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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Frys.com Open

Cool shot of Tom Lehman at the Frys.com Open in Scottsdale, Arizona. (AP / Matt York)

Day One update and slideshow from the Frys.com Open
Day Two update and slideshow from the Frys.com Open

President Cup Photos

Tiger Woods photo gallery

Stars and celebrities at the Presidents Cup

Michael Jordan Photo Gallery

Closing ceremony and final photos from Cup

Sunday singles matches photo gallery

Saturday four-ball and alternate shot photo gallery

Friday four-ball photo gallery

Thursday alternate shot photo gallery

United States team profile photo gallery

International Team profile photo gallery

Day two pairings and tee times at the Presidents Cup

Ryo Ishikawa (AP Marcio Sanchez)

Friday tee times

Four-ball matches (best ball)

1:55 p.m. ET – Mickelson-Leonard (US) vs. Goosen-Scott

2:07 p.m. ET – Furyk-Kim (US) vs. Els-Weir

2:19 p.m. ET – Perry-O'Hair (US) vs. Ishikawa-Yang

2:31 p.m. ET – Glover-Cink (US) vs. Singh-Clark

2:43 p.m. ET – Johnson-Mahan (US) vs. Allenby-Villegas

2:55 p.m. ET – Woods-Stricker (US) vs. Ogilvy-Cabrera

Day One Pairings

(AP / Eric Risberg)

Tiger looks ready to play and ready to stop answering questions.

Day One Pairings:

MATCH 1

Anthony Kim / Phil Mickelson (USA) vs. Mike Weir / Tim Clark (International)

MATCH 2

Hunter Mahan / Sean O'Hair (USA) vs. Adam Scott / Ernie Els (International)

MATCH 3

Lucas Glover / Stewart Cink (USA) vs. Vijay Singh / Robert Allenby (International)

MATCH 4

Kenny Perry / Zach Johnson (USA) vs. Angel Cabrera / Camilo Villegas (International)

MATCH 5

Tiger Woods / Steve Stricker (USA) vs. Geoff Ogilvy / Ryo Ishikawa (International)

MATCH 6

Jim Furyk / Justin Leonard (USA) vs. Y.E. Yang / Retief Goosen (International)

Questions abound at the Presidents Cup

There are many questions and great story lines for this years Presidents Cup.

Which captain style will work out better?
Laid back Fred Couples or more highly energized Greg Norman.

How will Adam Scott play?
He's had one of his worst years ever, he's been in the spotlight more for surfing and starlets, and was the most controversial selection on either team.


How will Ryo Ishikawa play?
At 18, he's the youngest to ever play in a Presidents Cup.


Will Michael Jordan help the U.S. team?
Jordan was named assistant captain, but so far has been getting more headlines for smoking too many cigars on the course.

Will Vijay look yippy with the putter?
How will the greens hold up after being damaged?
Will there be any controversial pairings or strategies?
Who will be the U.S. team ping pong champion?
Will Tiger smack Phil across the face with a ping pong paddle?
Will there be a blow out or will it come down to the singles matches Sunday?
How many players will Johnny Miller grill during the weekend?

AP Photo Credits
Norman and Couples - Jeff Chiu
Ryo Ishikawa - Eric Risberg
Adam Scott - Marcio Sanchez
Michael Jordan - Marcio Sanchez

Golf travel in South America

The 2016 Olympics are a long way off, but now that we know they will be held in Rio de Janeiro, it will be interesting to find out what course they'll be playing on.

Supposedly the top two courses in Rio are:

Gavea Golf and Country Club

Itanhanga Golf Club

As far as South America goes, the top golf destination is Argentina. Golf was introduced there around the turn of the century by the British. Not only are there several quality locations to play, there is the constant festivals, food, wine, and amazing night life. This amazingly diverse and often beautiful landscape features beaches and vast expanses of natural forests and mountains.

The top two golf locations in Argentina are The Jockey Club and San Andres Golf Club. The Jockey club features both the red and blue courses. Both courses opened in 1935 and were designed by Alistair Mackenzie, who designed many famous courses throughout his life.


The course requires a great deal of accuracy of the tee and features sculpted and contoured greens that challenge any golfer. Angel Cabrera, current Masters champion, won the Argentina Open in 2001 at the red course.


San Andres is the oldest club in Argentina, was founded in 1892, and was named in honor of St. Andrews, the home of golf.


The course was designed by one of the early pioneers in golf design, Mungo Park. The par 72 course is 6772 yards, short by modern day standards, but features a difficult test of golf. This course is where golf in Argentina began and is a must play for anyone traveling to the country.

With golf officially becoming an Olympic sport, South America has now been thrust into the limelight for the event. It will be interesting to see how much bigger the game grows and how many new golf travel destinations come available throughout the continent.

Around the golf world

Tiger Woods is the first billion dollar athlete. Wow! That was fast and he's only 33. It will be crazy to see how wealthy he will be when it's all said and done.


Former NFL great Jerry Rice is trying to turn pro and will be playing in a Nationwide event in 2010. I believe he won Dancing with Stars. Why not become a pro golfer as well?

36 holes away from 11.35 million

(AP Photo / Dave Martin)

Round Two Slideshow

Third round tee times

Sean O'Hair leads after Round 1 at Tour Championship

(AP Photo / Dave Martin)


Sean O'Hair shot 66 today to take a one stroke lead over Tiger, Padraig, and Cink. Obviously, with only 30 top players in the field, it will be a great tournament, but the early leaderboard is looking very intriguing heading into round two.

Full leaderboard

Round 1 Slideshow

Round 2 tee times