Welcome to the Tour Blog, where Golfweek reporters Jeff Babineau, Jeff Rude, Rex Hoggard, Dave Seanor, Alex Miceli, 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 Honda Classic, the PODS Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Phil Mickelson is using the two-driver approach in the final round, using the Callaway FT-i and FT-5 and deleting a gap wedge. Hoping to get four or five rounds in with the dual-driver combination, Mickelson said he will likely use the approach at Doral next week and will definitely use the FT-i (the square driver) at the Masters in just three weeks.
– Alex Miceli
Posted March 18, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – Funny story about Vijay Singh and Bay Hill. I was covering the tournament in 1993, before Vijay Singh was Vijay Singh, if you know what I mean. Nobody really knew much about him, but Arnold Palmer had extended an invitation to Singh to come play what was then called the Nestle Invitational.
Well, the tournament got a little crazy on Sunday. There was an hour-long weather delay, and Ben Crenshaw putted out for victory in the dark. Rocco Mediate would post a good number and tie for second, but he was long gone by the time the leaders finished; Davis Love III tied for second, too, but he was none too pleased he'd given away the tournament and headed straight to the locker room.
So the folks running the media center back then were scrambling to get a body besides Crenshaw into the post-tournament interview room, and it fell on the man running the show to ask Singh if he'd come speak for a few minutes.
Piece of cake, right? Right. Well, Singh was asked, and politely declined, his reasoning at the time being "I tied for second." So the man in charge, a former sports writer from The Orlando Sentinel, paused for a moment, thought, and then tried a different approach with the lanky Fijian.
"But, Vijay," he pled, "you're low Fijian."
Nice try. Singh giggled but declined again. Crenshaw would have to do.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted March 18, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – Standing on the putting green at 10:00 a.m., it is clear that Bay Hill is going to show all its teeth with a cold wind howling and the greens running a lot faster than normal. Looking a little concerned, Cliff Kresge said the course is playing like Shinnecock Hills.
"Did you see that J.B. Holmes just (made the turn) at 24 over par?" Kresge asked.
When you consider that Holmes started at 10 over and shot 49 on the front nine, Kresge had right to be concerned.
He also speaks from experience. Kresge played at the 2004 U.S. Open, made the cut and shot 82 in the final round to finish at 24 over.
Paul Azinger agreed that the greens are running a foot faster than they were at the beginning of the week and then he picked up his putter and went off to the unknown, the first tee.
– Alex Miceli
Posted March 18, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – There are two different types of spectators at a PGA Tour event: Those who have seen Tiger Woods in person and those who have not.
As Woods made his way from the third green to the fourth tee, a family of five – presumably mother, father, and three children under the ages of 10 – patiently waited along a roped-off path for Tiger to walk by. As he briskly passed the group, the mom and dad flashed 250-watt smiles, while the children – one of whom was perched on her father's shoulders – simultaneously dropped their jaws in awe. I literally got goose bumps watching their reaction. Safe to say it was their first time being within an arm's length of Tiger.
Meanwhile, two Bud Light-drinking men in their 30s standing next to me were talking as if they had been Tiger's swing coach for years after they watched him push his drive right a few minutes later. "Not over there, Tiger, c'mon!" one yelled. "Yeah, he was a little late coming through," the other said.
Frank Lickliter, Woods' playing partner, then scorched a drive directly down the middle of the fairway.
"That's how you do it, Tiger," the man said, taking another gulp of beer.
– Dan Mirocha
Posted March 17, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – Interesting debate this morning between a few scribes in the media center. So far the Florida Swing has featured three U.S. Opens, but which one was the most demanding?
Consider the scoring averages for the first two stops – Innisbrook Resort (PODS Championship) and PGA National (Honda Classic) – had higher scoring averages than nearly 80 percent of the stops on last year's schedule. And this week's venue, Bay Hill, is playing more than 1 1/2 strokes over par.
Innisbrook checked in just north of 1 over par (72.005), while first-year venue PGA National was nearly two shots over (71.958). Only Winged Foot for the U.S. Open and TPC Southwind (FedEx St. Jude Classic) played tougher than that last year.
Kind of makes players look forward to Doral and the Blue Monster next week.
– Rex Hoggard
Posted March 17, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – Clemson freshman Kyle Stanley has had plenty of success at Bay Hill. He won the 2005 AJGA HP Boys Junior by five shots with a 12-under-par total. Stanley finished third last year after opening with a 66.
He got into this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational by virtue of his 2006 Southern Amateur win, but Golfweek's 10th-ranked collegian shot 75-74 to miss the cut.
"It's the same course by name, but it doesn't even compare (to the HP layout)," an exhausted Stanley said.
The tee ball was his main problem. Stanley hit just 39 percent of his fairways. That made it difficult to hit greens. He hit just 44 percent of his greens in regulation playing out of the ankle-high stuff.
- Sean Martin
Posted March 16, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – Some things translate in any language. As Tiger Woods approached the 14th green at Bay Hill, a group of guys behind me started having a conversation in Spanish.
I had no idea what they were saying, until I picked out the words "Tiger," "Woods" and "birdie," and saw a $10 bill change hands. It seemed the guy was betting Tiger would birdie the 206-yard par-3, even though it was playing as Bay Hill's fourth-hardest hole and now playing into the wind. Woods hit the green, but 3-putted to fall to 3 over par for the day.
I also picked out Mark Rolfing's name in their conversation, but I don't think they were betting on him.
- Sean Martin
Posted March 16, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – After Henrik "Iceman" Stenson won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, the headline on the cover of Golfweek read "Iceman winneth." I found out Thursday, to the dismay of anyone who thought he was really a superhero, Iceman also cougheth.
Stenson, who withdrew from the following week's Honda Classic planning to take the next two weeks off, ran into a little Captain Fever last week.
"I had two weeks off and I was supposed to practice last week but I got the bug that's been going around," said the Iceman. "So I was in bed most of the week."
Stenson still said there was little rust, and that he played even better in the Wednesday Pro-Am than during his 2-under 68 Thursday.
"But it seems to be OK," he said. "I was playing pretty good."
Not OK or pretty good, however, is his caddie Fanny Sunesson, who seems to just now be coming down with whatever iced the Iceman.
"I'll send her home now so she can get some rest," Stenson said minutes after his round.
Yet another weakness! The Iceman has a heart.
- Eric Soderstrom
Posted March 15, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – Gorgeous day so far out here at Arnie's Bay Hill Club and Lodge, which means most everyone is in either golf shirts, t-shirts or both.
At about 2:15, I was ready to give Shirt of the Day honors to a little blond kid hanging on the ropes behind the 9th green, waiting for the chance to have Tiger scribble on his tournament program.
His bright red shirt, pooh-poohed Pooh's Corner in bright white letters: "I came to Orlando to see Tiger, not Tigger."
Of course, he didn't come to see me either. After asking the young boy whether he bought or made the shirt, he offered a quick "I made it," turned his back on me and walked away.
There goes, I thought, Tiger's baby's future caddie.
About an hour later, while walking back to the media center, I saw five people hanging around the 10th tee wearing white shirts over their golf shirts, each painted with a different letter. At first, they spelled out "U-M-I-N-G," which led to five minutes of me standing there feeling bad for not knowing who Mr. Uming was.
I got some help soon, as the letters "R", "S" and another "M," along with two British flags, appeared to bookend the word "Rummings," as in Mark Rummings, who was in the final tee time of the afternoon. Rummings, originally of Oxford, England, is an instructor at the IMG David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
He earned his Bay Hill invitation after winning the North Florida PGA Section Championship at Lake Jovita in August, shooting 13 under for three rounds. Rummings also played the PODS Championship last week in Tampa, shooting 81-71.
When Rummings, 28, was announced on the tee Thursday afternoon, he earned an ovation just as loud as Phil Mickelson had about a half hour earlier. According to one of the letters, the cheers were mostly from "about 50 people," made up of mostly colleagues and students who made the trip from Bradenton.
Mr. Uming, it seems, is also Mr. Popular. My last name is 10 letters long, nine of which I'd probably have to fit on my parents' shirts.
"It's gonna be loud out there," Rummings told playing partner Tripp Isenhour before he teed off. "Especially if I play good."
- Eric Soderstrom
Posted March 15, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – The early leaderboard at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill features one name you'd expect to see (Tiger Woods) and at least one that's well, pretty surprising.
Billy Hurley III, playing Bay Hill on a sponsor exemption, is the only guy in this week's field who is competing while on military leave. Hurley, who opened with a 68, teaches economics at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and his preparation to tee it up against Tiger, Phil and Co. consisted of playing the Tar Heel Tour (he finished one shot out of a playoff two weeks ago in Charleston, S.C.).
Most days, he'll teach class in the morning and hit some balls (weather permitting) or work out in the afternoon. He feels fortunate when he gets 30-degree days back home to hit balls, and even then he hits off a mat underneath a heater. He putts indoors on a track. The biggest challenge is chipping, as there is nowhere to practice to get the right feel of how a ball releases on quick greens such as, say, Bay Hill.
"I haven't seen anything that resembles green grass in a long time," he said at Bay Hill.
He wants to play golf, but his commitment to the Navy is something he takes very seriously.
"I'm a Naval officer. That's my job," he said.
His initial commitment to the Navy ends in June of 2009. He's not sure whether he'll stay in the Navy or move on to try to play the PGA Tour.
"I hesitate to say anything like, you know, 'This is what I'm going to do.' " he said. "If I had to make the decision right now, it would be, OK, I'm going to do my time and then I'm going to come play golf. I'm going to serve my country for what I signed up to do, and I'll come play golf after that."
– Jeff Babineau
Posted March 15, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – South Africa's Anton Haig made a huge splash a couple weeks ago when he captured the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand, prevailing over a field that included Adam Scott, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.
Obviously winning the event was a huge thrill for the strapping 20-year-old. A close runner-up was getting to play his first practice round earlier that week alongside Els and Goosen.
Haig is in the field at next week's WGC-CA Championship at Doral, but this week he's hanging out in Orlando at Bay Hill and Lake Nona – as a guest of Els. It's not new for Els to take a young South African player under his wing. He has been a big influence on the emergence of Trevor Immelman as a top player on the world stage, always being generous with his time and advice.
Immelman used to visit Els at Lake Nona when Immelman was just a teen. Now he has his own place at Lake Nona.
Twice on Wednesday Els mentioned Haig in his press conference at the Bay Hill Invitational. He saluted him for his recent victory, and in addressing the biggest changes he's seen in the game in the last decade, he said, "Guys, look at Anton Haig. He's 20 years old, he looks like a linebacker. You get bigger, stronger guys at early ages playing the game."
Greg Norman has taken on a similar mentorship through the years with young Aussies, inviting Adam Scott and Aaron Baddeley – even Karrie Webb – into his South Florida home to spend time asking questions and getting answers.
You just don't hear many similar stories of young Americans getting such valuable insight, time and overall guidance from our own top players.
Yet one more reason why the U.S. has lost its stranglehold in all these world team competitions?
– Jeff Babineau
Posted March 15, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – One of the best parts of Bay Hill week is Arnold Palmer's "state of the tournament" gathering on Wednesday.
Among this year's highlights:
• Player reaction to Palmer's conversion of the fourth and 16th holes from par 5s to par 4s has been a tad cool, and the "King" acknowledged Bay Hill is still a work in progress.
"Is that something we're going to hang with forever? I can't really tell you that," he said. "(The changes) might add a little spice to the tournament, but we'll see."
• On field sizes – a hot-button topic in the wake of last week's announcement Tiger Woods' AT&T National in the Washington, D.C., area would be a limited-field gathering:
"We haven't been approached by the Tour (to standardize invitational field sizes to 132), but 120 (Bay Hill's current minimum) is about perfect," Palmer said.
• On his potential status as an honorary starter at next month's Masters Tournament:
"I'm thinking about it. Giving it careful consideration," Palmer said. "I want it to be the right time when I do it."
It's good to be the king.
– Rex Hoggard
Posted March 14, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – Jim Furyk's sore left wrist is keeping him out of Bay Hill this week, but his agent is here with some good news about his client.
I ran into Andrew Witlieb on the driving range, and he confirmed that Furyk's injury is minor and he will be ready to go at Doral next week.
Furyk's injury is on the same wrist he had surgery on in March 2004, which put him on the shelf for three months. But according to Witileb, Furyk's check-up with Dr. Andrew Weiland in New York City went fine on Monday. Apparently it was just a slight inflammation from working on trying to find a new driver. During the Monday of Nissan, Furyk worked overtime to find a driver he liked. He found one, but all the balls he hit caused the discomfort keeping him out of this week's event.
Witlieb says that after his appointment on Monday, Furyk went out for some New York pizza and called his dad/instructor to set up some time on the Sawgrass range to hit balls.
– Alex Miceli
Posted March 13, 2007
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Funny story on PODS Championship winner Mark Calcavecchia and his caddie, Eric Larson, the man who spent more than 10 years in prison (1995-2005) only to return to his buddy's bag when he became a free man last summer.
Calc always has been one to use a complete buffet of caddies, and had promised a few upcoming starts to Palm Beach friend Adam Armagost, a former Tour player and mini-tour lifer who will tote the bag starting in Doral.
Larson will return sometime down the road after he works for Calcavecchia this week at Bay Hill (and will definitely work next month's Masters), but for the time being, Calc wanted to give him a grand sendoff.
Said Calc on the eve of his victory, "Hopefully, you know, I would like to write him an extra big check and then fire him after next week."
Larson made somewhere in the neighborhood of 100K on Sunday.
Wouldn't we all love such a "severance" package?
– Jeff Babineau
Posted March 12, 2007
All of a sudden, in a space of one week, PGA Tour golf on Sunday afternoons is a threat to the pulmonary condition of Milton, Fla. All that collective gasping could qualify the little Florida Panhandle town as the new site of the Broken Hearts Society.
First Boo Weekley misses a 3-footer that would have won the Honda Classic. Then his high school teammate Heath Slocum misses a 3-foot, 10-inch putt for a PODS Championship playoff berth. Both 3-putted.
If you've seen me putt, you might think I'm both the lag-putting coach and short-putting coach in Milton. Actually, I am not. I couldn't pick out the Milton speck on the map. But I do know this: Those putts were hard on the ticker of an outsider, so you can only imagine how deflated the locals feel.
– Jeff Rude
Posted March 11, 2007
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – We said in this space back in January that Charles Howell III was going to have a big year. Little did we know it was going to be XXL.
Howell made the cut on the number here at the PODS, but battled back with a 68-65 weekend and will post yet another top-10 finish.
Howell needed to play well early this season to get himself back into his beloved hometown Masters, and he'll be there. In the past, he's just "been there," never finishing better than T-13. This time around, you'd have to believe he can contend.
A span of about, oh, 50 yards on Sunday showed fans at the PODS why this is the case. At the par-5 14th, he was short of the green in 2 and cozied up this beautiful little running pitch to kick-in distance for a birdie.
Chucky Triple Sticks with some touch. What a novel concept. Now that he pulls those types of up-and-downs off 3-4 times in his round, it's made all the difference.
He made the short walk to the par-3 15th, which is 215 yards, and launched an iron into the heavens that landed softly upon the front of the green. Not a great shot, but the trajectory – coupled with his prodigious length – is the stuff that should make him a contender at the National. It's a gift not many of his peers possess.
I'm guessing he can't wait to get to Augusta. Can't wait to see him there.
– Jeff Babineau
Posted March 11, 2007
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Officially, J.P. Hayes withdrew from the PODS Championship on Sunday. But it was really much more than that. Hayes, who was scheduled to play with Brad Faxon at 9:17 in Sunday's final round, was experiencing shortness of breath and dizziness and was being attended to by paramedics in the caddie dinning area outside the media center.
It was eventually determined that Hayes would need to go to the hospital and was taken by ambulance to Helen Ellis Hospital in Tarpon Springs for further tests at 9:55.
While Hays was being cared for by paramedics, a couple of players walked by without even stopping, but Rich Beem – Hayes' neighbor in Austin, Texas – got involved. Beem called Hayes' wife Laura to give her an update and took care of Hayes' golf gear as well. Beem showed up his fellow players by showing the proper concern for his colleague.
– Alex Miceli
Posted March 11, 2007
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Mark Calcavecchia doesn't pull punches. So when asked about his reaction to the USGA's new groove proposals, he hit a flyer Saturday afternoon at the PODS Championship.
Calc is certainly not new to the groove issue. It was a shot off one of his Ping Eye2 irons in 1987 at the Honda Classic, which he won, that ignited debate over grooves and even a lawsuit. Though the conformity of the grooves was challenged, the USGA agreed not to ban U-grooves.
"Pretty ridiculous, actually," he said of the debate being rekindled. "That actually was a shot I hit at at the Honda Classic that Jack (Nicklaus) and Tom Watson and a few other guys went berserk over, when I gashed it out of the right hay (rough) and sucked it back on the 16th green.
"It's a non-issue to me now. Everybody's grooves are pretty much the same – blades or Pings or Callaways or whatever. Unless you're in dry Bermuda, you are not going to hit a flyer."
Calc had a question many have been asking: That is, why are grooves being picked on all of a sudden?
"It's not the grooves," he said. "It's the ball. The thing corrects ... You hit a slice out there and it starts dropping to the left, I'm like 'All right.' Not like the old days when woods and balls went everywhere. Duck hooks ... guys used to hit it all over the place. Now it's bombs away, straight and far. Bubba (Watson, with whom Calc was paired Saturday) is hitting 210-yard 8-irons.
"Unbelievable."
– Jeff Babineau
Posted March 10, 2007
First time I interviewed Mark Calcavecchia, he had just got done crying. This was at Kiawah Island in 1991, and he had just succumbed to Ryder Cup pressure and had gone for a tearful walk along the ocean with his wife. The thing I remember was this: The Ryder pressure was so intense, he said, that he wasn't sure he ever wanted to play in the biennial match against Europe again.
That's interesting, because Calcavecchia isn't the type who is afraid to go low. He did it again Saturday with a 62 in the third round of the PODS Championship. He did it when he set the PGA Tour's 72-hole scoring record in Phoenix (broken by Tommy Armour III at the 2003 Valero Texas Open). That's Calcavecchia – streaky. When he gets the putter going, he is dangerous. And that's what has happened the last two days in Tampa. Somehow he has had 26 one-putts in his last 36 holes.
When I look at Calcavecchia, I see a cash machine, a Scott Hoch with size and more freckles. The guy is 46 and still a human ATM. Though he's not always in the best shape, he has finished in the top 125 on the PGA Tour every year since 1985. That's 21 years in a row. He cooled off last year, having only one top 10, his lowest total in that category over two decades. Add it all up and you get more than $19 million official.
– Jeff Rude
Posted March 10, 2007
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Rich Beem was in the media center, but folks turned up the volume on the TVs when Mark Calcavecchia was being interviewed after his course-record tying 62. Calcavecchia was going through all 10 of his birdies, including one from the fairway bunker on No. 18 when he hit his approach to 20 feet. Replays showed Calcavecchia give a little fist pump after the putt dropped.
Beem didn't miss a beat: "I didn't know Calc had a fist pump."
– Alex Miceli
Posted March 10, 2007
First time I came across Stephen Leaney, today's PODS Championship leader, he won a tournament I was covering, the 1998 Dutch Open in suburban Amsterdam. I don't remember much about Leaney, other than he was good and nondescript and not much of a quote. He would surface again five years later as U.S. Open runner-up.
But I do remember a lot about that week at the Dutch Open. It was teenager Justin Rose's professional debut, the beginning of a rough start, the week after he contended at the British Open. Phil Mickelson and Nick Price played for healthy appearance fees. And there were virtually no spectators at that PGA European Tour event, at least by PGA Tour standards.
That said, if you can't have fun in Amsterdam, you're not breathing. And if you somehow ever got bored, you could count windmills or bicycles.
Not only was that Dutch Open week fun-filled, I was amused all week in the media center. I sat next to a nice Australian journalist who mumbled. A few months later, at the Presidents Cup in Australia, I understood why. There are so many flies buzzing about in an Australian winter that it makes sense for people to close their mouths.
Hence, mumbling.
– Jeff Rude
Posted March 9, 2007
TAMPA – The AT&T National event is months away, but it's already caused plenty of ripples. At the PODS event, the buzz was about Tim Finchem's announcement that Tiger's pep rally in D.C. would be a limited-field invitational. That not only caught the rank-and-file off guard, but PAC and policy board members as well. It was such a hot topic at Innisbrook that rumors of an emergency PAC meeting next week at Bay Hill are floating around.
Currently, the PGA Tour has limited-field events at Bay Hill, Hilton Head, Memorial, Colonial, the three WGC events and of course three of the four FedEx Cup points events. One player even wondered aloud if the AT&T was one too many.
– Alex Miceli
Posted March 8, 2007
TAMPA – Live from the driving range at the Copperhead Course: It was interesting to watch Brandt Jobe, a Callaway guy, hitting a square-headed driver. The theory behind the square-headed driver (Callaway's is called the FT-i), is that it goes straight, but not as far as the "normal" one, the FT-5. Jobe was hitting both. The FT-i was pretty straight and sure looked like it went far enough ... until you saw the FT-5, which flew the resting place of the FT-i drives. With the narrow fairways this week, square heads will be something to watch out for. After all, K.J. Choi used a Nike square-headed driver to win here last year.
– Alex Miceli
Posted March 6, 2007
When Boo Weekley missed that 3-foot par putt that would have won the Honda Classic on the 72nd hole, the blood seemed to rush out of his face and his body seemed to go lifeless. Last time I saw something like that, I believe, was in a Dracula movie.
– Jeff Rude
Posted March 5, 2007
Best I can tell, Mark Wilson is the house guest who won't leave. And apparently the house guest who practices his putting late at night in the guest bedroom.
– Jeff Rude
Posted March 4, 2007
When Boo Weekley missed a 3-footer that would have won the Honda Classic on the 72nd hole, I couldn't help but think of what he told me a couple of months ago.
"(I) can be in the top 5 in the world," he said. "It's not if, it's when (I) figure this putting out."
His caddie, Joe Pyland, said as much. Pyland, who fought in Iraq, told me he thought Weekley definitely would win if his putting kept improving.
They both knew the potential Achilles heel. That's precisely why Weekley has changed his practice regimen to include more time on the putting green.
– Jeff Rude
Posted March 4, 2007
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – There are no shortage of reasons to like Boo "Don't call me Thomas Brent" Weekley, but the Florida native's no-nonsense approach to an often complicated game may be his most endearing quality.
"You know, we all got a destiny of where we're going and what we're going to do with it in life," said Weekley, who began the final round trailing Mark Wilson by one shot. "When it's your time, it's your time. And I'm a firm believer in that."
Zen, Panhandle style.
– Rex Hoggard
Posted March 4, 2007
Thoughts I as watch coverage of the Honda Classic from home in Chicago ...
We think of Mark Wilson, we think of magic. Mark Wilson is also the name of one of the world's most famous magicians. This is not the same guy who took the Honda Classic lead late Saturday afternoon, but this Mark Wilson performed some magic of his own in a third-round 66.
Big stuff for a little guy. Mark Wilson the golfer is so small – 5-8, 145 pounds – you could stuff him in Skip Kendall's body with about five pounds to spare.
Know this about the Honda leader: He is the only PGA Tour player ever to e-mail our Golfweek Sagarin Rankings guru about them. And there was good reason for his correspondence: Apparently the computer got his results mixed up with those of a Canadian pro named Mark Wilson.
Now that's magic. Poof! Presto! Two Mark Wilsons.
The Prestige has nothing on this golfing magician.
• • •
I've seen the Villages commercials for the 11,017th time. In fact, amazingly, it's been about 10 minutes since I've seen a Villages TV spot. And then, too, I've seen a fair amount of Villegas on the Honda telecast. Which makes one wonder: Shouldn't Florida resident Camilo Villegas live at the Villages?
Maybe he should start his own resort, called the Villegas. I'm thinking a few hotties might buy in.
• • •
The last time the country character Boo Weekley squealed his pickup truck onto the PGA Tour, he was wearing rain pants, sneakers, camouflage coloring and the look of wide-eyed awe. Now he's back, sporting "polyester britches," golf shoes and the confident countenance of someone who believes he belongs.
He showed he has game with a top 10 last week in Mexico. Now he's a shot out of the lead at the Honda entering Sunday.
Know this about Boo Weekly, the Sequel ... it has a different storyline. He was a country novelty last time. Now he's a player. You can look at his eyes and his statistics and tell this is not the guy who finished 200th in earnings and never better than 19th in a tournament in '02.
Tiger Woods, you may recall, had a fair 2006 season, perhaps his best hitting iron shots. But one thing Woods didn't do was hit more greens in regulation than Boo Weekley. The 33-year-old from the Florida Panhandle set a Nationwide Tour record in GIR at 74.31, a shade better than Woods' 74.15, and hit a record 68 greens in one event.
Weekley may not be golf's best putter, but he is one of the game's best strikers. Here's the evidence: He also led the '06 Nationwide in ball-striking, total driving and scoring average (69.59). He didn't win, but he did co-lead that tour in top-10 finishes with nine.
That's heady stuff for someone who says he never had a lesson until last year.
– Jeff Rude
Posted March 3, 2007
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The Golf Channel did an informal poll last week at the WGC-Match Play Championship, asking a few wags for an alternative to stroke play and match play.
Some sort of Stableford system seemed to be the clubhouse winner, but we pitched a return of the old Miami Four-Ball, and there's no better place for it than PGA National and this week's Honda Classic.
Think of the possible pairings: Wes Short Jr. teamed with Michael Long; Joe Ogilvie (a Duke grad who bleeds blue and white) with Carl Pettersson (a Swede via North Carolina State); and Bernhard Langer with Glen Day (a pair of renowned snails, but only if they are in the last tee time).
Think of the scoring: Johnson Wagner and Wes Short Jr. had the day's fourth tee time Saturday and ham-and-egged their way to a 6-under 64.
Think the Gold Dust Twins, the sequel.
– Rex Hoggard
Posted March 3, 2007
Word on the range in Hawaii was that the USGA will be modifying its exemption criteria for the 2007 U.S. Women's Open. In the past, the top three players from the LET money list and the top two players from the Japan LPGA received full exemptions into the event. This year the USGA will have spots dedicated to the top three players from the LET, JLPGA and Korean LPGA. While it's true that not all the LPGA's Korean stars got their start on the KLPGA, it seems like a logical step to include the tour's best at Pine Needles. For the record, 33 Korean players were in the field at the season-opening SBS Open.
– Beth Ann Baldry
Posted March 2, 2007
Posted: 4/29/2007
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