Zurich Classic

The Hurricane Open

Date Written: April 29, 2009

A bunch of guys had chances on the back nine last weekend in New Orleans to win. Jerry Kelly ended up with the victory, but "Three Sticks" (C. Howell, III) could easily claim that he gave it away with two bogies over the last seven holes. It's not the first time that "III" has not finished the deal. The law firm of Sabbatini Wi Marino & Toms had their chances but fell just short.

AVONDALE, La. (AP) - Andres Romero, the defending champion of the Zurich Classic, was disqualified after the first two rounds for signing an incorrect scorecard. Romero shot what he thought was a 3-over-par 75, pushing him to 5 over for the tournament. That score would have missed the cut, projected at 1 under. Romero told officials at the scorers' table he made a five at the par-5 18th. The 2008 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year didn't remember the one-stroke penalty he received for hitting his first shot into the water.

Best showing in our fantasy pool went to Scott Winegar, of Boise (The Meeting Network) fame, who had the smarts to pick local Louisiana fave, David Toms for a T-5 showing. Bottom dwellers, R & R, had their best finish of the year (T-11) with "L.O." (the Lessor Ogilvie...Joe). No one, of course, had the surprise kid on the leaderboard, Aron Watkins, who's a Q-School graduate playing in only his 7th PGA sponsored event. Master Watkins will probably be house hunting this week or paying off his investors with the 200 large he pocketed with his T-7 finish.

AK won this coming week's event at Quail Hollow last year and only one pool player deigned to pick him to repeat this year. Were we collectively figuring he was destined for a better showing this year and picked him to win a Major? That's what I figured. Eight of youse think Benny Curtis, who was runner-up last year, will prevail this week. Go figure.

Finally, If you're like me, you need an occasional fix on the John Daly soap opera called, "In Treatment," click on the link below:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/04/a-slimmer-john-daly-is-back-on-the-course.html

Verizon Heritage

Business-like Brian

Date Written: April 20, 2009

Brian Gay is 5' 10". Tim Wilkinson, his playing partner in the last round this week, tops out at 5' 7''...on a good day. Luke Donald and Briny Baird, who eventually finished T-2, are 5' 10" and 5' 11. None of them weighs more than 170 lbs. or have forearms that would remind you of Popeye, John Henry or J.B. Holmes.

So let's raise our glasses and toast normal-sized guys. They played the big bombers to a standstill on the short (less than 7,000 yards) Harbour Town course. What a unique concept...having to hit it straight...not getting to bomb it over every dogleg.

I loved watching this tournament, because I'm an older short-knocker who hits it mostly straight. Tight fairways, smallish greens, shortsided pin placements, and a gazillion trees. Trees...did I say trees? There are one or two giant carnivorous things that overhang every fairway at every dogleg and eat golfballs that are slightly off line. My kind of course...maybe.

It was amazing to watch Brian Gay go about his business this week. Man was he thorough....like a neuro-surgeon navigating our nerveways. He just quietly excelled at every aspect of the game, demolishing the field by an astounding ten strokes with his combination of straight driving, lights-out putting. and an over 90% scramble factor. His victory was the first double-digit triumph on the PGA TOUR since Phil Mickelson won the 2006 BellSouth Classic by 13 shots.

The most remarkable stats: Gay is 178th on tour in driving length and 4th in driving accuracy. It is surely an overstatement that his skills matched up perfectly with the venue. For further "stat" evidence of Gay's superiorty, click on the link below for an analysis from the PGATour website:

http://www.pga.com/2009/instruction/features/04/19/weaver_verizon_heritage/index.html

Mizuno and Sligo (who's clothes are obviously designed by someone in love with sherbet colors), certainly got their money's worth with Gay's "face time" this week. If I were his agent, I'd opt for a more traditional clothing deal.

"The Big Easy Open" is on tap for this coming week. Six of youse like Andres Romero and four think "Woodhead" Austin will prevail. Otherwise, there's a bunch of No-Shows (NS).

The Masters

Say You, Say Me

Date Written: April 13, 2009

Said Mickelson: "It was fun."

Said Woods: "It was terrible."

Said "Bones" Mackay (Phil's caddy): "This was the most fun I've ever had on a golf course. It was very, very cool."

Said Stevie Williams (Tiger's caddy): "I wouldn't call Mickelson a great player because I hate the . . . ."

Said Kenny Perry: "I'll be OK. Great players get it done, Angel got it done."

Said Angel Cabrera: "I do what I do." (Huh?).

Said Chad Campbell: "I kind of blew it myself."



Say you.....?

Say Me: In the spirit of "Less is More;" I am going to refrain from Masters redundancy. Suffice to say it was magnificent TV. I watched it on TIVO today (Monday), already knowing the results, of course, and it was still terrific. I was busy over the weekend slashing it around Clear Lakes Country Club in lovely Downtown Buhl, Idaho. It weren't no Augusta National or Pebble Beach but it was still fun. Young Jeff Wong knows Buhl. Jeff and I were The Odd Couple When he was living in Idaho and we had a blast playing together.

Eleven of us had Lefty who finished a solo fifth. But for the twelve hole's "sawed-off 9-iron" that he chunked and a couple of missed putts on 15 and 17, he could have easily won his third green jacket. Might have scored about 62 which would have broken the scoring record in any Major

Pool-wise, it was kind of a wash in the first, double-money Major of the year. Our current leader, Tobacco Road, (along with Harry of Miltenberger, and John Flynt), blew their Tiger bullet for the year for a lousy 485K.

Boo or Badds are the consensus picks on the tight little track called Harbour Town Golf Links at Hilton Head this week.

Shell Houston Open

Bogies are Good


Date Written: April 7, 2009

Question: When is "bogey" a good score? Answer: When the Tour is playing in Texas in April, the wind is gusting to thirty five MPH, every round is delayed by weather, and the finishing hole's a bitch. Paul Casey bogies the dreaded eighteenth twice in a row and wins.

Tobacco Road cracks the $3 Mil. mark in our funky pool with his blind-ass pick of J.B. Holmes. But Master Holmes doesn't make it easy for Tobacco. He makes a 14-foot par putt on the dreaded eighteenth to post a score. Then he has to wait nearly three hours to see if anyone can catch him. Luckily for us "also-rans," Casey's bogey on the last hole in regulation was enough to guarantee a playoff. Then J.B. rinses his tee ball on the first playoff hole (the eighteenth, of course) and Casey just needs bogey again to prevail for his first-ever, PGA Tour win. His bogies saves us other pool-players about half-a-million that Holmes/Tobacco could have earned if Holmes, had listened to his own advice and played safe on eighteen.

For those that missed the tournament, eighteen at Redstone's a brutal, long par four over water from tee to green that played to a 5.103 average during the fourth round. There were more double bogies on eighteen on the last day than there were pars. And as if eighteen weren't tough enough, I counted seven professionals who shot 80 or more on the last round. Local favorite, "Boom Boom" Couples bogeyed the last 3 holes to finish two back and cause Corn Beef Taco some major heartburn.

If "Lefty" thought Houston was going to be a good tune-up for The Masters he was mistaken. 77, 76 allowed him to catch an early flight to Augusta. Eleven of us have him to win this coming week. Let's hope he finds a swing for the first of our "Double Money Majors."