watson fell apart, driving into the rough and going after the 18th green from a tough lie. He hit a 7-iron and was posing until it came up woefully short and into the water.
"I made a bad swing. You can't get mad at a bad swing," Watson said. "I wouldn't do anything different. I play to win, not to lay up and finish second."
Lost in the maddening finish was Watney, who had a three-shot lead going into the final round. He took double bogey on the opening hole, lost the lead for good with a tee shot on No. 7 that bounced off the rocks and into Lake Michigan for a triple bogey and closed with an 81, the highest finish by a 54-hole leader at the PGA Championship since it went to stroke play in 1958.
He tied for 18th and cost himself a chance of earning a spot on the Ryder Cup team. Then, he had to endure watching Johnson, with whom he often plays practice rounds, have a chance at his first major taken away by a peculiar local rule.
"I didn't see anything on the golf course, and when the official came up, I was totally shocked," Watney said. "I thought he was coming to me about it, the way my day was going.
"Whether that's fair? I guess they did write it on the sheet," Watney said. "Man, that's a tough call, though."
About all Johnson can take away is how he finished. Three shots behind with six holes to play, he made a spectacular escape from deep rough below the par-5 16th green to 2 feet for birdie, then hit 6-iron to 12 feet for birdie on the 17th.
His tee shot on the 18th sailed to the right and into the gallery. He had no idea how badly that would end up costing him.
Dustin Johnson sand bitten by two-stroke penalty on 18 to crush bid for first major
Dustin Johnson didn't realize he was in a bunker when he hit his second shot on the 72nd hole Sunday. Because Rules Officials determined he was, his bid for a first major title ended with a two-shot penalty.KOHLER, Wis. – Dustin Johnson will never forget the 92nd PGA Championship, and it’s not likely that the fans of golf will soon forget it, either.
Playing the 72nd hole of the championship at Whistling Straits, Johnson stood on the tee with a one-shot lead over Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer at 12 under.
Moments later, his bid at first major title turned out to be a major gaffe.
Johnson’s tee shot on No. 18 sailed wide right of the fairway and into the gallery. Whistling Straits, crafted by renowned designer Pete Dye, features 1,200 bunkers.
Johnson found one of them. He just didn't know it.
Trampled by fans walking the grounds throughout the week, Johnson figured his ball had settled on a worn-out area of land. That’s why, Johnson said, he didn't have a problem grounding his club.
“I just thought I was on a piece of dirt that the crowd had trampled down,” Johnson said. “I never thought I was in a sand trap. It never once crossed my mind that I was in a bunker. Obviously I know the Rules of Golf, and I can't ground my club in a bunker, but that was just one situation I guess. Maybe I should have looked to the rule sheet a little harder.”
Johnson went on to make what he believed to be a bogey on the hole, which would have meant a three-way playoff with Watson in Kaymer at 11 under.
Instead, after meeting with the PGA of America Rules Officials, Johnson was issued a two-shot penalty for grounding his club in a bunker, turning his bogey into a triple bogey and ending his chance at winning his first major championship; he dropped into a tie for fifth.
“I don't know if I can describe it,” Johnson said. “You know, walking up there, seeing the shot, it never once crossed my mind that I was in a sand trap. I guess it's very unfortunate. I guess the only worse thing that could have happened is if I made that [par] putt on the last hole. I never once thought that I was in a sand trap.”
The bunker issue was one the PGA Rules Committee found to be so sensitive and important, that the following bulletin was given to every player in the field before the tournament started and was also posted in the locker room.
Here is the exact wording of the bulletin given to players:
Notice to Competitors - Bunkers
1. All areas of the course that were designed and built as sand bunkers will be played as bunkers (hazards), whether or not they have been raked. This will mean that many bunkers positioned outside of the ropes, as well as some areas of bunkers inside the ropes, close to the rope line, will likely include numerous footprints, heel prints and tire tracks during the play of the Championship. Such irregularities of surface are a part of the game and no free relief will be available from these conditions. All bunkers inside the ropes will be raked each morning prior to play as normal.
2. The local rule allowing players to move stones in bunkers will be in effect.
Mark Wilson, co-chairman of the PGA of America Rules Committee, explained the decision to penalize Johnson.
“When the player grounded his club in the bunker, when his ball was in that bunker, he incurred a two-stroke penalty and it didn't matter that he had grounded it once or twice,” Wilson said. “It's simply appears that he did ground it twice, but that doesn't have any bearing on the total penalty of two strokes while his ball is in that bunker, whether the club was grounded once or twice.”
The incident adds to a major season of heartbreak for Johnson. Back in June, the 26-year-old took a three-shot lead into the final round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, but wound up shooting an 11-over 82 to tie for eighth.
As he left Whistling Straits Sunday evening, Johnson was looking at the positives.
“I hit some really good shots coming down the stretch, made some birdies to get a one shot lead going into 18,” he said. “Other than the unfortunate incident on 18, I played really well all day. I'm definitely happy with my play.”
Top 8 spots for 2010 US Ryder Cup team finalized after PGA Championship; Tiger not one of them
Masters champion Phil Mickelson and Hunter Mahan, with three victories between them this season, will lead eight players who earned automatic berths Sunday on the 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup team.The top eight players were determined at the conclusion of the 92nd PGA Championship at Whistling Straits and will compete in the 28th Ryder Cup, Oct. 1-3, at The Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales.
The eight automatics for Captain Corey Pavin’s squad are as follows:
1. Phil Mickelson
2. Hunter Mahan
3. Bubba Watson
4. Jim Furyk
5. Steve Stricker
6. Dustin Johnson
7. Jeff Overton
8. Matt Kuchar
Mickelson, winner of the Masters, and Mahan -- who has two victories in 2010, including the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational -- each had their spots secured before the PGA Championship. Everyone else had something to play for.
Only two players in the top eight -- Watson and Dustin Johnson -- were previously out of the top 10. Watson was ranked No. 18 before his second-place finish in the PGA Championship. Dustin Johnson jumped from the No. 9 spot to No. 6 with his tie for fifth.
"You're playing for your country,” said Watson after learning he’d made the U.S. Team. “You're playing for the USA. Until 2016, we don't have an Olympics. That's my Olympics. I've wanted to play the Ryder Cup my whole life. I've made many a putts when I was eight and 10 years old to win the Ryder Cup. So why would you not want to play for your country? Win or lose, when we get to the Ryder Cup, we all want to win, but at the same time you represent your country and we want to represent our country well.”
Watson and Dustin Johnson will join Overton and Kuchar as the four rookies who earned a berth on the U.S. team through qualifying. Interestingly, Overton will be the first player in U.S. Ryder Cup history to not have previously won on the PGA Tour.
Overton is no slouch, though. Since 2008, he has racked up 12 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, including six in 2010.
Mahan and Stricker will be making their second Ryder Cup appearance and both played integral roles in the U.S. victory at Valhalla in 2008.
Mickelson and Furyk, with 13 Ryder Cup appearances between them, will bring the veteran leadership to a young team.
Pavin will fill out his team on Sept. 7 in New York City when he makes his four captain’s selections.
The next four players, in order, on the final standings, who are in the running for one of Pavin’s wildcard picks, are:
9. Anthony Kim
10. Lucas Glover
11. Zach Johnson
12. Tiger Woods
Kim and Glover both missed the cut at Whistling Straits to fall out of the top 8, while Zach Johnson jumped 10 spots from No. 21 to No. 11 with his tie for third.
Kim had been among the top eight through virtually all of the qualifying process until the PGA Championship. He’ll still have a chance to prove himself worthy of a pick, but missed a big chunk of the season -- four months to be exact -- to recover from surgery on an injured right thumb.
Woods, on the other hand, has played just nine events on the PGA Tour this season. He’s still the world’s No. 1 player and has expressed that he would accept an invitation to play from Pavin.
The 2010 United States Ryder Cup Team was chosen on the basis of points compiled by the PGA of America. The points system determined the top eight players for the 2010 United States Ryder Cup Team.
Points were based upon the following:
Prize money earned in the 2009 major championships (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship): One point was awarded for every $1,000 earned, all U.S. players making the cut will earn points.
Prize money earned in 2010 "Official" events from Jan. 1 through Aug. 15. One point was awarded for every $1,000 earned, excluding the major championships, events played opposite major championships and events played opposite World Golf Championships; all U.S. players making the cut earned points.
Prize money earned for the 2010 major championships: (Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and the PGA Championship). Two points were awarded for every $1,000 earned; all U.S. players making the cut earned points.
Prize money earned in 2010 events played opposite the major championships and opposite World Golf Championship events between Jan. 1 and the PGA Championship, Aug. 15 -- one-half point was awarded for every $1,000 earned; all U.S. players making the cut earned points.
Kang claims US Women's Amateur 2 & 1 over Korda
Danielle Kang had collected two medals at USGA championships in the last year. This time, she took home the trophy.Kang , 17, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., earned a 2-and-1 victory over Jessica Korda, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., to claim the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship Sunday at the par-72, 6,559-yard Charlotte Country Club.
Kang, who earned stroke-play medalist honors at the Women’s Amateur a year ago and at the U.S. Girls’ Junior last month, made a 4-footer for birdie on the 35th hole to claim her first national championship.
“It's so awesome,” said Kang when asked to describe her emotions after winning the title. “I don't know, but I even told myself I don't understand why people cry when they win stuff, but now I do. You're just so happy you did it.”
In the scheduled 36-hole final, Kang got off to a hot start, birdieing three of the first four holes. But Korda started equally well, with birdies on the first and third holes, to keep pace with Kang. Kang’s birdie on the fourth hole gave her a 1-up lead, and a bogey from Korda on No. 5 put Kang 2 up.
Kang, who graduated high school early and started her freshman year at Pepperdine University in January, held that 2-up lead going into the break between rounds.
Korda knew she had to be more aggressive heading to the afternoon round.
“I was a little tentative this morning,” said Korda. “I was getting really frustrated with myself not only because I wasn't making, like I was making birdies, but then I was frustrated at her making birdies because I wasn't used to that. All week if I made a birdie then someone else would miss. Then I went to go take a shower [between rounds], and I felt completely calm and I thought I was going to get it back.”
She almost did.
A bogey by Kang on the 23rd hole allowed Korda to cut the deficit to 1 down, and a birdie by Korda from 4 feet on No. 27 squared the match.
Korda took her first lead of the day on the 30th hole when she hit her approach shot to within a foot, which was conceded for birdie. Kang hit her approach shot into a greenside bunker and was unable to get up and down.
But Korda’s advantage would be short-lived. After the two traded pars at the 31st hole, Kang made a 5-footer for birdie on No. 32 to again square the match.
The turning point came at the par-4 16th hole, the 34th of the match. Korda’s approach shot found a greenside bunker – her only missed green of the afternoon round – and she was unable to get up and down from 12 feet. Kang’s birdie attempt from 40 feet went 5 feet past the hole and she converted the par putt to take a 1-up lead.
“I didn’t know she was in the bunker, but I knew she had a chip and she short-sided herself,” said Kang of Korda’s approach shot on 16. “So I told my dad, middle of the green. That’s all I need to do.”
One hole later, Kang hit an 8-iron to 4 feet. After Korda missed her birdie try from 7 feet, Kang calmly made her birdie putt to claim the championship.
The final featured a display of excellent golf from both players. With the usual match-play concessions, Kang was the equivalent of five under par, and Korda was the equivalent of six under par.
Korda, a member of the victorious 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team, said the difference in the final was her putting.
“I was a little more conservative,” said Korda, a high school senior. “But Danielle was just making birdie after birdie after birdie, birdies on top of my birdies, birdies before my birdies. It was a birdie barrage.”
For Kang, it was the culmination of a journey that started at the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, where she made the cut but struggled with the difficult layout.
“When I medaled at the U.S. [Girls’] Junior, I was like, I always put myself down,” said Kang. “I kept saying I can't putt, I can't do this. I was really negative. After Oakmont and the U.S. [Girls’] Junior I was like, ‘I'm actually not that bad a player. I'm not that bad.’ ”
And now she is the 110th United States Women’s Amateur champion.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Foley and Woods have practice session after first round @ Whistling Straits
HAVEN, Wis. -- The images don't lie.There was Tiger Woods on the range hitting balls after the first round. And there was the swing instructor Sean Foley right there alongside him.
What they were talking about is likely to be kept between Woods, Foley and the two other men present, Woods' agent Mark Steinberg and his caddie Steve Williams. But it's safe to say the conversation was about more than their favorite restaurants in the greater Sheboygan area.
Earlier in the week, Woods was coy when talking about his relationship with Foley, one of Golf Digest's Top-20 Teachers Under 40 who could be in line to replace Hank Haney as the most scrutinized golf coach in the world.
According to Woods, Foley was only in his group for a practice round because he teaches Woods' practice partners, Sean O'Hair and Hunter Mahan. Both the player and the teacher acknowledged it was "possible" they might work together in the future, but it didn't sound like the future was going to mean this week.
The images from Thursday suggest otherwise.
Tearful Bubba Watson fires 68 to lead the first round of the PGA
If blissful ignorance helped you get the ball in the hole faster, Bubba Watson could write a book on the topic and sell his fair share of copies to aspiring golfers.That is, of course, if he could remember what to include in his manuscript.
Watson, a self-taught player from the panhandle of Florida, managed to tie for the clubhouse lead during the first round of the fog-delayed PGA Championship at Whistling Straits on Thursday, shooting a 4-under-par 68 on the Pete Dye layout.
"Is this a Pete Dye course?" Watson wondered aloud when the subject came up after the round.
This is a week after he told a television interviewer at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational that his main goal was to make the cut. The World Golf Championship event didn't have a 36-hole cut.
"Well, I guess I made it then," Watson said.
Watson shares the lead at the 92nd PGA Championship with Italy's Francesco Molinari, Matt Kuchar, Ernie Els and Nick Watney, all at 4-under. Only Molinari was able to finish his round before play was suspended due to darkness.
Watson, 31, is a long-hitting lefty who flails away at his tee shots, then goes and finds the ball. The technicalities of the golf swing are beyond his scope, as are the thoughts necessary to keep it on track.
"I have no idea," Watson said. "I never had a lesson, so I just play golf. This job is fun to me. If I would have shot 82 today, I wouldn't go home and pout. I would be like, 'I'm playing on the PGA Tour at a major.' So to maintain it? You tell me. I kept my card for five years. And now I've got two more years [due to a win]. That makes seven no matter what, so I guess for seven years at least [my swing has] maintained."
As an example, Watson talked about how he barely practiced in the days preceding his first PGA Tour victory, in June at the Travelers Championship.
Having noticed a sign for a water park on the way to the golf course in Connecticut, Watson couldn't get the idea of visiting off his mind.
"I got to the golf course and hit about 10 balls, and I didn't feel like playing," he said. "I didn't feel like doing anything. We went to the water park and we played there for about four hours, and now we got the idea that we're going to have fun and do as much fun stuff as possible.
"The win just showed me that we're onto something, the right thing. Let's have fun with our lives and let's have fun with golf. And that whole week I never thought about winning."
Watson won that tournament in a sudden-death playoff over Scott Verplank and Corey Pavin, and although he talked about having fun and not worrying about the consequences, the victory did elicit emotion.
He talked about it that day after his win and again Thursday at Whistling Straits, where he got choked up discussing his father's cancer and a scare his wife, Angie, had earlier this year that turned out to be an enlarged pituitary gland.
Watson went through the story, stopped to wipe away tears, then quipped: "Hopefully you all don't think I'm a sissy. You know I do hit the ball a long way."
Yes, he does. Watson is second on the PGA Tour, averaging 307.7 yards off the tee. He had two measured drives that averaged 318 on Thursday, when he hit 12 of 18 fairways and needed just 27 putts. He 1-putted eight greens.
And if things had gone poorly? Watson said it wouldn't have mattered.
"I got to a low point last year, and my caddie [Ted Scott] who is not here this week set me down," Watson said. "I was mad at every shot. I wasn't happy. He said, 'You need to quit, take a week off, do something. And if you don't, I'm going to quit.' Me and him are great friends. ... Love the guy to death. And when a good friend of mine told me that he was going to quit because of my attitude, you've got to change.
"So as soon as I sign the scorecard, I love to have fun. I don't ever worry about anything. I never pout, never get mad."
Other than a few weepy moments, Watson was certainly all smiles Thursday.
-ESPN
Golf spat between Corey Pavin & Jim Gray. My money's on Pavin
That Tiger Woods. Always causing a ruckus.
Except this time, Woods was an innocent third party in a bun fight over some key journalistic questions.
Specifically, what does “on the record” mean? What does “out of context” mean? What does “on background” mean?
These ethical issues and more raised their pointy little heads because American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin and Jim Gray of Golf Channel seem to be having a difference of opinion over whether Pavin told Gray that he would be using one of his captain’s pick on Woods to get the Philandering Guy into the 2010 tournament in Wales.
Pavin says he never would say such a thing – especially to Gray, who has a reputation for pointed questioning.
Gray says Pavin is a “liar” and is being disingenuous – and told the likable American captain as much to his face at a press conference on Wednesday.
The pair had an acrimonious encounter in front of a number of reporters (and Pavin’s wife) after Pavin’s press conference. Gray apparently said Pavin is “going down” or some other term of endearment.
Gray has not revealed any tape of the conversation in which he claims Pavin imparted this scoop to him and him alone. However, it’s not necessary to have a tape – although one is always useful – to go with a story. A reporter of Gray’s calibre can take written notes during the conversation or even record his mental notes immediately following the chat. Both are acceptable. Whatever the methodology, Golf Channel stands behind its guy’s work.
Pavin is not claiming to have been taken out of context or misunderstood in this case. Pavin says flat-out that Gray is mistaken if he thinks he’d release his picks before September to anyone, let alone a headline-chaser like Gray (who’s won 11 Emmy Awards).
So whom to believe?
It’s possible Pavin got carried away. After all, he’s a golfer, not someone trained in the art of journalism ethics. Being one of the nicest people on the PGA Tour, he’s also been given a lot of slack that, say, John Daly or Boo Weekley might not have received. But it is curious that he would tell Gray before anyone else. Even with the Golf Channel tie-in.
So the focus has turned to Gray, who’s never relied on charm as a virtue. (Wednesday night, his personality was called into question on ESPN, his former employer.)
His famous 1999 interview with the prevaricating Pete Rose (available on YouTube.com) was deemed by many as too harsh and insensitive to Rose, one of the sport’s greatest self-promoters, who was being given a hall pass for one night on his gambling ban by Major League Baseball.
At the time, Usual Suspects sided with Gray – despite the public outcry over Gray’s temerity in asking Rose if he had anything new to say about his gambling past. He was simply doing his job, asking the question to which everyone wanted an answer to.
He may have been brusque and persistent, but Gray understood that if you want to be a fan wrapped up in sentiment over the pathetic Rose’s plight, then you buy a ticket. Given the microphone, you ask the questions that are needed. (Rose subsequently admitted to his betting past.)
In a business rife with sycophants, flacks and apologists, it’s refreshing to see a media type who understands the difference.
Gray did not help his reputation in the recent LeBron James The Decision schmozzle. Gray convinced James’s people he could sell an hour to ESPN predicated on the NBA free agent’s choice of a new team. The show was contrived, disorganized and Gray appeared to be grovelling even as he got the scoop of the year. It was not his finest hour.
Hence, the scoop about Woods.
Some see Gray trying to quickly get his credibility back after being covered in James’s mud. Some see a veteran reporter unafraid to ask tough questions or ruffle the feathers of fans or sports officialdom.
In lieu of Pavin producing evidence to the contrary, we must give Gray the benefit of following the rules of his craft – as his employers have done. You don’t have to like a reporter to believe him.
The only certainty? If Gray had Pavin’s personality and vice versa, this story would likely be viewed in an entirely different light.
Except this time, Woods was an innocent third party in a bun fight over some key journalistic questions.
Specifically, what does “on the record” mean? What does “out of context” mean? What does “on background” mean?
These ethical issues and more raised their pointy little heads because American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin and Jim Gray of Golf Channel seem to be having a difference of opinion over whether Pavin told Gray that he would be using one of his captain’s pick on Woods to get the Philandering Guy into the 2010 tournament in Wales.
Pavin says he never would say such a thing – especially to Gray, who has a reputation for pointed questioning.
Gray says Pavin is a “liar” and is being disingenuous – and told the likable American captain as much to his face at a press conference on Wednesday.
The pair had an acrimonious encounter in front of a number of reporters (and Pavin’s wife) after Pavin’s press conference. Gray apparently said Pavin is “going down” or some other term of endearment.
Gray has not revealed any tape of the conversation in which he claims Pavin imparted this scoop to him and him alone. However, it’s not necessary to have a tape – although one is always useful – to go with a story. A reporter of Gray’s calibre can take written notes during the conversation or even record his mental notes immediately following the chat. Both are acceptable. Whatever the methodology, Golf Channel stands behind its guy’s work.
Pavin is not claiming to have been taken out of context or misunderstood in this case. Pavin says flat-out that Gray is mistaken if he thinks he’d release his picks before September to anyone, let alone a headline-chaser like Gray (who’s won 11 Emmy Awards).
So whom to believe?
It’s possible Pavin got carried away. After all, he’s a golfer, not someone trained in the art of journalism ethics. Being one of the nicest people on the PGA Tour, he’s also been given a lot of slack that, say, John Daly or Boo Weekley might not have received. But it is curious that he would tell Gray before anyone else. Even with the Golf Channel tie-in.
So the focus has turned to Gray, who’s never relied on charm as a virtue. (Wednesday night, his personality was called into question on ESPN, his former employer.)
His famous 1999 interview with the prevaricating Pete Rose (available on YouTube.com) was deemed by many as too harsh and insensitive to Rose, one of the sport’s greatest self-promoters, who was being given a hall pass for one night on his gambling ban by Major League Baseball.
At the time, Usual Suspects sided with Gray – despite the public outcry over Gray’s temerity in asking Rose if he had anything new to say about his gambling past. He was simply doing his job, asking the question to which everyone wanted an answer to.
He may have been brusque and persistent, but Gray understood that if you want to be a fan wrapped up in sentiment over the pathetic Rose’s plight, then you buy a ticket. Given the microphone, you ask the questions that are needed. (Rose subsequently admitted to his betting past.)
In a business rife with sycophants, flacks and apologists, it’s refreshing to see a media type who understands the difference.
Gray did not help his reputation in the recent LeBron James The Decision schmozzle. Gray convinced James’s people he could sell an hour to ESPN predicated on the NBA free agent’s choice of a new team. The show was contrived, disorganized and Gray appeared to be grovelling even as he got the scoop of the year. It was not his finest hour.
Hence, the scoop about Woods.
Some see Gray trying to quickly get his credibility back after being covered in James’s mud. Some see a veteran reporter unafraid to ask tough questions or ruffle the feathers of fans or sports officialdom.
In lieu of Pavin producing evidence to the contrary, we must give Gray the benefit of following the rules of his craft – as his employers have done. You don’t have to like a reporter to believe him.
The only certainty? If Gray had Pavin’s personality and vice versa, this story would likely be viewed in an entirely different light.
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