THE 20TH HOLE

Sunday, December 20, 2009

A look back on the major stories of 2009

Tiger Woods - AP / Charlie Riedel

Golf was certainly interesting in 2009 with some great play, great tournaments, several near misses by big name players, and some minor scandal that you probably haven't heard of.

Here is a look back on some of the top moments and tournaments of 2009.

Majors:

Masters: Angel Cabrera
Kenny Perry had tournament locked up until bogeying the final two holes and losing in a playoff.

U.S. Open: Lucas Glover
Former #1 David Duval came out of nowhere to contend but a triple bogey on the final day cost him.

British: Stewart Cink
Tom Watson, 59, almost became the oldest player to win a major. The five time champion bogeyed the final hole in regulation, and then lost in a playoff.

PGA: YE Yang
Yang held off Tiger Woods and became the first player ever to defeat Woods when he led going into the final round of a major.

Tiger came back from knee surgery and an eight month layoff to win seven times worldwide. Woods won the Fed Ex Cup for the second time, won PGA player of the year, the money title, the scoring title, and was named AP athlete of the decade.
Phil Mickelson won four times in 2009, defeated Tiger at the HSBC, and finished second in the Fed Ex Cup race despite his wife and mother being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Rory Mcllroy, Danny Lee, Ryo Ishikawa, and Rickie Fowler all jumped onto the scene as the top young golfers in the world
The United States defeated the International team 19 1/2 to 14 1/2 at the Presidents Cup

World Rankings

1 Tiger Woods USA
2 Phil Mickelson USA
3 Steve Stricker USA
4 Lee Westwood England
5 Padraig Harrington Ireland
Complete list

Obviously, the biggest story of the year in golf is the saga of Tiger Woods, which we have all heard more than enough of. Who knows when this will ever calm down and who knows if Tiger will ever be the same on the course if and when he returns.

For those of you of want more Tiger, click here for a variety of articles about his 2009 season, including his tournament play, awards, and the ongoing scandal.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Tiger breaks another record

The scandal has lead to another record for Tiger. He was on the cover of the New York Post 19 consecutive days, breaking the record for the 9/11 coverage.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Playboy Hefner weighs in on Tiger

Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine has now spoken up in the wake of Tiger Wood's extra-marital activities.

Hefner spoke with Fox News and had the following comments.

"I don't approve of it. I just was not surprised by it," Hefner said. "The reason that I wasn't surprised is that he’s traveling the world. He's a handsome, young guy and beautiful ladies are throwing themselves at him. You never know the circumstances of a personal relationship or a marriage and how well it worked and I think that the immorality of infidelity is the lie. It isn't really the sex. It's the cheating."

On whether or not athletes such as Woods should stay single?

"It's an individual decision, it works for some people," he responded. “I was married for eight years and was faithful to it the entire time. And, I certainly had plenty of temptations. But, was I happier then? No," he said laughing, "I wasn't."

Hefner, now 83, made the comments while at a book signing with his three girlfriends.

Crazy world we live in for some people:

Hugh Hefner: age 83, three girlfriends about 6 decades younger than him.

Tiger Woods: age 33, married, approximately 16 girlfriends

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Steve Williams calls out ESPN's Reilly

Tiger Wood's long-time caddie Steve Williams has vehemently denied any knowledge of Wood's extra marital activities and infidelity.

"I had no knowledge of what Tiger's indiscretion was," Williams said. "What people fail to realize is I just work for Tiger Woods. I live in New Zealand, I travel to and from New Zealand to caddie for Tiger Woods. Whilst I am a very good friend of his, I don't know what he does off the course.

"When he is not competing, I am back in New Zealand. I have no knowledge of what he is doing. Yes, I talk to him on the phone, ask him how his practice is going, how he is hitting the ball, how his family is, but I don't know what he is doing, just like he doesn't know what I am doing."

Rick Reilly, ESPN writer, recently wrote an article stating that Woods needs to fire everyone around him, including caddie Williams, because he had to of known Woods was having affairs.

“I am a straight-up sort of person," Williams said. I tell it like it is. Last year, at the same particular point of time, is when I had the confrontation with Phil Mickleson. I didn’t lie about it. I called the guy a prick. I never said I didn’t call him a prick. I never denied one word of what I said. I had no knowledge of what Tiger’s indiscretion was. And for Rick Reilly to turn around and say that I am a liar and there is no way I couldn’t know – and that I should be fired – that is sensational journalism at its height right there. I am an honest person. I had no knowledge of what was going on with Tiger. If I did, I would say I did.”

Williams has been on the bag for 13 out of his 14 major championships and has stated that Woods would be the last player that he will ever caddie for.

I tend to believe Williams. He doesn't seem like a guy that would lie.

Although I did think the same thing about Tiger, so who knows?

More Tiger cartoons

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

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Golf in Spain

Spain is an ideal golfing destination due to the excellent weather and geographic diversity. There are a number of fantastic courses throughout the country and more continue to be developed as the popularity of golf grows there. Golf in Spain offers a tremendous variety including courses set under the 9000 foot Pyrenees as well as the consistent good weather of the southern coasts and islands.

One of the top golfing resorts to visit in Spain is the La Manga Las Lomas Village. It has been voted European golfing resort of the year many times, strongly in part to three top notch championship courses it consists of. The resort features the South, North, and West courses with the South being the premiere layout. The par 73 was redesigned by Arnold Palmer in the early 90s and frequently hosts prestigious regional and national events.

La Manga also features a golf academy which runs regular competitions that guests can enter. Once the golf is finished, the resort also has a casino for the gamblers and a nearby beach. It doesn't get much better than golf, gambling, and soaking up rays at the beach.

Read about the different golfing regions in Spain.