Miscellaneous Rambling: Jim Chiaffredo

Trump International Golf Club—Island of Enchantment, Peninsula of Dreams

Jim — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:30:00 GMT

Nurtured by the El Yunque National Rain Forest and blanketed by warm ocean breezes and bright sunshine, Trump International’s two golf courses are an integral part of a complete tropical destination.

Of course, it took one man’s foresight and amazing intuition to make this tropical peninsula, once called Coco Beach, a reality for vacationers who appreciate great food, accommodation and of course, great golf.

In the 1950s, Arturo Díaz, Jr. bought a barren peninsula consisting of 1,000 acres of mostly marshland and, over time, developed the land into a world-class getaway on the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico. From the family’s asphalt company headquartered in San Juan, Díaz, now in his 90s, still oversees the growth of his vision along with his son, Jorge, and grandson, Jorge Alturo Díaz Mayoral .

Located on approximately 200 acres of the property is the 36-hole golf course called Trump International Golf Club. Originally built in 2004, the Tom Kite/ Bruce Bresse design was called the Coco Beach Golf Club, which consisted of four nine-hole layouts, each with its own distinct characteristics evidenced by their individual titles. They were known as the Mountain, Palms, Lakes and Ocean courses and visitors could play any combination of the four to suit their desires.

In 2005, a move was made by Sydney Wolf, Tournament Director and Puerto Rico Golf Association President, to lure the PGA TOUR to the island. As a result, Kite and Bresse redesigned the courses in 2007 to be defined as two distinct 18-hole tracts - The International and Championship courses, while the Trump branding replaced the original name.

The renovation project was fitting for the Trump moniker in that no expense was spared to recreate a course that has the distinction of being the only TOUR certified course on the island. The Championship Course plays to par 72 at 7,526 yards and is made up of the former Lakes and Ocean nines.

Some holes were lengthened to accommodate the skills of the TOUR players, yet the five tee options are enough for common folks to adjust the course to their ability. Ranging from 2,345 yards to the Championship tees, there is enough course for anyone to bite off as much as they can chew.

Hundreds of palm trees and the narrowing of fairways were all part of the designers’ plan to fit the requirements of TOUR play, while the shorter tees make the trip around the Championship Course an enjoyable one for players of less ability.

Ironically, the most difficult part of the project was redefining and filling the bunkers. You wouldn’t think that, being located on an island, sand would be a problem, but it was for this application. The native sand is too coarse to be fit for play at the highest level, so it had to be imported from Florida, which was no inexpensive undertaking. The silica was shipped from Davenport in heated containers by order of the Puerto Rican government to insure it was free of non-endemic contaminants to the island. The result is some of the finest bunkers in all of the Caribbean and the most playable for those whose shots wander off line.

The sister course of the Championship layout is the International, which has been ranked higher by Golfweek magazine in their Best Resort Courses of the Caribbean, but the routing of the holes was not conducive to professional play. For example, the trip by cart from the 14^th green to the 15^th tee takes four minutes through the marshes separating the two holes.

Part of the Trump mantra is “It isn’t how you play, but where you play” holds true for the entire development. Along with the two golf courses are the five-star accommodations at the Gran Meliá Golf Resort Puerto Rico, the Sol Meliá Vacation Club and the Trump Founder’s Club residences, which runs the length of the 14^th fairway of the Championship Course. Each are unique and top-notch, not sparing any sacrifice of those who stay there to vacation or live.

Formerly known as the Paradisum Resort, originally an all-inclusive vacation destination, the 486-suite hotel property was remodeled and a bevy of full services added in 2007 when the Sol Meliá hotel group, consisting of more than 300 hotels in 30 countries and four continents, took over the facility. The Gran Meliá Puerto Rico is the only hotel operated in the U.S. None are on the mainland.

Today, it is the perfect compliment to the Trump International Golf Club, and the perfect place to stay while playing golf. With five restaurants on the property, featuring the Café Soleil, Wet Pool Bar and Grill, Nami (Japanese cuisine), Tempo (Italian cuisine) and the most recent addition, Pasíon, which serves traditional Puerto Rican cuisine including the highly recommended local favorite, mofongo, the facility leaves nothing to be desired.

The beaches and golf are not the only things available on site. There is also the full-service Yhi Spa to aid in the relaxation process, and two bars and a small casino for nighttime entertainment.

Future developments are in the process, as well. A J.W. Marriott hotel and the Beach Club residences will be completed in the next 18 months.

All of the peninsula’s amenities and future developments combined with the Puerto Rican Open showcase what is, perhaps, the finest location for vacationers Puerto Rico has to offer.

The Díaz family and their vision have created a wonderful place to experience and enjoy. It should be on any adventurer’s list of places to visit.

For more information on accommodations and golf packages at the Gran Meliá Resort: 787-657-1040 • www.granmeliapuertorico.com • reservas@granmeliapr.com

Trump International Golf Club, Puerto Rico: 100 Clubhouse Drive, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, 00745, 787-657-2000, www.trumpgolfclubpuertorico.com

Kite flies in the Rockies

Jim — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:40:00 GMT

Tom Kite attempts to score his third win in five years at the Boeing Classic in Seattle later this summer. This is my entry for the benefit of Mr. Kite.

Tom Kite is a grinder. Has been for a long time. Even now, every week he plays on the Champions Tour he grabs his tools and goes to work. He’s been slugging away at destiny since he began playing for prize money way back before the end of the war in 1972. With 19 PGA TOUR victories, one major in 1992 at 42 years of age, and now 10 Champions Tour titles after turning 50 nine years ago, Kite was an ATM machine before they were even invented.
He was the first player in TOUR history to win $6 million, $7 million, $8 million, $9 million, $10 million and $11 million way before tournament purses were big enough for most of us to retire on comfortably.
He was also the first player to carry three wedges before that was thought up, too. Now it’s standard. Nobody knows who carried four first.
Kite is living proof that dogged determination and persistence wins out most every time. Grinder. He’s now in the Hall of Fame because of it.
His two titles at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge are no different. And, like many of his victories before, except maybe that chip in at the 7th hole at Pebble Beach in the 1992 U.S. Open, he really can’t explain why his most recent success lies in the hills near Seattle.
“Quite honestly, I really don’t know,” Kite said. “ I went there the first year and had some success I finished second to David Eger. Played well and got a good feeling with the golf course and have been able to play well there throughout the years. It’s hard to pinpoint.”
One thing Kite has done at the Boeing Classic is putt lights out. Last year he only took 78 putts after hitting nearly three-quarters of the greens in regulation. Even better than that, during his win in 2006, Kite only required 72 putts over the three rounds. That’ll win you golf tournaments.
“Oh, I putted great. Both times I putted really well. I like the greens I feel comfortable on them and read them well,” he said. “It’s just good golf course with a lot of balance and a lot of excitement.”
Kite caused most of the excitement himself during both of his victories, each coming from three-strokes back on Sunday for the crowns. But don’t think that’ll be his game plan every year.
“No, I’d love to be about 10 or 12 ahead,” he said, laughing. “But trying to separate yourself is difficult because of the great competition out here.”
Most of the events played on the Champions Tour this year have been in playoffs or won with final-hole heroics, unless, of course, your winner was Bernhard Langer.
In these short-track sprints of 54-holes, common on the Champions Tour, if Kite rounds the quarter pole and can see the lead, he takes the crop and, like any great thoroughbred, finishes fast. In 2005, Kite was three strokes behind David Eger’s tournament record 199 and placed. His victory in 2006 was a come-from-behind job when Kite finished off Keith Fergus, who kept bouncing balls off cart paths and fans, with a birdie on the first playoff hole after coming from three strokes back of second-round leader Dan Pooley. Of course last year, Kite, three strokes off the lead to begin the final round, made first- and second-round leader Scott Simpson’s head spin with a five-birdie back nine and a two-stroke victory.
It’s pretty easy to see Kite likes playing golf anywhere west of the Rockies. Of his 10 victories so far on the Champions Tour, only three have been outside of California or Oregon. One was in Illinois. Another was in Scottsdale before the Tradition moved to Portland and the third was on an island in the middle of the Pacific. Even his last three wins on the PGA TOUR were in California, including his U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach.
“I really can’t explain it,” he said. “Some of those courses have been very hard courses and some of them have been very easy ones. Win the Bob Hope and that’s about as easy as it gets, then, of course, Riviera has been host to many major championships and I’ve had success on all those golf courses. I don’t know what it is except I like it there and I feel very comfortable out there on those courses.”
In a baker’s dozen starts this year, Kite has picked up another five yards off the tee and adding some accuracy to those tee shots ranking 4th on Tour in total driving, thus improving his greens in regulation numbers, too. The putter is beginning to heat up as well, posting all four of his top-10 finishes of the year at that point since May. He’s averaging around 30 putts per round, but that’s because he hasn’t been to Seattle lately.
Regardless of his performance to this point, don’t expect Kite to give the game up and move on to some other occupation any time soon. Even as he approaches 60 on December 9th this year, he has no intention of returning to landscape his home or get involved with a real estate venture he has become involved in as a full-time job. There’s still some fight left in this dog, according to Kite.
Some have been suggesting that at 60 it might be time to think about getting the gold watch.
“That’s what they say,” he said. “Well, I’m not going to say I’m not going to do it, but I haven’t planned on it yet. People keep saying I’m going to quit, but I don’t know, we’ll see what happens. I love playing.”
One thing is for sure, he loves playing in Seattle.

Graduation Day

Jim — Sun, 03 May 2009 01:24:00 GMT

As I sit here on a wonderfully cool Saturday evening in Tallahassee, FL, a breeze works its way across a small back porch of a condo a good friend of mine owns, I have realized sometimes your hopes and dreams as a parent, in fact, can come true.
One of mine did today in the civic center where the Florida State Seminoles play basketball. But this is much more impressive and certainly more important than a small game where men and women attempt to put an orange leather ball into an orange hoop for what they hope will be fame and fortune. It’s more important this day to all of us as a society. And I was proud to be witness.
The Leon County Civic Center, named because of where the money came from I’m sure, in the shadow of the Florida State Capital, was the congenial site of the commencement exercises for The Florida State University class of 2009.
Neatly arranged on what is usually a floor of an arena generally a foundation of a basketball court or a concert venue was now firmament to about 1,000 seats that held the future on its stark gray concrete surface. Although it didn’t have all the flash and dash of the over-sold college basketball or alternative music marketing machine it was, to me, a valuable place that held tomorrow on its surface. The future. Our future.
Sitting on the same base where we hold our false idols true were other men and women who have worked their way through hours of struggle for thought and reflection for simple credit hours that would earn them their goals. Perhaps it was just a Bachelor, Masters or Doctorate Degree, but they all sat there as an intellectual community with giddy excitement as their work over the past however-many-years was recognized. And those achievements were many.
These are the men and women who hold our hope for tomorrow. And hopefully one day, we will realize they are our true idols and heroes and not someone who can dunk a ball or sell a $135 ticket to entertain us for three hours,
If we don’t realize where the true talent in this country is held we are doomed.
And why?
Simply, we aren’t paying attention.
These are the relative underpaid who still work for their passion. What they love. Why they get up in the morning.
Of course, the money is nice.
My daughter, Rachel, my first born, was among this honorable group.
The reason why she decided to join this university and why she decided to go where she’s going is another chapter or four, so I won’t bore you with those. But today, May 2, 2009 caps one of the next chapters and I’m not really sure I can relate in words how I felt this day.
But please, give me license.
I walked in to my daughter’s house she had been renting for a couple years near campus about an hour before the 9:00 a.m. start time of the commencement to get the tickets to gain entrance into this momentous moment. My friend Bobbi (known to many as The Bob) was with me and anxious to witness the event that culminated four years of effort. The Bob is a fan, too.
As I walked in, I handed Rachel a dozen garnet and gold roses and put them in vase I had bought at Target the night before. It was rather unceremonious in its delivery, but meaningful for me, as I thought the damn things would wilt in a hot car in a parking lot.
Better safe than dead.
My girl walks up, takes the flowers and gives me a big daddy hug, one of those things for which I live.
When she stepped back, she had four tassels hanging around her neck over her black graduation gown. I asked her what they signified.
She explained they were honor fraternities and she was supposed to have two more but they ran out and wanted 20 bucks for them anyway, “So forget that,” she said.
That’s my girl.
I told her I would meet her after the ceremony and was excited to see this happen.
I lied.
I was thrilled.
This was what I always knew she would search out and find. This was the culmination of all her efforts. I wanted to tell her they were mine, too. But I didn’t. It was her day. It was her chance to numb the naysayers, poke fun at those who didn’t or step ahead of those who couldn’t.
We arrived at the arena and all I could think of was my own passage 31 years before. It was a gateway for me, as it has been for anyone who has ever passed through that portal. If you have walked, you understand.
As she walked across that stage that has lately held many an alternative rock band I’m sure, the provost mispronounced the last name nicely the first time and then corrected as Rachel smartly had printed the phonetic spelling underneath the announcement. He got it right on the second attempt.
It was beautiful.
“Rachel Maureen ‘Sheahfraydo,’ ‘Shafredoh,’ Magna Cum Laude.”
Damn. It was beautiful, either way. It’s always good to stump the administration.
I have only cried a few times in my life in public before. This was the second time because of Rachel—once when she was born because I felt so small and on this day in front of 12,000 fans in attendance. I felt bigger this time.
I don’t care if I made a fool of myself either time.
I hope everyone can feel this way at least once.
To the future.

Hogan’s Last Dance on the Alley

Jim — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:33:00 GMT

Appearing in the 2009 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Magazine

By Jim Chiaffredo

It was 50 years ago when Ben Hogan won his fifth Colonial National Invitational. It was also his last professional victory.
Up to that point in his storied career Hogan had won 63 times, including nine major championships. When he arrived at Colonial in 1959 the buzz in the media center among golf writers was Hogan attempting to become the first player to win the National Open five times. The Open title didn’t happen, but it was historically fitting in the grand scheme of golf history that Hogan’s last victory was there in Fort Worth, a place that lays claim to the nickname “Hogan’s Alley” with justifiable avow.
Born in Stephenville, Texas, he was the third and youngest child of Chester and Clara Hogan. His father was a blacksmith and the family lived ten miles southwest in Dublin until 1921, when they moved 70 miles northeast to Fort Worth.
Following his father's suicide, a self-inflicted gunshot to the chest at the family home in 1922, the family incurred financial difficulty and the children took jobs to help their seamstress mother make ends meet. Older brother Royal quit school at age fourteen to deliver office supplies by bicycle, and nine year-old Ben sold newspapers after school at the nearby train station. A tip from a friend led him to caddying in at the age of eleven, at Glen Garden Country Club, a nine-hole course seven miles to the south. That’s where the legacy began. At Colonial in 1959, that’s where it was sealed.
Hogan fired a tidy 69 on a Monday to solidly defeat fellow Texan Fred Hawkins in an 18-hole playoff, carding four birdies in the first seven holes. Both players had posted 5-over-par 285 after 72 holes and played an 18-hole playoff to decide who would take home the $5,000 first prize of the $27,300 purse.
Hogan’s masterful control of his irons and deft putting stroke was too much for Hawkins, who was looking for his first playoff victory, early in the round. With his four-stroke lead, Hogan played as conservatively as he was dressed and wore Hawkins, who was ironically playing Hogan-brand irons made then in Fort Worth, down in the early going.
Hawkins actually had squeaked a one-stroke lead on the third hole after both players birdied the par-4 second hole and Hogan parred the third to Hawkins’ birdie. The lead was short-lived as Hawkins bogeyed the par-3 fourth hole while Hogan carded a birdie.
That was the beginning of the end for Hawkins. He hit his next tees shot into the Trinity River on No. 5 leading to a double-bogey six. Hogan bogeyed the sixth hole, missing a three-footer for par. When Hawkins bogeyed the seventh hole it was all over but the crying, as Hogan carried a four-stroke lead headed onto the back nine.
Both men played the returning nine identically at 1-over 36, both making bogeys on the par-4 12th, giving Hogan his first victory since 1956 when he won the Canadian Cup Matches.
The crowd that Monday morning was estimated at 7,000 strong and witnessed Hogan’s final professional victory as his mother, Clara, ran onto the green and congratulated her son.
Not only was it a memorable moment for mother and son, but also for those in attendance witnessing the end of an era,
Hogan played no more than five events a season until 1971 with his best finish a tie for third at Colonial and the Houston Championship International in 1967. From 1932 to 1971 Hogan made 297 starts, making 294 cuts resulting in 229 top 10 that include his 64 victories.
This year we celebrate the golden anniversary of the last of his career.

Anthony Kim: A.K. is O.K.

Jim — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:00:00 GMT

For the 2009 Quail Hollow Championship Magazine Anthony Kim: Defending Champion

He’s been called, “fearless,” “cocky” and “arrogant” among other things, but if you take a look at Anthony Kim’s record last year and the talent gap he filled with his flash in the absence of the game’s superstar, you might understand why that’s no surprise. It’s the way the kid rolls.

In 2008, Kim capped a sensational sophomore season on the PGA TOUR with two victories and a leading role on the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team. He made the cut in 19 of 22 starts on his way to a fourth-place finish in the FedExCup standings and notched a career-high eight top-10 finishes, including six top-three finishes. Solid.

With his victory in Charlotte, Kim, 22 at the time, became the youngest winner on TOUR since Sergio Garcia won his third TOUR title at the 2002 Mercedes-Benz Championship. With his five-stroke victory over Ben Curtis, Kim finished at a record 16-under par 272, three strokes better than the previous tournament record held by Tiger Woods.

Kim’s victory at Quail Hollow opened some doors for him: invitations to Augusta and Kapalua, a chance at playing in the Ryder Cup, and a few other perks that come with a big win. But he didn’t get too far ahead of himself.

“I haven't even thought about all that, but just getting the monkey off my back. This has been a dream of mine for a long time, and I'm living it. I couldn't ask for anything more,” he said after his first TOUR victory. “This is a great field, and to come out on top here is more than enough. I don't need all that other stuff, even though it's a perk. But it just feels great to be on top here.”

A big part of his success here in Charlotte and the rest of the year was Kim’s maturation as a player and a person, finally realizing with great opportunity comes great responsibility. The difference in Kim as a player was obvious between the 2007 and 2008 event.

“In 2007, I finished seventh and I played some great golf, but I got to the course, I want to say on Tuesday of the tournament, and played 18 holes, really didn't map the course out. And every day before the tournament rounds, I got there about 30 minutes before my tee time,” he said. “Last year, I did a great job of preparing. I was there an hour and a half before my tee time, warmed up and got loose in the fitness trailer, hit some balls and hit 30, 45 minutes of putts before I went to play. And even though I finished seventh (in 2007), I felt like that was all I had. And last year, winning, I think what made a huge difference was the preparation for the event.”

Kim’s raw talent carried him to the TOUR and garnered him some early success—enough to feed what some considered an overly inflated ego. But the justification is in his record. If you’ve got it, flaunt it, as the saying goes. He was a three-time All-America and NCAA Freshman of the Year in 2004 at Oklahoma and was one of three finalists for the 2006 Ben Hogan Award. His two victories as a college junior ranked him seventh in the Golfweek Collegiate Rankings. Kim was a member of the victorious 2005 United States Walker Cup Team along with J.B. Holmes, Nicholas Thompson and Jeff Overton, all rookies on TOUR in 2006. He turned professional in August after three years at the University of Oklahoma and received a Sponsor Exemption into the 2006 Valero Texas Open where he finished T2 in his TOUR debut. This was looking like it was easy.
He earned his TOUR card via a T13 finish at the 2006 Qualifying Tournament at PGA West, where the California native grew up playing the game. Kim qualified through all three grueling stages of Q-School, one of eight players to do so.
Kim was the youngest rookie on TOUR in 2007 and enjoyed a successful first campaign with four top-10s, including a T3 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. But he wasn’t where he wanted to be.

“I really believe that my game in 2007 reflected how I was living. There were lots of double-bogeys and triple-bogeys, and there were quite a few birdies, but at the same time, there was no point where I just made pars and birdies and just played solid golf,” he said. “I feel like with the help of quite a few people, I turned my life around, put in some hard work and made the right decisions off the course that led to my good play last year.”

His good play forced Kim into the limelight, especially since there was a huge void that needed to be filled when Woods packed it in for the rest of the season after his one-legged victory in the U.S. Open. Golf was looking desperately for a character to step forward. It was Kim, after his second victory of the season at the AT&T National, which just happened to be hosted by Woods, made him the current heir apparent. People were surmising Kim could be the next Great One.

“It is an honor whenever anybody puts you in the same breath as probably the best player to have ever played the game. I think when it's all said and done, he's going to be the Michael Jordan; the best player that's ever played golf,” Kim said, “Obviously it's a tremendous honor to hear that, but I know I obviously need to still put in the work, and I'm a long ways behind, and I'm willing to do that. If I keep working hard, I don't see why anything can stop me and I'm going to do my best to get there.”

Spoken like a kid growing into a man. He also has become a realist.

“Tiger doesn't need anybody to push him. I think he puts as much pressure on himself as anybody can, and I think that's made him the player that he is, and I feel the same way about my golf game. I don't think there's a critic or anybody that can make me feel a certain way. I put as much pressure on myself as anybody else,” he said. “So for me, it's just to work as hard as I can and hopefully that will be good enough, and if not, I will know I've really tried and given it my all.”

Kim, at 23, has begun to buckle down, which brings up a question about his signature belt buckle. Kim has a collection of belt buckles with his initials “A.K.” he wears while he’s playing. Some are emblazoned with jewels. All are flashy.

“Yeah, actually it's a funny story. It started when I was walking around at the mall one day in my sophomore year at college and saw this kiosk and they were switching out these belt buckles, and I tried one with my initials on it. And then I started wearing it out to parties and whatnot, and then all of a sudden I started wearing it to the golf course,” he said. “When I went out on TOUR, I think people were surprised that something like that was being worn by one of the players. I think it definitely has mixed reviews, but it represents me well. I feel like that's the generation I grew up in. It's different -- I think I bring something different than somebody who has been on TOUR for 20 years, as someone who grew up in the MTV world. And I love showing that I'm 23 years old and I love having fun, and if somebody has a problem with it, you know, I can't do anything about that.”

Golf has found its next character and that’s okay. Welcome to golf’s New Age.

Off to the Hidden Treasures: golf’s best-kept secrets

Jim — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:37:00 GMT

Nestled mysteriously between lore and tomorrow lies the linksland of North and West Ireland. Silently undiscovered, this part of the Emerald Isle makes for the perfect getaway if you’re looking for perhaps one of the finest experiences in golf anywhere in the world.
When you think of Ireland, and especially golf, you think mostly of sites in the Southwest to the East toward Dublin, like the K Club, Killarney, Old Head, Waterville and Royal Dublin. They are world-class sites, for sure, but very expensive and it’s hard to get a tee time. Much of that part of the Island has become that way, with the burgeoning Irish economy in and around the capital and spreading to the south to Cork and the Celtic Sea. Ireland has become the gem of Western industry, especially in the software and pharmaceutical realms. It has become crowded and bustling, the result of racing progress. It’s best to avoid if you’re trying to experience the way golf was intended to be played upon this ancient land.
There is a solution to the overgrowth of economic progress in the region, and that is to simply stay away from it. Portions of the island have been left alone and mostly ignored by American travelers because of the unrest in Northern Ireland, which has since been stifled, and the western portion that was, up until now, largely ignored for reasons unknown. There you will find the old beauty and charm of this country that still remains in the small towns and flows through the dunes as if they were magically poured in between.
It is true that within St. James Plantation there are 81 holes of championship golf and the self-proclaimed Mecca of golf, Myrtle Beach, is an easy drive away. Why would anyone want to travel great distances to play links-style golf? It is so easily accessible right here at home.
First, you must understand what a links course truly is, by definition. Many courses here in the States paint themselves as links but fall woefully short of the claim, which is painfully obvious the first time you actually play one.
Many links are located in coastal areas, on sandy soil amid dunes, with few water hazards and few trees, if any at all. This reflects both the nature of the scenery where the sport originated and the fact that only limited resources were available to golf course architects at the time. Any earth moving had to be done by hand, so it was kept to a minimum. It also didn’t upset the local shepherds too much.
The challenges of links golf fall into two categories—the nature of the courses themselves, which tend to be characterized by uneven fairways, thick rough and small, deep bunkers, and their coastal location, which is frequently windy and rainy. The weather is as unpredictable as to where your next shot may end up. As many links courses consist literally of an "outward" nine in one direction along the coast and an "inward" nine which returns in the opposite direction, players often have to cope with opposite wind patterns in each half of their round. That’s the fun part.
In other words, links golf is nothing like American golf. Nothing. That’s why anyone who calls him or herself a golfer needs to take a week or so and travel to experience the differences.
North and West Ireland is the perfect place.
Be warned that if you have a hard time walking 18 holes here at home, you won’t have much fun in Ireland. Thousands of years before the earth’s crust was wiped away by some mystical force of nature and golf courses appeared, goats and sheep were the main inhabitants, indicating there are hills and dales to be dealt with and mostly without carts or “buggies,” as they are called. If you’re looking for carts with GPS, a beer cart front and back, and all-you-can-eat crab leg restaurants, you may want to stay home. But if you want to find out just how good your game is on some of the purest, most diabolical risk-reward tracks on earth, and then you need to start getting into shape.
To further facilitate your comfort during the experience, make sure you invest in a light carry bag and a good rain suit. You’ll over-utilize both during your visit. And don’t forget to bring plenty of golf balls. No matter how good you think you are, you’ll need more.
There are 11 member clubs in the North and West Coast Links Golf Association and to rate, compare, or decide to play any one at the exclusion of another is impossible. There are similarities, for sure, as nature only has so many options at her disposal. But the subtleties of each course are infinite, like brush strokes of the masters. The differences can be slight but not to be missed, often being the trademark of each location.
Therein lies the dilemma. How do you approach this infinity in a finite time frame?
A suggestion would be to choose a number of courses that you can play twice during your stay with a day off in between. The reason being there is no way you can figure out any links course in just one trip around it. And, travel is still rather clumsy, even if you’re not driving. So, for instance, if you were going for eight days, pick two or three courses that are in close proximity to where you are staying. There aren’t any expressways, especially where these wonderful, hidden emerald necklaces are found.
Here are a few suggestions I had the pleasure of experiencing for a brief moment in time.

The Links

Enniscrone

Situated beside the picturesque seaside town of Enniscrone that is also the home of great beaches and some serious scuba diving, the golf course affords panoramic views of Killala Bay, Bartra Island and sandy beaches with the Nephin and the Ox Mountains forming the backdrop.
Founded in 1918, redesigned by the late Eddie Hackett in 1974 and by Donald Steel in 2001, this championship course is one of Ireland's finest links courses. Apart from the championship links known as The Dunes, there is also the nine-hole Scurmore course.
There are holes on this course where you will think it’s just you, the golf course and the heavens. The dunes here are so tall, it would take all the material Pete Dye, the Fazios and Trent Jones, Jr. and Sr. put together couldn’t recreate.

Carne

Carne Golf Links also curves through magnificent, unspoiled sand dunes overlooking Blacksod Bay and the wild side of the Atlantic Ocean near Belmullet County Mayo in the West of Ireland. Carne was the last links course to be designed by Eddie Hackett, and it is now believed by many who have played it to be his greatest challenge to the rest of us.
The building of Carne has caused little disturbance to this untamed and ancient landscape. Tees and greens occurred naturally and very little earth moving was involved in the course construction. There are some breathtaking views over the Atlantic and the legendary islands of Inis Glóire and Inis Géidhe. This is one you will want to play twice, at least. If not for the golf, come for the camaraderie of the clubhouse. The locals here, like many others, love golf and they love their club and aren’t afraid to tell you about it, especially if you are a visitor.

County Sligo Golf Club

County Sligo Golf Club is situated at Rosses Point, a seaside village eight kilometers northwest of the town of Sligo, and is one of the oldest and best known links courses in Ireland. It was founded in 1894 on land leased from Henry Middleton, an uncle of the famous poet and Nobel Prize winner for literature W.B Yeats and his brother, noted landscape painter Jack B. Yeats. The links are set out on the Atlantic Ocean on the west; Benbulben dominates the view on the northern skyline and bears a striking resemblance to Cape Town's Table Mountain. To the east, Glencar valley and the Dartary mountains with Lugnagall and Truskmore, while the southern vista is completed by Knocknarea topped by a large Cairn of stones reputed to be the grave of the 'Warrior Queen Meave of Connaught'.
What all that means is this course had some of the most breathtaking scenery you can imagine.

Connemara

Connemara, or Ballyconneely Golf Club as it is also known, is located between the Twelve Bens Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, in one of the most splendid settings imaginable that is about a 15-minute drive from Clifden.
Originally opened as an 18-hole venue, Connemara Golf Links has offered 27 holes of sublime links golf since 2001. The course was designed by renowned Irish course architect Eddie Hackett and completed by Tom Craddock. While Connemara Golf Club may be located on one of Ireland most westerly tips, make no mistake that it is worth the trip. Like the many other great links of the west and northwest, Connemara remains a largely underplayed gem but its quality is not for debate.
This was the first links course I’ve ever played, and it took it easy on me for the front nine. On the back nine, I swore I saw an Irish Hare, which is a huge rabbit, wearing a saddle. Hemlock grows wild there, too. Be careful.

Donegal Golf Club

The Donegal Golf Club was founded in 1959 and was erected in the edge of the town at Tullycullion. It stayed there for 14 years until it moved to the Murvagh Peninsula where it is situated today. It has been the venue of prestigious championships such as the 1979 Irish Ladies Close Championship and the 2003 Men’s Irish Close Championship, a testament to its great design and world-class amenities and facilities.
This 18-hole championship course plays to a par 73 and is measured at 7,280 yards. The course is an expansive links, is wide open and mostly made up of low dunes. The play is hard and fast on this course, but the scenic ambience forces a player to stop for a while and just soak in the view. The Atlantic Ocean displays a backdrop of stunning scenery as well as the mountains that stand in ancient testimony in the other direction. Donegal is one of Darren Clarke’s favorite stomping grounds when he is not playing the European or PGA Tours.

Accommodations

Foyle’s Hotel

Connemara's longest-established hotel, situated in the picturesque town of Clifden, has been owned and managed by the Foyle family for nearly a century. This impressive building, which has played host to many famous personalities over the years, has recently been redesigned to the highest modern standards, yet retains much of its old charm and atmosphere.

Inside the hotel is the Marconi Restaurant, a wonderful place specializing in local seafood. A major part of the Foyle’s Hotel's reputation is based on the excellence of its cuisine, something you may not have considered when traveling to Ireland. Mouthwatering beef, world-renowned Irish salmon, sea trout and seafood, tender Connemara lamb and fresh vegetables are prepared with meticulous care by internationally experienced chefs. The menus are vast and imaginative, including interesting vegetarian dishes, and all are accompanied by an extensive wine list. Don’t pass up the mussels in coconut milk and chili sauce. It’s worth the price of admission itself.

Harvey’s Point

The ultimate in splendor and luxury, set in a magical location amidst the natural beauty of the Bluestack Mountains and on the edge of the shimmering Lough Eske, Harvey’s Point is an island of serenity and truly an unforgettable experience.
The lavish and plush guest rooms are indescribable and are the most luxurious in all of Ireland. These, along with corridors adorned with lowly lit chandeliers, are downright hedonistic and truly fit for a King. If you’re looking for the finest accommodation in the west of Ireland, look no further. From double vanity units and whirlpools in the bathroom to separate lounge areas and private bar, it’s a haven of complete luxury. You may not want to play golf.

Mount Falcon Country House

The Mount Falcon Country House Hotel and Estate is another four-star hotel located on the west bank of the River Moy on 100 acres of magical woodlands, between Foxford and Ballina, in North County Mayo. Mount Falcon's new owners, amongst them the Maloney Family who hail from the area, visited the Estate and fell in love with it. They invested heavily in a refurbishment and development program and at every stage have ensured that the integrity and charm of the Estate has been completely retained.
The Kitchen Restaurant, as its name suggests, is located in the area of the original kitchen. Following the tradition of the world-renowned Mount Falcon Fishing & Country Estate run by the legendary Connie Aldridge, you will be offered a menu featuring the very best in quality, with fresh, local organic produce and seafood. The old days of Irish cuisine of mostly boiled meat and potatoes is long gone. This is Irish gourmet, and it is a wonderful treat for any palate.

On your well-deserved day off between the punishments known as links golf, don’t forget there are other things Ireland boasts, like their textile shops and loud and friendly pubs in each of the small towns scattered throughout your journey. It’s all part of the trip, and ones not to be ignored while on your envisioned journey to Ireland’s linksland of the North and West.

Three Decades with the King

Jim — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:45:00 GMT

For three decades, the Bay Hill Club and Lodge has played host to what is now known as the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Some of the world’s greatest golfers have passed through the gates of Bay Hill over the years in homage to the host, Arnold Palmer. But for all the glitz and glamour you see surrounding the PGA Tour during tournament week, you must realize the beginnings were very humble until Palmer took over.
Little more than 650 acres of wasteland that couldn’t be cultivated into orange groves by Dr. Phillip Phillips, owner of the largest producer of citrus groves in the world, would eventually evolve into a magnificent stretch of golf holes known today as one of the finest facilities in all of golf. Phillips was quoted as saying, “The fallow land between the citrus groves is worthless; it has no value except to keep the earth together.”
There are several today who would vehemently disagree.

It all started with an observation

During his years at Wake Forest, Palmer first visited central Florida to compete in matches against Rollins College in Orlando. At the time, the simple beauty of the area caught his eye. The area had yet to be overcome by Walt Disney World and the current other steadfast attractions. It was a small town by small town standards, and a quiet little place where you could find solace, especially about 10 miles south and west of downtown Orlando. About the only things making noise around there were oranges and grapefruit falling off the tree and thudding to the ground because they had yet to be harvested.
Not long after graduation in 1955, Palmer joined the professional ranks and while driving through the area with his wife, Winnie, beside him on their way to a tournament in Georgia, he turned to her and said, “If I ever move or build a second home, it will be right here.”
The statement may have been a wistful idea at the time, but nonetheless a peek into the future of Bay Hill.
In February 1965, Palmer returned to central Florida and played in an exhibition at a very young Bay Hill Club. It was the first time he saw the course. The three-year-old track yielded to Palmer and his aggressive style of play. He won easily. Garnering such success so quickly at the site made him think the course would be the perfect spot for a winter home. And why not? There was the beautiful Florida weather, an excellent golf course for him on which to practice and the perfect refuge to escape from the burdens of being an extremely popular touring pro. He called home to Latrobe, Pennsylvania following the exhibition and told his wife that he had just played the best golf course in Florida and he wanted to own it someday.
His interest was genuine enough that he returned 10 months later to relax before the tour season began in January, 1966. A winner of 45 tour titles by then, the siren song of Bay Hill was very compelling. For the inaugural Florida Citrus Open Invitational that year, Palmer rented a cottage at Bay Hill during tournament week and shared it with fellow pro and good friend Dow Finsterwald. Several times after, he would return to the solitude to practice and relax at the then-remote site. Palmer used the course several times as the perfect warm-up for the Masters in the spring, an event he won four times.
After the second lodge building was completed, Palmer brought Winnie and his parents to this unique property that had become so fond to him. With its remoteness at the time and extraordinary layout designed by Dick Wilson, Palmer considered the place nothing short of paradise.

The wheels began to turn

It wasn’t long before he seriously considered buying the facility in order to preserve the quiet atmosphere of the club and expand the excellence of the course itself.
Palmer’s first step was to engage Mark McCormack, the president of International Management Group, who not only managed his business affairs, but also was often times a partner in his business ventures.
McCormack contacted the Nashville Group, the original developers who purchased the property from the Dr. Phillips Foundation in 1959. At first, the group was reluctant to sell but, with persuasion, by the end of 1969 both parties had agreed to terms. Palmer and his newly-formed investment group took control of Bay Hill with a five-year option on the property on January 1, 1970.
After some legal jostling among the principal ownership Palmer and his investment group, they exercised the option and took over control of the Bay Hill Club and Lodge officially on January 1, 1976.
With the Palmer group in control of the property and assured of their rights, they moved forward to improve the facility for the members and their guests.
One of Palmer’s highest priorities after he took control was to host a professional golf tournament, preferably a major championship such as the U.S. Open or PGA Championship. But the most obvious choice was the Florida Citrus Open, held at Rio Pinar Country Club across town.
After the 1977 event, Palmer and McCormack approached the leadership at Rio Pinar about moving the tournament to Bay Hill. The event organizers declined initially, but the inquiry certainly did cause them to start thinking seriously about it.
The Florida Citrus Open has lost some of its luster over the years. After running the tournament for so long, the leadership began to become weary. Although the lease fees paid by the tournament were an important revenue source, the members were getting tired of giving up their course in the middle of the peak-playing season. More importantly, Frank Hubbard, a local businessman and one of the five original founders of the tournament, and his organizing committee realized with the growing popularity of golf in general, including increasing demands for bigger prize money, the central Florida event could use the higher profile that would come with Palmer’s involvement. After all, it was his popularity that was causing the uproar in the first place. Not only would Palmer’s participation provide a new venue and his marquee name, but it would also create opportunities to grow and enhance the tournament because of his relationship with IMG. They believed these benefits would help preserve the event for the Orlando area.
Following the 1978 Florida Citrus Open, the PGA Tour, then only three years old, approved moving the event to Bay Hill.
McCormack contacted Jim Bell, whom McCormack was introduced to while his son competed in a junior tournament run by Bell, and asked him to move to Orlando from Buffalo, New York to be the tournament director. Bell immediately met with the volunteer groups that filled so many tournament needs and found the response to be exceptional. The Rio Pinar volunteers pledged their continued support for the tournament at its new site. Bell got started in earnest in July 1978 as he began to plan the 1979 event.
Right away the purse was increased from $150,000 to $200,000 with the winner’s share increasing from $40,000 to $45,000. In comparison, Tiger Woods’ share of the $5.8 million purse was $1,044,000. A tie for 31st would garner $51,620 last year. My, how times have changed.
In the spring of 1979, with the Citrus Commission continuing its sponsorship, the Bay Hill Citrus Classic was hosted by the club, and one of the most popular stops on Tour was created.
The tournament would utilize the Challenger and Champion nines as the championship course. In preparation for the 1979 event, Palmer and his course design partner Ed Seay converted the fairly easy par-5 18th finishing hole to a very dangerous par 4, forcing a carry over water to reach the very difficult green. This change made the course a par 71 that played to 7,103 yards for the inaugural event. The tournament yardage remained the same until modifications were made before the 1990 event when it was returned to a par 72. That’s how it played until 2007 when Palmer dropped the par to 70, making the par-5 sixth and 16th holes into long par 4s.

A legacy was created

Right out of the gates, Palmer’s tournament started what would become its early legacy. In 1979, 6-under-par was the number. Bob Byman and John Schroeder were tied at the end of the 72-hole regulation, forcing the first playoff in Bay Hill history.
Ironically, Byman was a first-year pro who gained entry into the field by Monday qualifying and attended Wake Forest on an Arnold Palmer scholarship. He won the inaugural Bay Hill tournament in sudden death by carding a par 4 on the 16th hole.
It was the first of six overtimes in the history of Bay Hill over the past 29 years.
Tom Kite won twice there, both times in playoffs. In 1982, after struggling with difficult weather all week, the final round playoff had to be delayed until Monday after Kite tied with Jack Nicklaus, who never won the event, and Denis Watson. After waiting the extra day, Kite chipped in for birdie on the first playoff hole to ice the championship. The 1982 playoff was the first of three in a row as Mike Nicolette made Bay Hill member Greg Norman a bridesmaid for the first time at Bay Hill. It was Nicolette’s first and only Tour title. Then, Gary Koch defeated George Burns in 1984.
Perhaps no one other than Tiger Woods, who has won there six times - four Invitationals in a row beginning in 2000 and a Junior Amateur title there in 1991- has had as much success at Bay Hill as Tampa native Koch. He won the Florida Citrus Open at Rio Pinar in 1977 and the Bay Hill Classic in 1984. Koch also won a junior event at Rio Pinar and the 1972 Florida State Amateur at Bay Hill. He is the only player to have won titles at both courses.
In 1989, Kite won his second Bay Hill title by defeating Davis Love III in a playoff that featured one of the most bizarre finishes in its history. As Kite and Love stood on the 18th tee, they were tied with only the final hole to play. After good drives, Kite hit his approach into the water, opening the door for Love to win his second title as a pro. A young and inexperienced Love hit his approach over the green, leaving a very difficult up and down to save par. Kite made six, as Love took four strokes to hole out. The two headed for the playoff, both parring the 16th. Kite prevailed with a par as Love bogeyed the par-3 17th hole.
Immediately following the 1989 event, Palmer closed the course to rebuild all 18 greens and make other significant changes to the course. Most noteworthy was converting the first hole to a par 4 and making the fourth and 16th holes into par 5s, which made the course play to a par 72.
After four playoffs in the first six events and five of the first 11, the tournament went almost a decade without one until Tim Herron defeated Tom Lehman in 1999.

Outstanding performances, weather or not

Besides the early stretch of excitement with the playoffs, the tournament has had its share of severe weather drama, especially in its second year there. On Saturday of the tournament in 1980, a cold front swept through the Orlando area, bringing with it cold rains and high winds and canceling play in the afternoon. When players returned to finish their rounds the next morning, temperatures had fallen into the teens with the wind chill. Dave Eichelberger, dressed in pantyhose, two pairs of pants and four sweaters, battled the conditions and won the event. Even though he had to finish his third round that frigid morning, Eichelberger maintained a three-stroke lead to start the final round. His 74 on Sunday was more than enough to shiver away with the victory as more than half the field did not break 80.
Rain plagued the Invitational in 1995, but that didn’t hinder Loren Roberts from becoming the first player to successfully defend his title in Orlando. Roberts joined the Tour in 1981 but did not post the first of his eight career wins until 1994 when he won The Nestle Invitational at Bay Hill with a closing-round 67 to defeat Fuzzy Zoeller, Vijay Singh and Nick Price by one stroke. Roberts defended his Nestle Invitational crown in 1995, becoming the first player to win the same event for his first two Tour victories since Calvin Peete won the 1979 and 1982 Greater Milwaukee Opens.
Roberts’ back-to-back effort in Orlando was overshadowed in 2003 when Tiger Woods won his fourth consecutive Bay Hill Invitational.
Woods’ 11-stroke victory in 2003 was the largest margin in the 25-year history of the tournament, breaking the previous mark set by Fred Couples in 1992 by two strokes.
A stomach virus hampered him throughout Saturday night and all during a rainy Sunday. Woods still managed to win near his home in Orlando for the fourth straight year by going the final 44 holes without a bogey.
Woods closed with a 4-under 68 to become the first player in 73 years to win the same tournament four straight times. It also was the fourth time in his career on the Tour that he won by double digits, another dominant performance despite his less than cooperative digestive system.
Woods finished at 19-under 269 and became the first player since Gene Sarazen in the 1926-30 Miami Open to win the same event four straight times. Walter Hagen, who won the PGA Championship from 1924-1927, also shares the record.
The 2003 tournament had other historic overtones. The two other greatest players in the modern era, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, long-time friends and rivals, played in the tournament, almost certainly teeing it up in the same Tour event for the last time. Nicklaus, making his first appearance in eight years, was a last-minute entry on the invitation by Palmer. It also marked the 50th anniversary of Palmer playing in at least one Tour event - an unprecedented number.
Three of Woods’ first four victories were decisive. Besides the runaway in 2003, Woods won in 2000 and 2002 by four strokes. The 2001 victory was similar to last year’s win in that Woods made a long birdie putt after a nice recovery shot to the 18th green to avoid a playoff and secure the title.
Couples decimated the field in 1992, winning by nine strokes over Gene Sauers. Couples’ 19-under effort was only a part of his success that year when he won three tournaments, including the Masters, and earned more than $1.3 million to finish No. 1 on the money list for the only time in his career. Couples earned his second consecutive Player of the Year Award as voted by the players and his consecutive Vardon Trophy. He also won the Arnold Palmer Award and the PGA of America Player of the Year.
Couples missed the tournament record 20-under-par set by Payne Stewart in 1987. Stewart’s 264 (the course was playing to par 71 at the time) bettered the record posted by Andy Bean in 1981 by two strokes. Stewart defeated David Frost by three shots. Frost’s 267 would have been enough to win any other title at Bay Hill except 1980. Stewart still holds the scoring record in relation to par at Bay Hill.
In response to his record-setting performance, he donated the entire $108,000 paycheck to charity.
Robert Gamez still holds the show-stopper shot in the history of the tournament. Two months after winning his first official event on Tour at the 1990 Northern Telecom Tucson Open by four strokes over Mark Calcavecchia, Gamez fired a 7-iron from 176 yards on the final hole of the Nestle Invitational into the jar for a one-stroke victory over Greg Norman. His two wins in his first campaign on Tour earned him $461,407 and led to Rookie of the Year honors.
It was the second time Norman finished as runner-up at Bay Hill. He never won the title.
Phil Mickelson won in a self-described “Palmer-like” charge in 1997. Spurred on by an eagle at the par-5 12th hole, he galloped away from Stuart Appleby and the rest of the field by firing a 6-under 30 on the back nine on Sunday, finishing with a 16-under 272, three shots ahead of the Australian Appleby.

International flair

In 1984, the tournament became only one of five invitational tournaments on Tour. The elite status reduced the size of the field, but helped assure the quality by permitting more foreign players, a trend that began during that era. However, it was 14 years later when a foreign player claimed the title. Ernie Els was the first.
Els claimed his sixth career Tour victory by winning at Bay Hill in 1998. Several weather delays throughout the week forced a 36-hole finish on Sunday and a third round 65 vaulted him into a six-stroke lead. The two-time U.S. Open winner’s closing 73 was good for a four-stroke win. After a T16 at the Masters three weeks later, Els was ranked No.1 in world for a total of eight weeks in 1998.
Surprisingly, only two other foreign-born players have won at Bay Hill.
Rod Pampling became the second international champion in the 41-year history of the tournament with his one-stroke victory over Greg Owen in 2006. Pampling came into the final round with a four-stroke lead over three players, including Owen, whom he dueled down the stretch. The $990,000 check was the largest of his career.
Vijay Singh is the third foreign player to earn the title. In 2007, he earned his 31st career victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at age 44 years and 24 days. Singh posted rounds of 67-67 on the weekend to edge Rocco Mediate by two strokes. The win came in his 15th start at Bay Hill, when he made all 15 cuts and finished second three times. The win tied Singh with England's Harry Cooper for most Tour wins among international players. Singh won three more times in 2008, moving him to 34 career titles, 21 after turning 40 - the most by anyone in history.

The legacy continues in Orlando

Since 1979, the name Bay Hill has been part of the title of Palmer’s tournament except from 1989 to 1995 when it was known as the Nestle Invitational.
The tournament went under a few name tweaks over the years, but Bay Hill was always part of the marquee until the 2007 event.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem announced in March 2006 that the Bay Hill Invitational presented by MasterCard was changing names to honor its longtime host, Arnold Palmer.
“We have been discussing the possibility of a name change with Arnold and his family and how it would be an appropriate tribute to one of the game’s all-time great champions and ambassadors,” Finchem explained. “There was a strong sentiment to do this, and in the end we determined that it might as well occur sooner than later, particularly now that Arnold has consciously reduced his competitive playing schedule.
“Arnold has been the face of the tournament for a number of years, and it makes sense that it bears his name to honor his countless contributions to the tournament and to the PGA Tour.”
With the name change his legacy will always be part of the Orlando golf landscape, a portrait he painted with his popularity not only here, but throughout the world of golf.
“The tournament name change is certainly most appropriate for the man who has changed the face of the sport over the last 50 years and continues to impact it on a daily basis,” said Scott Wellington, who took over the tournament director duties from Bell in 2005, in a press release in March, 2006. “This will do nothing but provide even greater awareness for our event, our loyal and dedicated sponsors, Mr. Palmer’s hospital and the Orlando community as a whole. We are tremendously excited about the future of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.”
Palmer continues to be a large part of the game he helped promote, and his heritage has been cemented in time with his tournament at Bay Hill.
May it last another 30 years, and beyond.

Pain and Patriotism: The 2008 PGA TOUR season

Jim — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:34:00 GMT

Last year’s PGA TOUR started nearly the same way as years before. Tiger Woods opens his season in San Diego, probably one of his favorite places on earth, wins the Buick Invitational, the World Golf Championships—Accenture Match Play Championship and then the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his first three starts. The start to his 2008 campaign had many asking if this was to be another 2000 season for Woods when he won nine times in his 20 appearances, three of them majors.
With this guy, anything could happen.
From Orlando and Bay Hill, Woods ventured to Doral and the World Golf Championships—CA Championship and missed his fifth victory in a row, fourth on the season and fourth in a row at Doral, finishing alone in fifth, his worst finish of the year.
Instead, it was Geoff Ogilvy. With five of the top-10 players in the world chasing him as the final round finally came to a close, the talented Aussie strung together nine pars on the back nine to hold them off. The title made him just the third player to win more than one World Golf Championships title, although he and Darren Clarke have a ways to go to catch Woods' total of 15.
Ogilvy shot 17 under to finish one stroke ahead of two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, three-time major champion and winner of the 2008 FedExCup Vijay Singh and 2003 U.S. Open winner, Jim Furyk.
The cream was rising to the top as the TOUR made its way to Augusta three weeks later. Woods was heavily favored to earn his fifth Green Jacket, but somebody forgot to mention how much of a favorite to Trevor Immelman.
Four months after he had a tumor removed from his back, Immelman handled the wind and pressure of Augusta National far better than anyone chasing him on Sunday to win the Masters, the first South African in a green jacket in 30 years.
Immelman held it together around Amen Corner and stretched his lead to as many as six shots on the back nine, cooling off a season that had entered the first major of the year with so much hype and anticipation.
A two-putt par on the final hole gave him a 3-over 75, matching the highest final round by a Masters champion. Even so, it was good enough for a three-shot victory over Woods, whose hopes for a calendar Grand Slam ended with a thump.
Woods never got within five shots of the lead when he was on the course, twice missed birdie putts inside eight feet and had to settle for a 72 and his second consecutive runner-up finish in the Masters.
"I learned my lesson there with the press," Woods said with a smile. He was the one who started the talk about a Grand Slam by stating three months before that winning all four majors in the same year was "easily within reason."
We believed him.
But then, a void was created. Woods would leave the circuit to have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, the third such procedure he had performed on the joint. His absence would leave millions of dollars on the table for those willing to step up and take it.
Who would?

The First Void

Some of the old school names had appeared on the top of a couple leaderboards. Phil Mickelson had won for the second time in his career at Colonial, winning the Crowne Plaza Invitational with a miraculous wedge approach to the 18th green on Sunday, making birdie there for the fourth day in a row.
It was the second victory of the season for Mickelson. He won the Northern Trust Open earlier, giving Mickelson the “Hogan’s Alley” sweep for the year. Both Riviera and Colonial have earned the nickname because Hogan, a wonderful shotmaker if you haven’t heard, dominated both courses throughout his career.
Several young players stepped into the winner’s circle in Woods’ absence. Boo Weekley, the character of the year with his on-course antics, especially during the Ryder Cup when he rode his driver like a horse off the first tee on Sunday, won the week following the Masters at the Verizon Heritage. His victory was followed by Adam Scott, a young Australian with great upside potential that hasn’t developed as quickly as some would have guessed, won the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas and Anthony Kim won the Wachovia Championship without the defending champion, Woods, in attendance.
Sergio Garcia made his appearance at THE PLAYERS Championship pay off and erase some doubt that he could prevail in big tournaments against most of the best players. The then 28-year-old Spaniard became just the second European to win the TOUR's showcase event as he beat Paul Goydos on the first hole of sudden death, the par-3 17th. The victory was the seventh of his career and the first in 54 starts since his last win in 2005.
Garcia closed with a 71, one of just eight sub-par scores on a brutally windy day at TPC Sawgrass, to force the playoff. He rolled in a clutch seven-footer for par on the final hole of regulation. The one club in his bag that had been giving him the most turmoil had finally come through for him—his putter.
Woods returned for the U.S. Open with many speculating that he would have some rust on his game and wasn’t nearly the overwhelming favorite he was for the Masters. Others wondered if his knee had enough time to heal.
He didn’t disappoint anyone except those who doubted his ability to come back. We were all glued to our televisions as Woods battled and winced in pain after every shot. But it was Torrey Pines. And it was the U.S. Open. The drama was amplified when a 45-year-old Rocco Mediate took Woods 91 holes before allowing him to be crowned the Open champion.
One shot behind after a collapse no one saw coming, Woods birdied the 18th hole to force sudden death against a journeyman with a creaky back who simply wouldn't go away. But that one extra hole was enough to doom Mediate, trying to become the oldest U.S. Open champion at 45 years and 6 months.
He put his tee shot in the bunker on No. 7, knocked his approach off a cart path and against the bleachers, chipped some 18 feet past the hole and missed the par putt. On the verge of one of golf's greatest upsets, Mediate instead became another victim.
“It was good. I threw everything I had, everything I had,” he said following the playoff. “He had to burn the last to stay in it again and he did it. He's remarkable.”
It was discovered afterwards that Woods, who was obviously in a lot of pain during the final round on Sunday and the 18-hole playoff on Monday, had a injured ligament in the knee and was compounded with stress fractures of his lower leg.
Woods revealed on the Wednesday following his victory that he had been playing for at least 10 months with a torn ACL in his left knee, and that he suffered a double stress fracture in his left tibia two weeks before the U.S. Open. He told the world he would have season-ending surgery, knocking him out of the final two majors and the Ryder Cup.
“Now, it is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee,” Woods said on his Web site.
He sure wasn’t listening to doctors by playing the U.S. Open, a victory that now looks even more impressive.
Basically, Woods won his 14th major championship title on one leg, and then waved goodbye to the remainder of the season.
There were two majors left to go and, with Woods out of the picture, the question was who would now be the man to beat.
Once again, the veterans took the stage leading up to the British Open with Stewart Cink winning in Hartford and Kenny Perry winning twice in three weeks and making a case for Player of the Year. Young upstart Anthony Kim won for a second time at the Tiger Woods Foundation’s AT&T National at Congressional Country Club. Like Wachovia, Woods wasn’t there, either. Coming off surgery, flying wasn’t exactly the best thing for Woods to be doing at the time.

Paddy’s Sweep

As the focus shifted to Royal Birkdale, the site of the 2008 British Open Championship, all the talk was that this would be the first major to be played without Woods since 1996. Many were questioning whether the winner would truly be the Champion Golfer of the Year without the No. 1 ranked player in the field.
But all that hype was squelched when Irishman Padraig Harrington won his second consecutive Open. So what if Woods wasn’t in the field. He was in attendance in 2007 when Harrington won in a playoff over Sergio Garcia.
The Irishman fired a magnificent 1-under 69 in the final round on Sunday for a 3-over-par 283 total and a four-shot win over Ian Poulter to become the first European in more than a century -- 16th overall -- to win golf's oldest championship in consecutive years. Harrington's 69 was one of only five sub-par rounds on Sunday.
Earlier in the week, much of the attention was directed toward Greg Norman as the 53-year-old opened with a pair of 70s and a third-round 72. He actually held the lead at the turn on Sunday, but Harrington held onto the Claret Jug with a just-try-to-catch-me 32 on the back nine. Norman couldn't keep up. He shot 77 to finish tied for third and the 30th major top 10 in his career.
Story of the year, perhaps. But one we had heard before. Norman had entered the final round with the lead in eight majors in his career. Only once did he claim the title. That was the 1986 British Open Championship at Turnberry.
He does qualify for an invitation to the Masters this year. Remember that one.
Heading toward the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills near Detroit, the TOUR first made a stop in Akron and Firestone Country Club. The fact that Woods wasn’t there was actually a relief for the field of 81. This year they might have a chance. Woods has won there six times since 1999 and has never finished out of the top five.
But who would it be? Perry was the hottest coming in. One of the under-30 group could see the light, maybe Garcia or Kim. Instead Vijay Singh, who we hadn’t heard from in 34 appearances, held his hands over his head in either triumph or relief after making his final putt for a one-shot victory.
On the verge of throwing away a World Golf Championships event, as Mickelson had done ahead of him, Singh overcame some shaky putting on Sunday on the back nine by making the only one that mattered.
Three times in the previous 12 months he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead and failed to finish it off. Needing two putts from 30 feet to end the drought, the last thing he wanted was the kind of putt that has given him fits.
With par putts on the final two holes, Singh closed with a 2-under 68 to hold off hard-charging Lee Westwood, Stuart Appleby and the fast-fading Mickelson, who lost a one-shot lead with three bogeys on his final four holes.
At Oakland Hills Country Club, known as, "The Monster," Ireland's Harrington couldn’t be intimidated in the 90th PGA Championship.
With an incredible 8-under mark over the final 36 holes thanks to matching 4-under-par 66s, Harrington posted a 3-under 277 total for a two-shot win over Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis on Sunday for the Irishman's second major win in three weeks.
When push came to shove over the final three holes at Oakland Hills on Sunday, an inspired Harrington played them in 1 under, while Garcia and Curtis were 1 over. That was the difference and it opened up a fair argument if Harrington, and not Woods, was going to be Player of the Year.
"Next question, please," Garcia said, shaking his head, after being asked when he will win his first major. "Let's try to keep this as positive as we can, please."
Garcia didn't throw this one away, as he did at Carnoustie against Harrington in 2007.

FedExCup Finale

Following the regular season, the newly tweaked FedExCup playoffs began with the hope of a more “playoff feel.” The prospects for that effect were good without the dominating presence of Woods, who was still fourth on the FedExCup points list heading into the final four events. With the TOUR brass standing by with their fingers crossed, hoping last year’s finale would be more interesting than the year before, Vijay Singh went out and won the first two events. The crests fell. Back to the drawing board.
The big Fijian, at age 45, began his six-week plan with a win at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. It was Singh’s first World Golf Championships event and 32nd victory on TOUR, putting him in the record books for most victories by an international player. He had been tied with Harry "Lighthorse" Cooper of England since winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2007, a victory that seemed like a lifetime ago.
The victory convinced Singh that he was the best putter in the world, and it showed when he rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt to extend the playoff he would later win at The Barclays, the first of the four playoff events.
A closing 63 that included eight birdies and a mile worth of putts, gave Singh his second straight title -- and the third in five starts -- at the Deutsche Bank Championship. His lead in the race for the $10-million bonus was so large at that point, all Singh had to do was complete 72 holes at East Lake at THE TOUR Championship to win the prize.
The FedExCup was a snoozer, but there was excitement. Camilo Villegas, one of the new breed who represents the future of the TOUR, jumped into the spotlight, flexed his guns and went wire-to-wire at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis at the BMW Championship. Then, proving golf is a result of motivation like Singh proved in the first half, the Columbian heartthrob fired a 66 on Sunday at East Lake to get into a playoff with Garcia, which Villegas won. It was the second playoff loss for Garcia in the FedExCup finale. He was victim to Singh in Boston.
The TOUR brain trust got together afterward and began, once again, to retool the FedExCup playoff system to add spice to a, so far, tasteless affair.
For this year, the FedExCup points won’t be reset until THE TOUR Championship unlike before when they were reset prior to The Barclays, making the regular season performance more important. Then, they quintupled the points for the playoff events, making playoff performance important, too. If a guy wins a TOUR season event, it’s worth 500 points. If he wins a playoff event, he gets 2,500. It’s easier to understand, at least.
With these changes, every player in the 30-man field in Atlanta will have a mathematical chance to win THE TOUR Championship and the FedExCup along with its gaudy $10-million prize.
We will see.

Ryder Cup Flag Waving

Following the finale, there was some real excitement in the Ryder Cup because it was starting to border on ridiculous. The American’s inability to win a Ryder Cup in what is the most-anticipated biannual match-play event against the Europeans had reached three in a row - the last two by the most lopsided margins in the Cup’s history.
But Captain Paul Azinger had a plan. He finagled a big change in the PGA of America’s selection process that weighted the points in favor of the current year instead of over two years and gave him four random picks instead of two. He then divided the team of 12 players into distinct “pods” based on the perceived player’s temperament, which of course was way out there. Captain Azinger was clearly not coloring within the lines.
Sounds like hoodoo, but something needed to be done.
He didn’t know how his young team would react. Six of his players had never even played in a Ryder Cup before. The good thing was that they didn’t know what it was like to lose. It worked. The enthusiasm was infectious at Valhalla. Crazy, really.
The result was a convincing 16 1/2 to 11 1/2 victory over Nick Faldo’s European squad that left the Kentucky fans rocking and celebrating with the team on the balcony of the clubhouse. In a show of good sportsmanship, the Euros joined their counterparts in the festivities.
Now that’s the way it should be.

The Outlook

There are hundreds of questions to be answered this season. The three biggest are: When will Tiger return? How will he play when he returns? And what will happen if he doesn’t play well or return at all?
It’s all speculation even through the rumors. But I’m sure this time he’ll listen to his doctors and not return until he’s ready. I think he now understands why they told him not to play in the U.S. Open, even though it did add to his legacy. So it’s not really about when, but how he will play. Through all the theory that was spewed before his U.S. Open performance about being off since the Masters and recovering from surgery that could leave him behind practice-wise—he showed us.
The man is Teflon or something. He’s rustproof.
He won’t return until everything is right. And if it isn’t, it’ll shock me. There’s too much at stake. Watching him as closely as I have over the past dozen years or so, it is apparent he won’t quit until he’s satisfied with the results. And not even that is clear.
But there is still the chance that he could come out flat and listless, leaving those who have chased him for so long the opportunity to live more of a dream.
Sergio Garcia ended the season as No. 2 in the World Golf Ranking and has always said he wanted to be No. 1. If Woods is mortally wounded, which he probably isn’t, it could be the break the flash Spaniard is looking for. And, at 28, he’s picking up steam for the prime of his professional golf career. If I had to guess, this might be Garcia’s year.
Joining him in the 20-something category are Villegas and Kim, who make the biggest splash and are sure to entertain for a long time. Immelman, now 29, must prove that his Masters victory was, in fact, the reason everyone is calling him Gary Player’s protégé and for him to go out and win another eight major titles.
Mickelson has already resigned the fact that he came along at exactly the wrong time, but could still reignite the fire that brought him here in the first place. Whether he does or not is really of no consequence for golf fans. Phil is still fun to watch.
Singh and Furyk are the same way. They are two veterans who can light up a golf course when all the stars are aligned. Singh won the FedExCup last year and has won 23 times since turning 40. Furyk should take note of that. He’ll be 39 this year.
A few other players to watch this year aren’t from around here. Ernie Els is climbing back to his rightful spot at the top of the World Golf Ranking. Finishing in eighth place, the South African is returning to his form that had him on top of the world around the turn of the century. Harrington seems to be getting used to this major thing, although he had some rough going at the end of the season, there’s only so much a guy can do. Usually. Look for Harrington to continue to be a force on several levels. One surprise might be the Americanization of Robert Karlsson. He was the first Swede to win the European Order of Merit when he took the title last year, ranking him sixth in the rankings. He might be satisfied with that, but the cash that remains on the PGA TOUR might be the carrot that gets him over here full time, especially after he finished in the top 10 in each of the there majors he appeared last year.
In any of these scenarios the season is looking like it will be an interesting one and, with the changes to the scoring system for the FedExCup, the ending will be a memorable one. Let’s watch.

Georgia: The Police State

Jim — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:38:00 GMT

On a recent journey to Atlanta I discovered why Georgia should no longer be called the “Peach State.” Maybe they should try “Police State.”

I was driving nicely on Interstate 75 northbound on a glorious Tuesday morning in late September, just when the trees were beginning to turn and the clay was still red. I was about 15 miles into Georgia when I noticed two County Sheriffs parked in the median. One was out of his car leaning on the hood with his foot propped up on the bumper, eyeing the traffic as it went by.

Like everyone else, my heart jumped up into my throat as I glanced at my speedometer—a natural, human reaction. I was traveling at around 73 MPH, a safe speed anywhere in the world you can find a wonderful stretch of road like the Georgia State Interstate system. It’s one of the best in the country, making it very tempting to hammer down and haul ass. But it’s well known throughout the Southeast that this particular piece of highway is one of the most heavily patrolled by both the local Sheriffs as well as the State Highway Patrol for that very reason, and maybe because they can only eat so many pecan rolls with their coffee.

As I went by, I glanced over at a young deputy leaning on his taxpayer-provided ride. I must have had a devious look in my eye, or maybe he has something against Mazdas. Anything is possible on this particular stretch of road. He got off the hood and headed for his door. About a mile later he was trying to hide in my blind spot on the left. You know the game, I slow down, and he slows down. I speed up, and he speeds up. Cat and mouse. I'm the mouse.

After this childish game continued for another mile or so, the Storm trooper pulls in behind me and lights me up.

I'm in the middle lane of three and signal to the right shoulder. I safely park the car with the engine still running, roll down the window and started getting the usual paperwork—license, registration and insurance—when I hear over the patrol car’s PA speaker, "Driver, please get out of the car on the driver's side."

Uh oh.

Now, this is highly unusual for a patrolman to ask a driver to get out of the car unless he wants to flex his police-power muscles. I didn’t really have anything to worry about. It was around 11 o’clock in the morning so I hadn’t started drinking yet and knew I wasn’t on any most wanted lists. So now I was confused. Three miles an hour over the speed limit and I was being asked to get out of my car. I complied with his request and left the paperwork on the front seat.

I put both hands on the door as I slowly opened it and stepped out, just like they tell you to do on “Cops.” (And they say you can’t learn anything from cable TV.) With the car still idling I walked back towards the officer dressed in my usual travel-casual attire; cargo shorts, un-tucked fishing shirt, flip-flops and Tampa Bay Rays hat. I was unshaven of course and in a real need of a haircut. Comfortable.

“Go stand over there,” the young deputy commanded pointing to the right font corner of the patrol car, which happened to be in the grass off the shoulder.

He was a kid really. About six feet tall, 175 pounds or so, with a military haircut exposed to the elements because he didn’t wear a hat. He was wearing sunglasses that kind of made him look like an insect. He was about 25-years-old I would guess and either a pissed-off veteran who returned without getting to kill anyone in Iraq or just a backcountry Georgia bully who even the Army wouldn’t take.

At any rate, I complied. And as I did, he spoke into the squawk box that is mounted near his shoulder so he can turn his head slightly and talk into the mike and look cool doing it, I guess. I have about as much clue as to why he had that thing as I did wondering why I was standing on the shoulder of an Interstate highway that fall morning.

“Is this your car,” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” I said. And before I could tell him I left the registration on my front seat to prove it to him, he asked, “Are you from Boca,” meaning Boca Raton. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t asking if I was on the Bar Of Contemporary Art.

“No, sir. I’m from Bradenton.”

All he had to do was ask for my license and registration and he wouldn’t have to ask so many other questions. Instead he garbled something into his shoulder, looking cool.

A female voice, I think, came back from his shoulder absolutely butchering my last name. Chiaffredo is hard to say with a southern drawl.

“Are you James She-a-fray-do?”

“Yes, sir.” I didn’t want to go into the phonetics with this guy. Besides, I’ve been called worse.

“Where yew headed?”

“We’re headed to Atlanta for a golf tournament up there this week,” I said, making reference to my car and me as first person plural, which was a mistake. The deputy looked towards my car and, of course, not seeing anyone else traveling with me asked the most logical question, “You travelin’ alone?”

“Yes, sir. I just make reference to it as ‘we.’ My car and me, we’re a team.”

“Uh-huh,” he said as he walked up to my car and looked through the windows.

In the meantime, I felt something stinging my left ankle. As I looked down not just something, but a whole damn colony of fire ants, a known hazard along highways in the South were having a relative feast on my extremity. I jumped up on the asphalt shoulder and began slowly brushing the fire-breathing bastards off my ankle and foot so as not to spoil their lunch anymore than I had already. They just needed to eat somewhere, or someone, else.

During my battle with the ants the Deputy returned. I stood up.

“Yew awright?”

“Yes sir. You had me standing in some fire ants.”

“Uh huh. Yew still got some on ya,” he pointed out as I went back to work, getting the remaining couple off my foot and toes, which were already beginning to swell. I stood back up again.

“How long yew gunna be in Atlanta,” he asked, even in my pain.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “I might come back Friday or wait until Sunday, depending on how it goes.”

“Uh huh. If yew stayin’ that long where’s yore suitcase?”

“In the trunk,” I said, wondering where most people stow their gear. “I can show you if you want.”

“What are you gunna do in Atlanta,” he asked me again.

“I’m a golf writer.”

“A wha’?”

“A golf writer. I talk with the players and write stories about them so golf fans can read about them if they want to.”

This pool was getting more and more shallow as this line of questioning continued. But the pool of possibilities this yahoo was looking for became deeper and more ominous.

“Yew don’t have no guns in there, do ya,” he asked out of that clear Georgia sky catching me a little off guard.

“No, sir. I don’t even own any guns,” I said. “I have a couple fishing poles, though.”

No response.

“Yew have any marijuana in that car.”

“No, sir. I haven’t had any marijuana since I was in college, and that was about 30 years ago.”

He stared at me.

“How ‘bout cocaine.”

Now he was getting scary. All of a sudden I had this giant frame job going through my head. Guns? Pot? Coke? What did I look like, a smuggler? Well, maybe. Must have been the fishing shirt.

“No, sir,” I replied, biting my tongue before issuing my usual response whenever I was asked if I wanted to do a bump or two, which was always, “No thanks, I don’t like the way it smells.” But I figured that might just put this young S.S. officer over the edge and send me to Nuremberg to take a shower.

“How about Xtasy,” he continued.

“No, sir. I’m way too old for that.” I couldn’t resist.

“So you wouldn’ mind if I searched yore car?”

This was getting weirder and weirder. I was probably a few bad jokes from what is known in Storm Trooper School as a “Terry stop.” That’s when an officer has reasonable suspicion that criminal activity has been, is being, or is about to be committed, giving him the right to personally frisk the suspect and look through my car for the aforementioned contraband. I kept my smart-assed, yet clever, mouth shut for once. I just wanted to get back in my car and get to wherever I was going as long as it wasn’t the Louwden County jail.

I said, “No, go right ahead if you have reasonable cause. You want me to open the trunk for you?”

He froze for a moment. I was lucky this kid was present the day they went over the Fourth Amendment in Storm Trooper School.

Immediately he redirected. “Yew know why I stopped you,” he asked.

The smart-assed responses were pinging through my head like an electrical storm—“Sure, officer. You’re a Red Sox fan and you saw my hat.” “You ran out of peanuts and want me to go get you some at Stuckey’s at the next exit.” “You wanted to see if you could get the numbers and letters off a Florida license tag correctly this time.” “You were bored and wanted to ask me for a date.”

I shook my head that I didn’t know.

“I pulled yew over ‘cause you were following that semi in front of you too closely. If he had to slam on his brakes yew’d go right up underneath him and we don’t need no accidents ‘round here,” he explained. “Can I see yore license?”

By this time, my tongue was about ready to be bit completely off as I slowly reached in my pocket for my wallet. I didn’t want to explain the laws of inertia to this guy—how it would take a 20,000-pound truck a helluva lot more of that pristine Georgia Interstate to stop than a 2,300-pound car.

“I’m gunna give yew a warnin’ this time,” he said. “It ain’t gunna cost yew no money or nuthin’.”

Now that was mighty white of him.

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I’ll do that two-second count thing between my car and the one in front of me from now on.” I folded like a cheap suit. I hope all my brothers in the anti-war effort of the 70’s forgive me, but I really have neither the time nor energy for the fight anymore. I’ll leave that for fighters with fewer scars.

“Yew do that,” he said as he handed me the warning.

I took the small sheet of paper he tore off a pad and walked back to my car, got in and carefully drove away. He followed me until the next exit and got off the freeway, probably headed for that Stuckey’s. It was, after all, lunchtime, and somewhere around there was a chicken samm’ich and Dr. Pepper waiting on him.

I drove on, counting, “one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two,” every time I came upon a slower moving vehicle all the way to Atlanta.

Azinger and the Rays—upstart victory at hand

Jim — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:34:00 GMT

I love golf. Don’t get me wrong. It pays my bills quite nicely. I’m watching every match for the next three days, hoping no less that my friend Paul Azinger, who I’ve had the pleasure of covering on and off for the Bradenton Herald for the past 14 or so years, and his Ryder Cup Team beat the crap out of the European Team this weekend at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, KY. But the fact of the matter is I’m having more fun watching the Tampa Bay Rays stride along toward the franchises’ first playoff berth, and perhaps, dare I say, the World Series.

My hope is not folly on either count.

Azinger has put together a flim-flam group who has just enough guts to pull off the first Ryder Cup victory for the U.S. in nearly a decade. I wish I could quote a player who had an opportunity to make the team early on who said something like Azinger had enough (expletive deleted) to pull the job off. If anyone can, Zing can. I believe the player who said it. He’s playing this week, but at the Viking Classic in Annandale, MS an important stop on the PGA Tour for your wife, family, agent and yourself if you’re trying to keep your job for next year’s Tour campaign. God bless ‘em.

But the Rays have been amazing this year, coming as no surprise to yours truly. As a matter of fact, in a fit of frustration, I made a bet in March after seeing Evan Longoria and a couple other players who were acquired in the off season play at McKechnie field this spring. I bet that the team would finish with at least 88 wins. The guy with whom I made the bet, a staunch Orioles fan, looked at me like I was smoking crack and took the bet. I’m still looking for him. I also bet him the Rays would finish with a better record than the O’s. He’s been hiding from that one since the All Star break.

On each account I’m feeling pretty large right now. Two out of three, so far.

I’ve watched both Azinger and the Rays struggle for most of those years. Azinger had his moments after whipping cancer in ’94 and ’95, making his comeback and then relaxing to see what would come next. He won one more time after that magically mixed up year in 1993, winning the PGA Championship over Greg Norman, who I can’t stand, just before Azinger was diagnosed with cancer in his shoulder later in the year, essentially ending his momentum but for his win in Hawaii.

The Rays, on the other hand, never had momentum. They were always the bridesmaids in the American League East and I thought, until this spring, might always be. The team under the old ownership of Vince Namoli seemed destined to be the redheaded stepchild and that was that.

But this season, a maturing farm system and new ownership, who is determined to win instead of trying lame marketing ploys like the steroid-enhanced “Hit Show” featuring baseball’s biggest narc, Jose Canseco and Manny Castillo, who was nicknamed, “Cash-stealer,” as well as a couple big-named pitchers who didn’t want to pitch, could pull this off for all to see.

My weekend will be full watching both these Davids take it to the Goliaths. My wish is they both succeed.

My bet is, both will.

Ya gotta believe.

The Ryder Cup and why I'm not there

Jim — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:56:00 GMT

It was all set. I had my credential in hand for the 37th Ryder Cup Matches, this time at Valhalla GC in Louisville, KY. It had those little black bars on it that they can scan to make sure it's me, a place to stay for four days and a small assignment for the Bradenton Herald, captain Azinger's hometown rag, to cover some of the gas money.

Then, as luck would have it, a big freak named Ike came through Texas, shutting down gas refineries left and right, driving up the price and limiting supply of gasoline all up and down the I-75 corridor. He didn't stop there. Going through Kentucky on Sunday he took out the power to the place I was going to stay for the Matches, a high school friend's home in Louisville. My friend explained he didn't expect to get power restored until Friday.

I was shut out. Ike is a prick.

                                       ap

If you've ever been without electricity or gasoline you understand better than anyone how your world is more than just a little upset by their absence. The guy was a great friend in high school, but I hadn't talked to him in 30 years, and to put my fat ass in his already messed up routine with a wife I've never met and a teenager who messed up his bathroom this morning because it has a window and hers doesn't.

But because of the electronic age, I can still get transcripts and video from the site and not have to get the aforementioned fat ass off the couch. Add this to wire-to-wire coverage by the television networks, and shoot, it's almost like being there. So, during the Ryder Cup Matches I'll interject things I find interesting and see if anyone else in this cyber wonderland thinks so.

My first Ryder Cup was 1995 at Oak Hill in Rochester, NY. I was lucky enough to have Mike Mersch, then the Sports Editor for the Herald, allow me to get a credential to attend the event and pay me a correspondent fee for my effort. It wasn't enough to cover the airfare, but I went anyway. I was young and adventurous and had just started writing golf with Mersch's blessing. I was wide-eyed and eager. You know, now that I think f it, the newspaper business hasn't changed much since then, even if they say it has. They still pay the same to cover a Ryder Cup only now it doesn't cover the gas to get there and back, let alone a plane ticket.

Although I'm not there in person, im certainly there in spirit, hoping for nothing else than to see Azinger win the damn cup back for the United States, something we havn't done since 1999 in Boston. I just wish I could have made the trip.

Overnight Marketing Disaster

Jim — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:29:00 GMT

The FedExCup playoffs has, once again become a snoozer. I guess that’s not a big deal unless you consider ther’ve only been two of them. Vijay Singh comes out, wins the first two events and then uses the PGA TOUR “penultimate” series—some marketing genius’ catch line, not mine—like an ATM machine with a Black American Express Card.

Singh came into the BMW Championship last week well out of reach of practically everyone trying to catch him for the FedExCup. In St. Louis he played like crap, shot even par and still walks away from the tournament with a clinch of the Cup if he finishes 72 holes in Atlanta in two weeks.

He might want to stay in his house until then. Lock himself in, call Frank Lickliter to stand guard and be on the lookout for Tim Finchem or some other TOUR honcho, not necessarily with a urine sample cup, but with baseball bats. The boys are probably more than a little disappointed that their marquee player is limping around making babies and their precious FedExCup has already been etched, making the TOUR Championship about as exciting as watching gasoline evaporate—it’s expensive and by the end of week, it’ll all be gone.

It’s too bad, too. They have a kid in second place in these standings who won last week and could be the next Freddy Couples. At least his galleries are about as good looking as Fred’s. Maybe better.

Camilo Villegas is a young, single, sharp-featured young man from Columbia where there’s only about 40 golf courses in the whole country. He’s handsome, self-confident, wears cool clothes and has arms like an ultimate fighting champion. Chicks dig guns.

His trademark move is when he gets behind the ball on the green like Spiderman to line up his putts. I’ve actually heard women sigh when he does that saying something like, “Oh my.” Chicks dig contortionists.

In other words, he’s marketable and doesn’t have a chance to be the first to kiss the Cup. (Vijay, take note. Woods didn’t kiss the Cup even if they marketed the fact it had never been kissed before. You gotta love that. Stick it to the man, Veej)

I’m not trying to take anything away from Singh. Winning in consecutive weeks on the Tour is almost impossible, unless you’re playing on a bum knee and broken leg. Singh had a good year, but not up to his haughty standards of a few years ago when he won a gob of money, the Player of the Year award and took over the No. 1 spot in the rankings from the pre-baby maker, pre-FedExCup. He won once before the playoffs at the WGC—Bridgestone Invitational this year, another Tour-induced limited field event played in Akron. He’s won a princely $6 million in prize money, give or take a few hundred thousand. But, he didn’t make any money in the last two majors because of missing the cut at the British Open and the PGA Championship.

And here’s even more misuse of the system—the guy who won both of those isn’t even in the TOUR Championship. Padraig Harrington successfully defended his Open title then won his first major on American turf a couple weeks later. Problem was, although he won two majors he missed two cuts, just like Singh, but his were the first two events of the playoffs.

What’s wrong with this picture?

I’m glad you asked.

In the first place, if they’re trying to make a playoff situation there has to be elimination, but not until the Tour’s perceived Game 7—The TOUR Championship.

Cutting from 140 players for the first two weeks, then cutting to 70 in week three and 30 for the final is silly. We’re seeing why for several reasons.

Why not cut to the top 70 after the Wyndham Championship and let the boys play hard, with no cuts, for three weeks. Then, after progressively increasing the points for those three events, take the top 30 to Atlanta to duke it out with all the standings erased. Winner takes all. That means you have 30 of the hottest players playing at the time and anyone has a shot at the prize.

Golf is not a best of seven thing, although Singh was best of four in this series just like Woods was last year. Remember though, Woods didn’t play the Barclays, the first event of the playoffs, and still won the Cup running away. At least last year, four guys had a mathematical change at catching him in the final event of the series.

With all due respect to the men who play this Tour. They are the best players in the world even if they’re not marquee names. The sad reality of too much money is that not many folks except maybe wives, parents and agents really care to watch Jon Mills, Justin Bolli or Lee Janzen, who has also won a couple majors of his own, play golf. Sorry. I do this for a living and I’ve never even heard of two of them. So where’s the drama in that?

They had a mathematical chance to win the Cup with odds about as outrageous as an asteroid hitting earth. So why do it at all?

Sure, the guy who finishes 71st will piss and moan and kick dirt, but so does the school administration of the 65th pick in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. And why are they whining? The money.

Sorry about that, chief. Play harder next year. The Cubs have been doing it for decades.

So, I think I’ll be at the TOUR Championship in Atlanta just to see who comes in second. That’s about all it’s worth.

Third round left in the dark—Furyk, Villegas battle for lead at the BMW Championship

Jim — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:35:00 GMT

When the horn blew suspending play due to darkness at 7:18 p.m., Jim Furyk and Camilo Villegas were tied for the lead heading into Sunday’s action at the BMW Championship. Furyk completed his round, carding a 66 to move to 12-under-par and is the leader in the clubhouse. Villegas was stranded in the dark with five holes to play in order to finish his third round this morning.

Also left on the course with a chance to take the third-round lead this morning along with Villegas is Brian Gay at 10-under with three holes to play.

There are five groups yet to finish their third round. Play was scheduled to resume this morning at 7:30 a.m.

It was a long day for the players as the weather conditions on Thursday postponed the first round until Friday, as officials hoped to squeeze in the second and third rounds on Saturday. A 91-minute fog-delay Saturday made that intention impossible, forcing completion today.

“I just tried to pace myself really all day knowing that we were going to be out there for 36 holes,” Furyk said. “Not get overly excited or upset. Try not to waste too many steps and actually didn’t over-warm up or hit a ton of balls or anything like that before my round.”

His approach worked, posting a championship record 62 in the morning session, including a 7-under 28 on his back nine, another record.

“I didn’t see it coming. My goal was to go out there and play two solid rounds,” Furyk said.

His second round of the day was much less dramatic with six birdies and two bogeys, including one on the 18th, his last hole of the day.

Even after Furyk’s record-breaking round in the morning, Villegas held a one-shot lead heading into the third round, posting a 4-under 66, leaving him at 9-under at the 36-hole break. His morning session included a double-bogey 6 on the ninth hole, his finishing hole for the third round he will complete this morning.

After 32 holes on Saturday, which he played steadily through 13 holes with three birdies and nine pars, Villegas is chomping at the bit to get started and play today.

“I’m playing good and it is what it is,” he said. “We knew we weren’t going finish, and you just prepare yourself mentally for that and come back tomorrow in the morning and play good.”

Gay is happy to see the day come to an end saying after his round, “I’m worn out. I’m ready to go home.”

Following completion of the third round this morning, the PGA TOUR will assign tee times for the final round, which is anticipated to begin around 10 a.m. The final round will be played in threesomes off the No.1 and No. 10 tees.

Divots from the BMW Championship

Jim — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:33:00 GMT

After play on Sunday afternoon, the BMW Championship field of 68 will be pared down to the 30 qualifiers for the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola played in three weeks. The BMW Championship is the first of two no-cut playoff events. The entire field in St. Louis will have four rounds to move into the top-30 to make it to the TOUR Championship.

Camilo Villegas marked the fourth time in his career he held at least a share of the 36-hole lead in a TOUR event. The others lead to a T34 at the 2008 FBR Open, T5 at the 2006 RBC Canadian Open and T2 at he 2006 Ford Championship at Doral.
There was only one eagle in the first round, while there were three in the second. Sergio Garcia’s hole-in-one on the third, Briny Baird holed out from 117 yards on the 11th hole and Jim Furyk holed out from 113 yards on the second.
Chad Campbell withdrew before the start of the second round on Saturday morning. He returned to his home near Dallas when he learned his wife, Amy, started having contractions prior to the birth of the couple’s first child.
Bart Bryant scored the second ace of the day. His came during the third round following Sergio Garcia’s hole-in-one earlier in the day in round two. Bryant scored a one on the par-3 13th hole with a 5-iron from 186 yards.
Jim Furyk is looking for his first victory of the season. The last time he failed to make his way into the winner’s circle was in 2004. His last victory was the 2007 Canadian Open.
Should Furyk’s lead hold up, it will mark the 15th time in his career he has held at least a share of the 54-hole lead. His last was at the 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial where he tied for second.
Villegas returns this morning to try and gain the first 54-hole lead of his career. He has yet to win on the PGA TOUR.
Dating back to 1970, the third-round leader/co-leader of the championship has won 19 times in 38 tournaments, including most recently Furyk in 2005.
This season, the third-round leader/co-leader has won 20 of 38 stroke play events on the PGA TOUR, with the most recent being Carl Pettersson’s win at the Wyndham Championship.

Pre-BMW Championship Notes

Jim — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:07:00 GMT

The BMW Championship had been played in Illinois since 1962, but prior to that, it was played in 16 different states when it was known as the Western Open.

The event will return to Missouri for the first time since 1953 when it was held at the old Bellerive location. This will be the sixth time the tournament has been held in Missouri, but first in 55 years.

          This will be the first PGA TOUR co-sponsored event in Missouri since the 1973 St. Louis Children’s Hospital Classic won by Gene Littler.

          No less than 24 different World Golf Hall of Fame members have had their name engraved in the historic J. K. Wadley trophy.

          Vijay Singh became the second player to pass the $60 million mark in career earnings with his victory last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship while Phil Mickelson became the third to hit the $50 million mark after a T73 finish.

Since turning 40 on Feb. 22, 2003, Singh has won 22 PGA TOUR titles and has had 80 Top-10 finishes. With only his wins since turning 40, Singh would still rank T27 on the all-time list.

         Only three players other than Vijay Singh have finished in the Top-10 in each of the first two events—Sergio Garcia (T2-T5), Mike Weir (T7-2) and Justin Leonard (T7-T7).

         Three players who started the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup outside the Top 120 have advanced to the BMW Championship—Tim Herron (133rd to 48th), Martin Laird (128th to 61st) and Angel Cabrera (131st to 70th).

Remnants of Gustav Washes Out First Round

Jim — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:39:00 GMT

Remnants of Gustav Washes Out First Round

The first round of the BMW Championship was cancelled due to heavy rainfall on Thursday. Tournament officials have rearranged the schedule and are confident the championship will finish on schedule Sunday.

Tournament Director Slugger White said the tournament will play 18 holes today, and then re-pair after the first round according to scores before playing 36 holes on Saturday. The first-round leaders will tee off on No. 1 on Saturday morning. There will not be any re-pairing after the second round for third-round play Saturday afternoon.

“The leaders will tee off on No. 1 on Saturday morning, finish on 18 in the neighborhood of probably around 2:00 p.m. and we will not re-pair for the third round,” White said. “We’re just going to go in the same groups, try and get finished on Saturday. And in a perfect world we will be playing in pairs on Sunday on one tee and have another wonderful champion here.”

Tee times were suspended early in the day on Thursday prior to being postponed for the day at 11:30 a.m.

Nearly three inches of rain was measured as of 11:30, when the decision was made to postpone the round.

“We’ve got 16 miles of drainage out there and we’re having trouble putting it anywhere,” White said of the conditions before noon yesterday. “It may be as bad as I’ve seen in a long, long time.”

The postponement on Thursday marks the 18th event with a suspension/postponement on the PGA TOUR in 2008 and the first since the Wyndham Championship three weeks ago. The last time a round was completely wiped out by weather was the 2005 BellSouth Classic where there was no play at all on Thursday or Friday with the finish eventually on Monday. It was won by Phil Mickelson after the tournament was shortened to 54-holes.

That shouldn’t be the case here in St. Louis this year.

“We’ve got a front coming through on Saturday, but it appears to be dry,” said Stewart Williams, Chief Meteorologist for the TOUR. “There’s another front coming through Sunday evening. Unless the front on Sunday speeds up, we should be fine for the rest of the championship.”

The weekend forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with the highs in the upper-70’s to low-80’s for all three days.

Playing 36 holes on Saturday shouldn’t be a problem for the players.

“It comes with the job,” Hunter Mahan said. “We’ll all deal with it. The course is pretty simple to walk. It’s not really hilly or anything like that. It’s a good course.”

Local TOUR pro Williamson playing at home

Jim — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:34:00 GMT

Born in St. Louis and a member at Bellerive Country Club, Jay Williamson has earned his way into the elite field of 70 players, 69 who are in attendance, qualifying for the BMW Championship, the third leg of four playoff events to determine the winner of the FedExCup.
“I’ve got to say that it’s just a real honor to represent St. Louis. It’s an honor to represent Bellerive Country Club and it’s really a dream come true, and I feel extremely fortunate to be here,” he said. “It’s a culmination of a long journey, and I’m not retiring or anything next week, but it’s been a long trip and it’s fun to be here this week.”
Williamson turned pro in 1990 and has jumped between the PGA TOUR and Nationwide tours. Earlier this year he nearly won his first TOUR event at the John Deer Classic losing in a one-hole playoff to Kenny Perry after hitting his approach shot into the water.
“If the same thing happens with Kenny Perry coming down the stretch on 18, the good thing is there’s no water on 18 here and there’s no tractor for me to hit so that would be something.”

Vijay Singh: At the Control

Jim — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:32:00 GMT

There’s no doubt Vijay Singh is the man to watch this week at the BMW Championship and a runaway favorite to win the FedExCup. But if you take a closer look, there are a few ways a couple other players could pull off an upset.

Assuming he finishes this week without being disqualified, withdrawing or not showing up at all he needs to have a 10,501 point lead over second place to guarantee he'll win the FedExCup. Beginning this week his lead over Sergio Garcia in second is 12,225, so the only way Singh can clinch the Cup in St. Louis is to win. Then, even if Garcia finishes second, Singh will have at least a 15,825-point lead and will be the FedExCup champion even if he doesn't earn any points in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
If Singh finishes second at the BMW Championship and anyone other than Garcia or Mike Weir wins, Singh will clinch even if he finishes last in Atlanta.

But if Singh finishes fifth at the BMW Championship, a few players could still be in contention. Specifically, if the BMW winner comes from among the top 12 in the standings, that player would be mathematically alive, as would Garcia with a three-way tie for second or better, and Weir with a second alone. Thus, Singh can clinch if he finishes fifth, someone from outside the top 12 wins, Garcia finishes third or worse and Weir finishes tied for second or worse.

If Singh finishes last at BMW Championship, he can still clinch, but it requires a winner from outside the top 24, Garcia finishing outside the top five, Weir finishing outside the top three and Leonard outside the top two.

Anyway you cut it, Singh is in control of his own destiny and the FedExCup.

Clovis Hackett and the Fertilizer Amateur

Jim — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:25:00 GMT

Here's the audio version if you don't want to, or can't, read.

He was just sitting there in the corner of the crowded clubhouse staring blankly at the trophy he held in his meaty, right hand. A cold adult beverage, brewed from the finest hops, was in the other. What was left of a Dutch Masters panatela hung limply from his pouting lips, ashes getting caught by his ample mid-section.
Clovis Hackett was bummed.
I couldn't understand why. After all, he won his flight at the Fraternal Order of Fertilizer Salesman Amateur Championship, the biggest event of the year if you're a member of the association, and winning is everything to my 280-pound best friend. I mean, this is a man who has been honored as one of the association's top salesman for the past 12 years.
Fertilizer is his life.
Winning big golf tournaments was too. Or so he thought.
"Yo, Hack. You look like you just lost your best friend," I said, knowing that as long as I was there that could never happen.
"Hey, Schiffer," his largeness dejectedly replied.
"What's wrong with you, buddy," I asked. "How come you're not over there with the rest of the guys raisin' hell and telling lies?"
" I dunno," he mumbled. "Guess I just don't feel like it this afternoon."
I hadn't seen Clovis this dejected since he lost his sixth wife, Thelma, a couple of years ago to a gay woman from Jacksonville.
"Clove, this isn't like you pal," I offered.
"I know it, Jimmy. Dang it, I ought to be as happy as a 'skeeter in a nudist camp, but I just can't get right with this," he said as he gingerly held up his prize and shook his head.
I began to get the idea that Hackett wasn't at all pleased with his 36-hole performance at this year's tournament. He was acting like he was a little embarrassed.
Last year he finished third in the championship flight behind arch rivals, Rory Pinch and Kyle Waller. He vowed he would never finish worse than first ever again, especially at this event. That's exactly what happened, too.
This year he won.
But it was the 12th flight.
By Clovis' standards, that was like winning a mud wrestling match against Tawney Peaks, a 99-pound stripper, who was also his third wife.
The tournament was set up by Donald J. Beauregard, His Royal Highness of the Fraternal Order of Fertilizer Salesman, and self-appointed tournament director. All players were grouped by their first-round scores on Saturday and he thought that by doing that it would allow everyone play against others of similar ability for the second round Sunday.
No big guys fighting little women at Donald's tournament. No, sir.
It made sense as it eliminated all that, "Handicap bull-oh-nee" I once heard him say.
It didn't work for Clovis.
"I'm a legit six or seven," Hackett said, breaking out of his funk. "How'd I end up playin' with a bunch of old codger-geezers when I should be up there playin' against them other guys. I can beat them. I do it all the time. I take their money on Thursday. Regular.
"Wasn't my fault I shot 91 yesterday."
He caught himself.
I raised my eyebrows, and gave him one of those "fatherly advice" looks.
"Well, okay. I did lose two sleeves of balls on the front nine, four in the woods and two in them stupid little lakes," He admitted. "Then I had four three putts on the back nine.
"It wasn't pretty, Schiffy."
"Doesn't sound like it, Hack," I comforted. "But what happened today? You shot 78."
He shook his head in disbelief as he drew on the now stubby panatela, ashes hitting his big gut again, forming their own little trail as they rolled off the geodesic dome.
"Dunno. Guess I was just havin' fun," he said, thoughtfully, blowing the cheap smoke into the lonely air. "Best round I've had in a long time. Didn't really care what I shot."
"So, what's the problem?" I asked.
"Them guys prob'ly think I'm some kinda sandbagger or something."
More embarrassment was detectable in his lowered voice.
"Why would anyone think that, Clove? All you won was that trophy and a $20 gift certificate to the Green Bayou Car Wash. It's not like they gave you a green jacket."
He nodded slowly with a grin as he gave a blank look toward the six-inch trophy.
"Come on, I'll buy you a beer," I said, even though they were on the house. Beauregard took good care of his members.
"Okay," he said as he stubbed out his stogie, grabbed the little trophy and got up from the lonely table. "You know, Jim, I guess that's just golf."
"Yeah, my big friend," I said.
I reached up and slapped him on his huge shoulder and pointed towards the group of laughing competitors on the other side of the room.
"All of this is just golf."