The Colonial

Lefty's Magic

Date Written: May 26, 2008

Call him by his rightful name, "Houdini" Mickelson. Lefty, "chained" to a wayward drive, deep in the trees, pulls the proverbial live rabbit out of his hat with a wedge shot on the 72nd hole to deny Rod Pampling and Tim Clark a chance at a playoff. Pool players, Jimbo Brady, Mikey P. and Louie/Margaret must have been on the edge of their couch, licking their collective chops, when they saw his second shot dilemma. Then they were left on the carpet...totally deflated by Lefty's luck/pluck. By the bye, six of us got zilch with Verplunk's MC on a course suited to his game. Drat!

Thank god for TIVO. There were some difficult choices to make on the bulb Sunday. The Clayton Kershaw Era finally arrived at Dodger Stadium, the Lakers were playing the dreaded Spurs, and, of course, the golf. It took me well into Monday to finally view all the outcomes. And...I had to play eighteen holes too at Sun Valley. To paraphrase Hemingway, "Life is full." I can only add, "When's dinner ready Honey?"

Seven "Perry's" and six "O'Hair's at "Jack's" Memorial this week. No Tiger. Apparently not enough rehab yet on the ailing knee. If he decides that he's not one hundred per cent before the US Open, there will be twelve of us who will be pissed.

AT&T Classic

The 18th at Sugarloaf

Date Written: May 19, 2008



Try hitting a shot from a downhill lie with a five wood that requires a carry of 270 yards over water to a tucked pin with the wind howling in your face. Add in the fact that you are in a sudden-death playoff with a $300,000 difference in prize money and 20,000 screaming fans. In the, "What Was He Trying to Accomplish Scenario," Kenny Perry tried to pull off this miracle shot against the youngster, Ryuchi Imada. He blocked it, hit a tree that boomeranged the ball back over the green and into the drink. End of dialogue. Master Doyle contends he was just trying to hit it right so he would have a lot of green to work with for his third shot and was unlucky to hit the tree. I don't know about that.

Hindsight is very cheap but a lot of fun. If I had been Perry, hitting first, I would have been thinking "lay-up" and let the kid go for it and die. He obviously didn't listen to me yelling at him through my TV. Great drama turned to tragedy. It's been an expensive two weeks that have cost Kenny a pile of dough. But that's football.

To his credit, Ryuchi looked unflappable during the last nine holes. He said in a post game interview that he never believed in destiny, but now that he has won this event, (after losing in a playoff last year to Zach Johnson), he might change his mind. Ryuchi's definitely got game. In addition to winning for the first time yesterday, he's got two second-place finishes at The Buick and The Pods and a fifth at L.A. this year. Pencil him in Paul for a Ryder Cup spot.

News of note: The telecast started with Honolulu's own, Parker McLachlin, he of horrible, Oakley golf pants fame, consterned over a 75 foot bunker shot on the driveable 13th. He hits the perfect shot and splashes it into the cup for an eagle and a three stroke lead. At the time, he had this incredible round going...8-under. Poor kid...like most of us, he couldn't stand success. From then on, he appeared to be thinking, "way too much." He took an inordinate amount of time over every shot and proceeded to bogey three of the last 5 holes. He took so much time to figure out what to do on the eighteenth that I was thinking of nick-naming him, "Part-Time." He was slower than Glen "All" Day or Ben "Forever" Crane. Anyway, "Part-Time" took what seemed like half an hour waiting for wind conditions to change on his second shot. I took a short nap on the couch, I went to the refrigerator three times and the bathroom twice before he eventually decided to lay up on the treacherous par five. He makes bogey anyway. Whatever happened to the PGA's 45 seconds per shot rule?

Seven of us, including our esteemed pool leader, Scott Winegar, won substantial third place loot with our pick of the "Ice Cream Man," Mr. "Vee-Jay-Gas." For those that care about fashion, Camillo wore all-white which is, in most cases, a definite fashion no-no. But he shot a nifty 31 on the last nine holes to miss the playoff by one shot. Drat! I had him in the pool. I'm finally able to creep out of the cellar, but could have done alot better. The marvelous team of T & A gets to ponder the view from the Cropper (last place).

In the, "So You Fancy Yourself a Player and You Think It's Easy to be a Pro Department:" Idaho's own, young Tyler Aldridge, who qualified for the Nationwide Tour through Q-School, has now played in eight tournaments and won a grand total of $1,845.00. That's barely meal money. It's a steep learning curve, no matter the endeavor, when one ventures outside their small neighborhood in search of fame. Click on the link below to read about another young Idaho golfer, Troy Merritt, who's gonna follow his dream:

http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/story/384802.html

"The Big Show" meanders back to Fort Worth, Texas for the Crowne Plaza Invitational, formally known as, "The Colonial." It's played on an old-style course that is consistently rated as one of the best courses in the country. The par-70 track favors us old foggie's who are short and who can shape a shot. Corey "The Gutty Little Bruin" Pavin loves it and has always played well here. Corey is said to have never "envisioned" a straight shot to a pin...my kind of guy. If you are interested in reading about the history of Colonial click on:

http://www.colonialfw.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=255398&ssid=115072&vnf=1

Six of us think Scott Verplank's got the perfect game for Colonial and four voted for Jerry Kelly.

The Players

Sergio Finds "The Love"



Date Written: May 12, 2008



SV Fantasy Pool players Jan Jones and Doug B. get off the deck and Mike Mundell leaps from fifteenth to third in the standings by their stellar pick of Sergio to win at The Players. It was the biggest payoff of the year....$1,710,000.


To paraphrase my plumber, my Cink went in the toilet! So...what else is new?

For the rest of the planet, it was terrific TV. Personally, I was rooting for the underdog; he of dippy, guided swing, Paul Goydos. Paul missed a couple of ten footers down the stretch and bogeyed the tough eighteenth to allow Sergio to join him in a playoff at five under. First up on the first extra hole at Sawgrass, the dreaded seventeenth; a gust of wind caused Goydos' ball to balloon in the drink. But we shouldn't feel too sorry for him...he wins over one million smackers for finishing second. Besides, he won the hearts of most sportsmen with his graciousness in defeat. After the round, he said that no one could deny Sergio's ball-striking advantage on the very tough course. The part of Sergio's game that did need some attention over the past couple of years, his putting, improved immensely during the final round. Judging from the picture above, he has certainly found, "The Love."

According to T.J. Auclair, a PGA interactive partner (whatever that is), Sergio holed a combined 126 feet, 10 inches worth of putts, about 30 feet more than anyone else in the field. Contrary to Johnny Miller's, "putt faster" advice, kudos must go to Stan Utley, the putting guru, for helping Sergio with his mechanics. I wish Stan would come to Sun Valley and give me a tip or twelve.

At least Johnny was right about Kenny Perry's, one-dimensional, right-to-left ball flight. Poor Kenny, leading the whole shebang going into round four, shot a nifty 81. So much for not being able to "shape" the ball on a course that demands more creativity.

Finally, in the segment I call, "So You Want to go to Dinner With Your Hero?" You better re-think extending an invitation to a formal dinner party to our very own, "Gomer Pyle," Boo Weekley. "Gomer" can flush a golf ball but if your mother or your girlfriend happens to be an English teacher and they are seated next to "Gomer" at dinner, look out! When asked if he watched the Players Championship on television when he was growing up, he said, "I didn't watch no golf. I didn't even know who done won. I reckon Phil won it last year... there you go." This begs a question...was our hero Boo, asleep down 'dare in Milton, FLA during Mrs. Barrett's English class? I figure he most prob'ly needed a little shut eye after staying up all night with his friends drinking bourbon shooters and shooting turkeys.

Wachovia Championship

The Year of the Kid

Date Written: May 5, 2008
I'm writing most of this before the last round of The Wachovia because after watching "The Kid," Anthony Kim, play round three, there's no way he loses. He's got a swing plane to die for, a swing speed that approaches 130 M.P.H. which allows hime to hit it a mile and he putts the eyes off the ball. He's the perfect gamblers definition of "chalk," which in the slang dictionary is, "the expected outcome, especially in a sporting event. The term is derived from, "you can chalk that up right now, we don't even have to see it!" To add to the story, in the process of winning, "The Kid" breaks Tiger's tournament record on a very tough course by three shots.

For those who have been on another planet for the last two years and are in need of some background on "The Kid," I've gleaned the following from the PGA Tour website:

Anthony Kim turned professional in August, 2006 after three years at the University of Oklahoma. He received a sponsor exemption into the Valero Texas Open and finished T-2 in his PGA Tour debut, earning an exemption into the following week's Southern Farm Bureau Classic. In just two starts, Kim earned $338,067. He also competed in two Nationwide Tour events. As an amateur, he was a three-time All-American (2004-2006) and NCAA Freshman of the Year (2004) at Oklahoma. He was one of three finalists for 2006 Ben Hogan Award. He garnered two victories as a junior and was a four-time American Junior Golf Association All-American. He finished his last college season as the seventh-ranked golfer by Golfweek. Kim was a member of the victorious 2005 United States Walker Cup team along with J.B. Holmes, Nicholas Thompson and Jeff Overton, all rookies on the TOUR in 2006. He lists winning The Walker Cup as his biggest thrill in golf, thus far.

Here's the back story I remember. Young hotshot Kim figures he's bigger and better than the program at Oklahoma and squabbles with his coach. He decides to leave college after his junior year and turn pro...a typical big ego story that's usually associated with high school basketball players who think they can skip college and start in the NBA. In Kim's case, he was right. He's got a game that can match his ego. One can only hope that he will mature and cool his jets a bit, emotionally.

If you want to know more about "The Kid" and his relationship with his overbearing, "Little League" father, click on the link below for an in-depth bio written August 3, 2007, by GolfWorld writer, John Strege:

http://www.golfdigest.com/golfworld/2007/08/gw070803kidswagger

One of the TV commentators suggested on Saturday that a big talented rookie comes along about every ten years. Well...it's been about ten years since a kid named Tiger burst on the scene. We'll see if Kim is the second "Korean Komet" (K.J. Choi being the first). In any event, he's the eighth "under-30 year old" to win this year and it's only May.

Last tidbit (I promise) from the PGA website about, "The Kid:"

"The best way to describe how Kim has changed was not the long drives and six birdies Saturday, it was a short punch out on the third hole, when he decided not to try a low-percentage shot to reach the green. Six months ago I would tried to go for it, and there was double or triple bogey written all over that," Kim said. "I chipped out, saved par, and that kept my round going. Little things like that have added to some good play."

Onward to The Players (and the dreaded 17th hole) where a bunch of money's at stake. Five of youse think Adam Scott will win. Adam's on a roll. He followed up his win at the Lord Byron with a T-8 at Wachovia.

Nothing new...it's either Cink or swim for me.