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Signs that Phil Mickelson may be getting too old for the PGA Tour
2012-01-20 16:55:00 Although he will always be the fan favorite, Mickelson?s season-opener at the Humana is a challenge for Phil and for the event. Both had glory and are now trying to reclaim it. Humana is using charming ex-President Bill Clinton as its new host replacing the incomparable Bob Hope. Once a five-day star-studded event, the Humana has scaled back in size and scope hoping to regain its popularity; the two biggest names in the field this week are Mickelson and Greg Norman, another "sentimental favorite". Mickelson will be attempting to get 2012 off to a strong start in a comfortable setting where he is the leading money winner in order to help reclaim his top-ten spot in the OWGR. Lefty currrently resides in the 14th position in the world rankings. Humana Tournament Chairman Larry Thiel, while welcoming Mickelson to the event, mentioned that Phil chose a comfortable start over a more intense one. ?Everyone who has the privilege of watching Phil play sees a true master at his cr...
Is Keegan Bradley flying to China on the wings of Phil Mickelson?
2011-10-24 16:24:00 Keegan Bradley, the sensational rookie winner of the PGA Championship, says he can?t wait to take his place at Asia?s only World Golf Championship, the WGC-HSBC Champions, in Shanghai in November. Tim Maitland reports. Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley at BarclaysThe 25-year-old nephew of LPGA legend Pat Bradley had already booked his ticket to China when he sealed his maiden PGA Tour win at the Byron Nelson Championship in May. He guaranteed he?d be one of the stars of the show in Shanghai when he joined the flood of recent first-time Major winners and put his name next to those of Francis Oiumet (1913) and Ben Curtis (2003) as only the third player in the history of golf to win such a prestigious title at his first attempt. Further icing on the cake came last week when he won the four-player (2011) Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.?I?ve watched that tournament on TV for as long as it?s been there. I can remember a lot of the holes. It?s exciting to think I?ve qualified to ...
WGC-HSBC Champions Golf: Try to win and you won't?
2011-10-10 16:16:00 The last global tournament of the stroke play season will see an unprecedented number of newcomers rewarded for their wins with a place at the WGC-HSBC Champions. There’s also a good chance that, for the first time in golf history, the season will end with all the Major titles and WGC trophies in the hands of first-time winners! Tim Maitland, in Part 2, reports: WGC-HSBC Champions Preview: The Weird Art of Winning, Part 1 Why should learning to win matter? If you look at golf in an abstract sense, it’s an unusual sport in as much as nothing your opponents do impacts on your own score; so, in theory, the player who hits the ball best, makes the fewest mistakes and putts the ball most efficiently should win. In reality, winning seems to have very little to do with technique; a suggestion supported by the fact that all the conversations on the subject, no-one talks about the nuts and bolts of their swings. Stop any of the world-class fiel...
WGC-HSBC Champions Preview: The Weird Art of Winning, Part 1
2011-10-04 16:56:00 The last global tournament of the stroke play season will see an unprecedented number of newcomers rewarded for their wins with a place at the WGC-HSBC Champions. There’s also a good chance that, for the first time in golf history, the season will end with all the Major titles and WGC trophies in the hands of first-time winners. Tim Maitland reports. As the world’s best golfers descend on Shanghai for the WGC-HSBC Champions, the world of golf has never been so wide open. photo credit: GolfCentralDaily.com At the moment all of the big trophies have pride of place in their winner’s display cabinets, because none have won at such lofty levels before. The PGA Championship and US Open Championship belong to relative youngsters in 25-year-old Keegan Bradley and 22-year-old Rory McIlroy. The Masters belongs to Charl Schwartzel, 27, making first-time Open Champion Darren Clarke look like a grizzled veteran at 43. This year’s WGCs ...
With end of Tiger Woods reign, has golf entered a brave new world?
2011-09-16 19:26:00 Heading to the WGC-HSBC Champions for the last big showdown of the stroke play season, all of this season?s Majors and World Golf Championships titles are in the hands of first-time winners at that level. That?s never happened before. Tim Maitland investigates whether it means the sport has truly entered a new era. Something is happening in the golf world: ten of the last eleven Major winners have been first time winners. Six of the last seven WGC-HSBC winners have also been new to winning at the highest stratosphere of the world game. photo: European Tour and news.maars.net Since the WGC?s were introduced in 1999, the titles have never all been simultaneously in the hands of newcomers to that echelon of winning. Since the end of World War II only three other years have ended with the Majors claimed by first-time winners: in 2003 (Mike Weir, Jim Furyk, Ben Curtis, Shaun Micheel), 1969 (George Archer, Orville Moody, Tony Jacklin, Raymond Floyd) and 1959 (Art Wall, ...
Ten of the Best Open Championship Golf Performances
2011-07-18 15:40:00 Do you think Darren Clarke or perhaps Phil Mickelson's golf performance at Royal St. George's should be added to this list of the top ten Open Championship appearances? Does a golfer have to win in order to be listed or do collapses count too? The public loves to see a meltdown. According to BestOnlineColleges.com, Jack Nicklaus' performance at St. Andrews in 1970 and Tom Watson with "one of the finest displays of golf in a major championship" at the 1970 Open Championship rank among the top golf on this list. Watson also displayed a third round this week worthy of a second look. At sixty-one years-old, the five-time British Open Champion "vaulted ten spots up the leaderboard" but I think it was his hole-in-one that gave fans a Champions Tour golfer to cheer for this week! Seve Ballesteros has two spots in these top rankings with John Daly and, naturally, Tiger Woods making the cut. Woods was added to the list because of his performance at St. Andrews "winning...
Mickelson a candidate for World Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2012?
2011-05-10 18:27:00 Three-time major winner Ernie Els, former President George H. W. Bush, 19-time PGA Tour victor Doug Ford, Japan?s Masashi ?Jumbo? Ozaki, the late Frank Chirkinian and the late Jock Hutchison were inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2011 in St. Augustine, Florida yesterday. WGHF Chief Operating Officer Jack Peter said, "The Class of 2011 comes from South Africa, Japan, the United States and Scotland. The global nature of this wonderful Class embodies so much of what the World Golf Hall of Fame stands for. We are thrilled to welcome all of them into the Hall of Fame family." World Golf Hall of Fame inductees: Class of 2011 The World Golf Hall of Fame honors golf's greatest players and contributors. Criteria for induction indicates an honorary must be forty-years old, must be a PGA Tour player (on the PGA Tour ballot) for ten years and have either ten Tour wins, two majors or two Players Championships to be considered. Perhaps Phil Mickel...
Tiger Woods not among some Masters golf picks
2011-04-07 16:49:00 I entered into a Masters Pool in which I had to assemble a "dream team" of eight golfers: if my "team of eight" racks up the most prize money, I win the golf pool. Although I cannot say who started the pool, I can show you who I chose as my top finishers (not in any particular order). As an interesting note, twenty entries out of fifty-four did not include Tiger Woods which is this particular golf pool's record.Here is my dream team of top money winners with quotes relating to how they feel going into The Masters. 1. *Phil Mickelson: After shooting weekend 63-65 win the Shell Open. “It was a big confidence-booster,” Mickelson said. “To have that performance heading in here feels really good. It reminds me of 2006.” *My pick to win the Masters2. Tiger Woods: "Been using my new app to prepare. I’m loving it – what do you guys think?" http://t.co/Qw8VEEe (Another sales pitch...ahem) "Logging so many hours heading i...
What are the odds that Mickelson or Laird will don the Masters Jacket?
2011-04-04 22:19:00 Two weeks ago I wrote an article about how the next Masters champion may come from a win at either Bay Hill or Redstone based upon what I believed to be circumstances of "fate". With Mickelson coming from behind to win at the SHO this week, a green jacket reality moment at Augusta National is settling in with oddsmakers as well.To recap the ESPN.com analysis: There have only been six instances since 1960 when a player won an event either one or two weeks prior to winning the Masters. It's happened just twice since 1990 and in five year increments: Tiger Woods in 2001 (The Players Championship) and Phil Mickelson in 2006 (won the BellSouth the prior week). This next five-year increment is at hand and so it stands to reason that either Mickelson or Martin Laird could become the 75th Masters Champion.Humble Phil feels confident after a SHO-ing this week that he can win the first major of 2011. "It feels really good for me to have played well and gained some momentum heading into next ...
Will a Bay Hill win determine the Masters Champion?
2011-03-23 20:45:00 Tiger Woods' six Bay Hill victories makes him the odds-on favorite among fans and gamblers despite a drought. The long-shot of becoming a Masters champion after a win at this event is ripe to happen. Will it be Woods, or perhaps an up-and-coming golfer on the PGA Tour, that creates their opportunity at Bay Hill... and dons the Green Jacket? Although I do not gamble on sports events (except for my $5 bet on the Kentucky Derby), I enjoy reading how analysts and betting parlors determine golf odds and event winners. Golf is a gambling game, from playing a two-dollar Nassau right down to selecting a Fantasy Golf Team and the internet is flooded with scenarios based upon performance and standings. But, does fate (la forza del destina) sometimes play a hand in the outcome? One statistic that caught my eye while sifting through the "information super-highway" was Justin Ray's analysis on ESPN.com. He noted that there have only been six instances since 1960 when a playe...
Kodak and Devlin's Billabong Challenge Mickelson, Haas at Torrey Pines
2011-01-30 18:24:00 The tricky par 5 18th at Torrey Pines South Course has been intimidating PGA Tour golfers the entire week. For Phil Mickelson and Bill Haas, this golf hole could be the deciding factor in who wins both the Farmers Insurance Open and this week's Kodak Challenge. As the finishing hole at Torrey Pines, the long par-5 18th hole (572 yards from the tips) has seen its share of great plays, none more calamitous than Bruce Devlin?s "10" in 1975 during the Andy Williams San Diego Open. Devlin, who was among the lead contenders in the tournament, dropped six consecutive approaches into the pond in front of the green en-route to the 10. ?Devlin's Billabong? is the name now given to the troublesome pond in front of the green. About Hole No. 18 at Torrey Pines South CourseThe par-5 eighteenth on the South Course demands a very long drive before a challenging second shot over a small but dangerous lake in front of the green. From the back tees this par 5 is a three-shot hole for m...
Tiger Woods vs Phil Mickelson at Torrey Pines? It could happen!
2011-01-27 00:11:00 The 2011 PGA Tour season didn't officially begin this week, but with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson debuting at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, expect the pace to ramp up a bit. Now imagine these two golfers, with everyone anxiously awaiting their return, playing head to head on Sunday! It's a stretch but it could happen and did occur with their "dream pairing" at the 2008 U.S. Open. Six wins at Torrey Pines for Woods with three for Mickelson show that these two golfers are confident that they made the right decision starting their 2011 PGA Tour season at this golf course. credit Should Phil have begun with business as usual at the Bob Hope Classic? With two wins at this event, it might have made a more positive impact than his decision to tune-up in Abu Dhabi. PGA.com contended that Mickelson "lost interest in recent years when the tournament started moving away from its traditional rotation of golf courses," resulting in his overseas tri...
PGA Tour vs European Tour...Golf Smackdown?
2011-01-20 19:08:00 The European Tour continues to grow in popularity and this week is no exception as six of the top ten golfers in the official world rankings embrace the WGC HSBC Abu Dhabi Golf Championship as the competitve "tournament of choice". Mickelson used to enjoy playing his season-opener at the Bob Hope Classic but is it just the stress of a five-day event that has Phil fleeing or is it the allure of $1 million that is tempting Lefty to visit Abu Dhabi? In order to entice more PGA Tour golfers to play across the pond, spiffs are an integral part of the deal for notables like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, who will reportedly receive $3 million to show up in Dubai next month. The diverse environment also interests Mickelson. "It has been great for me and my family to experience a lot of different cultures and learn from them." U.S. golfers who add European Tour events to their schedule are being given a royal welcome by their hosts and appearance fees. The grueling PGA Tour schedule wi...
Does the 2011 PGA Tour season start in Kapalua or Torrey Pines?
2011-01-05 18:34:00 With neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson starting their respective golf season until the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and with a lack of "star power" in Kapalua, will the kick-off at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions become a non-event? The Hyundai Tournament of "Champions", the PGA Tour's season-opener, will be short several winners including Mickelson (Masters), Louis Oosthuizen (British Open) and the big talk of the 2010 golf world, Lee Westwood. Three out of the four major's champions will not be in Hawaii at an event meant to bring them all together for the kickoff of the season. Tiger Woods did not win a single event in 2010 and therefore was not invited to the season opener. Woods' return to Torrey Pines was carefully thought out as Tiger has won the last five events he has played there, including a U.S. Open. Woods and Mickelson were more visible in tabloids and in tweets than on the leaderboard last year. Tiger's indiscretions o...
Has European Tour golf won out over the PGA Tour?
2010-11-15 16:54:00 In what is considered by some to be a snub to America, Rory McIlroy recently declined PGA Tour membership for the upcoming 2011 season joining Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood as staunch supporters of the European Tour. ?The two best players in the world at the moment are not going to join the US Tour next year,? said McIlroy, number nine in the world. ?It's a great time for European golf.? Both Westwood and McIlroy have voiced concerns about a long PGA Tour schedule with few breaks in between events and the idea that their golf careers should not be solely about money. The PGA Tour further ostracized Euro Tour golfers recently with its offer of a three-year exemption to the winner of a WGC event in China only if that golfer is a member of an American Tour! McIlroy recently said, "The FedEx Cup is only about money and you shouldn't just be going over to play thinking about how much you can make. I needed a break after the USPGA [In August], but had only one week. Ther...
WGC-HSBC Champions Puts Exclamation Mark on Europe?s Miraculous Year
2010-11-08 23:20:00 The day before his 28th birthday, Francesco Molinari put the finishing touches on four days of incredible golf, becoming the first wire-to-wire winner of the WGC-HSBC Champions and emphatically proving that world golf in 2010 belonged almost exclusively to Europe, Tim Maitland reports. For the first time Europe Tour members claimed three of the four WGC titles (Ian Poulter won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and Ernie Els took the WGC-CA Championship) to add to three Majors (Graeme McDowell/US Open, Louis Oosthuizen/Open Championship and Martin Kaymer/PGA Championship) and the small matter of the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor. “I'm a European Tour Member, I'm proud to be a European Tour golfer, and it's a great moment for European golf and I'm really happy to give my contribution to that,” said Molinari, who also capped an unprecedented year for Italian golf too, by adding his name to that of his brother Edoardo and teenager Matteo Manassero...
Mickelson, Montgomerie, Scott awed by China's future Golf Champions
2010-11-05 19:54:00 2010 Valero Texas Open winner Adam Scott had been beaten by a girl before, just not by a 12-year-old. Playing the 17th hole of the WGC-HSBC Champions Pro-Am, Scott found the bunker and made bogey. Little Lucy Shi Yuting, a thireteen-time winner in three years on the HSBC National Junior Championship, made par. The significance is twofold, says the writer of this article, Tim Maitland. The other girl to beat Scott was a few years ago and someone called Wie – Michelle Wie – and you can make a note that November 3rd 2010 was the day when the elite of men’s golf truly came to realise that China is coming faster than they realized. “These are the Olympic champions and world champions of the future. They’re fantastic! Fantastic!” raved Europe’s Ryder Cup-winning captain Colin Montgomerie after conducting a clinic with some of the younger children from the HSBC China Junior Golf Program. “They’re prope...
Golf: Is China Coming?
2010-11-02 15:45:00 Addressing China?s emergence into world of golf is not a question of ?if?, it?s a question of ?how fast?? Tim Maitland reports. There are few definitive truths one can utter about a nation of China?s massive scale. There are, however, some useful generalizations about the ?Middle Kingdom? especially in the last ten or twenty years. Firstly, it tends to develop in whatever it is doing far quicker than almost all outside predications. Secondly, China, just as it did with its ?socialist market economy?, tends to find its own way. The same broad brush strokes apply for golf. Just as surpassing Japan?s gross domestic product in the second quarter of 2010 confirmed China?s status as an economic power, China?s position as a global tournament host has also been confirmed. It took just one edition of the HSBC Champions as a World Golf Championships event to complete a process started by the Volvo China Open, the first truly international Chinese professional event in 1995, to...
Can the PGA and LPGA Tour bring Asian golf to the ROW?
2010-10-28 17:30:00 The popularity of golf is escalating to a fevered frenzy in Asia but can the PGA and LPGA Tour help bring this emerging market to the rest of the world? With the WGC-HSBC Champions event combining the talents of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson for a possible dream match and Michelle Wie needing a bodyguard to keep fans at bay during the LPGA Malaysia, Asian golf fans are coming out in droves to witness star power in professional golf. The Asian golf market is relatively unknown here in the USA but has plenty of events during the season sanctioned by the Asian Tour, OneAsia and the Japan Golf Tour. It appears as if all of the Tours operate independently of each other instead of combining strength to create one professional commission with larger purses and better known talent. The LPGA has already established the Japan and Korean Tours but the Ladies Asian Golf Tour remains a separate entity. In July, Tim Finchem made rumblings that there may be more PGA Tour events springing up i...
Tiger Woods earnings down but still $30 million richer than Phil Mickelson
2010-10-19 20:11:00 According to SI.com, Tiger Woods may have dropped $9 million in earnings from last year but he is still the number one golfer on tour and still about $30 million ahead of Phil Mickelson! In spite of his scandalous year, advertisers dropping like flies and nary a win in sight, Tiger Woods earned a whopping $90.5 million: only $20 million in "salary" from PGA Tour standings but $70 million from endorsements! In spite of being dropped by Gatorade, ATT and Accenture (see below), Woods' $10 million FedEx Cup bonus helped keep him in the number one position on the "Fortunate 50", ahead of Mickelson, LeBron James and Alex Rodriguez, whose Yankees salary of $33 million with only $4 million in endorsements barely halves Woods' home run. Here is a list of Tiger Woods' corporate partners and sponsors, according to Golf.com, which helped keep Tiger Woods ahead on the money list: 1. Nike - "Just Do It" 2. EA Sports 3. Tag Heuer - "What are You Made of?" 4. Gillette - "The Best a Man ca...
Did PGA Tour Championship or Fed Ex Cup mean more to Jim Furyk?
2010-09-27 16:43:00 A dejected Luke Donald concluded that the double bogey on the 15th hole on Saturday was why he lost out on a $10 million Fed Ex Cup prize to Jim Furyk. Furyk, on the other hand, was busy trying to lift both the PGA Tour Championship and Fed Ex Cup trophies, while trying to decide which meant more to him. (credit) Pointing to the Fed Ex Cup Furyk said, "They both mean a lot, to be honest with you, but this one is a season. ... I focused all week on trying to win this one (pointing to THE TOUR Championship trophy) and hoped this one (the FedExCup) could come true." Perhaps Furyk now has another trophy in his sights, namely the Jack Nicklaus Trophy as the PGA Tour's Player of the Year. Jim Furyk is now moving on to the 2010 Ryder Cup and, if 2008 Ryder Cup action is any indication of how he'll perform, I suspect Team USA will be taking home the trophy once again! Here is last year's picture of Phil Mickelson and Tiger W...
From PGA Tour Championship to Ryder Cup to Caddyshack, Golfers Quotes befor
2010-09-23 16:26:00 From defending Tour Championship golfer Phil Mickelson to first-time Ryder Cup nominee Matt Kuchar, PGA Tour players had plenty to say going into this week's golf tournament with an eye on winning the $10 million prize and FedEx Cup bragging rights. Here are a few golf quotes from Mickelson, Kuchar, Hoffman, Casey, Johnson and a long-winded Steve Stricker. Q. Several things could happen this week. If you win you'd be the No. 1 player in the world, you'd be the only guy ever to successfully defend this championship, probably be Player of the Year, and yet still all of the stars would have to align correctly in order for you to win the FedExCup. Do you think that's right, or is there another tweaking in the system that needs to be made so that those kinds of year-long things matter more than these last four events? PHIL MICKELSON: I haven't played well in the first three FedExCup events, and so you have to have some value to those events. And you can'...
What Tiger Woods considers The Crowning Jewel of All of Asian Golf
2010-09-15 20:34:00 It took just one staging of the WGC-HSBC Champions to dispel all doubts as to whether a World Golf Championships event could succeed in Asia. Tim Maitland reports on how the Shanghai tournament has spearheaded another step up the ladder for tournament golf in Asia. At some stage between the inception of the HSBC Champions in 2005 and Tiger Woods last year calling it ?the crowning jewel of all of Asian golf", golf in Asia made a transition. Not that the autumn swing to the East was ever just a bit of fun - the big names that did travel certainly lived up to their billing ? but now there is little question that Asia has taken its place at the top table of top-class tournament play. The who, what, why, when, where of Asia?s coming of age? The ?where?? is a no-brainer. The venue: the Nelson & Haworth design Sheshan International Golf Club. The ?who?? or ?what?? is just as easy: the HSBC Champions - whether through its winners-only fields, the champions it produce...
Arthritic Phil Mickelson turns vegetarian
2010-08-12 00:40:00 I wonder if Phil Mickelson ever thought about the consequences of turning forty and the possible unwelcome side-effects? (credit) Five days before the U.S. Open (and right before his big birthday), Mickelson awakened with "intense pain" and couldn't move. Lefty's doctor visit found him to be suffering from psoriatic arthritis but a weekly treatment of shots seems to have put the symptoms under control. A friend of mine once mentioned that turning forty was no picnic; to be wary of the bevy of doctors visits, new meds that you will be taking, etc... and now I'm getting worried! From doctor's visits to a 'one-eighty' turnaround in diet, Phil Mickelson is a changed man. A veggie burger doesn't really taste like the real thing, no matter how much you tell yourself it does but, after a few bites, it's not so bad. Mickelson said of his new-and-improved diet, "As long as I believe that there’s a possibility that it will help me ...
Can the 2010 U.S. Open take the title of Golf's Greatest Championship?
2010-06-17 19:57:00 In his book, "Golf's Greatest Championship", Julian Graubart states that "perhaps the most dramatic, competitive and passionate of all Open Championships" occurred at the 1960 U.S. Open in Cherry Hills, Colorado. Let us briefly look at what it would take for the 2010 U.S. Open to surpass this highly regarded historic event. Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, the two top names in golf at the time, were in the field and had the opportunity to win the event. Although Hogan tied for ninth place and Snead T-19th position, there would have to be some major well-known "starpower" in the final round in order for the 2010 U.S. Open to contend for golf's greatest championship. Sixty-year-old Tom Watson, who hit one of the greatest shots in golf during the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach to defeat Jack Nicklaus, might do as this type of draw. Ben Hogan was forty-seven at the time and considered the "elder statesman" with four U.S. Open titles under his belt and knowing this may be his last chance ...
Birthday Gifts for Phil Mickelson, the man who has it all!
2010-06-13 20:17:00 For Phil Mickelson's 39th birthday last year, wife Amy presented him with a dinosaur head, possibly a "Tarbosaurus bataar." What do you give the "man who has everything" as Mickelson called himself? Before you say "rocking chair", I've come up with gifts that Phil might appreciate for his 40th birthday. 1. One year of assorted Krispy Kreme donuts. Mickelson's favorite! 2. A winning assortment of "goodies" from Callaway. Mickelson has been testing new Callaway equipment and now needs the right driver, swing adjustments and confidence boosters to secure the U.S. Open trophy. 3. Five Guys now Six Guys? Mickelson won the bid to franchise Five Guys Burgers in Orange County, CA. Perhaps a winning shake to go with "the best burgers I've ever tasted"? 5. First tee time with Paddy Harrington and Y.E. Yang at the 2010 U.S. Open? Nah! A "pairing" with Tiger Woods would be a better gift with Mickelson thrashing Woods and coming out of the shadow of the world's number one golfer. ...
Is Nicklaus ready to skin Woods before the Memorial?
2010-06-02 00:28:00 When Jack Nicklaus instituted the first nine-hole skins game before the 2009 Memorial Tournament, he chose Tiger Woods as one of this group. Fans got an eyeful watching the two greatest golfers in the world play side-by-side with Woods chipping in at eighteen to seal the deal. Last year, Nicklaus said, "They had me paired in the other group, and I said, uh-uh. I said, 'I haven't played with him for nine years. I'd like to play with Tiger.' So they said OK. I'm really looking forward to it." This year tells quite a different story as Nicklaus has extricated himself from Woods' group instead pairing himself with Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Sean O'Hair and Kenny Perry, all perceived by the public to be stand-up guys. Not that Steve Stricker (one of my favorite golfers besides Mickelson), Zack Johnson or Jim Furyk won't add a bit of pizazz to Woods' foursome (Rory McIlroy has possibilities as you can watch the girls swooning all around him) but what was the method to Nickl...
Tiger Woods still has the game but should Mickelson get the glory?
2010-04-13 16:21:00 Cheering on Phil Mickelson at the Masters this weekend was easy to do. His charisma emanated from all corners of Augusta National Golf Club; the world could feel his warmth. Lefty pulled the golf fans into his world, making sure to smile and greet all as he walked through Amen Corner and down the home stretch. After sinking a birdie at eighteen to place his name among three-time winners such as Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret, Mickelson greeted his wife Amy and their children with honesty and passion that most women would have swooned over. There was probably not a dry eye in the entire viewing audience. In stark contrast, Tiger Woods' dissatisfaction with his fourth place finish was barely gracious. There was no mention of how K.J. Choi kept pace over four grueling days at Augusta, no positive reinforcements about his own game and certainly not the Tiger Woods who grew up in front of our eyes. With cursing and apologies becoming more frequent and Woods literally falling to pieces i...
LPGA joins the Navy, Bivens walks the plank.
2009-07-20 18:14:00 Click here to listen.After LPGA golfers signed a petition rallying for the resignation of Carolyn Bivens with a show of "no confidence", the Tour is now searching for a permanent replacement.Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis and Morgan Pressel were among fifteen golfers concerned about issues facing the LPGA including a loss of seven events since 2007. The latest bailout of the Kapalua Classic was probably the nail in the coffin for Bivens. Morgan Pressel was the winner of the inaugural event and she happens to be the Tour Pro there as well. What a blow for Carolyn Bivens, the first female commissioner in the LPGA's 55-year history!Early in her career with the Tour, Bivens can be credited with establishing guidelines for the protection of players' rights and enhancing the image of the LPGA as young and vital. Remember how viewers USED to see the LPGA?Retired Navy Rear Admiral Marsha Evans has been appointed as the interim commander of the LPGA. With experience serving as...
Woods, Mickelson pairing at U.S. Open? Kodak golf shots worth $1 million, c
2009-06-18 18:10:00 Click here to listen.What do Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington and Angel Cabrera all have in common? Aside from major victories in 2008, all three will be grouped together during the first two rounds of the 109th U.S. Open.This was a smart pairing by tournament officials as each has a story to tell.Tiger Woods is not only the defending champion (holding off Rocco Mediate and a bum knee) but also held on to victory (and a score of par) in 2002 at Bethpage with Phil Mickelson on his tail. With fourteen majors under his belt, a fresh win at the Memorial and a great family behind him "I couldn?t be happier than where I am right now", Woods is ready to tackle Jack Nicklaus' record."It's five to pass him, four to tie him," Woods said. "I'm healthy enough where I think I can give it a go."Harrington is one of the odds favorites this year (+2500 for a payout potential of US$2500 on every US$100 bet at SBG Global.) Paddy should be as he has won the past two British Open Championships as wel...
Golfer Phil Mickelson?s Wife Amy Diagnosed With Breast Cancer (Photos)
2009-05-20 20:33:00 Golfer Phil Mickelson has canceled his next tournaments (HP Byron Nelson and Crowne Plaza Invitational) where he is the defending champion because his wife Amy Mickeslon was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Amy is expected to undergo major surgery in the next two week. Phil and Amy tied the knot in 1996 and they have three ...
Tiger Woods, Mickelson pairing ignites sparks, Michelle Wie goes to Korea-w
2009-04-14 16:19:00 Click here to listen."You've got to focus through the ficus" and "concentrate on being great!" Although these "Woods of Wisdom" are rhythmically repeated during the new Tiger Gatorade Focus commercial, it didn't seem as if TW took the advice as he could barely control his "band-aid swing" for much of the Sunday Masters rally against Phil Mickelson. Still, the finale averaged a 6.9 rating/12 share with CBS thanking it's lucky stars that Phil and Tiger tied in the third round and that Masters officials were smart enough to realize that the pairing would exude fireworks. Eight years later and the two top golfers in the world did not disappoint with Mickelson firing a record-tying front nine '30' and Tiger playing "catch-up" until the end. Both players lost steam by the eighteenth, called it quits and hastily departed Augusta National before the green jacket was awarded.The question is, what incentive did viewers have to stick around for the bittersweet climax?Many were watching an...
Can Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia take number-one status from Tiger Woods?
2009-04-02 19:43:00 One possible way for Phil Mickelson to become the number one PGA Tour golfer in the world, toppling Tiger Woods, is closely tied in to his finish at this weekend's Shell Houston Open. In order to turn his dreams into reality, Mickelson is going to have to sharpen his putting skills.According to his website, Mickelson has improved in all areas of his game except in putts per round. Out of six events, Phil now has two 2009 victories so it appears that the only way Mickelson can lose is if his mental game shatters, which it has been prone to do.Greg Norman believes that Lefty is not as strong as Tiger Woods when it comes to clutch putting and, when it comes PGA Tour dominance, "Tiger's got him on the mental edge and Tiger has got him outside nine feet." Let's not forget that last week's big finale at the Arnold Palmer Invitational came down to Woods' lengthy putt at the seventy-second hole.Although this may appear to be the "Phil and Tiger Show" on the PGA Tour, Sergio Garcia has ...
Phil Mickelson wins bailout money, Ogilvy swaps golf ball mid-hole and matc
2009-03-02 18:32:00 Click here to listen.Until the recent flood of bank bailouts occurred, I'm not sure that the masses knew, or really cared, what financial institutions did with customer funds, so long as the economy was secure. So, in a sense, good came from this massive overhaul as disclosure helped open the eyes of the world to the vast waste and appetence that banks have kept hidden under their veils of secrecy.TMZ recently educated viewers on one such bank, Northern Trust, which spent millions of dollars on the sponsorship and advertising related to it's same-named tournament. Extravagant parties were thrown for hundreds of clients and employees of the company and although local hotels, businesses, entertainers and even tournament winner Phil Mickelson received benefit from the outpouring of capital, it hardly helped put the economy back on track.According to TMZ, a Northern Trust representative stated that operating funds were utilized, not bailout dollars. Of course, that logic seems skewed ...
Phil Mickelson wins bailout money, Ogilvy swaps golf ball mid-hole and matc
2009-03-02 17:27:00 Click here to listen. Until the recent flood of bank bailouts occurred, I?m not sure that the masses knew, or really cared, what financial institutions did with customer funds, so long as the economy was secure. So, in a sense, ...
Mickelson feels good about his ridiculous score. The trick to hitting a mud
2009-02-02 22:05:00 Click here to listen.Mickelson's debut at the FBR Open was more of a fizzle than a roar. Phil not only missed the cut but appeared to be in self-denial as well."It doesn't feel as far off as the score indicates," Mickelson said. "I know the score is ridiculous. But it doesn't feel bad."One interpretation of the above statement may be that, although Phil struck the ball well, it did not go where it was intended, which caused him to search through the cacti on more than one occasion. But Mickelson must have been concentrating his thoughts more on the Arizona Cardinals point spread more than to believe that he wasn't at all rusty, hitting only eight of twenty-eight fairways and flying several greens with his usually faithful lob wedge. At least Phil made it to the finish line at last year's FBR Open before finally succumbing to J.B. Holmes, who came back from the brink of defeat to trounce Mickelson. Come to think of it, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes made an ex...
Sorenstam career cut short, Wie redux. Will Thanksgiving pay off for Mickel
2008-11-24 19:17:00 Click here to listen.Annika Sorenstam?s missed cut at the $1 million dollar ADT Championship resembles the 2008 LPGA season as a whole. As Sorenstam limped through the early rounds, a noticeably hurt Bivens on crutches did the same as she gave her ?State of the Tour? address. Both were frustrated by their final tallies. Sorenstam definitely wanted to ace the finals and Bivens wanted to let everyone know that under her jurisdiction the LPGA was just dandy but neither could muster up the drive needed to do so.The new season will show a loss of three tournaments (to 31) as well as a drop of over $5 million in prize money. To further the bad news, this year?s ending was lackluster at best as top golfers Sorenstam, Ochoa and Pressel all packed their bags early leaving the Asians to save face at the event.To add insult to injury and add to the ineptitude of the LPGA Tour, Annika was randomly selected after her last event for a drug test after already passing one given to her last month. "...
European Tour Shanghai's PGA Tour golfers on road to Dubai. Mickelson swing
2008-11-10 16:21:00 Click here to listen.The European Tour is sending a message to PGA Tour players, loud and clear, that a new era in golf is beginning with the 2009 season.A new spruced-up tour, in which the European Order of Merit has been replaced with "The Race to Dubai" offers a $10 million pie at the end of the season with another shared purse after the season-ending Dubai World Championship.Phil Mickelson may be defending this week at the first stop on the Euro Tour, the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, but guys like Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas are ready to pounce. Villegas, for example, is not content to just play, he's "definitely going there to win." Mickelson, on the other hand, is hoping that swing changes he has been working on since 2007 will finally take effect. We discuss a few of these swing changes in this week's show.With players like Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott working towards another FedEx Cup-like purse on the European Tour, how soon will it be before golfer...
U.S. Open Pressure-Tiger Woods persevered, Phil Mickelson collapsed and Roc
2008-06-18 10:19:00 Click here to listen. Poor Tiger Woods! Yes, he has won his fourth U.S. Open but was it at the expense of his knee? Is winning a trophy more important that your health? The answer? Season-ending knee surgery with the rest ...
Phil Mickelson Wins 2008 Colonial With Amazing Gap Wedge On #18 Converts Bi
2008-05-26 11:02:00 Phil was up to his old tricks Sunday with some beautiful short game wizardry including an amazing gap wedge to 9 feet on the 72nd hole of the tournament. He convert the putt for birdie and defeated Tim Clark and Rod Pampling by one shot. Phil made 65 of 73 putts within 10 feet I guess he's got his putting back. Check out his shot on 18 as well as some other highlights.
By: Ottawa Golf Blog
Phil Mickelson wins the Crown Plaza International with a Birdie on the Last
2008-05-26 00:27:00 Wow, this has to be one of the best finishes by Phil Mickelson. Remember I did a swing analysis of Phil yesterday and predicted he’d win? Lol… it was a very awesome final hole stretch as Phil made a par on the 15th hole to stay alive, then got out of major tree trouble on the ...
By: ProGolferDigest
Phil Mickelson -Approach on #11- These Guys Are Good
2008-05-25 10:32:00 Sometimes these PGA Tour pros hit some amazing shots check out Phil Mickelson's approach shot on #11 in round 1. It's his second shot into a par 5. 256 yds to the green, 283 yds to the hole and he hits an iron to within about 15 feet. He doesn't get the eagle but settles for par. Nice shot Phil!Tags: Phil Mickelson, PGA Tour, Colonial
By: Ottawa Golf Blog
Phil Mickelson Front View Swing Analysis
2008-05-25 00:37:00 Phil Mickelson is doing great today over at the Crown Plaza Invitational. Let’s look at his swing and see what kind of great things Phil is doing these days. At address position, you can clearly see the triangle formed by Phil and the angle he is setting up to the iron shot. The angle is not ...
By: ProGolferDigest
Phil Mickelson Leads Through 2 Rounds Of 2008 Colonial
2008-05-24 09:25:00 Not surprising Phil Mickelson is leading after 2 rounds of the 2008 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. He's got 5 wedges in his bag this week as well as a hot putter a good combination on a tough course in Forth Worth, Texas. He'll have to continue over the weekend as there's a huge group at -6,-5 and -4. Enjoy this video of Phil's first round.Tags: Phil Mickelson, PGA Tour, 2008 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
By: Ottawa Golf Blog
Phil Mickelson Courage Parody Video
2008-05-21 04:28:00 Download latest version of Flash to view video!. Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode Lol…this video is funny too… courage, parody, Phil Mickelson
By: ProGolferDigest
Two golf swings, putting practice and when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson d
2008-04-21 16:11:00 Click here to listen. Yesterday the Pope pre-empted golf, proving that religion trumps sport, at least on network television. Whether or not you were interested in Sunday Sermon, broadcasters forced you to watch Pope Benedict XVI at Yankee Stadium, bringing about ...
72nd Golf Masters 2008: Tiger Woods vs Phil Mickelson
2008-04-10 01:53:00 This Thursday in Augusta, Georgia is the start of the 72nd Golf Masters 2008 and while 32 year-old Tiger Woods is going for his fifth Masters title, he is followed closely by Phil Mickelson who won two of the last four titles. Last month Woods ended his seven-event winning streak at the Doral on Easter Monday ...
By: Product Reviews
2008 Masters Preview
2008-04-08 20:54:00 Everywhere you look, people are previewing the Masters. Granted, my sports world is currently dominated by my excitement for the Frozen four. So, I won't get into too many of the regular issues about the tournament, the players, or the course. I'll keep it short and sweet with what I think will happen at the Masters.What Will Happen at the 2008 Masters1) Tiger Woods will post a top five, but he'll come up short because of cold putting late.2) The winner will either be a repeat champion or a big surprise (maybe a foreigner).3) People will continue to complain (and rightly so) about the abundance of trees down the right side of the 11th fairway.4) Someone will make a back-nine charge to win on Sunday.5) People will complain (and wrongly so) about why old guys like Gary Player, Ray Floyd, Sandy Lyle, etc. should stay home like Nick Faldo because they have no chance of winning.6) The winning score will be -8 or better. The weather forecast looks pretty good, so there will be plenty o...
By: The Sports Flow
SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH PHIL MICKELSON
2008-02-20 04:06:00 For all of the people that have been saying to themselves, ‘how can I schedule a meeting with Phil Mickelson?’, wonder no more. Lefty has teamed up with Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts in an ad campaign that let’s you, yes YOU, get a sit down with the world’s number 2 ranked golfer. From the ...
By: You Been Blinded
Phil Mickelson wins HSBC Champions in China
2007-11-14 16:29:00 Phil Mickelson survived a roller-coaster final round at the Sheshan International Golf Club in China Sunday to win the HSBC Champions, the inaugural event of the European PGA Tour’s 2008 season. read more | digg story
By: World Golf Guide
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