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Ryder Cup Day I

September 19th 2008 13:30
9:27A: Okay, I couldn't sleep last night, so I missed the first hour. Right now the matches are:

Harrington/Karlsson 1-Up Mickelson/Kim (Through 6)
Leonard/Mahan 1-Up Stenson/Casey (Through 5)
Rose/Poulter 1-Up Cink/Campbell (Through 4)
Westwood/Garcia AS Perry/Furyk (Through 3)
Sleep 2-UP Coffee (Through 2)

9:40A: Can we just keep a camera on Miguel Angel Jimenez all day? Seriously, I just want to see a day in his life.

9:44A: Wait, Harrington/Karlsson have been in three hazards and are 1-up through seven!! Seriously, did we get one of thse Mickelson look-a-likes from the Crowne Plaza hotel? I'm hoping for the Asian one.


9:53A: Tiger Woods: HERE IN SPIRIT. RIP Tiger. Oh, wait. He's not dead. I wonder if he's watching and wondering if he should just let go and start looking like the MAJ. Let's hope.

10:00A: Why exactly is Chad Campbell in the foursomes? I never understand this, and it seems EVERY U.S. captain does this, but why would you want a streaky player in foursomes? The Euros seems to recognize this, but wouldn't you rather want Stricker instead of Campbell here and vice versa in the four-ball?

10:05A: Phil decided to show up today, and stiffs a wonderful bunker shot...and Harrington misses his birdie. So all-square throuigh nine. And when did we go to "ALL-SQUARE" instead of even or tied? I guess it's like "patrons" to Augusta or "hole locations" to the USGA.

10:10A: Furyk...CLUTCH putt for par. Euro's? Not so much. Furyk/Perry 1-UP. Oh and Campbell is absolutely BUTCHERING the seventh. I thought this was a good pick? Yes, for FOUR-BALL. Cink gets you no less than a par here in fourball. Campbell/Cink 3-DOWN through 7.

10:18A:I have the feeling we're going to here "after Mickelson put him in this position" a few more times today. And yes, Mickelson shouldn't be a top candidate for foursomes either.


10:22A: When did the fist bump replace the high-five for golfers? I'm guessing whenever the fist bump became unpopular in other sports.

10:24A: LOL..Mickelson goes after a camerman. I MUST GET A SHOT OF MICKELSON IN HIS BACKSWING. IT WILL MAKE FOR GREAT ART IN MY DYING NEWSPAPER.

10:27A: Dottie Pepper had about two years between butch haircuts where she looked pretty good. REALLY good for the early 90's LPGA. Oh, and she's a damn good on-course reporter.

10:34A: I think the cardboard cutout of Monty could outplay Phil today.

10:40A: Tirico wondering why the Garcia par putt wasn't conceded. I know Tirico doesn't do much golf anymore, but have you seen Garcia putt? I wouldn't conceded him anything over a foot.

10:48A: And Mickelson makes a huge bomb on 12...for par. Of couse, Harrington/Karlsson are stiff for birdie and make it. 3-up for H/K with six to play.

10:54A: Ray Floyd!! Get him some sticks and have him replace Mickelson or Campbell. That man was flatout scary in competitive match-play enviroments. Most great cash-game players are (Trevino, Hagen).

11:08A: Air Jordan sighting!!! I wonder if that hospitality tent has it's own escrow...

11:10A: Cink/Campbell are rallying now just 1-down to Rose/Poulter in the official "4th out of 4 matches in TV coverage".

11:13A: Hey, ESPN is it unusual these days for Nick Faldo to not say anything? Maybe get a couple more opinions on that hot topic.

11:17A: Mini-collapse happening with Harrington/Karlsson, as Kim/Mickelson are really scrambling well and have the match at 1-up. Meanwhile Furyk AND Westwood both hit it within 12 feet at 11., Starting to heat up....

11:19A: Anthony Kim: only Asian-American with a deeper voice is George Takei.

11:24A: Fantastic shot by Mahan on 13. I'm looking stupider by the minute with my Trahan>>Mahan rhetoric (though I did think this was a good format for Mahan).

11:26A: I'm sure ABC is so pumped to have the very boring Georgia Bulldogs and the very mediocre Arizona St. Sun Devils for their lone primetime Saturday night game...ugh.

11:31A: Phil to win the hole/tie the match....and drains it!!!! Wowwowow, who knew Phil had it in him? This match is now square with momentum clearly with the U.S. Could they go 3-1 in Friday Foursome

11:33A: Wow. Casey AND Poulter both plunk one in the water. Big-time gagging going on here by the Euros. Somewhere Darren Clarke takes a cigar to a Nick Faldo photo and drinks his fifth Guiness.

11:39A: I might be being seen as anti-Phil. I'm not. I'm actually a big Mickelson fan, it's just it really disappoints me sometimes. As a lefty, I only have a handful of players to root for anyway.

11:41A: Right now, it things stay the same...America 3-1? And, Poulter just airmailed 14 with Cink hitting one in the middle of the green. Ruh-roh Euros..
.
11:46A: Great putt by Harrington to halve 16. This has turned into a really good match with lots of poor tee-to-green but amazing up-and-downs.

11:49A: I miss Corey Pavin's 80's porn star look. Seriously, some company should've came out with a "Gritty Little Bulldo*g" porno.

11:54A: Leonard to win the first point of the Cup....and he drains it. US 1- Euro's 0. This is looking at least 2.5-1.5 U.S. Anything less will be a huge disappointment.

11:59A: Yay, we get to 18! 18th at Valhalla is one of my favorite holes in golf. Just an awesome par-five. As Karlsson almost chokes a three-footer.

12:04P: Cink just plunks one in the water. About to have another halved match....U.S. CANNOT go 2-2.

12:07P: I used to work with this guy and well, I never thought much of him then, and looking at his Ryder Cup prediction you will see why, especially this part:

Leonard and Mahan lose to Stenson and Casey in 20 holes.

I know this Ryder Cup is kind of new and obscure to us, only being around a friggin' centruy, but I believe a "golf writer" would know they don't have sudden death in the Ryder Cup.

12:13P: Absolutely brutal bunker shot by Kim. Big time gag. And Phil knocks it to four feet. Looks pretty bad for the U.S. here.

12:16P: And Harrington actually misses a putt under 15-feet...Kim to halve the match. And it's in!! U.S. 1.5-Euros .5. HUGE putt for Kim.

12:20P: I kind of like that Holmes/Weekley pairing for fourball. I'm certain they'll lose 6 to 5 now.

12:23P: Is there a golfer who has had a more up and down career than Lee Westwood? Seriously, he's been a top-10 player AND a bottom-10 player on the Euro tour at least twice in his career. Oh, and him and Sergio do not look good. So we'll get Garcia/Jimenez. Hopefully, the MAJ will give Sergio some pointers on hair styles, cigars and liquor.

12:29 PM: Big 3rd shot for Campbell on 17...especially after his awful tee shot. Furyk to win on 16...and he runs it by...way by. Perry will have a knee-knocker.

12:34PM: Tremndous up-and-down for both Poulter/Rose AND Cink/Campbell. All Squared into 18.

12:36PM: Here's the complete afternoon pairings:

Mickelson/Kim vs Harrington/McDowell

Stricker/Curtis vs Poulter/Rose

Leonard/Mahan vs Garcia/Jimenez

Holmes/Weekley vs Westwood/Hansen

I like the Americans here again...2.5-1.5.

12:41PM: Rose with a shot in the bunker. According to Kratzert, Poulter "is having problems getting some air." Good pick Faldo. Seriously, between the shanks and breathing difficulties I can see why Clarke didn't get picked.

12:43PM: Excellent shot by Campbell! Maybe 12-15 feet for eagle. Maybe I could be an assistant Ryder Cup Captain. I mean, I could pick up dry cleaning and sandwich orders like Olin Browne is doing. I could also pick out clothes that didn't look like they came from the 1987 Aureus collection.

12:47PM: And Perry misses a putt to clinch the match on 17. Runs it way by. Now Sergio to win the hole. And it's in. Pretty ugly putt by Perry. Still U.S. is guaranteed 1/2 point here and pretty much guaranteed one other.

12:49PM: And Cink misses and leaves a tickler for Campbell. Now Rose for a birdie to get a halve. Nowhere close. Terrible putt, and they're still out. Looking good for the full point here.

12:52PM: Poulter misses!! L.O.L. U.S. guaranteed 3-1. And Perry just drove it in the water on 18. So 3-1 is very likely. Perry has not looked good down the stretch.

12:56PM: Oh boy, Johnny Miller for the afternoon!! This will be THE MOST IMPORTANT ANNOUNCING MOMENT OF HIS YOUNG LIFE!!!

1PM: Hey, the afternoon matches have started. I have a feeling Graeme McDowell got a lot
of looks living in Birmingham, Alabama, with that "purty way he talks dem words and all."

1:08PM: Tough shot for Perry. 40 footer for Furyk coming up. Opening birdies for Mickelson and Harrington on 1 in the foursomes. That's going to be a fun match.

1:12PM: Furyk just misses and U.S. conceded. Good comeback for Garcia/Westwood. That was a monster halve for them. 3-1 U.S. going into the afternoon fourball. I'm taking a lunch break. BBL.

1:21PM: I'm back. It looks like the Mickelson/Kim and Harrington/McDowell is going to be a shootout, and Hunter Mahan is making me look sillier by the shot. Oh, well.

1:38PM: It's George H.W. Bush, a.k.a. "The George Bush that some people still like." Meanwhile, it seems like everyone is on fire right now. Should be fun.

1:50PM: Ugh, a semi-emergency came up. I might be back later. We'll see.

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Ryder Cup Predictions

September 18th 2008 15:21
PLAYER MOST LIKELY TO BE RECOGNIZABLE (FOR GOOD PLAY) - EURO DIVISION: Henrik Stenson. For the past few years, he's been the BGNOFTSHHO (Best Golf No One From The States Has Heard Of). Really, really solid golfer, and I suspect will be a large factor for the Ryder Cup team.

PLAYER MOST LIKELY TO RECOGNIZABLE (FOR GOOD PLAY) - U.S. DIVISION: Ben Curtis. Yes, he's a major winner, but no one knew him then (and it was five years ago). But, no one seems to give him credit for being a damned consistent golfer for the last three seasons, and probably the hottest player for the U.S. over the last two months.

PLAYER MOST LIKELY TO BE RECOGNIZABLE (FOR POOR PLAY) - EURO DIVISION: Ian Poulter. Kind of common sense, as he was a very controversial pick, likely the most controversial since Strange over Janzen in 1995. And,as I mentioned in a previous post, Poulter hasn't been exactly lighting it up this year, unlike say a Darren Clarke. So, if Europe loses by a point or so and Poutler goes something like 0-3-1, meet your goat, Europe!

PLAYER MOST LIKELY TO BE RECOGNIZABLE (FOR POOR PLAY) - U.S. DIVISION: Kenny Perry. If you have read or glanced at a golf article over the past five months with Kenny Perry involved, you will likely know he is the "home state kid" in the tournament (along with pick J.B. Holmes). But, what if Kenny stinks it up, especially after skipping the British Open to play in Milwaukee to get more Ryder Cup points when he was playing some of the best golf in his life? And it's not like he was in much danger of missing the team at the time, either by points or captain pick.

[BLEAST LIKELY ASSISTANT RYDER CUP CAPTAIN: Olin Browne?!?!? WTF, was Dillard Pruitt or Jay Delsing not available? Is he going to equate Ryder Cup pressure to J.B. Holmes to shooting -14 and winning the Greater Hartford 300 years ago? (Though I do like Stockton and Floyd being there).

FILL IN THE BLANK: FOR THE EUROPE TEAM TO WIN ______ HAS TO HAVE A GREAT RYDER CUP: I think Sergio is the answer. He is the emotional leader of this team, and we have all seen what he looks like when he's playing bad (kind of like Monty). If he's playing great, it could be good night to the U.S. early. If not, the opposite could very well be the truth.

FILL IN THE BLANK: FOR THE U.S.TEAM TO WIN ______ HAS TO HAVE A GREAT RYDER CUP Anthony Kim. Kind of like Sergio, he's cocky (borderline arrogant) and brings an youthful exuberance to a team that REALLY needs it. Mickelson never seems to care much about this thing (though I'm sure he does), Cinkand Perry are milquetoast, Furyk can get a little fiery I guess, but Kim needs to be the Seve for the U.S. The guy who will just get under the Euros skin and steal a point or two from them.

[BPREDICTION: PAIN.

Okay, I think this is a lot closer than most. Seriously, outside of Padraig, Sergio and maybe Stenson who really worries you if you're the U.S. No more Monty or Clarke or Olazabal (though Olly is an asst. captain. Hey, maybe him and Olin Browne can swap recipes!), and this Euro team doesn't look so dangerous. I'm going to go with:

TIE 14-14. Euro's retain.

I'm going to try and live blog this tomorrow. We'll see if I can wake up early enough.

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With none of his top tier of pursuers putting up much of a fight, all Vijay has to do is complete four rounds of golf next week at the Tour Championship and win $10 million. Even though Vijay's been plagued by arm issues all year, something tells me he'll finish up the 72 holes and collect his paycheck.

As to Vijay's reaction after the round?

...

..

...

Oh, what's that? Vijay didn't talk to the media because he was more upset about his final round bogey than the ever-likely chances he clinched the $10 million? So what does this mean?

1) Vijay Singh is a very prickly man. (True)
2) Very few people, including the golfers, care about the FedEx cup.

I would guess that the majority of players view this whole thing as a joke. Granted, a very expensive joke in which one of the players (re: Tiger or someone else when he is hurt) can win a lot of money. Just reading the quotes from the golfers they either are complaining about the format or feign just enough interest to get into one of the stories about the cup.

On, and as an aside, on Monday morning at ESPN.com, no mention of the BMW Championship on the front page. Tell me that's not a sign of empathy.

Also:

Under my playoff system that I worked so hard on (re: 15 minutes), here is the updated points:

Vijay Singh - 160
Jim Furyk - 121
Tiger Woods - 118
Camillo Villegas - 114
Sergio Garcia - 114
Padraig Harrington - 107
Anthony Kim - 103
Justin Leonard - 90
Ben Curtis - 89
Mike Weir - 87

So, under the Fore Left system if Furyk won next week and Vijay did not finish in the top-10, Furyk gets the cup. Or if Villegas wins by 6 strokes and Sngh didn't finish in the top-10. Or if Tiger miracously limps onto Eastlake and wins by three w/o Vijay finishing in the top-10. Hey, it would make for some cool Willis Reed like-drama.

Elsewhere, in the world of golf this weekend:


Annika finishes third in last Euro tournament, however she did win the English speaking compulsory event.

There is actually one PGA golfer who supports Barrack Obama?

I almost made a comment about why it seems the automobile industry has very little to do with pro golf anymore, when at one time it seemed 1/4-1/2 of tournaments were sponsored by them? Well, now I know/

Per Golfmagazine.com: Greg Norman on Tiger Woods, in Men's Vogue: "This generation of golfers has just been whipped by Tiger. They go out there thinking that they can't beat him, so they don't. Also, it would really help if he put up a 76 or 77 every once in a while like I did in the final round of a major." Okay, I made that last sentence up.


Finally, youtube of the week! 1986 Masters highlisghts. All that needs to be said.



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LPGA and their language issue

September 5th 2008 22:23
Apparently, the LPGA is not requiring all of their players to speak English .

At the risk of sounding blustery and controversial, personally I had no problem with what the LPGA was requiring of it's players, which was not mastering every adverb and adjective in the English language, but for their players to be able to answer simple questions to the press and to other golfers/officials


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PLAYOFFS?!?!?!?

September 5th 2008 17:13
Ah, Jim Mora, will you're rant ever get old? I say no. No it won't.

Anyways, interesting article yesterday regarding the FEDEX CUP from Bob Harig at ESPN
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Ryder Cup Blog II - U.S. Picks

September 4th 2008 19:41
Here are the captain Azinger's four picks:

1) STEVE STRICKER


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Golf betting. Betting. On golf.

September 4th 2008 13:42
I've decided to start on a weekly basis posting some golf bets, and keeping an ongoing tally. Why? I'm a degenerate gambler, and I want to have a true record posted I guess.

So, here goes: (All lines courtesy of bodoglife.com


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Tommy Bolt RIP

September 3rd 2008 15:43
One of the true characters of the game, 1958 U.S. Open champion Tommy Bolt died at the age of 92.

There are probably a 100 Tommy Bolt stories worth telling, but this one is from a 1999 Golf Digest involving Tommy and my favorite golf writer: Dan Jenkins


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Ryder Cup Blog...First of too many

September 3rd 2008 15:17
The Ryder Cup is in a tie for first with the Masters as my favorite golfing event of the (bi)year. It's kind of funny, I rarely watch the President's Cup, Solheim Cup, Seve Trophy, UBS or any other team events because the drama is either forced (Solheim) or simply not there (Presidents). On top of that, the Match Play Championships kind of bore me as well, since it's either Tiger dominating to another 4 & 3 win, or even worse, Tiger NOT dominating and David Toms or Jeff Maggert winning over Kevin Sutherland or some other non-marquee name.

But the Ryder Cup is different. There is real drama. While not Red Sox/Yankees or even Texas/Oklahoma, there is usually some hurt feelings and some good gamesmanship (Oh, Seve where have you gone? That's right. Two fairways over from your drive


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Yet another golf blog

September 2nd 2008 17:17
Just what the world needed, right?

Anyways, I will discuss the current events of golf, make bad predictions on who wins tournaments, tell you what I like and don't like about all aspects and manners of golf and give you my (in-progress) list of who I have determined to be the top 100 golfers of all time! So sit back, relax, and try to enjoy!
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