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by Jeff Skinner

The series of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books are one of the best selling series of books in history. They have covered a myriad of subjects and one of the latest is “The Golf Book…101 Great Stories from the Course and the Clubhouse.” This book follows the same format as all the Chicken Soup series and is a compilation of short stories and anecdotes from numerous contributors. The authors represent a cross section of professional golfers, amateur golfers, sportswriters and regular, everyday people. The stories range from the comical to informative to inspirational.
The subjects cover crazy incidents on the course, stories from inside the ropes on tour, great courses, golf personalities, those special moments when golf grabs a hold you and those relationships formed and strengthened by the game. There are many familiar names that have contributed to this book. Legendary sportswriter Dave Anderson writes of the first golf tournament he ever saw and calls it the best show in sports. Golf Channel personality and Golf World writer, John Hawkins tells how golf and his “mentor” have kept him sober. There are many touching stories of friendship and fellowship from pros and celebrities, but many of the accounts are from everyday golfers that felt inspired enough to send in their contributions for publication.
Editors Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Max Adler have compiled a wonderful and entertaining selection of stories the will give you a laugh and some that will touch your heart. You won’t find anything but amusing or uplifting stories here and that is what “Chicken Soup” is all about. “Chicken Soup for the Soul… The Golf Book” is good for your soul and your heart and your funny bone.

This is a special week for women’s golf as the Solheim Cup opens play on Friday morning. The American team appears to be a huge favorite on paper, but the that can certainly mount a realistic challenge. The women on the American team appear to be bonding well this week and can’t wait for play to start. The senior members of each team offer years of Solheim Cup experience and bring their unique personalities to their teams. European team is loaded with long hitting stars Juli Inkster is the American Team “Mom” and Laura Davies has been on every European Cup team. Both are as competitive as a player can be and relish their time on Cup teams. The teams comprise the best players in America and Europe and with the match play format over three days this is bound to be an exciting weekend. Michelle Wie is making her debut and she has been outspoken about her desire to make and play well on the team. Christie Kerr and Paula Creamer will lead the American team against Suzann Pettersen and Sophie Gustafson.  Each team is trying to use any means it can gain to gain an advantage. Inkster had her team in tears after an emotional speech and the Euros got a motivational talk from Ryder Cup hero Jose Maria Olazabal. In addition to the telecast on the Golf Channel you can watch it live on your computer.

Aug 21: 9:00 AM-2:00 PM ET – GC
Aug 21: 4:00-7:30 PM ET – GC
Aug 22: 9:00-7:30 PM ET – GC
Aug 23: 11:00-4:30 PM ET – GC

by Jeff Skinner

Y E Yang’s surprise win over Tiger Woods in The PGA Championship has brought the major season to a dramatic close.  Tiger goes winless in the majors for the first time since 2004 and brings down the curtain on what some have nicknamed the “Heartbreak Slam.”  There is discussion that this year was a boring, disappointing year for the majors.  I must be in the minority because I think it was a great year for the majors.  It is true that all the winners were unexpected and there were three first time major winners in this year’s crop. Normally, I like my major winners to have a strong pedigree and be marquee players.  All of us have been waiting for years for a true, consistent rival to Mr. Woods.  Each year passes and we continue our wait. Not to take anything away from the four champions, this year we were treated to great stories at the majors and those stories centered on the non-winners.
At the Masters we witnessed a head to head battle by Phil and Tiger on Sunday.  It wasn’t the final pairing, but for most of the day they were the stars. The made a charge up the leader board as they exchanged birdies and stole the show from Angel Cabrera and Kenny Perry.  For sixteen holes it appeared as though they would sneak in and steal the green jacket.  When they ran out of tricks on the last few holes Perry and Cabrera provided the sparks.  Perry blew a two stroke lead with two holes to play and landed in a playoff with Cabrera and Chad Campbell.   Cabrera was able to hang on for the win and earn his second major.  Afterward, Kenny Perry’s interview made him an instant hero among sports fans everywhere. We got to see an athlete speak openly and honestly at a time when he was emotionally crushed.  Many athletes would have hidden from the cameras, but Perry showed character and integrity.
The US Open will be remembered more for the weather than it will for its champion, Lucas Glover, and that is fine with him.  The week at Bethpage was marred by torrential rain and a wet Monday finish.  Glover, an unassuming and humble golfer from South Carolina was the last man standing at Bethpage as the biggest names in the game couldn’t keep up with him.  Tiger’s week was done in by a balky putter.  David Duval rose from the ashes to challenge for the lead until the seventeenth hole on Monday.  The biggest story in golf at the time was the return of Phil Mickelson.  The week for Phil was an emotional one and he was the crowd favorite by far. Unfortunately, his charge was cut short with bogeys on fifteen and seventeen on Monday.  Mickelson and Duval and Ricky Barnes all tied for second behind the soft-spoken, low key Glover.  His first major win brought him something he never seeks, the spotlight.  The world was introduced to Glover, a man of little flash, but much substance.
When Tom Watson worked his links golf magic at Turnberry this year he not only captivated the golf world, he was the biggest story in sports.  As he threatened to become the oldest major champion in history, he spoke of the spirit of Turnberry.  All during the tournament he spoke of the spirituality and the serenity of Turnberry.  Watson and his four days at the Open Championship were magical.  He was the biggest story of the year but when he yipped his clinching putt on eighteen the miracle at The Open ended.  Stewart Cink had never held the lead at The Open until Watson’s last hole.  Cink’s win in the playoff was anticlimactic, but it brought him his first major.  Afterward both he and Watson realized the magnitude of their accomplishments.  It was a terrific Open.
The PGA was supposed to be a coronation for Tiger Woods and his fifteenth major win, just another rung on the ladder to nineteen majors.  The best laid plans…as they say.  Tiger had his A-game for two days and it appeared that it was a mere formality that he would win.  He was 14 for 14 when leading after 54 holes and he was playing great.  On Sunday his B minus game showed up and Y E Yang played the role of spoiler.  That’s why they play the game.  You never know what can happen on the golf course. Yang showed grit and composure and his first major win will resonate in Asia for years.
So there you have it, all great tournaments with interesting, compelling stories: Cabrera and Perry, Glover and Phil, Cink and Watson, Yang and Woods.  This was no boring season of majors.  This was no “Heartbreak Slam.”  This was great golf with even better stories.  Every tournament doesn’t have to be about a superstar.  There are plenty of great golfers and wonderful stories out there and we were treated to bunch of them in this major season.

by Jeff Skinner

Golf Fans around the world take heart.  The world is not coming to an end.  The sky is not falling.  Armageddon is not upon us.  Tiger Woods lost a golf tournament.  He lost a major.  He lost a major that he normally wins.  Big deal.  It was a great golf tournament. Simply put, he was out played by another golfer.  Tiger is usually the one that closes out his opponent with dramatic shots.  For the first time in fifteen tries Woods lost a major while leading going into the final round.  So he is now 14-1, instead of 14-0.  Sure he is pissed off; all great champions get frustrated when then don’t perform up to their standards.  In that respect Tiger Woods is a victim of his own excellence.  No player has won so many majors so quickly.  Tiger’s dominance in regular tour events and his ability to capture major hardware seemingly at will has caused all of us to expect victory each time he tees it up.   Tiger played an average round of golf on Sunday.  Y.E. Yang played a superb round of golf.  For once Tiger Woods was “out Tigered”.  Yang did to Tiger what Tiger had done to so many before.  It was Yang that looked calm and confident.  It was Yang that made a dramatic eagle to take the lead.  It was Yang that pulled off one of the most memorable shots in PGA history at the eighteenth.  It was Yang that sunk the birdie putt to win.  It was Yang that erupted into a victory celebration on the final green.  Yang had stolen Tiger’s identity for the final round.  He should have been wearing the red shirt of victory.  Yang played a Tiger-like round and he stopped his march to nineteen majors, only temporally I’m sure.
Woods will learn from this setback.  He’ll take something away from this that makes him a better golfer.  He always does.  Yang’s life will never be the same.  This is a life changing victory for Yang.  He’ll be swamped with demands on his time as all major champions are.  He’ll have a chance to do things he wouldn’t have been able to before.  His win will probably reignite the golf revolution in South Korea.  He knows this win is historic, he knew it on the eighteenth green.  Tiger knew it too.  I think a saw a hint of a brief smile on Tiger’s face when Yang was celebrating.  Tiger knows what it means to win that first major.  He knows what it means for a man like Yang.  Do not worry golf fans.  It’s not the end of the world.  All things must pass.  This will pass for Tiger and he’ll be back soon enough.

by Jeff Skinner

Y.E. Yang accomplished something no Asian golfer had ever done before on Sunday when he won the PGA Championship.  At the same time he proved something that we all had doubted for a long time.  He proved Tiger Woods is human.  Woods had forged an aura of invincibility with his perfect fourteen for fourteen streak when leading a major after 54 holes.  Woods steely stare and terminator like demeanor has earned him a reputation of invincibility.  Before Yang’s victory, Woods had out dueled any and all comers when he led in a major.  Yang played David to Tiger’s Goliath.  Yang was the ’68 Jets over the Colts.  It was an upset of monumental proportions and Yang did more for golf’s inclusion in the Olympics in one afternoon than the combined efforts of the PGA, The R & A and the PGA Tour combined.
Yang’s victory will probably ignite another golf boom in Asia and certainly help in the growth of golf world wide.  But, he may have inadvertently helped Tiger Woods to grow a little bit also.  There is an adage in sports that says,” You learn more from your defeats than you do from your victories.”  I hope that is the case with Tiger Woods.  Tiger wins so frequently that a loss can be difficult for him to deal with.  A loss in a major is more painful.  A loss in the last major of a season with no major wins is devastating.  In the interview room afterward Tiger appeared less than thrilled to recount his loss.
Woods appeared to be in a state of disbelief and he began his post round interview with, “I hit the ball so much better than my score indicated.  I hit it great all day and made absolutely nothing.  I just had a terrible day on the greens and I had it at the wrong time.  Either I miss read the putts or I didn’t make anything except the 14th hole.  I think that was the only putt I made all day.”  He continued, “I had plenty of looks and was clearly in control of the tournament for most of the day.  But I just didn’t make anything today.  I hit the ball great off the tee, hit my irons well, I did everything I needed to do except get the ball in the hole.”  Not until he was asked if Yang won it or he lost it did he mention the champion that just beat him by three strokes.  His answer was that it was a little of both and again stated again that he was in control most of the day.  I understand that a player of Woods caliber has an ego; you are not the best golfer in the world without a strong sense of self.  He needs to be a little more gracious in defeat.  He referenced Jack Nicklaus and his nineteen second place finishes in the majors.  Gary Player called Nicklaus the greatest loser of all time.  Not because of the amount losses, but because of the way that Nicklaus was as gracious in defeat as he was in victory.  Tiger could take a page from Jack’s book and give some credit where credit is due.
When asked, he did say that Yang “played great all day” and “missed only one shot all day.”  At least Woods was willing to give Yang some recognition, but it appeared to be an afterthought.  The fact is that Woods is right; he did not make anything all day.  It was Yang that made the dramatic shots that Woods has seen himself make for a dozen years.  Whether Woods intentionally downplayed the day Yang had or he was just too caught up in his own misfortune, he came across as less then gracious towards Yang.  It is not easy for Woods to end his major season without a piece of championship hardware.  He measures his success on major victories and to go 0-4 is an extreme disappointment, even in this comeback season.  The pain of this will pass.  Tiger will win many more majors and he’ll no doubt lose some also.  Let’s hope that he can learn from this loss.  He has been chasing Nicklaus and his records for years.  Maybe he can copy Jack’s courteousness and sportsmanship in defeat as well as his graciousness in victory.

History was destined to be made at the PGA Championship on Sunday. Tiger Woods would either win his fifth PGA Championship and tie Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen with five PGA trophies or he would lose for the first time ever in a major while holding the 54 hole lead. In this year of unexpected major champions, Woods continued the trend. He surrendered his lead and lost the PGA Championship to Y.E. Yang. The press will concentrate on Woods conservative approach over the last two rounds and his inability to make any putts during the final round. Woods could only manage two birdies over the final round and coupled with five bogeys he let Yang take control of the tournament.

There will be plenty of those that say Tiger Woods lost this major. Don’t be fooled. Y.E. Yang won this tournament. He shot two under par in the final pairing of a major championship. When Tiger Woods plays in the last pairing of a major, there is no bigger fish bowl in golf. Fourteen times Woods had taken the lead into the final round and had won every time. Yang withstood the pressure of the last pairing and being paired with Woods in the pressure cooker that has made many a seasoned golfer wilt under the heat. Yang and Woods were tied at six under while they played the fourteenth hole. Woods stood by as Yang chipped in for eagle to get to eight under and Woods could only birdie. That was the shot that put him into the lead but it was his approach on eighteen that won him the tournament. Yang left his drive on eighteen in the left rough and needed to hit a long approach over a large tree to have any chance of hitting the green. Yang then hit the shot of his career. His three-hybrid cleared the tree and hit three feet from the hole, rolled past the pin and stopped twelve feet from the hole. To hit a shot like that from the rough and get it to hold the green was a small miracle. When Yang sank the birdie putt he accomplished a more significant feat. He had done something that everyone else had failed to do in fourteen previous attempts. He had beaten the greatest player of the day. He had taken the lead from Woods and did not relinquish it, he added to it.

Y.E. Yang absolutely won this tournament. In doing so he became the first Asian player to win a major championship. The South Korean who was ranked 110th in the world came from nowhere to shock the golf world. No one is more shocked than Tiger Woods. For Woods to be shut out in the 2009 majors is a bitter disappointment for him. Yang played excellent golf over the final round and missed few shots. More importantly he made the big shot when he needed it. It was Yang that made the great shot. It was Yang that rolled in the birdie putts. It was Yang that dusted his competition. Woods goes home without a major. Yang goes home with a huge upset victory and the biggest win by any Asian golfer ever in the history of the game.

“Hooks and Slices” will bring you our view on whats happening in the golf world.

While everyone was waiting to crown Tiger Woods the PGA Champion a day early, something strange happened. A golf tournament broke out. Contrary to Woods’s normal mode of operation he actually backed up to the field on Saturday. Woods started with a four stroke lead and instead of pulling away from the rest of the field, he lost ground and finished with a two stroke lead over Y.E. Yang. It was a strange sight to watch golfers pick up strokes on Woods. Paddy Harrington actually tied him at -7 until Tiger used his sand wedge as a putter to birdie fourteen. It was an exciting day of golf and if Harrington doesn’t bogey eighteen, he’s in the final pairing again with Tiger. He’ll have to try to take him down from the penultimate group on Sunday. Tiger and Y.E. Yang will make up the final pairing on Sunday. There is a chance of poor weather for the final round, so if the elect to send of threesomes, Harrington will be paired with Tiger and Yang and it could be Déjà vu all over again.
Here’s what I saw while watching the DirecTV feed with multiple screens and CBS on another TV. CBS continues to show shots that happened minutes ago without stating that there were taped awhile ago. I think they need to show the shot live, or say it is taped each time they do it.
Tiger Woods played cautious golf. He was not firing at the flags and looked to be struggling with his distance control.
Paddy Harrington was playing aggressive golf. He took a page from Tiger’s book and was hitting shots tight to the pins.
Y.E.Yang has a 2009 win at the Honda Classic and already has beaten a good international field at the 2006 HSBC Champions Tournament which included Woods. He’ll need to pull on that experience as he plays with Tiger in the three ring circus known as Tiger’s World.
Forget Sergio Garcia. The hottest, young stud from Spain is Alvaro Quiros. He hits it a ton and he makes Sergio look like an old man. He bounced back from a 76 on Friday with a 69 and did it with flash and style.
Lucas Glover was having trouble reading the greens. He looked confused as he misread green after green.
Ernie Els looked like the Ernie of old as he had it to five under for the day after the fifteenth. Then he finished with three straight bogeys. You can’t do that and expect to catch Tiger.
Vijay Singh has never looked so lost on the greens. The new short putter wasn’t working and his 75 dropped him to even par and out of the tournament.
You have got to feel for Phil Mickelson. He wasn’t ready to play. He never putted so poorly in his life.
According to Golf World, The St. Paul Pioneer Press asked their readers who they would like to spend a week with: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, John Daly, Anthony Kim or Sergio Garcia. Guess who won? John Daly. You have got to be kidding me!

by Jeff Skinner

The field at The PGA Championship has a daunting task ahead of them. Tiger was able to put a little distance between himself and his challengers on Friday and fashioned a four stroke lead. Tiger has never failed to win any major where he held the lead after 36 holes. Woods and Paddy Harrington worked and grinded their way around a windy Hazeltine course and both looked tired as they bogeyed eighteen. Harrington’s bogey put him out of the final group, so he will not be teamed with Tiger for Saturday’s round. Harrington joked that he could use the break. “It’s not bad to have a day off. Hopefully I’ll see him again on Sunday,” Harrington said. There are five golfers tied at -3 that hope Woods stumbles and gives them a chance to make history. Vijay Singh will be paired with Tiger and he is one of the few that does not wilt in the Tiger spotlight. Lucas Glover, Brendan Jones, Ross Fisher and Harrington make up the rest of the contenders at three under.
Woods is hitting on all cylinders. His driver is working, his irons are stellar and his putter is vintage Woods. He ran a string of three birdies on fourteen through sixteen and as the ball fell into the hole on sixteen he walked toward the hole with an affirmative head nod and did a little Michael Jordan tongue action. He knows he has it this week. He is as confident as ever, a four stroke lead will do that for you. When Jack Nicklaus was in his prime all his opponents knew it was futile to think they could beat him when he was on his game. That is the way it is with Tiger Woods today. When he shakes hands with his opponent on the tee he knows he is going to beat them. They know he is going to beat them and he knows that they know he is going to beat them. Such is the life of a pro golfer in the Age of Tiger.
Check out Jim Huber’s post round interview with Tiger below and then click on this link to Devil Ball Golf and Jay Busbee’s chat with Huber. Jay does a great job with Huber who is one of the most insightful and respectful interviewers in television.

The Good

Tiger Woods picked up where he left off on Sunday at The Bridgestone Invitational. As a matter of fact so did Padraig Harrington and Robert Allenby. It seems like we just finished watching these three take the top three spots at The Bridgestone on Sunday. Woods was hitting fairways and putting like he means business. Tiger’s bogey free 67 put him in front by one, and he is usually unbeatable when he is ahead. Paddy played well and said he and Tiger were a little more relaxed than on Sunday, they chatted and Paddy even watched a few of Tiger’s shots. Allenby continued his excellent play and if it wasn’t for a double bogey on fifteen he would be tied with Tiger.

Spanish sensation, Alvaro Quiros, was killing the ball and impressed the marquee group when he hit driver from the deck for his second shot on eleven. His ball rolled up on the green as Woods, Harrington and Rich Beem were lining up their putts. That’s two shots that carried 606 yards, uphill into the wind and hit the green. Tiger was so impressed he called it “stupid long.” However the longest drive of the day was 383 yards on number fifteen by Marc Turnesa.

The easiest hole of the day was the par five seventh. It played slightly under par at 4.7

Cheers to the Club Pros playing in the PGA. Only twenty PGA Professionals get in the Championship. These guys work too hard and there should be more slots allocated to the Club Pros. Tied at 72 for low Club Pro were Keith Dicciani, Scott Herbert and Mike Miles.

The Bad

Philly Mick’s putter was working overtime, 34 putts. That’s not how you want to start a major. Phil was showing some rust as he flopped a shot into a bunker and missed three short putts. His two over 74 isn’t a death blow, but he’ll need to go low in round two if he wants to make a run at the lead. Retief Goosen takes a triple bogey seven on number ten on his way to a five over 77. The Goose was supposed to contend; now he’s ten back of Tiger. It’s a long way back. Adam Scott shoots 82 and continues his free fall. Fourteen months ago Scott was the number three player in the world. He is now 46^th and dropping. He needs an intervention.

The hardest hole of the day was the par four twelfth, it played half a shot over par at 4.5.

The Ugly

It’s not the pants that John Daly wears that were ugly here. It was another poor, unsettling performance by Big John. He shoots 78 and withdraws claiming a back injury. He posted on his twitter account “flash camera back injury from 3 yrs ago still haunting me–pain is just unbearable making it tough to play.” Daly indeed may have a legitimate injury, but based on his past performance you have to wonder. There has to be some doubts about Daly’s commitment lately. He withdrew here, shot 88 at the Buick to miss the cut and missed the cut at the Canadian Open. Daly has had a difficult time since he has returned from the European Tour where he appeared to flourish. He has said his health is suffering due to the drastic weight loss. It is obvious he needs help. He should have skipped the PGA and taken some time to get healthy, physically and mentally. John still hasn’t got it all together yet and he could use some more help.

It’s too bad that Daly wasted a spot in the field when he probably never should have started. His spot would have been taken by local hero Tim”Lumpy” Herron. Herron grew up minutes from Hazeltine and would have been awarded Daly’s slot if John had not played. That would have been some special rounds of golf if Herron could have played in front of his hometown fans.

by Jeff Skinner

It looks like the folks of Chaska Minnesota aren’t that much different from the people of New York, at least when it comes to their affection for Phil Mickelson.  Phil drew some of the largest crowds once again at  Hazeltine as he played his practice round for the PGA Championship.  He was welcomed with standing ovations and long cheers as he made his way around the course.  He again is everyone’s sentimental favorite as he takes time away from his wife Amy to try and capture his fourth major.  Phil has played little since Amy’s diagnosis and the question has to be asked; can Phil really win here?   Phil thinks so.
Even though he tied for fifty-eighth in last week’s Bridgestone Invitational, Phil feels he is prepared to win.  “I felt I had a really good week last week, even though I didn’t play well or score the way I wanted to,” Mickelson said Wednesday.  “I was able to identify what I needed to work on and address those the last couple of days,” he said, “and I feel much better about my game heading into this week than, say, even the U.S. Open.”  Considering he tied for second place at the U.S. Open, that’s a bold statement.  Phil has only played in three tournaments in two months.  Phil always uses the tournament before a major to tweak his game and prepare for the upcoming week. He feels he has his short game under control and he’ll need it along with all aspects of his game on the longest course in major championship history.  Phil hasn’t won a major since the 2006 Masters and the past months he has spent more time off the course with his family than he has playing tournament golf.  To come back with little preparation and beat the best players in the world is a herculean task.  But Phil is confident he can do it.  That is what you have to admire about him.  He knows that once he gets on the course he has a chance.  At Bethpage he fed off the energy of the fans and played on an emotional high the entire week.  If he can harness the love the fans are showing him this week he’ll be close on Sunday.
Each time Phil shows up at a tournament he has a built in “home crowd” to cheer for him.  It doesn’t matter if it’s Minnesota or New York or the North Pole; Mickelson’s fans are there to support their hero.  He signs more autographs than anyone, tosses balls and gloves to kids, high fives anyone within reach, and talks to the crowd like he was in their living room.  He does all this with that ever present smile that says “I’m as happy as a guy can be.”  He loves the crowds, he loves the game, and he loves his family.  That’s what makes it so easy for all those fans to love Phil Mickelson.