Golfweek

Posted at 11:24 a.m. Dec. 15 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Phil Francis and Esther Choe will join their coach Jim Flick on The Golf Channel's "Academy Live" program tonight (Dec. 11) at 9 p.m. eastern.

No offense to Phil or Esther, but I will be setting the DVR. I need to watch "Heroes."

Posted at 11:24 a.m. Dec. 11 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

There's a new No. 1 in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings – Esther Choe, whose victory at the Polo Golf Junior Classic was enough for her to overtake Ji-Young Oh, who shot 5-under 139 in her final two rounds of LPGA Q-School to finish ninth and get her 2007 tour card.

I wonder how long it is before Esther tries her hand at the LPGA tour.

Posted at 2:48 p.m. Dec. 4 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

Still have not seen the elusive Ji-Young Oh here at LPGA Q-School, the top-ranked girl in the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings who is tied for 30th at 2-over 218 after three rounds. Word is it's no coincidence Oh played in just six junior events – the minimum to appear in the Golfweek rankings. It was an attempt to get her name known in the U.S. before playing next year on the LPGA or Futures tours.

Beth Ann Baldry caught up with Oh after Q-School's first round.

Posted at 7:08 p.m. Dec. 1 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

Just saw those pictures of Mu Hu, Golfweek's 21st-ranked junior, playing ping-pong with Tiger Woods. Hu and Woods were teamed up against David Howell and Paul Casey in a promotional event Nov. 7 for the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, China.

Browsing Shanghaidaily.com, I read this: "Woods, 31, teamed with Hu Mu, a teenaged amateur table tennis player, in a 10-minute doubles ping pong exhibition against Howell and British golfer Paul Casey."

Only a "teenaged amateur table tennis player," huh? I know Hu, who recently missed the cut at the Polo Junior Golf Classic, didn't have the best summer, but he doesn't just swing rackets.

Posted at 3:52 p.m. Nov. 28 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

It's now officially the holiday season, which means people have more time to look at the rankings and check them twice.

I have not heard from many lately. However, the topics of the few calls and e-mails I have been receiving are the same: "Why am I or my child not in the rankings?"

Most of the time, the player is in the database. Currently there are a total of 7,598 kids in the system.

The reason you can't find a certain player has to do with the way you're searching. You don't have to have the player's state or graduation date to look up his or her ranking. Simply search by first or last name or part of a first or last name. That works. If you try to search by first and last name and state and grad date, and we don't have record of your state or when a player graduates, it will return nothing.

And if we don't have the state and grad date for a player, e-mail me and I will plug the information in.

Posted at 9:52 a.m. Nov. 27 by assistant editor Lance Ringler. To reach him e-mail lringler@golfweek.com.

Morgan Hoffmann, who beat Rickie Fowler, 3 and 2, and Esther Choe, a 3-and-2 winner over Cydney Clanton, are your Polo champs.

For Choe, it's her third AJGA Invitational win of the year (Rolex Girls Junior, The Ping). This is just Hoffmann's second AJGA win. His only other victory was the 2004 Nike Golf Junior at Quad Cities.

Esther didn't lead the final match until a birdie at No. 9. Par at No. 12 gave her a 2-up lead, and she increased her lead to 3-up with a bogey on the 15th hole.

Hoffmann did well to hold off Rickie Fowler in the final. Fowler again birdied the first hole, but Hoffmann drew all square with a birdie at No. 3, went 1-up with a par on the next hole and never trailed after that. It's his fourth title since late September. He's also won two IJGTs and the Golfweek Junior Invitational.

Don't hassle the Hoff.

But if you want to read more about him, click here to read Dan Mirocha's feature.

Posted at 12:16 p.m. Nov. 24 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

It's a Fowler-Hoffmann final. One more quick anecdote about the two from the U.S. Junior. Fowler predicted the winner of the third-round match between Francis and Hoffmann would walk away with the title. Of course, that prediction held true. Now Fowler will meet Hoffmann, and again, one of them is guaranteed to win.

Posted at 3:53 p.m. Nov. 23 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

Rickie Fowler only had one par on the front nine of his semifinal match against Peter Uihlein, but Fowler was 4 up at the turn. That's what happens when you birdie your first seven holes.

Safe to say Rickie's on a roll.

Phil Francis is the best player in the country, no doubt, but several juniors have told me that Rickie is certainly the best ballstriker out there. I saw that firsthand at the Junior.

It was late in the afternoon at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club's driving range, a time when most kids were spending more time socializing and having lighthearted competitions than actually practicing. Rickie showed up in T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, looking every bit like your typical California kid. He started checking out another kid's 3-wood before hitting a couple balls with the new club. Someone dared Fowler to hit an electrical box sitting 280 yards out in the middle of the range. Fowler starts landing ball after ball within 20 feet of the tiny target. Finally, Fowler takes off his shoes, puts everything he has into the shot, and one-hops a ball into the box.

Posted at 2:02 p.m. Nov. 23 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

This is a star-studded final four at the Polo - Rickie Fowler, Peter Uihlein, Andrew Yun and Morgan Hoffmann.

It's good to see Hoffmann's name up there. He may be one of the most underrated players in the country. He plays most of his golf on the IJGT, where he won two titles the past two months, so he may not get as much attention as the rest of the group, but this kid qualified for match play at the U.S. Amateur in 2005 as a high school sophomore.

Georgia Tech head coach Bruce Heppler and Oklahoma State's Mike McGraw were both following Hoffmann in his match with Philip Francis at this year's U.S. Junior. When the two crossed paths, Heppler jokingly pleaded with McGraw to not pursue EVERY talented kid in the country.

Posted at 1:18 p.m. Nov. 23 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

While Eric's fingers turned four shades of blue in chilly Sea Island, Ga., I spent the day in the cozy confines of Golfweek Central in Orlando. My job: update the Web site and design the home page. Not a bad gig, even on Thanksgiving Eve.

However, this blog isn't about me. It's about my colleague.

Eric has been covering junior golf for more than three years. He's seen it all and been everywhere. This is a job for him. He's all professional, all the time. And it's been really fun learning from someone with so much knowledge and experience.

But even he gets excited. Kid called me three times this afternoon, each time with a different story about the incredible action at the Polo. Usually he only calls when his computer crashes or he lost directions to the hotel.

Good to see a little cold weather isn't keeping the man down.

Posted at 10:32 p.m. Nov. 22 by assistant editor Dan Mirocha. To reach him e-mail dmirocha@golfweek.com.

Wow. For Thanksgiving tomorrow, we get Philip Francis vs. Rickie Fowler. Then possibly the winner of that match against Peter Uihlein.

What else can I say?

Posted at 8:52 p.m. Nov. 22 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

I just got back inside after watching the Philip Francis-David Yujin Chung match, and feeling is just starting to creep back into my fingers. (That sentence took 4 minutes to type.)

Francis won on the 22nd hole, after sticking a 4-iron to 5 feet.

Quote of the day, from Francis' mother Bee, right before that shot: "C'mon baby, Momma's cold."

The quest for Phil Slam 2006 continues. I need to go write a column.

Posted at 6:12 p.m. Nov. 22 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Esther Choe just slammed her approach on Seaside's No. 8 (her 17th hole) to a foot past the hole. It spun back to three inches.

Kimberly Kim, whose approach landed short of the green, gave her the putt. Kim's chip never had a chance, giving Choe the 2-and-1 victory.

It's been a different Choe ever since she chipped in for birdie during the playoff to get into match play. Watch out.

Posted at 2:31 p.m. Nov. 22 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Just caught up with Arnond Vongvanij, who was waiting outside the Cornbarn for his ride back to Bradenton.

"I hate being medalist," said a half-joking Vongvanij, who lost his first-round match to Tommy Chung Hao Mou. Four months ago, "Bank" medaled at the U.S. Junior before losing to Danny Lee in the second-round of match play.

As usual, he's taking it well.

"I wasn't even trying to be medalist," he said, laughing. "I should have four-putted the last hole yesterday."

Time for a break. Fortunately, Vongvanij will get it soon. He's heading back home to Thailand for a few weeks in December.

He said he's friends with some professionals there who hopefully can help him with his consistency. When he's hitting it well, he can go all day. But on a day like today, when he started hitting it left, he has trouble.

In other medalist jinx news: Won Joo Choi is 5 up through 13 on top-seeded Megan Grehan.

Shocker.

Posted at 11:46 a.m. Nov. 22 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Most surprising statistic of Round 1: Sydney Burlison won her first ever match in either a Polo or U.S. Junior. Burlison beat Alexandra Bodemann, 1 up, and will play Rachel Morris this afternoon.

Medalist Arnond Vongvanij wasn't as lucky, losing to Tommy Chung Hao Mou. I just spoke with Philip Francis on the range and he joked that he shot 77 yesterday "just to make sure he definitely wouldn't be medalist." Makes sense to me.

Rickie Fowler, meanwhile, argued with one my previous posts about the chocolate chip cookies here at Sea Island Golf Club. He claims his sister makes better ones.

Matches I'll be following in Round 2: Esther Choe vs. Kimberly Kim (the winner should come out of this match); Philip Francis vs. David Yujin Chung; and Steve Ziegler vs. Andrew Yun. I have a feeling that if Francis doesn't win, the winner of the boys' side could come out of that Ziegler-Yun match.

Oh, and since Mina Harigae lost, my girls' bracket is done.

Posted at 12:21 a.m. Nov. 22 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

First-round matches I'm keeping an eye on:

• Tommy Chung Hao Mou is 2 up on Arnond Vongvanij after 13 holes. "Bank" needs to stop being medalist.

• Peter Uihlein is only 1 up on Hyun Seok Lim at the turn. Uihlein, remember, was the most surprising first-round knockout at the U.S. Junior.

• Kimberly Kim rolled over Stefanie Kenoyer, 6 and 5, while Esther Choe is on her way to a similar victory. That's your featured second-round match.

• New guy to watch out for: Steve Ziegler, who just signed with Stanford, torched Bud Cauley, 6 and 5. Cauley was the only player to go undefeated at this summer's Canon Cup.

Posted at 10:45 a.m. Nov. 22 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

On Golfweek.com: • Underdog Dirksen surprise of Polo

Some thoughts while browsing the Polo brackets:

• No Tadd Fujikawa. Last year's Polo is where the little guy from Hawaii first made a name for himself, finishing runner-up to Jamie Lovemark. I was hoping for a similar run.

• Poor Glory Yang. The girl plays spectacular golf to get the No. 2 seed, then draws Esther Choe at No. 31. Oh, match play. Makes you wonder if she should have purposely 5-putted the last hole.

• The best Round 2 matchup of the day could be Choe versus U.S Women's Amateur champ Kimberly Kim.

• Worst draw on the boys' side? Probably top-seeded Arnond Vongvanij, who gets his Bradenton buddy Tommy Chung Hao Mou in the first round. But watch out for "Bank," especially if the wind stays strong. When he's on, his low-to-mid ball flight is consistent, and certainly demoralizing to his opponents in this format.

• Who does Philip Francis have to go through to complete the Slam? He gets William Kropp in Round 1, then could possibly have matches against match-play specialist David Yujin Chung, Rickie Fowler and Peter Uihlein (in that order) before the finals.

• Quick predictions (This is like trying to guess how many jelly beans are in the jar):

Boys' Final 4: Uihlein, Andrew Yun, Morgan Hoffman, Ji Moon.
Boys' Final: The All-Rhyme Final: Yun vs. Moon.
Champion: Yun, 2 up.

(Well, that's if Philip Francis doesn't win.)

Girls' Final 4: Choe, Alexandra Bodemann, Mindy Kim, Mina Harigae.
Girls' Final: Kim vs. Harigae
Champion: Harigae, 4 and 3.

Posted at 7:50 p.m. Nov. 21 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

I think I just found the country's best cookie. Stumbling back from watching the girls' playoff (during which Esther Choe chipped in for birdie to earn the 31st spot in the bracket), I walked into Sea Island Golf Club's Cornbarn and quickly grabbed a cookie from the desert tray on my way to tournament headquarters.

I think it weighed 1 pound. It definitely stood over 1 inch tall, and was filled with chocolate chips and nuts.

Apparently, the weather is making me nuts. I'm talking about cookies. Back to golf.

Posted at 3:50 p.m. Nov. 21 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

OK. Temperatures may have dropped into the 30s last year, but I don't remember being this cold and uncomfortable.

I just went through the lunch buffet line and dropped the prongs for the hamburger buns, then knocked over a tea cup and saucer with my plate. I should have known: When I signed the lunch sheet, I couldn't feel the pen in my hands and my signature ended up looking more like "A soccer stadium" than "Eric Soderstrom."

Now that is writer's block. And I was only outside for a little over an hour.

It's 42 degrees, and Weather.com says it feels like 35. The rain and wind (I counted one gust lasting for 16 seconds) is just miserable.

Of course, playoffs are just starting to round out both the boys' and girls' match play fields. Esther Choe, who missed match play here last year, is one of five girls battling for two remaining spots, while 2004 U.S. Junior champion Sihwan Kim finds himself in the same 5-for-2 situation.

I'm heading out to watch, right after I Google "How to build a campfire with golf tees."

Posted at 2:50 p.m. Nov. 21 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Finally here in Sea Island. Feels like Sea Icicle, but probably only because I drove in from Orlando.

It was much colder last year. More wind, too.

Last year, the boys' match-play cut fell to 13 over. Right now, it's 4 over, and probably there to stay.

First-round leader Philip Francis, meanwhile, is 5 over through 10 holes. (I am heading out there to check if his left arm is broken.)

His hometown chum, Esther Choe, is currently 4 over through 13 holes and one shot outside the cutline.

Word is Sports Illustrated is running a story on Francis and Choe on their website Wednesday night.

Is there a Web site cover jinx, too?

Posted at 11:23 a.m. Nov. 21 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Philip Francis just opened the Polo with a 6-under 66 to take a two shot lead. He made six birdies (five on par-4s) and no bogeys (everyone else made at least one).

I will now say what everyone else in the field is not saying: Thank God this is his last junior tournament.

Posted at 2:12 p.m. Nov. 20 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

Is there a junior golf Grand Slam?

I hadn't really thought about it until May's Thunderbird International Junior, where I sat down for a practice round lunch with Roberto Galletti, Jordan Cox and Philip Francis. It was then that Galletti, now a freshman at UNLV, said he thought the Thunderbird was perhaps "the Masters of junior golf." He even said he'd rather win the Thunderbird than the U.S. Junior. Cox and Francis disagreed, both saying they'd rather win the U.S. Junior, and then probably the Rolex Tournament of Champions.

Francis solved the problem by winning all three, thereby sparking this Junior Slam debate. Several people at the Junior, including Francis, suggested those victories were enough for the Slam.

Since when does a Grand Slam only score three runs?

There has to be a fourth, to which many of the country's top juniors have agreed. The problem is that the Thunderbird, Rolex and U.S. Junior are all played over a three-month summer stretch, and the only other junior tournament that stacks up to those three nowadays is this week's Polo Junior Golf Classic.

It's November. That's four months after the U.S. Junior, which also means a seven-month Slam window. Some people find that unattractive. It doesn't bother me. If anything, this only means the Junior Slam is more difficult to win (It takes just five months to get from the Masters to the PGA Championship), considering you need to keep your game sharper than everyone else's for longer. (Hey, Tiger still says winning those three consecutive U.S. Juniors is his most impressive feat, right?)

Another question I no longer want to be asked: If Francis wins, is it actually the Slam? The AJGA bills the Polo as its season-opening event, so some people have suggested we'd be dealing with that Tiger Slam scenario. All four tropies, not in the correct order.

Need I remind you, no offense to the AJGA scheduling department, that it's November? My calendar still says 2006. Saying Francis missed out on the Junior Slam because he didn't win the 2005 Polo is like giving a 10th-grader a 'B' in Geometry because he failed a 9th-grade Algebra test.

My year ends after the turkeys die. After I receive at least two new electronic gadgets and/or pairs of socks. It begins Jan. 2, the day Golfweek expects me back in the office.

If Francis wins this week, you know what I'm writing about.

Posted at 7:52 p.m. Nov. 19 by assistant editor Eric Soderstrom. To reach him e-mail esoderstrom@golfweek.com.

The Stanford men's golf team announced its recruiting class today, highlighted by 2004 U.S. Junior champ Sihwan Kim. This got me thinking. When's the last time three Junior champs were in one recruiting class?

The Class of 1994 had three U.S. Junior titles in it, but they were all won by Tiger Woods, who also went to Stanford.

The other two champs in this year's class are 2005 winner Kevin Tway, who's been headed to Oklahoma State since birth, and Philip Francis, whose signing hasn't been officially announced yet even though it's no secret where he's headed: USC.

Just kidding, O.D.

Posted at 7:15 p.m. Nov. 14 by assistant editor Sean Martin. To reach him e-mail smartin@golfweek.com.

It was almost a full working day here in Las Vegas and not one phone call from a parent to discuss junior rankings. Take note I did not say e-mails. I've had three today, which is a slow day.

I am sitting at my desk working on college golf scheduling for our Web site and watching "Around the Horn" on ESPN. All anyone can talk about today is if what Texas Tech coach Bob Knight did to get the attention of Michael Prince in last night's game was out of line. Of course not – get your head up and look your coach in the eye when he is talking to you. After all, it's not like he threw a chair or the player is accusing him of a choke hold ... And then it happened ... the phone rings.

It's a parent. Man, I thought I was going to escape the day without a call. But, I was relieved to hear the voice on the other end simply tell me that his son's name was spelled incorrectly in an event this fall and kindly asked me to make the correction. And I did! This is a good day! No explaining the ins and outs of the rankings, and boy does this get old when there is an explanation right on the website. Look here first. Then if you don't find an answer, please call.

Posted at 7:02 p.m. Nov. 14 by assistant editor Lance Ringler. To reach him e-mail lringler@golfweek.com.