Tiger’s biggest threat

January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Ian Poulter Naked Ian Poulter has always been considered a little eccentric but even by his standards his latest comments in the March Edition of ‘Golf World’ seem outlandish. In it he claims he’s Tiger’s main threat and is the only one capable of challenging the world’s number one.

The extrovert Englishman (ranked world’s number 22) says, “The trouble is I don’t rate anyone else…don’t get me wrong I respect everyone who is a professional”

Although he admits that he hasn’t played to his full potential, he predicts that when this does happen, “it will just be me and Tiger”.

I’m sure his rival professionals will appreciate these astute observations, as many of them (20 to be precise) have less to do to close the gap than Poulter does. As for Tiger? I don’t think he’ll be losing much sleep either. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Poults, and his comments seem almost out of character, but I think he needs a reality check before his ego runs away with him. Then again, I genuinely hope he proves me wrong!

Tiger Wins Buick Invitational

January 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Tiger Woods wins Buick Invitational New Year, familiar story…. Tiger Woods earned his 62nd career tour victory at Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla, California, when he won the Buick Invitational and in so doing drew level with Arnold Palmer to tie fourth place on the PGA Tour’s all-time winners list. Woods fired a one-under par 71 on Sunday to win the 5.2 million-dollar event for a fourth consecutive time, by eight shots over Japan’s Ryuji Imada.

The tournament was all but over at the end of the third day with Woods posting a score of 18-under, a lead of 8 strokes, the biggest in the tournament’s history. It seemed his fellow competitors were also waiving the white flag at this stage with Boo Weekley suggesting “I think he ought to just play with a 2-iron.” and Justin Leonard admitting “There’s two tournaments going on. I’m going to try to win the tournament that Tiger’s not playing.” Joe Durant summed it up when he said “We’re trying, but the guy is unbelievable. He’s playing fantastic.” The rest of the field will not be encouraged by the fact that the South Course at Torrey Pines is also the venue for this summer’s US Open.

Woods has won the last four PGA Tour events he’s entered going back to last season, when he finished the year by capturing the first FedEx Cup title. He is now two titles away from equalling Ben Hogan (64), with Sam Snead (82) and Jack Nicklaus (73) heading the leaders board.

On tying with Arnold Palmer for fourth on the all-time list Palmer said. “I’m sure that there are many, many more (wins) coming in the future. There isn’t any question about that. I wish him all the luck in the world.”

The PGA Tour moves on to Scottsdale, Arizona, next week for the $6 million FBR Open, where Mickelson is the defending champion. Woods has opted instead to play in the Dubai Desert Classic.

Aussie Adam Scott wins Qatar Masters

January 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Adam Scott wins Qatar Masters Australian Golfer, Adam Scott blitzed to an impressive three-shot victory over Swede Henrik Stenson at the 2.5 million dollar Qatar Masters on Sunday to become the first person to win the tournament twice, since it began in 1998. The win was all the more impressive as Scott had only managed to finish on one over par 73 in the first round.

The Aussie, who first won in Doha in 2002 as a 21-year-old, produced a scintillating performance on the rain soaked Doha Golf Club, shooting a course record 11 under par 61 in the final round for a total of 20 under par 268.

Henrik Stenson, who won the tournament in 2006, finished runner-up for the second time, shooting a fine 65 in the final round which gave him a total of 17-under-par 271. South African Charl Schwartzel achieved third place after his final round 67 gave him a total of 15-under-par 273. As well as a winner’s cheque of 416,660 dollars, Scott also received a brand new BMW for setting a new course record, previously shared by Mark Pilkington and Robert Karlsson. Scott’s win will also see him rise from eighth to fifth position when the new rankings are announced on Monday.

The European Tour now moves to the Dubai Desert Classic where the final leg of the the three-tier “Desert Swing”, will be played with Stenson the defending champion and world No.1 Tiger Woods the top challenger.

Adams Golf DiXX Putter

January 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Adams Golf DiXX Putter If you’ve read the books, had the lessons and still frustrated that your putting shows no sign of improvement, then you may like to consider the DiXX instructional Putter, from Adams Golf.

The DiXX Putter has been designed to help you learn an effective putting method by telling you more about your current swing habits. Its does this through an internal navigation system which tracks the point of impact and monitors the motion of the putter together with face angle, swing path and tempo. The Dixx Putter then provides both visual and statistical feedback for analysis, allowing the player to make corrections for an improved putting stroke.

Although it is intended as a training aid you could also play a round with it on the course (although it is not USGA approved) for a full hole by hole analysis

For those who are serious about improving their golf putting game and for others who are geeks and just love gadgets, then you can pick up the Adams Golf DiXX Putter, for a rather hefty retail price of $899.

To find out more more about The DiXX Instructional Putter visit Adams Golf

Kaymer wins Abu Dhabi Golf Championship

January 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Martin Kaymer was voted the European Tour’s Rookie of the Year last season and now in only his second season on Tour he completed his maiden victory by winning the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship over the weekend. Kaymer led the tournament from start to finish and held off the final-round challenges of Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson to emerge triumphant by four strokes. Kaymer picked up prize money of $333,000 and a Tour exemption until 2010.

This victory sees the young German jump to as high as 34 in the world and now the inevitable question of his participation in Ryder Cup is being raised. However, he remains adamant such talk is premature and insists his focus remains on establishing himself with further European Tour success. He does admit though that if he can play it would be, “unbelievable and awesome”.

While Kaymer climbs the world rankings Colin Montgomerie could miss out on the 2008 Masters after dropping out of the world’s top 50. Montgomerie has slipped from 17th to 57th in the 2007 world rankings and will have to be promoted back in to the top 50, the week before the 10-13th April tournament in Augusta, Georgia.

The eight time European number one could also qualify for the year’s first Major, by winning a US Tour event. Other Europeans already in the Masters include Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia.

Golfweek…give ‘em enough rope…..

January 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Golfweek January Cover The Tilghman/Golf Channel situation rumbles on and has now claimed another casualty. You may remember that Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman recently made a controversial comment about Tiger Woods and received a two week suspension. Well now Golfweek editor Dave Seanor has lost his job after the magazine ran a cover in the January 19 issue showing a noose to illustrate the story which has apparently upset subscribers and advertisers alike. Seanor’s 9 year tenure at the publication has now ended and he has been replaced with immediate effect by Jeff Babineau.

William P. Kupper Jr., president of Turnstile Publishing Co., the parent company of Golfweek, was forced to issue an apology saying, “We were trying to convey the controversial issue with a strong and provocative graphic image. It is now obvious that the overall reaction to our cover deeply offended many people. For that, we are deeply apologetic.”

Whilst I love the game of Golf and am quite passionate about the whole thing, this episode does show however how dull it can be at times, that such triteness (although, you may disagree) can be overplayed to the extent to which it has. Well at least the US has The Golf Channel…..

Here in the UK The Golf Channel has ceased broadcasting, blaming rising programming costs behind the decision. The channel, which was purchased together with the Golf TV Pro Shop Channel by JJB Sports (a Sports retail outlet) in 2006, ceased operations at midnight on December 31.

The channel cited the following reasons for their decision to shutdown

Cost of good quality programming - I wouldn’t have thought this would be an issue as the production values were amateurish at best.
Lack of availability of good programming and rights - Well yes, because they were all bought up by Setanta Sports.
Commercial revenues that were projected over the coming years - what do you expect if you’re promoting the Slazenger golfing product range?

Oh well, looks like it’s time to fork out another ten quid a month for Setanta Sports.

Get a GRIP!

January 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Toward the back end of last year the nice folks at Golf Research In Play (G.R.I.P) - www.gogrip.com, were kind enough to send me a couple of clubs for review. I requested a Putter and 5-Wood and they duly obliged by packing and shipping to the UK.

For those of you not familiar, G.R.I.P is an OEM manufacturer of Golf Clubs who sell direct to customers and keep costs down by eliminating the middle man. Their philosophy is to respond to the needs of the middle-market, recreational Golfer i.e. those Golfers looking for quality clubs on a budget.

Having now had the opportunity to swing, I would say that the company has largely achieved on these objectives. Read more

The secret to Daniel Chopra’s success

January 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Tiger Woods PGA Tour A Happy New Year to all Golfers out there! I hope Xmas brought you as many new balls and as much Pringle knitwear as you could possibly manage for the year ahead. Me?….I got a Nintendo DS Lite, because apparently my brain needs training! I’m bored with it already though, so expect to see it on an Ebay site, near you soon.

The reason I mention the Nintendo is because I’m starting to think that maybe I should have gone (sorry, asked Santa!) for a Playstation instead. Daniel Chopra has been in the news recently and has also offered an insight to his game, which might explain his recent success.

Chopra put down his familiarity with holes and shots at Kapuala to the Sony Playstation, which he said he’d,”played a bunch”. If I could get my local course to sign up with Sony, then I’d be made, although I doubt if I would be driving home in a brand-new Mercedes-Benz CL550 like Chopra did.

Also, the token that Daniel Chopra uses to mark his ball on the green was given to him a few years ago in Japan with an inscription that reads, “Fortune favors the brave.” My own marker reads “10 pence” and bears the Queen’s head on the reverse side. Not wishing to miss this opportunity of a subliminal statement of affirmation, it got me thinking what might be an appropriate maxim for myself. I was quickly reminded of the mock Latin aphorism - Illegitimi non carborundum; meaning, ”don’t let the bastards grind you down”…..I’m looking for an engraver in the Yellow Pages, as I write!

Chopra Wins Mercedes-Benz Championship

January 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Daniel Chopra won the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii after coming out on top in a play-off on Sunday. The Swede defeated Steve Stricker with a tap-in birdie on the fourth play-off hole, the par-five ninth for only his second career USPGA win.

Chopra (66) and Stricker (64) had both finished the event on 274 - 18 under-par. Stephen Ames shot 66 to finish third on 17 under, while fellow Canadian, Mike Weir, who entered the final round with a one shot lead, eventually finished fourth on 16 under.

January 2008, Golfing Calendar

January 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment

January 2008
10th - 13th Sunshine Tour: Joburg Open, Royal Johannesburg and Kensington GC.
10th - 13th USPGA FedEx: Sony Open in Hawaii , Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, HI, USA.
10th - 13th European Tour: Joburg Open, Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa.
17th - 20th European Tour: Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
17th - 20th USPGA FedEx: Bob Hope Chrysler Classic , **The Classic Club, PGA West-Palmer Private, LaQuinta, Silver Rock, Palm Springs, CA .
18th - 20th USPGA Champions Tour: MasterCard Championship at Hualalai, Hualalai Golf Course, Ka’upulehu-Kona, HI.
18th - 20th Ladies European Tour, Women’s World Cup of Golf, Gary Player Country Club, Sun City, Johannesburg, South Africa.
18th - 20th LPGA Tour: Women’s World Cup of Golf, Gary Player Country Club, Sun City, NW Province, South Africa.
24th - 27th USPGA FedEx: Buick Invitational, Torrey Pines GC (**South Course, North Course), San Diego, CA , USA.
24th - 27th Asian Tour: Asian Tour International, TBC.
24th - 27th USPGA Nationwide Tour: Panama Movistar Championship, Club de Golf de Panama, Panama City, Panama, USA.
24th - 27th Sunshine Tour: Dimension Data Pro-Am, Gary Player CC and Lost City GC, South Africa.
24th - 27th European Tour: The Commercialbank Qatar Masters, Doha G.C, Doha, Qatar.
25th - 27th USPGA Champions Tour: Turtle Bay Championship, Turtle Bay Resort, Palmer Course, Kahuku, HI.
31st - 3rd February USPGA FedEx: FBR Open , TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, AZ, USA.
31st - 3rd February Sunshine Tour: Nashua Masters, Wild Coast Sun CC, South Africa.
31st - 3rd February Asian Tour: Pakistan Open, Karachi GC, Karachi, Pakistan.
31st - 3rd February Ladies European Tour: MFS Women’s Australian Open *, Kingston Heath Golf Club, Melbourne, Australia.
31st - 3rd February European Tour: Dubai Desert Classic , Emirates G.C., Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
31st - 3rd February USPGA Nationwide Tour: Mexico Open Presented by Corona, Tres Maras Golf Club, Morelia, Mexico