Tag Archives: Sergio Garcia

Scouting Report: Bay Hill Invitational

by Scott

arnold-palmer-invitational-logoThe last leg of the Florida swing gets underway Thursday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, which has traditionally been the final tuneup for a handful of notable players prior to the Masters just three weeks away. The weather looks good for the first two days heading into the weekend, with temps in the low-mid 70′s and partly sunny skies, but by the weekend it’ll be noticeably warmer with increased winds and more probability of isolated thunderstorms, particularly during Sunday’s final round.

All eyes will obviously be on Tiger Woods this week, and for good reason – there’s not a course in the world where Woods has felt more comfortable and enjoyed more success than Bay Hill. A win Sunday will earn him his 8th career win in the event, and it would also move him into a familiar spot that he hasn’t been since the last week of October back in 2010 – the top spot in the official world golf rankings again. So what exactly is it about Bay Hill that brings out the best in Tiger? In a word – putting. As we saw 2 weeks ago in the Cadillac Championship, Woods feels right at home on the bermuda surfaces, and his putting so far this season has been right on the money. Given a much stronger form with regard to both his tee game and iron play, in addition to what appears to be the return of a confident putting stroke, the field this week will have their work cut out for them keeping Tiger out of the winner’s circle Sunday evening.

But…..

5 Players Worth Keeping an Eye On

Sergio Garcia: enjoying a nice stretch of solid playing coming into this week, having finished T7 last week in Tampa and T3 the week prior in Doral. He’s obviously been considered one of the top ball strikers in the game year in and year out for much of his career, but the modified claw putting grip has definitely rejuvenated his game the past two seasons in particular. He’ll need a steady hand on the quick, grainy bermuda greens this week, but he’s fared surprisingly well in this tournament in recent years, finishing inside the top-10 on 4 of his last 6 appearances here.

Hunter Mahan: one of those solid players, somewhat like Justin Rose, who tends to fly under the radar until Saturday afternoon. Hunter’s gotten off to a solid start this season, finishing T8 in the Northern Trust Open and then finishing 2nd in the World Matchplay back in February. He’s not fared particularly well at Bay Hill over the years, with his best showing coming back in 2008 when he finished T6. But I think he’s due for a good week here, and he’s hitting a lot of greens so far this season, which will serve him well this week.

Bubba Watson: finished T4 in this event last season, leading the field in driving distance and T5 in greens in regulation. He finished T18 two weeks ago at the Cadillac Championship, and could easily find himself in contention Sunday if he can find some momentum with the putter. He’s entering the final stretch before his title defense at Augusta in just a few short weeks, so I think he’ll be a little more focused than usual this week.

Justin Rose: has responded to a great 2012 campaign with a T4 and a T8 in his last two starts this season. Since 2010, Rose has enjoyed 4 wins, 9 top-5′s and 18 top-10′s, making him a very safe pick in just about every event he plays. There’s absolutely nothing to not like about his game, although his putting can be a bit streaky. He finished T-15 last season at Bay Hill and T-3 here in 2011. If his stroke is on this week, he could be the one player in the field that everyone else forgets about until Sunday, as he continues to be one of the most overlooked players playing the game.

Keegan Bradley: starting to show signs of life after a sluggish start this season, with a T4 at the Honda Classic and a 7th place finish at Doral two weeks ago. The anchoring issue has distracted his confidence on the greens, but he seems to be finding his form again. He’s obviously got the game to win anywhere on any given week, and I think he’s playing a course that suits his style of play.

 

Before closing, I thought I’d share a neat interview with Arnold Palmer, courtesy of Golf.com. A lot of you are familiar with my personal story involving Mr. Palmer several years ago, albeit happenstance at the 2000 US Senior Open at Saucon Valley. I’ll spare you the details, only to say that it more than reinforced why I think he’s the greatest ambassador the game has ever known.

Take a couple of minutes and check out Arnie’s Scrapbook HERE. You won’t be disappointed.

As for me, I’ll be out of the office for the next few days, but will resume Monday and offer my post-tournament thoughts about what happened over the weekend.

Until then, may it be warmer and dryer where you are than where I am.

 

 

Sergio: “I’m Not Good Enough for the Majors”

by Scott

Courtesy of Matt Slocum

You can take a player out of the game, but you’ll never take the game out of a player.

Unless it happens to be Sergio Garcia, that is.

Love him or loathe him, he wears his emotions on his sleeve and he’ll tell you how he really feels. Of which, mind you, makes his candid personal assessment of his career following his T12 finish last Sunday at the Masters seem all the more credible. And it would also make Garcia an interesting case study for any number of renowned sports psychologists, a challenging study if not an impossible one, to better figure out exactly how a world-class player with an abundance of talent could seem so frustrated and miserable with his performance in the game’s biggest events over the years. But to be fair, and taking nothing away from any player who has endured the pressures associated with 72 holes of major championship golf well enough to remove the top item from their career bucket lists, I can understand the frustration. We need to look no further than Shaun Micheel, whose only victory in his 20-yr career came back in the 2003 PGA Championship, to find some small orb of sympathy for the Spaniard.

But as those of us familiar with the game of golf at just about every level can attest to – it’s not just about the talent at one’s disposal, but equally as much about having the right attitude. Having the right attitude is always important, but it becomes even more important when things don’t go quite as expected. Unfortunately for Garcia – he’s had numerous opportunities to learn that over his 13-year career, but the concept continues to elude him. Expectations lead to hopes, and when those hopes don’t materialize – they often lead to frustration. After a number of years of frustration, it turns into bitterness. That bitterness has long been in the process of stealing the spirit of El Niño.

Most of us recall the timeout that he gave himself two seasons ago, the self-induced hiatus that essentially assured him that he wouldn’t be playing in the one event that he’s excelled the highest at throughout his career – the Ryder Cup. Garcia admitted that he was on the verge of burnout for the first time in his career, needing a few months away from the game. “I need the break,” he said. “I need to miss the game a little bit.” He did make the trip to Celtic Manor with the European team that year, albeit the role as a captain’s assistant and cheerleader, not a teammate. He was ranked 46th in the world at the time, on the verge of falling out of the top-50. No doubt, the 2-month break was needed.

Proof of that came near the end of last season, when Garcia did something that he’d never done prior in his career: winning back-to-back weeks on the European Tour, winning the Castello Masters and then winning the Andalucia Masters the following week. Things seemed to be turning the corner, and he quickly moved up the world rankings once again to 21st.

And then came last Saturday at Augusta, with those major championship demons looking over his shoulder.

Garcia felt his way around Augusta National on Thursday, carding 5 birdies in his opening round. Unfortunately he would likewise card 3 bogeys and a double, putting him at level-par after Day 1. Friday would be a different story, however. On a day that proved to be incredibly difficult with the wind and the soft conditions making the course play significantly longer, Sergio carded only 2 bogeys on the day, and kicked in 6 birdies for a solid round of 4-under 68. Just like that he was only a few shots off the lead and in great position heading into the weekend, plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Except he wasn’t. After his solid round on Friday, Garcia set the stage for what lied ahead on Saturday. “I don’t know if I’m ready to win. I’ll see. We’ll see. Depends how I play tomorrow, and then it depends how I go out there on Sunday and how I play,” he said. “I wish I could tell you I’m ready to win, but I really don’t know. So I’m just going to give it my best try, and you know, hopefully that will be good.” 

He wasn’t exactly oozing confidence.

Then came the horrible start Saturday morning, as he would card bogeys on three of his first four holes. Garcia made the turn at 4-over 40, and could only manage 1 stroke better than par coming in, signing for a 3-over 75 and essentially shooting himself out of the tournament. Afterward, his frustrations were captured by some Spanish reporters, as Sergio told them, “That’s the reality. I’m not good enough and today I know it. I’ve been trying for 13 years and I don’t feel capable of winning,” he said. “I don’t know what happened to me. Maybe it’s something psychological… after 13 years, my chances are over. I’m not good enough for the majors. That’s it.”

He would go on to shoot 1-under 71 on Sunday to finish T12, but Garcia found nothing worth taking away from what he essentially deemed yet another miserable opportunity squandered in a major, and true to form – he wouldn’t downplay his comments from a day earlier. “Everything I say, I say it because I feel it. If I didn’t mean it, I couldn’t stand here and lie like a lot of the guys do. If I felt like I could win, I would do it,” Garcia said. “Unfortunately at the moment, unless I get really lucky in one of the weeks, I can’t really play much better than I played this week. And I’m going to finish 13th or 15th. What does that show you?”

It shows us that the 2-month hiatus, in reality, did very little. It reinforces the point that an abundance of talent can’t overcome an attitude that is often so misaligned with that level of talent that we consider the talent itself wasted.

It’s why guys like Paul Goydos can shoot 59 and still contend in a tournament with players half his age. It’s why guys like Tommy 2-Gloves Gainey can take such an inferior homemade swing and earn a handsome living playing golf at that level. It’s why players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, and Jim Furyk have enjoyed the careers that they’ve enjoyed, that genuine belief that they’re better than one bad round or a few bad weeks. Each of those guys have overcome strife in their lives and careers at some point to prove that not only can they still win, they can still win the big ones. It’s not about lying to one’s self, but believing in one’s self.

But I believe you, Sergio. I don’t think you’ll ever win a major. And the reason I believe that is because you do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday at Bay Hill: Woods Shoots 65, Tied for Lead

by Scott

Fred Vuich / SI

After his round Thursday, Tiger said something that you would typically expect someone to say who’s won this tournament half a dozen times: “This course just fits my eye.” Of course, Woods claimed that he left some shots out there in his opening round but still managed 3-under 69. On Friday, he finds himself in familiar territory at Bay Hill – on top of the leaderboard – thanks to a flashy 7-under 65 that he claimed afterward could’ve been even lower. Woods began his 2nd round with 3 consecutive pars, before making a 7 footer for his first birdie on the day on the par5 4th. It would be a sign of things to come. He dialed in his approach on the very next hole to within 11 feet, making another birdie, and would also go on to birdie the next two holes to go out in 4-under 32. Another birdie came at the par5 12th after reaching the green in two. One of the popular Tiger soundbites that’s making the rounds this season has been, “My misses are much better.” Indeed they are. After piping a 300+ yard tee shot on the par5 16th, Woods only had 199 yards into the green for his 2nd shot, a definite green-light special. Within milliseconds of the ball leaving the club on his 2nd shot, he turned away in disgust and took a swipe at what was left of the divot left behind. This time last year we would’ve expected to see his ball bounding into a hazard after displaying such emotion, but a year later – it was safely on the green.  He 2-putted for his 6th birdie on the day, and would back it up with a phenomenal mid-iron to within 15 feet on the 220-yard par3 17th, getting to 7-under. He nearly drained a 23-footer for birdie on the final hole, the most difficult hole of the tournament thus far, but two spike marks just a few feet from the cup took it off line just enough to miss.

But with a 2nd round score of 7-under 65 giving him a share of the lead heading into the weekend, Woods is looking more and more like the player who used to own the place, and starting to sound a little more like him too. “It was a solid round of golf, (but) I felt like I actually hit it better yesterday than I did today,” he said. “I made more putts today for sure. I felt great over the putter, my speed was good. I left a couple putts dead short, right in the center of the hole. Actually it really could have been a really low round today. A lot of positives today.“

Woods shares the lead with Charlie Wi, who played cautiously for much of his round on Friday before kicking it in gear and birdieing 4 of the last 6 holes to post 4-under 68. “I played really well. You know, I didn’t hit the ball quite as well as I did yesterday, but I was able to shoot 4-under, very pleased,” Wi said. “My ball-striking has been pretty consistent. It’s just a matter of making putts. My pace has been really good.” Wi will be sharing the spotlight with Tiger on Saturday, both enjoying a 1-shot lead heading into the 3rd round.

Jason Dufner and Graeme McDowell are T2nd at 9-under, only a shot back of co-leaders Woods and Wi. Dufner shot 3-under 69 on Friday, despite playing the par5′s at even par on the day. The par5′s aside, Dufner’s game continues to display the confidence needed to get his first Tour win, which he’s gunning for this weekend. “The biggest thing is I’m just really comfortable with where my game is at right now. I think any given day, I can go out and shoot a 5- or 6-under and do it pretty comfortably,” Dufner said. “If the putter were to get hot, I feel like I could go shoot some lower scores. But I’m just really comfortable with how I’m striking the ball, my lines off the tees, my iron shots.” Maybe Dufner should get a few putting tips from Graeme McDowell, who was red-hot on Bay Hill’s greens on Friday. G-Mac picked up birdies on holes 4, 5, 7 and 8, making the turn at 4-under 32. He went on to make 3 birdies and an eagle on the par5 16th, shooting a remarkable 9-under 63 that was only one stroke shy of tying the course record. Coming off of a frustrating season of golf last year, McDowell finds himself liking what he sees in his golf game this season. “Yeah, I think it was probably this week last year that I kind of hit the panic button to be honest with you. I realized that something was wrong with me. I realized that something was wrong with the way I was preparing and the way I was thinking,” he said. “There’s no doubt, the difference is this year I’ve paced myself coming into a week like this. I’m playing the next three weeks now and I’m mentally and physically fresher than I’ve been for a long time.“

Notables

Justin Rose fired a 3-under 69 on Friday, 6-under for the tournament and in solo 5th.

Bubba Watson (70), Sergio Garcia (67), Vijay Singh (68), Chris Stroud (69), Webb Simpson (66), and Zach Johnson (68) are all tied for 6th at 5-under par.

For a full recap of Friday’s action at the 2012 Bay Hill Invitational, click HERE.

Goosen, Furyk Tied for Lead at Transitions

by Scott

Associated Press

The story that will be written Sunday at Innisbrook has several different plots in the making.

Story #1: Jason Dufner is only 1 shot back of the lead and in a good spot to come from behind and get his first career PGA Tour win. This week marks his 160th official start as a PGA Tour player, and he could very well end his career drought Sunday, although he will need to play better than he did on Saturday as he could only manage an even-par round of 71. Dufner is well aware of what is at stake tomorrow, but attempted to play down the talk of a long overdue win. “You know, I don’t really think about being due or not due. I know I’ve been in this position a good bit,” he said. “I’d love to have some great breaks tomorrow and make some 50-footers or hole a 7-iron or something. Maybe that would equal everything out. You know, probably not going to happen. So I’m just focused on trying to play well like I did the first two days.” Dufner’s final-round scoring average this season is 70.75, ranked 77th overall. Not bad, but he’ll need to improve upon that Sunday if he wants a shot getting that first win.

Story #2: From the “Beware of the Wounded Golfer” files: On Wednesday, Retief Goosen’s lingering back problems became so bad that he had to officially withdrew from next week’s tournament at Bay Hill so he could get protein injection therapy for his ailing back next Wednesday. Things were not looking good. Then came Saturday, as he fired the low round of the day at Innisbrook, a 6-under 65 to take a share of the lead heading into the final round. Goosen’s last win, oddly enough, came at this very tournament back in 2009, and in his mind – he’ll need to do it again Sunday to remove any doubts about earning an invite to the Masters in three weeks. “Yeah, I mean, yesterday I set my mind out here, okay, Augusta is not going to be there; I finished poorly yesterday with a double on 16 and fell way back,” Goosen said. “So you sort of tell yourself, probably going to need to shoot low on the weekend to get into the top 5 to by the end of next week stay in the top-50 in the World Rankings, and then maybe be ready for Augusta. So I withdrew, and that made me more relaxed, that you know, this is my last week, my last chance is today and tomorrow. Maybe I’m fighting for that last spot in Augusta.”

Story #3: It could be a big week for the “5-hour Energy Drink” company, as they’ll also be able to market the potential to cure hangovers. Jim Furyk’s career-best 2010 season left a lot to be desired in 2011, his worst season ever on Tour, and the hangover effect hasn’t been easy to shake. Furyk managed only 4 top-10′s last season and missed 7 cuts, and missed his first cut this season at the Honda Classic two weeks ago. His best finish this year was at the Northern Trust Open last month where he finished T11. Furyk shot 5-under 66 in Saturday’s 3rd round to get to 11-under, and shares the lead with Goosen heading into Sunday. Afterward, Furyk spoke candidly about his dismal 2011 season and the impact it had on his confidence.

“Obviously I’m pissed off. I don’t want to play poorly. I haven’t played poorly for — actually I’ve never played like I played last year on Tour,” he said. “Maybe my rookie year but I was excited, I finished 78th on the Money List, I was excited, I had a card, I had a job, I was 23 years old, couldn’t have been happier, 24. Yeah, I was excited. So last year, yeah, you’re pissed off about the way you’re playing, but I think that I’m disappointed, I was upset, I was cranky on the golf course, I was harder on my caddie, I was harder on Mike last year than I’ve ever been,” Furyk continued. “I think I’m a pretty easy guy to work for and there were times last year where I wasn’t, and I realized — I tried not to take it home. I tried when I show up at the hotel room, I try to pretty much put golf behind me, because the kids don’t know any different. You’re still dad at home, whether you shoot 79 or 59. I tried not to take it home and hopefully I didn’t but sometimes it’s hard. But I think had it happened to me probably when I was 31, or 32, and I would have had a bad year there in the middle, I would have taken it a little harder. I lived and breathed my golf a little bit more at those times. And as I got older, other things in my life have become as they should, should have been when I was 31, but there’s other things in life more important and that’s my family and my kids. You put it in perspective, and I think now I’m able to kind of at the end of the day take a deep breath and instead of focusing on, I played poorly, the focus is on, OK, what are the next steps to start playing well. That’s really what I’ve been doing for the last few months. And I needed kind of the year last year to end to be honest with you. And I had to keep playing at the end of the year, because I didn’t have a very good year and I wanted to get the World Ranking up but I needed the time off, take a deep breath and refocus my goals and what I was trying to accomplish and how was I going to go about doing that, and that I needed some time to work on that. I had about eight weeks to kind of get away, to refocus, to think about what I wanted to work on and get to work. I feel like I have not had a lot of starts, and my results maybe probably don’t look good on paper but I feel good about the way I’m playing. I’ve been playing much better golf this year than I was last year.”

I hate to say I told you so, but this all goes back to something that I questioned near the start of last season when the TaylorMade equipment deal came knocking. Furyk, like many other players before him, couldn’t turn down a lucrative endorsement deal and another 10-15 yards off the tee. He even admitted as much Saturday evening in his post-round interview.

“I drove the ball pitiful last year. That’s probably the worst driving year I’ve had. And I don’t credit it all to putting. I putted poorly last year. I drove the ball poorly last year. That’s two of the three most important parts of the game. You’re not going to score well at that point,” he said. “So I switched drivers at the end of last year in December. Started working with a Callaway driver right before Chevron and enjoyed — I liked what I saw. Started working with a different golf ball with actually Phil, when I played with him at The Presidents Cup, started using his golf ball and really liked it. Basically what I was seeing was a combination of the two products, I was creating more spin on the golf ball, and I got away from that a little bit last year. The ball launched a little bit higher and had a little less spin; I could hit it far, but I’m not a high-spin guy and because I’m a guy that wants to hit a lot of shots, hit it right-to-left, left-to-right, hit it low, hit it high, and I need spin to do that and that’s how you control the golf ball.

“I had made some mistakes and in what I was doing with my equipment and I made mistakes fitting myself equipment that I could have done better. And it was a product of maybe trying to get a little bit longer, maybe trying to find new ways to improve and maybe then hurting my strengths, if that makes sense. Trying to make my weaknesses better but in doing so, hurting your strengths, which is rule No. 1. You don’t do that.”

Hopefully it hasn’t led him down the road to no return…. a good round tomorrow will certainly go a long way to restoring his confidence and putting his senseless equipment debacle behind him.

Story #4: Someone comes from 2-3 shots back, maybe even more, to win Sunday. Sang-Moon Bae is tied with Dufner for 2nd, only a shot back of the lead. Ken Duke and John Mallinger are tied for 5th and only 2 shots back at 9-under. Chez Reavie, Ernie Els, and Luke Donald are all tied for 7th, 3 shots back. If Donald can come from behind and win tomorrow, he’ll assume the top spot in the World Rankings again. Almost a dozen players are 4 shots back at 7-under, including the following notables who can obviously turn the tide: Sergio Garcia, David Toms, Webb Simpson, and Padraig Harrington. Chris DiMarco is in that pack, and although it would be unlikely – a win would certainly go a long way to reestablishing his career again. Any number of stories could unfold. Copperhead isn’t an easy course, and crazy things happen Sunday afternoon on the PGA Tour.

I’m expecting a great finish.

For a full recap of Saturday’s action at the 2012 Transitions Championship, click HERE.

 

The More We Expect, the Less We Get

by Scott

Interesting take on the past weekend in golf HERE, courtesy of Melanie Hauser, a contributing writer at PGATOUR.COM

I’m inclined to agree with her.

For the most part, golf is highly unpredictable…. a fickle beast that shall not be tamed, an incredibly complicated sport that goes far beyond the test of physical skill. The competitive amateurs amongst us know this all too well, as we’ve seen our share of upsets in club championships and other various amateur tournaments we’ve competed in over the years. This should not be something new to us, but for whatever reason we don’t seem to look at it the same way at the next level, where players are routinely expected to post level par rounds on off days and rounds in the mid-low 60′s when they’re firing on all cylinders. Yet that’s not always the case, as we saw last weekend in Dubai.

When it was revealed that the Big Three pairing of Westwood, Kaymer, and Woods would be going head-to-head for the first two rounds in last week’s tournament, the golf world was abuzz with excitement. By Sunday afternoon – the excitement was gone, leaving most of the golf world wondering what the hell happened. Not taking anything away from Alvaro Quiros, who should have been the big story Monday morning, but wasn’t. It just seems that the powerhouse pairing, while designed to produce the story that most of us wanted to see play out, was destined to overshadow the impressive performance of a player that no one ever gave a second thought about. Instead of the focus being on an emotional round by a player who gave up a comfortable lead courtesy of a triple bogey on the 8th hole, only to burst back onto the scene with a miraculous hole-in-one on the 11th… the focus was the major let-down that played out over the weekend with the more notable names, not to mention the infamous lack of respect shown by one of the tournament’s most talked about players.

Like the author said, and aptly so, “the more we expect from the best golfers, the less we get.”

 

 

Big Names Fade on Sunday as Ace Helps Quiros Prevail in Dubai

by Scott

“That will piss you off pretty quickly, won’t it, sticking it up a palm tree when you think you have a chance of winning.” – Lee Westwood, commenting on his ball lodging in a palm tree and leading to a double bogey on the 17th hole Sunday at the Dubai Desert Classic.

Moe, Larry, and Curly Big Three? Westwood’s comment above pretty much summed up the Big Three’s performance this week overall. Between Lee not being able to get anything going over the four rounds, Martin Kaymer fading into obscurity after his 3-round implosion of 4-over 76, and Tiger’s continuing pattern of one step forward and two steps back – the “Big Three” might have faired better playing better-ball this week at Pebble than stroke play in Dubai.

Tiger Thought of the Day – Woods not only had an opportunity to finally break back into the winner’s circle, but a victory in Dubai might have gone a long way to restoring some incentive to continue his project at the nearby Dubai Resort. You remember – the luxurious project that led to a $55 million payout to Woods, but has since been put on hold indefinitely for economy-related reasons. Not only did he miss that opportunity, but the sponsors might now be wondering if they can continue to justify doling out his enormous appearance fees. For a place that has helped Tiger Woods become one of the richest players in all of sports, one would figure that he’d at least give back something, at least a top-10 finish maybe?

Less Tweeting, More Beating - He seems like a lovable young lad. But a lot of people said the same thing about Sergio, and they piled on all of this premature praise and adulation about how Garcia was going to be the next Seve, win all of these majors, etc. Rory McIlroy’s been on the stage for 2 seasons, entering his 3rd… and he’s got some serious game. I’d just like to see him become the player that Sergio couldn’t become, and to do that I think he’s entering a stage in his career now where he needs to really get serious about closing the deal on weekends. He might be young physically, but he’s been in contention far too often to refer to him as an inexperienced kid any longer. He’s shown the ability to win, but…. he’s also shown the ability to do what he did this weekend.

Weekend Woes – Speaking of Sergio Garcia… not sure anyone played better for the first two rounds, 5-under both days. Employing a modified claw putting grip technique, he looked unusually comfortable on the greens on Thursday and Friday. He even forsook the wrath of the Gods by admitting as much after his second round Friday afternoon. But as quickly as everything came, everything left. 3-over on Saturday, and 3-over on Sunday, +6 on the weekend. Like his playing partner Tiger Woods, he started Sunday tied for 2nd, finished T20.

And the Winner Is? He had two eagles today, one of which was an ace on the par3 11th… and it couldn’t have come at a better time, because he’d just posted an absolute trainwreck of a score on the par4 8th (triple bogey) to take himself totally out of the picture. But one swing got Alvaro Quiros right back in it, and he held on to shoot 4-under 68 and win the biggest tournament of his career. After posting an opening round of 1-over 73, Quiros reeled off three consecutive rounds in the 60′s, which given the course and the conditions over the weekend was solid playing. Congrats to Alvaro Quiros…

For more on the Dubai Desert Classic, click HERE.

 

 

D. Johnson, Garcia Slated for TaylorMade-Golfsmith “White-Out” Event in NYC Feb 15th

by Scott

For those who live within driving distance that might be interested…. Question: If I show up wearing nothing more than a black speedo – what are the odds of (a) getting on TV and (b) getting arrested or (c) both?

TAYLORMADE-GOLFSMITH WHITE-OUT IN MANHATTAN

 

Tiger Bounces Back on Friday with 66 at Dubai Desert Classic

by Scott

“I felt like I drove it pretty good and more than anything I controlled my trajectory which was nice. I feel good. We worked out a few of the things last night that I didn’t like.” – Tiger Woods, after shooting 6-under 66 on Friday in the Dubai Desert Classic

Tiger Woods shot the low round of the day on Friday at Dubai, carding a bogey-free round of 6-under 66. He’s 4 shots back of leader Rory McIlroy, who posted 4-under 68 in his round on Friday.  After shooting 7-under 65 on Thursday, McIlroy got off to a shaky start in his second round, playing the first 6 holes at 1-over par before settling down and finding his game. “I thought after the start that I had, I really hung in there and stayed patient and just sort of picked up my birdies when I could. I think I was 5 under from 7 onwards. So really pleased with the round, and sets me up for a good weekend.” The young Irishman will be one of the major headlines heading into the weekend, as his game looks to be steadying up for a serious charge at winning his second Dubai title in three seasons.

Notables

He’s played 36 holes in Dubai and has yet to put a single blemish on his scorecard. Sergio Garcia’s second consecutive round of 5-under 67 this week might be revealing that his top 10 finish last week in the Qatar Masters might not have been a fluke after all. “I think that probably putting has been the thing I’m doing the best these past three weeks. It’s nice to see my game, my long game catching up with that.” Hopefully no one reminds the Spaniard that the holes tend to shrink a bit on the weekends.

“I didn’t hit it so good. I didn’t give myself enough chances. It was just a plod round really, a bit of a boring day.” – Lee Westwood, after shooting 2-under 70 on Friday. Westwood is obviously fairing better this week in Dubai than he did last week where he missed the cut in the Qatar Masters, but he’s done very little over the first two rounds. He’s 6 shots back heading into the weekend, and needs to make something happen on Saturday to stay in the picture.

Rounding out the Big Three talk is Martin Kaymer, who could only manage a round of 1-under 71 on Friday. Kaymer made the turn at 1-under par, and posted two birdies and two bogeys on his finishing 9 holes to finish the round at 1-under, 7 shots back of the lead heading into the weekend. The 8-time European Tour winner will need a splendid final 2 rounds to chance winning his 9th European tournament this weekend in Dubai.

Click HERE to read PGATOUR.COM’s recap of the 2nd Round of the Dubai Desert Classic.

 

Tiger Woods Off to Slow Start in Dubai

by Scott

“It was one of those days where I fought hard.” – Tiger Woods, after carding an eagle on the par5 finishing hole to post 1-under 71 in the opening round of the Dubai Desert Classic

 

With all of the talk about the World Golf Rankings as of late, the focus on Thursday in the Dubai Desert Classic centered around Golf’s Big Three – the powerhouse pairing of Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, and Tiger Woods. But the story of the day was the Big Three being upstaged by the Big 7th, as 7th ranked Rory McIlroy got off to a blistering start to fire an opening score of 7-under 65. Westwood and Kaymer would each post rounds of 3-under 69, while Woods had quite the roller coaster round that included 3 bogeys on the front side and a double bogey on the back. Tiger was capable of tidying up his Thursday scorecard at the end by hitting his second shot from 250 yards onto the par5 18th green, leading to an eagle to get him into red numbers after day one in the desert. “Unfortunately, I got to 2-over par on two different occasions. I was 2 over early, I got it back, birdieing 10, 11, threw it right away again with a double on 12 and got it back to under for the day. All in all, I think a positive result.”

But the day belonged to Rory McIlroy, who obviously feels comfortable at the Emirates Golf Club after winning this very tournament two years ago for his first professional victory. “Today was good. I really had a lot of iron shots and got away with a couple of drives that I was quite fortunate to make birdies from. I had a putt for a 64 on the last that didn’t quite go in. but I’ll take 65 in these conditions any day. With the big three being paired together, I tried to go in a little under the radar. It was nice to get a good round in there early.”

The other surprise for the day was Sergio Garcia, who finally seems to be showing some signs of life after finishing inside the top-10 at the Qatar Masters last week. Garcia posted a bogey-free round of 5-under 67 on Thursday, only 2 shots back of the lead.

For PGATOUR.COM’s recap of the opening round of the Dubai Desert Classic, click HERE.

Quoteable Quotes: 2010 PGA Tour Edition

by Scott

Dude, did he just call you what I think he called you?

“It’s cheating, and I’m appalled Phil has put it in play.” – Scott McCarron, commenting on Phil Mickelson’s decision to use legal (but non-conforming) Ping Wedges earlier this year in a tournament at Torey Pines.

It’s very rare that you hear a tour player openly accuse another tour player of outright cheating. And when he does, he’d better be prepared to stand by his comments or he’s going to look like a back-peddling ass. Of which McCarron did several days later when he apologized to Mickelson for making the comment. Although Mickelson’s motive was crystal clear, he was no less permitted to use the wedges that week. It didn’t help matters that Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem sat idly by and watched the mess unfold right in front of him. But McCarron knew better than to say what he said. That was just an out-and-out shank.

Bobby Jones Got Wood

“The gap was a little bit wide. It wasn’t huge but it was big enough for a ball to fit through.” – Phil Mickelson, describing the thought behind his miraculous 6iron from 207 yards on the 13th hole at Augusta in the final round.

What more to add about the shot of the year… A momentary lapse would lead to a 2-putt birdie from inside of 6 feet, but there weren’t any doubts from anyone watching that at that very moment – Lefty was on his way to a Dunkin Donuts drive-thru in his 3rd Green Jacket.

How to Win Whilst Losing

“I just thought I was on a piece of dirt that the crowd had trampled down. 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.” – Dustin Johnson, after incurring a penalty for grounding his club in a bunker on the final hole of the PGA Championship.

THAT is how you handle yourself during the most frustrating moment of your career, with honesty, sincerity, and understanding. THAT is how you quadruple your fan base in the span of 15 minutes, as people are watching you manage a serious disappointment. And all because you never once thought about feeling sorry for yourself despite being overwhelmed with the heartbreaking news. Well played, DJ.

Tabloid Reporters Gone Wild

“You’re a liar. You’re going down!” - Jim Gray, shouting at Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin in a heated exchange after Pavin denies that he told Gray off the record that Tiger Woods was an automatic captain’s pick.

I’m not sure what’s worse – Pavin giving this guy the time of day, or the Golf Channel putting him on the payroll. If Jim Gray was a manager in the WWF, he would be the guy hitting his wrestler’s downed opponent with a folding chair ringside while the referee is distracted.

Were You Happy or Depressed After the 2010 Ryder Cup?

“I wanted to be able to call them my soldiers, my pilots, my sailors. I have the benefit of living in this country and it is maintained by them… Thomas Jefferson said we need soldiers and teachers, and it is as true now as it was then.” – CBS Golf commentator David Feherty on his love of the American Military, and why he became a US Citizen back in February.

Without going into any great lengths of why I admire David Feherty, I’ll just simply say that he “gets” what it means to be an American citizen. He’d lived in our country (legally, I might add) as an outsider for the better part of 13 years, and while he manned a booth for CBS golf telecasts during that time, he became one of the biggest supporters of our nation’s military as one could possibly be. Wounded Warriors, Troops First, whatever the foundation – he became involved. And in the process he logged more hours on planes bound for Iraq and Afghanistan than a majority of our government’s politicians combined. On Tuesday, February 23rd of this year, David Feherty officially became the American citizen that he’d already been in his heart for the better part of the past decade.

Like Shooting Fish in a Bucket

“Most people try to shoot their age. Today, I shot my height.” - Paul Goydos, who measures 5 feet, 9 inches tall, after becoming only the 4th player to ever shoot 59 in a PGA Tournament.

“I got beat by a 59.” – Jeff Overton, reacting to Stuart Appleby’s putt on the 72nd hole of the Greenbrier Classic to not only win the event, but also becoming the 5th player in tour history to shoot 59 in a PGA Tournament.

Yeah, those softer grooves really made a difference, you USGA schmucks…

Singing the Winnebago Blues

“I’m done. I’m done. I’m done with golf. I can’t compete. I can’t play like I used to. I can’t keep taking spots from guys out here playing this bad. It’s not worth it.” – John Daly, after missing the cut in the first two events of the 2010 season.

He didn’t quit, which oddly enough is probably the first time we’ve been able to say that about Big John in a long time. I could literally fill the bandwidth on my blog saying what I’d really like to say pertaining to Daly, but I’ll just quickly point out 3 things (that came from this season alone!) that prevent me from respecting the guy. (1) The 456-page rap sheet that became public in March:  In 18 years, the tour suspended this guy on 5 separate occasions. He was cited for not giving his best effort on 21 occasions. And he was cited and fined for conduct unbecoming of a professional 11 different times. If your employer needs more than one page to document your lack of professionalism and your dismal work ethic at your job – it’s not just a matter of you getting canned – it’s painfully obvious that you’re unemployable, period. (2) The guy made less than $159,000 in official earnings this season, but he’s above going to Q-School: Now let’s compare Daly to another guy 2 years older than he is, a guy who also won 2 major championships, and a guy who earned nearly a half a million more dollars than he did this year. That guy is Lee Janzen, who also failed to earn enough money to play on the PGA Tour next season. Last week Lee Janzen was busting his balls in the cold weather at Q-School trying to work his way back onto the PGA Tour. Where was John Daly? Who knows. But he sure as hell wasn’t freezing his ass off at Q-School trying to earn a spot next year. This is the same guy that was crying about how he couldn’t keep taking spots from other players on the tour, mind you. (3) The $100 million lawsuit Daly filed earlier this year against the PGA Tour and a Children’s Charity event: Apparently Daly was playing in this Children’s Charity event back in 2007 and (according to him) he injured himself because of some noise from a fan in the gallery that distracted him while swinging at his tee ball. Let’s face it, if this was your brother-in-law, you’d call him a mooch and you’d demand all of the money back that you’ve foolishly lent him over the years. But the golf world continues to feed us these feel-good John Daly stories, when the reality is that there’s nothing there to feel good about anymore.

Absence Doesn’t Make the Putting Grow Stronger

“I need the break. I need to miss the game a little bit.” - Sergio Garcia, commenting about his decision to step away from the game for a while.

Despite his occasional tantrums and bouts of self-pity, Sergio Garcia has probably been on the receiving end of more unwarranted forgiveness than any other touring pro playing the game today. I guess a big part of that is because at some point, regardless of whether you like a player’s personality or not, deep down you want to see someone that you’ve followed for a significant period of time finally get over the hump and get that first big win. Colin Montgomerie is a good example for myself – I’ve never really liked his personality, I think he can be extremely pleasant one minute and arrogant and demeaning the next. But I’ve always respected his golf game. And in the final round of the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot, as Monty found himself with a great chance to finally win that first major, I remember telling my wife, “You know, as bad as I hate to admit it, I’d kinda like to see Monty win this thing. He’s paid his dues, it would be nice to see him do it.” But the difference between guys like Monty or Garcia and guys like Phil Mickelson or Ernie Els – you’ve always rooted for the nice guys, the guys who don’t complain, the guys who stay late to sign autographs, the guys who open themselves up to their fans, the players who don’t forget that the fans are the reason they are where they are. And truthfully the tour is full of players like this, some just don’t get the exposure like the others do. But as it relates to Sergio, there’s still plenty of time left. Whatever he does or doesn’t achieve for the remainder of his career will be proportionate to the changes he does or doesn’t make with his attitude. You can take a year off, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to see the world any differently when you return.

We Got Your Back, Bro…

“If you go up and down the line of the Tour players in Europe and U.S. and asked them if you would like to be the last guy to decide the Ryder Cup, probably less than half would say they would like to be that guy and probably less than 10 percent of them would mean it. Hunter Mahan put himself in that position today. … Hunter Mahan performed like a champ out there today, all right. And I think it’s awesome. Not many players would want to do that.” - Stewart Cink, addressing the media and trying to comfort a distraught Hunter Mahan at Celtic Manor.

No matter which side you cheered for, you couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the warrior who fell on his own sword in front of the world. But if somehow you didn’t, you need to stop raking back 3 footers on the weekends with your buddies and putt ‘em out. Then get back to me.

I was tired of my lady, we’d been together too long….

“There are many people in this room and there are many people at home who believed in me. Today, I want to ask for your help. I ask you to find room in your hearts to one day believe in me again.” – Closing remarks of Tiger Woods’ address at first public appearance after the Thanksgiving 2009 scandal.

People will make what they will of Tiger’s scandal, and there’s no need for me to write a 400 word essay about my own personal opinions on the matter. Opinions are like assholes, and this asshole got sick of hearing about his scandal after the first week (although I will admit that it was fun googling the different women he shagged). Golf not only survived in his brief absence, it thrived.