Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods dominated the Memorial skins match today in Dublin, Ohio, hometown of Jack Nicklaus. Mickelson won all nine skins in his group, while Woods won six of the nine.
The tournament was picked up live by the Golf Channel, and was one of the most enjoyable tournaments I’ve watched in a long time. With everybody wearing mics, it was great to hear the players joking around like the rest of us do when we play. It’s a lot easier to root for guys after you’ve seen them in this type of format, rather than the usual seriousness of tournament play.
I know it’s a long way off, but the Ryder Cup is one of my favorite sporting events, and deserves at least an update from this blog. Corey Pavin was picked as the team’s captain, and has been flying all over the country to keep up with America’s best golfers.
We all remember the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. It was Tiger Woods’ most dominate performance in a major, which is really saying all you need to know.
Woods won by 15 strokes, setting the all-time record and beating the previous record by two strokes. That record was from 1862, and no that is not a typo, by Tom Morris at the British Open. He didn’t even three putt the entire round.
Matt Jones, the 30-year-old Australian who played his college golf at Arizona State, is in the lead at the Texas Open after shooting a 66 in his first round. Paul Stankowski opened with a 67, and J.B. Holmes, Matt Weibring, Charley Hoffman and Steve Lowery had 68s.
Jones shot a 30 on the back nine, which included four birdies. The tournament is being held at the Greg Norman-designed Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, the tournament’s new site after 15 years at La Cantera.
The new site has its advantages, and the weather looks to be better for the weekend rounds.
With a month left until the U.S. Open, golfers are trying to prepare for the next major by warming up at these events. But the surprising leader is Jones, whose best finish this season is a tie for seventh two weeks ago at Quail Hollow.
On his website, Tiger Woods announced that he expects a full recovery from his neck injury. He was originally worried that he might have a bulging disk, but he has an inflamed neck joint and expects a quick return. This is great news as he prepares to win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
He did not announce a timetable for his return, but it shouldn’t be too long. The injury prevented him from twisting his neck, and caused severe pain in his swing. It also causes headaches. For a guy as tough as Woods, it must have been a serious injury.
We always see professional hit shots that we can’t. Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be that way. But I often wonder what kind of clubs they’re using to hit these kinds of shots. No not just Phil Mickelson’s miracle shot from behind a tree at the Master’s, but the other clubs that are in the bag.
Matt Kuchar, who played in Tiger’s group in the opening rounds of the Master’s and won the Amateur Championship, has a video where he discusses his club choices. For my take, I think golf is all about feel. You have to feel comfortable with what shot you are hitting, and the club you’re going to use. Doesn’t matter what club you’re using if you don’t think you can hit it.
Here’s a look inside Kuchar’s bag, and hopefully it provides some insight to clubs you could use in the future.
After the green jacket is handed down from last year’s champion to the latest champ, don’t you wonder what happens to it? It’s got to be a little different than getting a Christmas present right? Is it hung up in the closet with all the other suits and the new North Face Jacket? Maybe framed and put in the living room, or given to somebody else as a gift as a special way of saying thank you.
Looks like Phil got the last laugh on this one, and really, who is going to try and be mad at this guy? This only adds on to his title as the most popular player in golf, as well as the favorite to win the U.S. Open.
I spent years trying to fix my drives. I tried different clubs and even a different stance to try and add more power off the tee. I was even just using irons and a three wood for awhile just because I sacrificed distance for straight shots. I was still scoring well, but something was always missing.
When I turned 18, I got a new Taylor Made driver, and promised myself I would fix my tee shots. What I didn’t know before, and what I quickly found out, were there were several key points that I was missing. Here are some keys for your drives, and you can find these same points on golf.com from Adam Scott.
Last weekend I played at Mount Pleasant Golf Course in Baltimore with a group of three friends. Like most groups on Saturday tee times, we had a couple bets going on and split the group into two pairs. And, as usual, it all came down to the 18th tee.
(Photo Courtesy of BMGCgolf.com)
This hole was a short par four, and only 354 yards from the back tees.
We both birdied, and still nobody was happy. Instead of ending the round here, five Baltimore courses offer “replays”, where after your round you can take your Players Card and receipt from the round and get a chance to play the same course for $12. And off we went for another round of 18.
“It’s obviously the best deal you can get if you want to play a lot of golf in a single day,” said Brendan McGowan. “You save money with the players cards already, and can save even more on the replays. I get my money’s worth for the 27-holes I play most Sundays.”
