Archive for June, 2008
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
No matter who won, history was guaranteed to be made at the 113th British Amateur Championship. In the end, it was Dutchman Reinier Saxton who carved his own little niche in the game’s oldest amateur tournament by defeating England’s Tommy Fleetwood, 3 and 2, in the 36-hole final.
The 20-year-old from Amsterdam became only the second Dutch player to win in the 123-year history of the event.
Saxton lived up to 1990 champion Rolf Muntz’s exhortation. Muntz, who won the title at Muirfield 18 years ago, played in a Dutch tournament recently with Saxton and gave his young pretender just one order: “Bring back the trophy.”
Saxton ended his 17-year-old opponent’s dream of becoming the youngest player to win the Amateur Championship.
“It’s hard to realize it yet,” Saxton said. Saxton was 2 up with two holes to play in the morning round but lost the 17th and 18th to go back to all square at lunch. “It didn’t bother me losing the 17th and 18th because I just saw it as two lost holes in the middle of the match.”
The turning point came at the 11th, 12th and 13th holes. Saxton saved par from a bunker on the par-3 11th, then birdied the par-4 12th from 10 feet to win both holes and go 3-up. Fleetwood had a chance to win the 13th but did not get up and down from off the green.
Muntz played in the 1990 Open Championship and 1991 Masters and missed both cuts. Although he’s no longer on the European Tour, he won the Qatar Masters in 2000.
Saxton booked places in next month’s Open Championship and next year’s Masters as a result of winning.
Saxton moved to No. 50 in the Golfweek/Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking with the victory, while Fleetwood moved to No. 110.
Fleetwood, meanwhile, still has a two years of junior golf left to play.
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Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn., home to the championship June 26-29, is the longest course to hold the Women’s Open. With five par 5s, four of them reachable in two by powerful hitters, the 6,789-yard, par-73 layout offers a potential birdie-fest to players who can control their tee shots. At the same time, its tree-lined fairways severely punish wayward drives. In short – actually, long – it’s a typical USGA-style parkland course.
The 160-acre site is part of a spacious, leafy suburb seven miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis. Interlachen subsequently held the 1935 U.S. Women’s Amateur (won by Glenna Collett Vare), the 1986 U.S. Senior Amateur (won by Bo Williams), the 1993 Walker Cup (U.S. over G.B. & I, 19-5), and the 2002 Solheim Cup (U.S. over Europe, 15 1/2-12 1/2).
Interlachen offers rolling fairways, 25-28 yards wide, that require precise shot making if the ball is to stay in play. The greens are on the small size, averaging 5,000 square feet, with considerable pitch from back to front. Many of the greens are perched on modest plateaus and require well-struck approaches, lest the ball roll off into bunkers and chipping hollows. Green speeds will average 11.5-12 on the Stimpmeter – much faster than for everyday LPGA events.
There’s a twist to the normal (members) layout thanks to the nines being flipped. The 413-yard, par-4 ninth hole calls for a semi-blind tee shot to a landing area 30 feet below the tee. The hole plays into the prevailing westerly wind and requires a long approach to a putting surface 30 feet above the fairway. Interlachen’s 530-yard, par-5 18th hole is a fine stage for the culmination of a match. The key to playing it is a strong tee shot that favors the right side – leaving a second shot that must carry a huge mid-fairway lake that runs to within 50 yards of the putting surface. Like many classic-era golf courses, Interlachen demands controlled shot making.
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Saturday, June 21st, 2008
On the driving range Sunday at Torrey Pines, Phil Mickelson was hitting driver, warming up for his 9:20 a.m. tee time in the final round of the 108th U.S. Open. Mackay laughed along with Mickelson and swing instructor Butch Harmon.
Saturday, Mickelson awoke at his Rancho Santa Fe home to a headline in the San Diego Union-Tribune that read, “Mickelson’s no-driver experiment a flop.” “The second biggest [was] when Phil took the headcover off his driver,” said USGA starter Ron Read.
In the interim, Pelz emphasized to Mickelson that playing from the fairway was going to be the key for the week. Their plan was based on a club Mickelson had made for him at the Callaway facility, a 13-degree FT Fairway 3-wood bent to 11.5 degrees. Able to carry shots hit with that club 280 yards, with 20 yards of roll, Mickelson was hoping to put less stress on his short game by keeping his ball in the fairway.
The plan backfired when Mickelson hit just 12 fairways, made only six birdies and shot rounds of 71-75. “I don’t know anybody who can hit a driver straighter than a 3-wood.”
“Hitting driver just threw me off,” he deadpanned.
Some say Mickelson hasn’t been right since the heartbreak of Winged Foot (a poorly timed replay was showing on the giant screen overlooking the driving range as he warmed up Thursday morning), that since working with Harmon, he hasn’t made significant inroads into Tiger’s domain. Mickelson’s supporters say his new method is a work in progress. He has won four PGA Tour events since hooking up with Harmon, including the 2007 Players and a head-to-head duel with Woods at last year’s Deutsche Bank Championship. Mickelson shot 68 Sunday to finish T-18, seven shots out of the playoff.
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Friday, June 20th, 2008
The game of golf was born on rugged, wind-swept land like this. Where every hole, every hazard, and every shot is defined by nature’s infinite presence. True links courses are rare, with only about 160 on the entire planet.
At Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, you’ll find three distinctly different courses built on a beautiful stretch of sand dunes perched 100 feet above the Pacific Ocean. Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes feature a dozen holes that run along the bluff overlooking 23 miles of sweeping, undisturbed shoreline. Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes — and our newest addition, Bandon Trails — weren’t built as much as discovered. Among the coastal forest, dunes and gorse lie 54 golf holes that yield fresh rewards each time they’re played.
Accommodations provide a refuge of relative seclusion. Chrome Lake Rooms offer double king and two-room lofts. Lily Pond Rooms offer two queen beds, while the Lodge offers single rooms and three suites, many with dramatic golf course views. Our Grove Cottages are designed specifically for a foursome of golfers, with four private rooms and a shared parlor and patio. And our new The Inn at Bandon Dunes provides single king and double queen beds just a short walk from the Lodge. Located on the property are three full service restaurants, lounges, golf shops, hot tub, sauna, exercise room and locker rooms. A 32-acre practice center allows you to hone every shot required at Bandon Dunes and features a one-acre practice putting green and bunker practice area.
Bandon Dunes is 5 minutes from the seaside town of Bandon, just off Highway 101, and just 25 minutes from the North Bend Airport, served daily by flights from Portland.
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Friday, June 20th, 2008
ERIN, Wis. – Tiffany Joh hasn’t spoken to her college golf coach, but she’s pictured Carrie Forsyth having a jolly good time watching live scoring from her California homeSix players with UCLA ties advanced to match play.
“We’re strong,” said Tiffany Lua, who squared off against Joh in the semifinals. Lua won’t join the Bruins until the fall of 2009, missing Joh by a semester. She’s the replacement Tiffany on UCLA’s roster, though Lua admits she’s not quite as funny as the elder Bruin.
Give Lua credit though, she still managed to smile on the front nine as Joh drained one long birdie putt after another at Erin Hills.
Joh eventually closed her out, 4 and 3, and will try to become the fifth player to win multiple WAPL titles.
Joh faces incoming USC freshman Jennifer Song in Saturday’s 36-hole final. USC beat the Bruins by six shots at this year’s NCAA Championship. Joh even played a practice round with Song earlier in the week.
Song went the distance in her semifinal match against Stephanie Kono, a soon-to-be freshman at UCLA. Kono, playing in her 13th USGA championship, bogeyed the 17th hole after hitting a heavy approach shot and couldn’t recover. This marks Kono’s best finish in five tries at the WAPL, while Song is making her first appearance.
“I didn’t play aggressively,” said Song, who tied for low-amateur honors at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open.”
Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., Song moved to Korea at age 2.
Song speaks fluent English and comes across very mature for her age.
It’s a stark contrast to Joh, who tries to go into every match with zero expectations.
Joh likes to keep things light; Song hasn’t lived in the U.S. long enough to appreciate college rivalries.
Nevertheless, a very pregnant coach Forsyth will be out West anxiously hitting the refresh button. The Trojans won last month’s battle.
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Friday, June 20th, 2008
Stewart Cink moved to the top of the Travelers Championship leaderboard Friday, making two long eagle putts in a 6-under 64 that left him a stroke ahead of defending champion Hunter Mahan and two others.
Cink, the 1997 winner at TPC River Highlands, is seeking his first victory of the season after six top-10 finishes.
“I hope it’s just a matter of time,” Cink said in a golf channel interview.
Mahan shot a 63, the best round of the day, to join Ken Duke and Lucas Glover at 9 under. Duke and Glover shot 66s.
Mahan has been under par in 10 of his last 11 rounds at the TPC River Highlands, where he won last year in a playoff with journeyman Jay Williamson. Mahan tied for second in 2006, and has made five consecutive cuts on the course.
“I just feel comfortable here,” Mahan said in a golf channel interview.
On Friday, the ball usually ended up in the fairway, on the green or in the hole. The 26-year-old Mahan shot a bogey-free round, with seven birdies, including four on his first seven holes. He hit all 14 of fairways and 15 of 18 greens.
Phil Mickelson won in 2001 and 2002.
Ninety-eight players finished the first two rounds under par, and 72 made the cut at 3 under, the lowest cut on Tour this season.
“This course is playing fairly simple, and the scores are definitely out there,” said amateur Michael Thompson, who was the low amateur at last week’s U.S. Open.
Thompson (67) finished at 8 under Friday, tied for fifth place with Brad Adamonis (68), the Tour’s oldest rookie at 35, and Kevin Sutherland (65).
A group of five finished the day at 7-under 133, including Tom Pernice Jr. (68), Heath Slocum (66) and Kenny Perry (67), who eagled his first hole of the day, pitching in a shot from 133 yards out.
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Friday, June 20th, 2008
There are three primary developmental steps that you must transform to turn your golf swing into a correct and repeatable motor task.
You must first know why…
then feel how…
and then do it correct over and over.
There are three primary developmental steps that you must transform to turn your golf swing into a correct and repeatable motor task.
Learning the complex skill of swinging a golf club correctly is done the same way you learned to write. First, you must begin with an understanding of the correct movement patterns of swinging a golf club. This is followed by training the brain and body to recognize and “feel” the correct motion of the swing. And thirdly, and very importantly, one must execute this new high-speed motor skill with a high number and percentage of correct repetitions until it becomes almost automatic…like writing. Faulty sensor information creates a faulty motor activity and inconsistent movement patterns. Another important factor to remember is that high skilled activity can only be developed if the neuromuscular system is working properly.
The Process:
• Step one: The understanding or cognitive stage can be characterized by the awareness of all the movements you are trying to coordinate.
• Step two: The important feeling or kinesthetic awareness stage is the part of the swing development where one can take the cognitive information, and with accurate and immediate feedback, allow the brain and body to “feel” the proper movement.
• Step Three: The over trained or automatic stage is achieved when the mind and body are able to perform the desired movement with a high level of consistency and accuracy. This is accomplished after successfully performing high numbers of correct swing movements were the desired action becomes subconscious and consistent making it almost… automatic.
Proper supervision and feedback from the golf instructor to the student is critical for motor learning development yet more often that not the information is inaccurate or used improperly. Computer aided real-time motion capture and real-time biofeedback training provides accurate and consistent feedback for the golfer and makes the instructor more effective.
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Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Michelle Wie started golfing at a little over four years old in her home state of Hawaii. Her father, B.J. Wie, started teaching her. By the time she was 11, Michelle was regularly winning most of the amateur tournaments she played in and was even playing better than most men. She decides she wanted to become a pro-golfer after watching Tiger Woods play. Wie has pictures of Tiger all over her bedroom and also hopes to go to Stanford University, just like Tiger did. Michelle Wie loves playing against the guys on the PGA tour but that’s where her fascination for boys ends - for now.
On March 1, 2002, Wie, who is six-feet tall, played in her first LPGA tour event. She failed to make the cut at the Takefuji Classic in Hawaii but still managed to turn some heads with her 280-yard drives and her understanding of the game. “I’m not disappointed. There’s free food and free drinks and nobody bothers you on the practice greens,” said Michelle after shooting six strokes over par in the first two rounds. In June, 2003, Michelle Wie became the youngest winner in the history of the Women’s Amateur Public Links, with a 1-up victory over Virada Nirapathpongporn at Ocean Hammock.Michelle Wie became the youngest person, and just the fourth female, to play in a PGA tour event, when she teed off at the Sony Open on January 15, 2004. Wie missed the 36-hole cut by just one stroke, but finished with a higher score than 47 grown men! Michelle Wie didn’t look at all out of place at the event, with her average drive being a whopping 271 yards. However, Wie was still a bit disappointed at not making the cut. “Just one more shot, and I would have made it,” she said after finishing with birdies on two of the last three holes. “It’s killing me now.” Michelle Wie came close to making her first cut at a PGA event at the 2005 John Deere Classic - but had a late collapse in the second round to miss the cut by two strokes.
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Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Oakley Enduring EDGE lenses features an interchangeable lens design that lets athletes optimize vision in any environment. Whenever the sun fades or flares just switch the lens and keep up with Mother Nature’s changing moods. Numerous lens options are available.
The issue with the glare on the green while playing is now resolved with these pair of sunglasses. Not only it looks fashionable, but it also fits perfectly on any type of individual.
High Definition Optics® (HDO®) take advantage of patented innovations, like XYZ Optics® for unbeatable clarity at all angles of vision — even at the sides of lens contours that open peripheral view and optimize protection against sun, wind and side impact. HDO® lenses surpass all ANSI Z87.1 standards for clarity, refraction and prism.
The Oakley Hydrophobic™ is a permanent lens coating that prevents water from leaving streaks and sheens, which can compromise vision. Whether it’s rain, sweat or splashing runoff, H2O can’t get a foothold. And that’s just half the story.
Skin oils, fingerprints and lotions are easily wiped away without leaving a residue, eliminating the haze that makes ordinary lenses a nightmare to keep clean. Oakley even made the coating anti-static so it won’t attract dust and dirt like ordinary lenses.
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Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Donald Trump has made no bones about his desire to bring a U.S. Open to his imposing Tom Fazio course in Bedminster, New Jersey (conveniently located a half-mile from the sanctum where such decisions are made, USGA headquarters in Far Hills). The Bedminster project is Trump’s third private club, after Trump International in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Trump National in Westchester County, New York.
Opened in 2004, this golf course designed by Tom Fazio. The par 73, 7,565 yard golf course is truly a course for all skill levels. The course is walkable, hence, appreciating nature at its best is another added plus of this course.
Ranked 54th by Golf Magazine’s 100 Best Modern Courses and 49th on Golf Week’s Best Modern Courses, this Trump golf course has huge greens, wide fairways, immense tee boxes, and sprawling bunkers and still the course is very playable and easy to walk.
A second, 18-hole course will be designed and built by Tom Fazio II, who has worked closely with Donald Trump as his in-house golf course designer and builder for almost a decade. Tom is the son of acclaimed architect Jim Fazio and the nephew of fellow golf course design luminary Tom Fazio. The course is scheduled to open this year and will be the perfect complement to the existing golf course.
Please do note that this is a private course, and initiation fee is at $350,000 with a annual dues reaching $18,000.
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