LinksLifeGolf

by Jeff Skinner

Michelle Wie finally found a way to win her first professional golf tournament. It was bound to happen, except that according to all the experts it should have happened years ago. Wie shot an impressive three under par round to claim a two stroke victory over Paula Creamer. Coming into this week’s Lorena Ocoha Invitational, Wie has had a very good season with seven top tens and two second place finishes. She was never able to put it all together to win a tournament and the pressure on her has been growing exponentially. She played like a girl on a mission in the final round. Tied for the lead and paired with veteran and new found friend, Cristie Kerr, thanks to The Solheim Cup, the stage was set for Michelle to collapse again. After all, she was winless and Kerr is a shark, a closer, when it comes to closing out a tournament.

Michelle looked like the veteran player, even though she is still only a rookie on the LPGA Tour. She started off hot and birdied two of the first three holes. Kerr could only manage a mediocre round of par and finished tied for third three strokes back. Michelle’s real competition came from Paula Creamer who is still looking for her first win of 2009. Creamer’s bid faded with bogeys on fourteen and seventeen and Michelle stood on the eighteenth tee with a one stroke lead. When her second shot landed in a greenside bunker she was left with a long sand shot to the pin. It could have been a disaster for her but she shunned the pressure and made the shot of the day. He bunker shot rolled to two feet from the hole and left her an easy birdie. She knocked it in and felt the weight of women’s golf lift off her shoulders. Michelle Wie has now won on The LPGA Tour, for many it is years past due.

When Michelle Wie started playing in professional tournaments at fourteen she was heralded as the greatest young talent in golf. She was supposed to be so much better than the women on tour. She was the “next Tiger.” She was “the sure thing.” She was so confident of being great that her dreams weren’t of winning on the LPGA Tour, she dreamed of winning The Masters and beating the men. Then real life intervened. According to John Lennon “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” and life happened to Michelle.

Michelle Wie was an extremely gifted teenager that played golf like a professional long before she turned pro at eighteen. Unfortunately, over the years a number of issues kept Michelle from playing her best golf. She was managed by her domineering father for years who kept putting Michelle in situations where she continued to struggle. Wie has had her share of injuries both physical and emotional. She has been mismanaged for years and it is only recently that she has been allowed to mature as an individual and become more of her own person.

With Michelle attending Stanford University and finally being on her own she has began to mature into the role of a young professional woman, that she could only pretend to be when she first came into the world spotlight. At The Solheim Cup this year Michelle was given the chance to be “one of the girls” as Captain Beth Daniel banned everyone except team personnel from all the team activities. That meant Michelle was given the chance to bond with her teammates without the interference from her parents, agents and handlers. It paid off as Michelle was the star of the Cup, but more importantly she looked like she was relishing the independence.

As parents we try to do what we think is best for our children and sometimes our good intentions hinder our children more than help them. We tend to forget that Michelle is still just twenty years old and a full time college student. She has been living in an adult world for years that she may not have been ready for. As a parent of a young woman Michelle’s age I have realized that our kids grow up and mature at their own pace. My daughter amazes me with her maturity, confidence and independence each day. I have always said that our children grow up to become the people they are in spite of us, not because of us. It is time that Michelle’s parents step back and let her live an independent life. For all the pressure and issues heaped upon a teenage Michelle Wie, she appears to maturing into a competent young woman. She is still a kid, albeit a kid playing a game for millions of dollars. On the eighteenth green she looked like a kid winning her first tournament, and that’s a good thing. There will be plenty of time to be an adult. Enjoy college Michelle; enjoy being a kid for a few more years. There world needs happy kids and so does the LPGA Tour.

If it’s Sunday this time of year you know it means NFL Football, and that’s great. I’ll have my three TV’s set up in the living room today to catch all the action. That’s right; I have three TV’s tuned to football and all the sports on Sunday afternoon. You should try it.  (See the Case for Multiple Televisions).

Today I’ll be sure to catch some golf. The PGA Tour and The LPGA events are promising to be exciting. Mathias Gronberg is tied for the lead at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic and he is number 190 on the money list: talk about a Cinderella story!

The LPGA Tour’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational has a leader board that is sure to give us an exciting finish. Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie are tied for the lead. Paula Creamer, Jiyai Shin and Song-Hee Kim are one stroke back. No female golfer moves the needle like Wie and while she has had a great year, she is still searching for her first win. The ultra-competitive Chistie Kerr does not want to be watching Wie win at her expense. This is worth missing a few field goals for.

Both are on The Golf Channel; PGA from 1:00pm EST to 4:00pm EST and the LPGA from 4:00pm EST to 6:30pm EST.

From the second that Tiger Woods committed to play in the JBWere Masters the golf fans in Australia were expecting big things from Tiger Woods, he didn’t disappoint them. Woods bounced back from a mediocre third round and shot a four under 68 in the final round to claim the title that so many Aussies had hoped he would.

Woods opened with a birdie on the first and after consecutive birdies on the fifth and sixth he was in the lead to stay. Runner up Greg Chalmers tried to keep up with Woods, but with only one birdie on the back he was destined to fall short.

Tiger’s iron approach into the fifth led to a kick in birdie and on the next he wedged his second to inches from the hole for another. The Australian fans got all they wanted. They saw Tiger hit some of his amazing shots and they also got a little taste of the “Tiger Temper”. Nothing flusters Tiger on the course more than inconsiderate photographers. Such was the case on the thirteenth. An over eager photographer snapped a few frames during Tiger’s backswing and the distraction led to a poor shot and a bogey. Tiger was not amused and vented immediately after the swing.

Fortunately, Woods settled himself enough on fifteen to hit a pure iron to six feet from the hole and roll in his final birdie of the day. He parred the next three holes and finished at fourteen under, two clear of Chalmers.

Afterward Tiger said he had his family and friends here this week and they all had a great time in Australia. Woods said he loved the Kingston Heath course and the Aussie fans this week but when asked what his legacy was this week he wasn’t thinking in grandiose, historic terms, “I got a W” he said. That’s pure Tiger; it’s all about the W.

Tiger Woods had a tough day as his mediocre round of par 72 let James Nitties and Greg Chalmers climb back into a tie for the lead at The JBWere Masters.

Brisbane Times Report

AP News Story

ABC Grandstand Sports

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

For a week in the middle of November there is still plenty of meaningful golf taking place. Each tournament going on this week offers a different brand of excitement.

At the “Last Dash for Cash” on The PGA Tour, otherwise known as The Children’s Miracle Network Classic, Justin Rose has a one stroke lead over three golfers. One of those golfers is Rickie Fowler and he is the real story here. There are many big name professionals trying to earn enough money to earn or keep their PGA Tour card this week, players like: David Duval, Rocco Mediate, Rich Beem, Ricky Barnes, Chris Riley, Jeff Maggert and Todd Hamilton. These guys have had all season to play and win enough money to make their 2010 season. Rickie Fowler has had three tournaments.

Since leaving Oklahoma State after his sophomore year he has had three chances to play on the PGA Tour as a pro. He tied for seventh at The Justin Timberlake and placed second at The Frys.com Open after he lost in a playoff. If the Viking Classic wasn’t cancelled the twenty year old may already have earned enough to get his card. As it is, it all comes down to this week, with one more chance for Fowler to win enough to get into the top 125 on the money list and avoid Q-School. Think about it: This kid will do in three tournaments what many of these seasoned veterans couldn’t do in an entire season. If he does it he’ll join an elite class of golfers who avoided Q-School right out of college, like a couple of golfers named Woods and Mickelson. It’s scary how good this kid is playing right now.

The LPGA is back in action at The Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico. Lorena is playing host to a select group of the best women golfers in the world. You’ll have to understand if she isn’t the most accommodating host. She is in a heated battle with Jiyai Shin for Player of the Year. Shin leads her by three points and is trying to break Ochoa’s string of three straight Player of the Year awards. Song-Hee Kim leads and Shin is tied for second with Paula Creamer and Mariajo Uribe while Lorena is tied for thirteenth.

Meanwhile in that tournament down under that so many people are making a fuss about, Tiger Woods looks to be earning his $3 million appearance fee at The JBWere Masters. The course is sold out and Tiger is on top of the leader board. Earlier in the week Tiger mentioned how interested he was in seeing the bunkering at the Kingston Heath Golf Club and I can understand why. These bunkers look like a combination of Bethpage Black and The Old Course at St. Andrews. They are big, deep and have very steep sidewalls and there is plenty of tall grass around their edges. Needless to say they present much trouble. Woods is negotiating his way around the sun drenched course in fine shape. He sits at -10 and leads James “Big Break” Nitties, Jason Dufner and Greg Chalmers by three strokes.

Set the DVR, The Golf Channel has all the action on Friday: Children’s Miracle Network Classic live from 1:00pm-4:00pm, The Lorena Ochoa Invitational live from 4:00pm to 6:30pm and Tiger and the boys at The JBWere Masters live from 10:00pm-1:00am. Enjoy.

by Jeff Skinner

Playing golf can be frustrating game at times but more often than not a round of golf can be a cure for whatever ails you. It is easy to forget your problems when you’re out there on the course. Here’s a story of a course in Lakewood, Washington that does a little bit more than most golf courses.

The American Lake Veterans Golf Course is a nine hole course that is only available to US Veterans. The course opened over sixty years ago as part of a Veterans Hospital’s rehabilitation program to help disabled veterans. Since 1995 it has been run and maintained by volunteers without any federal funding.

The course is used by hundreds of veterans that have suffered significant life changing injuries. Some use it for the physical rehabilitation, some for the emotional and some just like to play golf. The American Lakes Mission Statement says it all:

“To assist with the improvement, care and maintenance of the American Lake Veterans Golf Course to enable disabled veterans to rehabilitate themselves both physically and emotionally, so all military personnel and veterans can enjoy the benefits of golf in a positive, therapeutic and accepting social
environment.”

The disabled veterans that play at American Lakes like to think of themselves as just some guys playing golf. Like most golfers they want to enjoy themselves with friends, make a few putts and get better at the game. The fact is they are different from most golfers. These men and women put themselves in harm’s way to do their duty. These vets did more than just serve their country. They all gave a piece of themselves and many returned from their service less than whole. They are an amazing group of people.

Check out the video and the links to the course. Take a second and donate a few bucks, it’s easy. I can’t think of a more deserving cause. You won’t be alone in your generosity. The course has drawn the attention of Jack Nicklaus who is helping design another nine holes. Jack knows a great cause when he sees one.

Link to American Lakes Veterans Golf Course

Donate to American Lakes Veterans Golf Course

by Jeff Skinner

So it’s here, the last official PGA tournament of the year. Even though many golf fans think the season ends with the PGA Championship or The Tour Championship, the PGA Tour keeps the season alive with The Fall Series tournaments. This week’s Children’s Miracle Network Classic at Disney World is the last chance for players to add some cash to their totals and set their status for next season.

When the season started back in January there were many rookies that had dreams of making their mark on The PGA Tour. Three rookies have separated themselves from the field and done much more than just secure their Tour Card for next year. Marc Leishman, Webb Simpson and Jeff Klauk all have played well and threatened to win at one time or another. Which one will be PGA Rookie of the year? The race isn’t over yet.

Jeff Klauk has made an easy transition onto the tour that he saw up close each year at The Players Championship. Klauk’s dad was the superintendent at The TPC Sawgrass for years and Klauk saw more pro’s then most while growing up. Klauk has earned enough money to be 68^th on the money list with $1,232,898. He has had three top ten finishes, all fourth place, at The Honda, US Bank and the Timberlake. His World ranking is 144^th and on The PGA Tour he made 20 of 28 cuts.

Rookie Webb Simpson started the 2009 season hotter than any rookie and better than most veterans with a tie for ninth at the Sony and a tie for fifth at The Hope. He naturally cooled off after that but found his game again and has accumulated enough money to stand at 67^th on the money list with $1,249,674. He finished with four top tens and was on the top of the leader board at The Barclays. He threatened to take home the first playoff trophy when he started the final round tied for third place. He finished in eight place and earned his biggest check of the year and now ranks 131^st in the world.

The leading money winner among rookies is Australian golfer, Marc Leishman. His $1,742,243 is about half a million ahead of Simpson and Klauk. The bulk of his winnings $660,000, came when he tied for second at The BMW Championship. He got hot at season’s end and cashed checks at three of the four FedEx Cup tournaments. Three top tens and his sizzling September put him at 45^th on the tour money list and 118^th in the world.

It would seem that Leishman is a lock for Rookie of the Year but there is one more weekend left and Klauk and Simpson are both playing this week in the Disney. Leishman has decided to go home and play in Australia and deal with Tiger Mania at The JBWere Masters. A win or a very good finish by Simpson or Klauk could vault them over Leishman in the money list and let them grab the top rookie honors.

There is plenty of drama playing out at The Children’s Miracle Network Classic. The players will all determine their status for next season and many big names are vying for tour cards. It will be an interesting week. There is even an outside chance that a young upstart with no status on tour could take home the trophy. Rickie Fowler has a tie for seventh and tie for second in two starts on the PGA Tour. He already has earned $553,700 in his two starts. This kid wins the “Biggest Bucks per Start” award easily among the rookies. Fowler is not eligible for The Rookie of the Year, but what a splash he could make by stealing a win here, and then he could be the top rookie in 2010.

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

The Tiger Woods World Circus Tour continues this week in Melbourne, Australia as Woods prepares to play in The JBWere Masters. Anytime Tiger Woods plays in a tournament the excitement factor moves up a notch or two. It is no different down under, especially since it is Tiger’s first appearance there since 1998. The Aussies are rolling out the red carpet, or should we say green carpet, as Woods is being paid $3 million to play. That’s twelve times more than the winner of the tournament will pocket. Say what you will about appearance fees, this one is worth it. This is the first time ever that an Australian golf tournament has been sold out, even the practice rounds have been sold out as the Aussies are going “Tiger Crazy.”

JBWere, an investment company, isn’t afraid to be an active and visible sponsor of golf, unlike many corporations in this economic climate. They are happy to use this as an opportunity to expand their name and profile. Some clients will get to play golf with Tiger and others can pay $600 to have dinner with Woods and Geoff Ogilvy. While other businesses have fled from golf sponsorships, JBWere is sure their investment will be worth every dollar.

The tournament organizers are taking steps to avoid the unfortunate actions of spectators that occurred at last week’s tournament in China. They have banned spectators from bringing cell phones and cameras on the course in hopes of keeping Tiger happy. Woods was distracted by cameras on several occasions last week and the Aussies are determined to prevent that from happening here.

The amount of hype for this tournament is unprecedented in Australia. Tiger’s arrival in his private plane was carried live on television as was his pre-tournament press conference. Thousands of fans watched Woods and Craig Parry play a nine hole practice round. It won’t be easy for those paired with Tiger, but that goes with the territory. Woods was impressed by the amount of hype surrounding his visit. “You don’t normally see this many people at a practice round certainly, maybe at a major championship you might see this many people,” Woods said. “But I was telling the guys today, it’s unbelievable how nice the people are here and how understanding they are about the game of golf.”

Woods was less then pleased with the behavior of the inexperienced Chinese golf fans and is happy to be playing in front of fans that know the game. “That’s the cool part about playing in front of people who understand the game of golf.”

Tiger is looking forward to playing the course at Kingston Heath and is interested in studying the course bunkering to use in his own designs. The change of this tournament to Kingston Heath has been said to be the factor that convinced Woods to make the trip. That, along with $3 million certainly makes this trip worthwhile.

by Jeff Skinner

While most of the golf world was sleeping on Saturday night Phil Mickelson was busy starting his 2010 golf season. The stage had been set for Phil and Tiger Woods to make it a two man show at The HSBC-Champions but Woods imploded on the front nine and yes, 39 on the front is a disaster for Woods. Phil was able to hang on and beat a reenergized Ernie Els and an up and coming Ryan Moore. Els had the lead until his approach at eighteen took a dip in the pond and he made bogey.

Phil wasn’t supposed to be worrying about Ernie, Tiger was supposed to make his patented charge and Phil and Tiger were sure to go low and make it a battle for the ages. But, “the best laid plans…” so when Woods faltered Phil was left to play in the last group with a Tiger that had no chance at beating him.

Phil probably didn’t realize it at the time but he was laying the ground work for a dramatic season next year. Mickelson has been so revitalized since his working with short game expert Dave Stockton that he is playing his best golf in a long time. Phil has now beaten Tiger in their last two meetings and both were red hot during The Presidents Cup. Tiger is no longer unbeatable when he has the lead, thanks to Y E Yang at the PGA and the HSBC was the first time Phil beat Tiger while playing together in the final pairing.

Next year couldn’t look brighter for Phil. With his 2009 year over and four wins under his belt, he’ll shut it down until next year at Torrey Pines and he couldn’t be more excited. “Well, I’m excited about 2010 because I’m starting to play the best golf of my career. And everything is starting to kind of come together as far as my driving, since working with Butch Harmon, my ball striking has been much better. My short game is better than it’s ever been. And going into 2010, not only am I excited about it, but I have very high expectations.”

Mickelson’s season is over and he finished with three straight wins; first at the Tour Championship, a team first at The Presidents Cup and a Tiger beat down at the HSBC. That’s a great way to go into the off season. Phil is looking forward to spending time with Amy and the kids and with Amy on the mend he should be more emotionally settled for his 2010 start.

Tiger has said that this was a very successful season and with six wins who can argue but he isn’t the only player that is confident with his game. Mickelson is playing superb golf and is in a very positive state of mind. With his team of coaches, his new found game, his great outlook and a schedule of majors at historic courses (Augusta, Pebble Beach, St. Andrews) 2010 could be a grand year for Phil. If 2010 could pick up where 2009 left off and Phil and Tiger can rekindle their rivalry, a true rivalry, 2010 will be an amazing year for golf.

There must be plenty of tired golf fans out there this morning.  If you’re golf fan then you probably made an effort to watch the final round of the HSBC-Champions which aired on The Golf Channel at 10:00pm Eastern Standard Time.  Any self respecting, golf fan wouldn’t miss the showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. With Tiger only two strokes back of Phil it was sure to be the head to head match all of us love to see.  It didn’t matter that we would have to stay up into the wee hours of the morning to watch it; this was going to be a dramatic finish with our two favorite golfers.

          Unfortunately, Tiger forgot to bring his A game and the potential for the showdown went unfulfilled.  Tiger opened with a 39 on the front and shot himself out of the tournament right then.  He was uncharacteristically missing putts and even got a few balls wet.  His frustration with the Chinese crowds showed as he was disturbed by cameras clicking early in his round.  The best he could manage was a round of par which was not nearly good enough.

          Phil Mickelson started off missing some putts himself but that seemed to be the rule of the day. It may have been the unfamiliar greens because no one was immune from missing short putts.  All the contenders missed their share of makeable putts.  Phil was able to right the ship and shoot a three under 69 that kept him one stroke clear of second place finisher, Ernie Els.  Els played well enough to get a share of the lead when he birdied fourteen to tie Mickelson at fifteen under.  He moved into the solo lead with a bird on seventeen but blew his chance when he chunked his approach on eighteen into the water. Ernie and Rory McIlroy had the rounds of the day with 63’s, but Mickelson’s birdie on seventeen gave him a one stroke lead which he maintained with a two putt par on eighteen.

          This is the second consecutive tournament where Phil and Tiger played head to head and Phil has won.  At The Tour Championship, Phil beat Tiger to win the tournament but the pain of losing to Phil was softened by Tiger’s winning The FedEx Cup and a ten million dollar check.  There is no such consolation prize this week.  Could this be the resurrection of the Tiger and Phil rivalry?  Maybe it should be called the Phil and Tiger rivalry, after all Phil has beaten Tiger two straight.  That can’t be sitting to well in Tiger’s camp.

          Tiger is always gracious and says he enjoys the competition when he is challenged.  Up until now he has always been the top dog, the one everyone else has been chasing. But with Y E Yang’s victory over Woods at The PGA and Phil’s recent dominance of Tiger the tide may be turning.  The rivalry will have to be put on hold until next season and we can’t wait.