Wednesday, November 25, 2009

2009 PGA Tour: What could have been

There were a lot of great moments throughout the 2009 season, and there were even more what if and what could have been moments.

  • Kenny Perry could have won the Masters had he not bogeyed the final two holes in regulation.
  • Phil Mickelson could have won the Masters and could have had one of the most famous final rounds in history after shooting 30 on the front nine. His double bogey on 12 cost him that shot.
  • Mickelson could have won the U.S. Open in heroic style with his wife going through cancer.
  • David Duval could have comeback from nowhere to win the U.S. Open. An unfortunate plugged lie that led to a triple bogey early in his final round really hurt his chances.
  • Tom Watson, 59 years old, could have been the oldest player ever to win the British Open before a heartbreaking bogey on the final hole sent him to a playoff against Stewart Cink.
  • Tiger Woods was in contention at both the Masters and U.S. Open. Poor ball striking at the Masters and terrible putting at the U.S. Open killed his chances.
  • Tiger Woods could have won the PGA Championship for the 5th time before being stunned by Y.E. Yang. This was the first time Tiger ever lost a major with the lead going into the final round.
Looking back on it, the major winners very well could have been something like this.

Masters: Phil Mickelson
U.S. Open: David Duval
British Open: Tom Watson
PGA: Tiger Woods

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Nothing Major


I recently received the book Nothing Major from Bob Cayne, who has been involved with golf for over six decades.

Bob has been the General Chairman of the World Championship of Women's golf, organized and promoted PGA Senior Tour events and the Women's Western Amateur Championship, co-hosted the weekly radio show "Talking Golf" and served as marketing consultant to several golf industry clients.

He has compiled a great deal of humorous and interesting stories about himself, his friends, and the many famous PGA and LPGA Professionals he met along the way. The book is a quick read and provides a lot of old school golf stories that were nice to learn.

Here are a few of the radio spots he used to promote his show.

"This is Chi Chi Rodriguez. Every Saturday morning I tune into my radio with "Talking Golf" with George Sweda and Bob Cayne. Then I go out and hit golf balls until the show is over.

This is Raymond Floyd. I used to think the worst thing I could hear was "You've missed the cut." Then I heard "Talking Golf" with George Sweda and Bob Cayne.

Order your copy today at Nothing Major.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Big winners of the week

Wie gets first LPGA victory in Mexico.

Tiger wins the gold jacket in Australia.


Wie photo - AP / Miguel Tovar
Woods photo - AP / Rob Griffith

Thursday, November 12, 2009

In non related Tiger news......

Anthony Kim won a million bucks at the Kiwi Challenge in New Zealand by beating Sean O'Hair in a playoff. Hunter Mahan placed third and Camillo Villegas fourth in the tournament for players under 30.


The final round of the Fall series kicks off Thursday at Disney giving the players one final shot to secure their card for next year. David Duval is right on the bubble, and unfortunately shot 76 in the first round which jeopardizes his chances immensely. Definitely amazing that he was so close to winning the U.S. Open this year and still might not secure his card for next year.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

This round goes to Mickelson

It wasn't the showdown that everyone was hoping for, but it was interesting to say the least. Both Mickelson and Tiger made some serious miscues in the final round of the HSBC World Golf Championship in Shanghai that they don't normally make.

Phil missed a few short putts, had a really bad 3-putt, was wayward with the driver for most of the the day, and even whiffed a flop shot. He did make a great par save on 16 and a nice birdie on 17 to seal the tournament. He finished with a final round 69 and ended up at 17 under.


Tiger missed several short putts, had a really bad 3-putt as well, yanked an iron into the water, hit a fairway bunker shot with a plugged lie about five feet, and chunked a flop shot into a bunker. He was four over through seven but was able to make five birdies from there to finish with an even par round of 72, good enough for 6th place at 12 under.

The nerves must have gotten to them all. In one five minute stretch, Els dumped his 5 wood into the middle of the lake on 18. On hole 16, Watney hit a very poor chip from the rough, Mickelson whiffed his flop, and Woods chunked his flop into a bunker. Amazing to see the top players in the world all hit poor shots like that in a row.

Regardless, it was still an exiting tournament to watch. Mickelson ends his 2009 season on a high note with his fourth win. Tiger will be taking his game to the Australian Masters starting on Thursday in Melbourne.

It's almost a certainty that these two will be going head to head a lot in 2010.

2009 HSBC World Golf Championship - Full photo galleries and recap

AP Photos / Andy Wong