The Tour Blog
Welcome to the Tour Blog, where Golfweek reporters Jeff Babineau,
Jeff Rude, Rex Hoggard, Dave Seanor, Alex Miceli, James Achenbach, Alistair Tait and
Beth Ann Baldry deliver the latest inside news and happenings on the
PGA Tour, LPGA and European Tour.
Editor's note: This is the archived
material from the PGA Championship.
TULSA, Okla. – Seems the Presidents Cup is a
sentimental event after all. Gary Player, the international captain for
next month’s matches, bristled a few months ago when asked if he felt
obligated to pick Mike Weir for his team since the event was being
played in Canada.
On Monday, Player passed over two of the
hottest players in golf – Andres Romero and Stephen Ames – to pick
Weir, who was 20th on the list.
“He’s a terrific competitor. I
have a lot of confidence in him. You couldn’t have a better team
player,” Player said of Weir. “If we didn’t have a Canadian playing on
my team, the series would be quite flat among the Canadian people.”
– Rex Hoggard
Posted Aug. 13
TULSA, Okla. – Sergio Garcia began the British Open final round
with a three-stroke lead. He missed seven putts inside 10 feet. He lost.
Tiger
Woods began the PGA Championship final round Sunday with a three-stroke
lead. He made six putts of 30, 12, 8, 8, 7 and 6 feet on the first
eight holes. He walked to the ninth tee five strokes head.
That's
but one difference between Woods and Garcia. Had Woods putted like
Garcia on the front nine here, he probably would've lost the lead
rather than expand it.
– Jeff Rude
Posted Aug. 12
TULSA, Okla. – More than two hours after wrapping up his
final-round 74 at the PGA Championship, Ryan Benzel, the relaxed
assistant pro from Seattle Golf Club, was back out baking in the
Oklahoma sun. This time, however, he was spectator, not competitor.
Benzel,
who was narrowly beaten by fellow club pro Mike Small for low club pro
honors, was among the horde huddled in around the first tee to watch
Tiger Woods start his march to No. 13.
“We went down to the
merchandise tent and figured you had to come out and watch this,” said
Benzel, who was off in the first group Sunday and finished his round in
3 hours, 38 minutes. “(You) can’t miss this.”
– Rex Hoggard
Posted Aug. 12
TULSA, Okla. – Ok, historians get those old stats books out.
Phil
Mickelson just shot 69, which he's done thousands of times in his life.
But he did it making 17 pars, and no bogeys. He finished the tournament
6 over par.
Just when did this guy turn into Nick Faldo?
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 12
TULSA, Okla. – Is there a low round to be had today at Southern
Hills? Well, pins appear a little tucked, but Simon Dyson already is in
with a 6-under 64, and that included a bogey-5 on the relatively easy,
par-4 10th hole.
Can Stephen Ames or Woody Austin go low?
Well, Ames shot 67 on a pretty demanding TPC Sawgrass course in March
2006 to win The Players, and Austin, one of the tour's top
ballstrikers, shot a closing 62 when he won in Memphis this summer.
He'll have to be hotter than those Tabasco shirts he wears ...
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 12
TULSA, Okla. – Who knows whether Stephen Ames can help make Sunday
at the PGA a compelling show. He might be the only guy who can. Or
maybe Tiger will just run away, running his record at majors to 13-0
when he enjoys (or shares) the 54-hole lead.
But Ames might have
bailed somebody out, that being Presidents Cup International team
captain Gary Player. There has been great trepidation that the show
might go on in Canada this September without a Canadian on Player's
squad. Mike Weir is the player everybody expected to be there, but his
play hasn't been up to snuff, and he badly missed the cut at Southern
Hills, where he needed to play well.
Along comes Ames, the
"adopted" Canadian (his terms) by way of Trinidad & Tobago. Ames
shared the lead Sunday at the U.S. Open at Oakmont (a late double and
triple on the front nine took care of that), and here he is again,
showing up high on the board at the PGA. He'll play with Tiger "9 and
8" Woods tomorrow.
But Ames may be Player's saviour, giving
the International team a Canadian in good form and freeing Player to
pass on Weir, who just didn't get the job done. And if Ames finishes
second or third, he'll move up enough in the World Ranking to finish in
the top 10, leaving Player the freedom to possibly tab two players from
the triumverate of Andres Romero, Stuart Appleby and Weir.
Then again, Player, spry as he feels, might pick himself.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 11
TULSA, Okla. – Woody Austin has a bone to pick, and it may be a
pretty good one. He's viewed as something of a crazed, unhappy player
out on the golf course, letting his emotions get the best of him at
times. He reacts to shots at times as if he's just learned he's going
to have an IRS audit. Inside a room that isn't air-conditioned.
When
Tiger Woods shows anger, as Woody points out, it's painted by writers
as showing his "competitive fire." But it's different for Woody.
"He
(Woods) is competitive. He's aggressive," said Austin. "If I do that,
I'm a loose cannon. I can't control myself. I'm not competitive?
"Why
can he get mad more than me, but it's competitive fire as opposed to
somebody who's too hard on themselves?" Austin added. "I don't get it."
Geesh. He's starting to sound like the American Sergio ...
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 11
TULSA, Okla. – If he can start cutting out what he calls "soft"
mistakes, Ernie Els can get back to the form that has led to winning
around the world and collecting three major titles along the way. He
keeps saying he's closer, and you know what? He is.
This week
alone, Els has 14 birdies – same as Tiger Woods – but stands six shots
back going into Sunday's final round. After missing the cut at Augusta
and finishing well down the pack at Oakmont, Els has been a figure to
watch both at Carnoustie and Southern Hills, making a little noise.
"When
I’m doing good things, I’m making birdies and some good numbers," Els
said Saturday after his third-round 69. "But there’s a lot of mistakes,
and a couple of mental errors. Maybe you put it down to a tough golf
course. You’re trying to put it in position all the time, and you’re
not always going to do that."
Speaking of Els, the PGA
Championship weekend certainly has allowed him to learn a little more
about the Deep South. On Saturday, he drew old buddy John Daly, and
Sunday he gets Boo Weekley.
Pass the biscuits.
Think at any point Ernie might ask Boo what it's like to hunt squirrels?
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 11
TULSA, Okla. – Tiger Woods shot 63, took a two-stroke lead and
looks like he’ll win his fourth PGA Championship title. The reason for
all of that lies with his irons.
We saw last summer what can
happen when the ball travels so far and Woods can hit long and mid
irons off the tee on par 4s. He won the British Open at Royal
Liverpool, aka Royal Yellow Brick Road, where he used only one driver.
We’re
seeing something of a replay here. Woods doesn’t need his driver much
at Southern Hills. He used the big club, arguably his most problematic
stick in recent years, three times in the second round. More to the
point, the driver set up only one of his eight birdies in Round 2.
On
the seven non-par-3 holes he birdied, he teed off with one driver, one
3-wood, one 2-iron, one 3-iron, two 4-irons and one 5-iron.
Woods says his 4-iron in the heat and humidity has traveled 240 yards and his 2-iron with roll can stretch to 300 yards.
“The ball is going a long way ... because it’s so hot and getting the right wind,” Woods said.
It
would be shocking if Woods, golf’s best frontrunner ever, doesn’t win
his 13th major title. The reason is that his swing looks so pure now.
Three people with some knowledge of his swing say he made a significant
tweak recently. You might say it shows. He blitzed the field last week
at Firestone for a final-round 65 and eight-stroke victory, and Friday
he was a last-hole lipout from being the first player ever to shoot 62
in a major championship.
Yes, we’ve seen this movie before. We know how it turns out.
– Jeff Rude
Posted Aug. 10
TULSA, Okla. – OK, I'll come clean. I made a gentleman's wager with
one of the illustrious photogs here at the PGA Championship on the eve
of the tournament.
He has Tiger Woods; I have every other player in the field.
Just wondering: When did 1 vs. 155 become a sucker bet? On the 155 end?
I
know, I know. I've watched this guy win a dozen majors up close, and I
should know better. And just think, had Woods not thrown a good
ballstriking round away on Thursday and had one of the cruelest lipouts
this writer ever has seen on the 18th hole today – preventing him from
a major-record score of 62 – he'd be leading by about half a dozen.
And the rest of us could start writing those Sunday game stories at Saturday breakfast.
Who
can catch him this weekend? Maybe Scott Verplank, who will have all the
Okies out in full force. Maybe Geoff Ogilvy (who has 12 birdies in two
rounds). Maybe Retief Goosen, who went crazy on the weekend at the
Masters and nearly made the move from the Friday cutline to a Sunday
jacket.
But don't bet on it.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 10
TULSA, Okla. – Say what you will about the season’s final major –
omnipresent seasonal heat, waning interest in golf due to the onset of
football season – but the PGA Championship always ponies up its share
of tales within the tale.
Lost amid the John Daly buzz that
consumed most of Thursday’s newsprint was a drama among potential U.S.
Presidents Cup players.
Lucas Glover’s first-round 70 may have
locked up his spot on Capt. Jack’s team. To pass Glover, John Rollins
(No. 10 in points), Brett Wetterich (11), Mark Calcavecchia (13),
Hunter Mahan (14) and Chad Campbell (15) needed the former Clemson star
to miss the cut which didn’t seem likely.
Mahan – perhaps the
hottest player on Tour right now and an interesting option when Jack
Nicklaus starts mulling his captain’s picks – had the best first round
(71) among those trying to close on Glover.
– Rex Hoggard
Posted Aug. 10
TULSA, Okla. – Call it a hunch, but we don’t expect to see Graeme
Storm – the former Walker
Cupper-turned-cake-factory-worker-turned-unlikely-PGA-front-runner – on
a leaderboard come Sunday here in the “Heat of America.”
Triple-digit
temperatures and a schedule that has seen the Englishman on the road
for eight-consecutive weeks will likely sink Storm. Consider countryman
Anthony Wall’s plight on Thursday.
After nine lackluster holes,
Wall was cooked and bolted Southern Hills. As he headed for the parking
lot he muttered: “I’ve never quit anything in my life, but I can’t go
on.”
– Rex Hoggard
Posted Aug. 9
TULSA, Okla. – Do you have trouble staying awake on Thanksgiving
Weekend, having just eaten all the white meat, a heap of cranberry
sauce and two big bowls of stuffing from the leftover shelf on the
fridge?
Well, blame golf for not giving you any help.
This year's Skins Game lineup: Stephen Ames, Fred Couples, Zach Johnson and Brett Wetterich.
Man, that really moves the needle ...
And
if the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, to be played this year in Bermuda in
mid-October, adds, say, Woody Austin to its current major lineup (Zach
Johnson, Angel Cabrera, Padraig Harrington) then I might just consider
giving up my cable package this winter.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 9
TULSA, Okla. – The first-day leaderboard at a major championship
never looks like a last-day leaderboard. In fact, sometimes a opening
leaderboard resembles fiction.
Thursday at the PGA Championship
at Southern Hills was one of those days when the leading storylines
read like a novel. At one point late in the afternoon the top three
players on the scoreboard carried these thumbnails:
• Englishman
who upon losing his PGA European Tour card in 2002 worked in a cream
cake factory to make ends meet. He is Graeme Storm, first-round leader.
•
Porky American folk hero who likes cream cakes and who prepared for the
PGA by playing slots at the nearby Cherokee Casino and playing exactly
no practice holes at Southern Hills. He asked a friend before teeing
off Thursday, “Where’s the first tee?” He’s someone who has missed the
cut in 10 of his last 12 PGA Championship starts and hasn’t finished
better than 16th this year. You know him as John Daly, tortured soul,
two-time major champion and story of the day with a 67.
• Former
PGA Tour player and current college golf coach who until this week
hadn’t played in a tournament in six weeks. Then he embarked on a golf
overdose this week, playing the Illinois Open Monday-Wednesday,
including 36 holes the last day while winning that event for the third
year in a row. He flew to Tulsa on Wednesday night and the next day
birdied three of the first six holes of the PGA. He is Mike Small,
Illinois coach.
Welcome to Thursday at a major.
– Jeff Rude
Posted Aug. 9
TULSA, Okla. – As scorecards go, Geoff Ogilvy's was a bit uneven on
the opening day of the PGA Championship. You won't find many odder
ones. Ogilvy made six 5's, seven 3's, a deuce and only four 4's. That's
one way to shoot 69.
– Jeff Rude
Posted Aug. 9
TULSA, Okla. – Don't know if Angel Cabrera and Andres Romero
will share a plane ride home to Argentina on Friday, but here's a hunch
on one topic of conversation: Southern Hills' 200-yard sixth hole.
Cabrera,
the U.S. Open champion, went for a 10 there – not a misprint, folks. A
short time later, Romero, who nearly won the British Open, made a
triple-bogey 6 there.
How do you say "Ouch" in espanol?
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 9
TULSA, Okla. – Sights and sounds from the first inning of the 89th PGA Championship:
•
Cruising at 2 under through nine holes, Colin Montgomerie overcooked
his drive at No. 1 (his 10th hole) into the trees down the left side of
the fairway. The normally stone-faced Scot didn’t miss a beat, “Well,
it’s in the shade.”
• Nearing mid-day and a black helicopter
circled high over Southern Hills. When asked if he had a bit of an
air-traffic problem, PGA tournament director Kerry Haigh deadpanned,
“It will soon be a former problem very soon.”
• Bob Estes,
currently the fourth alternate waiting in wings, was seen pacing the
Southern Hills parking lot. Estes was likely watching closely as Jim
Furyk teed off at 8:30 a.m. Furyk had been questionable after
withdrawing from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. No luck, Furyk gave
it a go and was 3 over after 10 holes.
– Rex Hoggard
Posted Aug. 9
TULSA, Okla. – Difference between the USGA and the PGA of America
when it comes to setting up golf courses? The PGA lets the players
play, keeps the rough manageable, and doesn't seem so concerned about
tricking up a place so that birdies are an endangered species.
How
many birdies are they making in the early going at the 89th PGA
Championship? Consider this: Heath Slocum made a triple bogey on his
second hole, and he's on the leaderboard. He's made four birdies and is
on the board at 1 under.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 9
TULSA, Okla. – In case you haven't noticed, the hot topic in Tulsa
this week – pun intended – is the heat. But weather.com says it's
"only" 88 degrees right now, a little past 10 a.m., even though it
feels about 10 degrees warmer. Truth is, as Tulsa World senior
columnist John Klein pointed out in the local paper this morning, it's
hot everywhere.
Two years ago in New Jersey, at
Baltusrol, it was hotter than this. And Kenny Mangum, the affable
director or golf courses and grounds at Atlanta Athletic Club, which
will play host the 2011 PGA, joked to somebody on the grounds at
Southern Hills on Thursday that he was glad to be in a place where it
was "cool."
Projected heat index in Atlanta on Thursday: 113.
Ouch.
After writing this, I need to go get some ice water.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 9
TULSA, Okla. – On the Southern Hills driving range at 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, exactly no players were practicing in the 100-degree heat on
the eve of a major championship. So I deduced that no one needs to find
it entering the PGA Championship.
Unless "it" is air conditioning.
– Jeff Rude
Posted Aug. 8
TULSA, Okla. – Guess players are really taking this heat thing to heart.
Just
made one last sweep of the driving range and putting green, and –
despite the fact it's not even 7 p.m. and there is plenty of daylight
left – there was not a single soul practicing.
Not one. The last man to leave was Todd Hamilton, who needs to hit range pellets these days.
Conversely,
there was a logjam early in the morning, with eight guys lined up to
play at 6:15 a.m., a time usually reserved for Tiger. This time, he got
beaten to the punch.
So where the heck was Vijay? He might
still have been working, but he traded in his golf duds for a suit and
headed into the traditional Tuesday Champions Dinner.
Saw only
one car missing from the past champions that are here in Tulsa: That of
1991 champ John Daly. He said a few years ago at St. Andrews that he's
not big on wearing ties, believe it or not.
Another tradition lives on.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 7
TULSA, Okla. – It's 100 degrees here and the forecast for the rest
of the week isn't much different. In fact, as a colleague said, the
five-day forecast looks something like Rex Hoggard's handicap card: 99,
100, 101, 100 and 101. Except when Hoggard is playing in Scotland and
then plays unconsciously well with his pop-up cap and fleecing his
friends with all those strokes he gets.
It's so hot here that
Dean Blevins, local sportscaster, fainted yesterday. And Blevins is in
decent shape at 51 and is used to this stuff. In fact, he used to be
Oklahoma's starting quarterback. This guy used to go through Oklahoma
two-a-days in 100-degree heat and he faints. What hope does that leave
for the rest of us?
– Jeff Rude
Posted Aug. 7
TULSA, Okla. – First look at the new-look Southern Hills and the
early reviews are encouraging, but then that’s not much of a surprise.
Simply put, the PGA of America gets it right when it comes to course
setup.
The key in Tulsa seems to be relatively tame rough that
will encourage bold, if not misguided, recovery shots to small, hard
greens and shaved “run off” areas around putting surfaces that bring
previously benign hazards into play.
“It tests your ability to
drive the ball in play and tests your ability to make putts and
strategically attack certain pins and play away from others,” Phil
Mickelson said.
One magazine went so far as to compare the Perry Maxwell design to Royal Melbourne in Australia.
“With
the rough at this height (2 3/4 inches), you’re actually more inclined
to hit driver because you’d rather have a wedge than a 6-iron to one of
these greens with the sides shaved,” said Dale Lynch, Geoff Ogilvy’s
swing coach. “I would say you’re seeing a bit more of these types of
set ups. I’d like to see them shave all the rough.”
I’m guessing Tiger Woods – who ranks a rank 169th in driving accuracy – is a fan of less rough as well.
– Rex Hoggard
Posted Aug. 7
TULSA, Okla. – This is the fifth time in his career Tiger Woods has
arrived to the PGA Championship having not captured any of the three
previous majors in a season. His conversion rate in four previous trips
down this road: 25 percent. He did land the PGA at Medinah in '99,
which touched off a pretty torrid run (seven victories in 11 major
starts).
In 1998, 2003 and 2004, he didn't come close to
breaking his 0-for major seasons in "Glory's Last Shot." The best
finish of the bunch was a tie for 10th at Sahalee in '98.
Certainly
he's hungry to win. As he said Tuesday at Southern Hills, you can win
no other tournaments in a season, capture a major, and consider it a
great year.
He now has won four times in 12 starts this season, but no majors.
"Golf-wise, it's been pretty good, but not great," he said.
And
asked if there are any holes here at Southern Hills that have him
"licking his chops" as he readies for the opening round Thursday, Woods
didn't hesitate.
"Yep," he said. "All 18."
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 7
TULSA, Okla. – Digital readout in rental car says it all “103 degrees.”
Let
the bad jokes begin. How hot is it at Southern Hills? PGA rookie Brandt
Snedeker arrived here in the heart of America on Monday, walked to his
courtesy car and drove to his hotel.
That’s it, no punchline.
– Rex Hoggard
Posted Aug. 7
Memo to Rory Sabbatini:
Believe me, as a representative who
has to tote a notepad around for a living and sometimes mistakes Tour
players for Stepford Wives whose batteries have run low, we appreciate
your candor.
You want Tiger Woods. Go get ‘em, boy. Appreciate your fire.
But
as someone who wants to see you fare a little better in these matchups,
at least making them interesting, a little advice: In the future, you
might not want to rattle Tiger’s cage so hard. He's got a long memory.
You might consider going about your hunt a little more quietly.
Like, say, Nick O’Hern might. He’s done OK against the Great One.
Actually,
a friend told me he just got back from Barnes & Noble Bookstore a
few minutes ago to pick up the hottest selling book on the shelves. And
no, it’s not about Harry Potter and any Deathly Hallows, whatever – or
whomever – that may be.
It’s actually titled “How Not to Motivate a Tiger” – co-authored by Sabbatini and Stephen Ames.
Ba dum pum.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 6
Call it the Weekend of the Blowout.
Tiger Woods by eight
shots at the WGC-Bridgestone, Steve Flesch by five in Reno, Lorena
Ochoa by four at St. Andrews, Brad Elder by four at the Nationwide
event in Wichita, Per-Ulrik Johansson by six in Russia . . . you get
the picture.
So a wise guy who holds the Champions Tour in a special place in his heart made sure to call the Golfweek offices on Monday and make his plea.
“Hey, at least the Champions Tour had a little drama,” he cracked.
He’s right. D.A. Weibring birdied the last three holes to beat Jay Haas by a shot. Right down to the wire.
Chalk one up for the old guys.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted Aug. 6
The Tour Blog archive
Click here for the British Open and Women’s British Open blogs.
Click here for the AT&T National, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open.
Click here for the U.S. Open blog.
Click here for the Players Championship and the run-up to the U.S. Open.
Click here for the Masters blog.
Click here for the Kraft Nabisco and the run-up to Augusta.
Click here for the Florida Swing.
Click here for the second half of the West Coast Swing.
Click here for the first half of the West Coast Swing.
Click here for the kick off of the season in Hawaii.
Posted: 11/13/2007
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