Alliss is a dinosaur but it is his candour that faces extinction

Don't you just love the bluntness of the British media? I have to say that when looking for golf stories, I always head to the UK papers first.

One...they actually write their own stories (unlike most North American papers that just take an Associated Press feed and add their own cutsy titles), and

Two...they say what they think and stand by it even when under attack.

Makes reading the golf news so much more fun.

As much as I am a golf fanatic and watch The Golf Channel daily, I am disappointed that the commentators aren't allowed to say anything slightly edgey. For example, I can't see Nick Faldo using the word "choke" on TV or say that a player's swing would make Ben Hogan puke. Gotta love Johnny Miller!

Anyway, thought you'd enjoy this story if you've been following the blow up at Wentworth between Nick Dougherty and Alliss.

I think this is great stuff. I just wish more newspapers hired golf writers who say what they think. Actually, I'd just like to see newspapers hire golf writers period.

Golfgal

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Alliss is a dinosaur but it is his candour that faces extinction
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The Guardian
29 May 2008

Minds were made up long ago in golf’s great culture war, an unbridgeable divide in which anyone who came to the game after Tiger Woods graduated from high school to the history books is relevant and modern and anyone who was around before the great man...read more...

Tech Tags: The Guardian newspaper Sport

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An oldie...but a goodie!

I am often amazed at the number of North American golfers who don't watch the European Tour. I find it to be some of the most exciting golf on TV and the players are not only talented, they are entertaining as well.

And one of my very favorite "entertainers", Miguel Angel Jimenez, just proved that golf is ageless.

At the ripe age of 44, the Spaniard is the oldest winner ever of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. But like fine wine, he just keeps getting better. This past weekend, he had played some of the best golf of his life, coming from a 4 shot deficit to beat Oliver Wilson in a 2 hole playoff.

Always a favorite with the crowds, Jimenez wears designer shoes that you'd more likely see on a runway than on a golf course - he's always got a cigar close at hand - he loves his wine and he sports a bushy poneytail that begs to be pulled (or cut off :)) He's also known affectionately as "The Mechanic" for his love of fast cars.

With this win, Miguel Angel shot to the top of the European Order of Merit and the European Ryder Cup standings.

Jimenez is just so much fun to watch. I'm thrilled he'll be joining the European Team this fall. Just to give you a bit more about his characater...When the players at the 2004 Ryder Cup were asked about their "needs", Jimenez asked for “Rioja wine, an espresso machine – and cigars”. haha...

Gotta love him!
Golfgal

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Jimenez stakes Ryder Cup claim
By Lewine Mair
Sport
26 May 2008

MIGUEL Angel Jimenez took a mammoth cigar from his mouth before proclaiming that his win in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth felt “great”. At 44, he had played some of the finest golf of his life as he came from four shots back to defeat the...read more...

Tech Tags: Sport newspaper Sport

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Golfgal Makes LPGA...

...without ever swinging a club!

LOL!

Sorry for the blatant self-promotion, but I just had to share my good news. As you know, I write a daily (sometimes twice daily) blog for Golf For Women. On Monday I posted an interview with Brittany Lincicome on GFW because she was going to be a guest on the Big Break Ka'anapali on Tuesday.

Well, LPGA.com added it to their home page/site and I'm so excited. With my handicap, this is the closest I'll ever get to the LPGA, but that's just fine with me!

Check it out and all the BB interviews I've done so far with Christina Lecuyer, Tina Miller and Lori Astedes). More to come with Cirbie Sheppard and Kim Welch and I'm hoping to grab Susan Choi at this week's CN tournament in Vancouver.

Cheers
Gayle

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The LPGA should rename itself "The LorAnnika Tour"

The see-saw winning ways of Lorena/Annika... I just love it don't you? It's way better than the Tiger/Phil battle in my opinion. It's seems more civilized in some ways - less bitchy, which is ironic.

I didn't get to watch the event as we don't get ESPN 2 on cable up in the Canadian tundra (grrr), but I saw some highlights on TGC. I was rather shocked at Lorena's temper - did you see her wack her club in the rough about 5 times - might have been the 9th hole where she had a bogie. Yikes! I thought she was such a calm and collected kind of girl :)

I heard on The Golf Channel that Lorena was told that Tiger takes out his anger in about 10 seconds and leaves it behind. Her response, "I take a little longer than that." haha...no worries Lorena. I bet your language is a lot tamer :)

I thought this writer below was funny, saying Lorena was struggling with her game lately with a fifth and T12 in the last two events. I wish I struggled like that ;)

Ochoa, who lead going into Sunday had Pressel and Matthew hot on her heals, “I think there were like five or six players just right there at 8- and 9-under, so it was a difficult situation. I love the feeling of adrenaline and just trying to be good and be smart and win at the end.”

As much as I love seeing Lorena wipe out the field, it's more fun to watch a tight race. I was really happy to see Morgan shoot a 66 - she's got so much game, it's a shame she hasn't done better this year. Hopefully this final round will spur her on for the rest of the year and she's come out on top soon.

Annika started so well, but ended tied for 11th. Not too shabby, but I'm sure she was disappointed with her 71. Christina Kim was in fine form, which I love to see. I really missed her at the Solheim Cup last year. I hope she plays her way onto the 2009 team. She deserves to be there.

Oh, before I forget, a big congratulations and a towel go out to Richard Finch for making a big splash at the Irish Open. Who does he think he is...Aqua Man?

"I had considered chipping out backwards before going for the green with my fourth but, when I rehearsed a stance and realised that I had one, I decided to go for it," he said.

I wonder if it had been the 15th hole if he would have taken the same risk.

Haha...the things we do for this game...

BTW...I had a wonderful opportunity to interview Brittany Lincicome last week for my post on GFW today. What a wonderful young lady she is - a sweetheart with a driving average of over 270 yards!!! And they say women can't play with the men - hmmm...how many of you golfguys hit 270 yards off the tee on average and hit the short grass - I didn't think so... :)

Golfgal


Ochoa eeks out sixth victory of season

Edmonton Journal
19 May 2008

World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa of Mexico won her sixth title of the year here Sunday, firing a one-under par 71 to capture the LPGA Sybase Classic for the third year in a row. Two weeks after her four-event LPGA win streak was snapped, Ochoa captured the...read more...

Tech Tags: Edmonton Journal newspaper GOLF MONDAY

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A Toast to Annika

For those who have read my blog before, you'll know that I like to either apologize in limerick or honor someone in same way. It's my way of bending my knees in print. Today it's all about honor.

Annika is someone who I have admired from the moment I picked up a golf club. I can't write anything that hasn't already been written about her, but I can say that she will be remembered for lifetimes beyond mine and for that she should be very very proud. Her legacy deserves immortality.

For those with discriminating taste...click on that little "X" at the top right of your screen and escape this pathetic pass for poetry.

But for the rest of you...read my Ode to Annika and then go to her blog and tell her that you miss her already!

There once was a Swede who could play
Beyond any before her, I’d say
On links she was queen,
But too soon won’t be seen,
She’ll be missed on the LPGA.

I looked throughout the world of news for the right story from a real reporter (not AP or Reuters) who could spin a tale about Annika. I think this story below fit the bill quite nicely. Liked seeing the quote there from Tiger.

Golfgal

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Sorenstam swings to days after play
BY HANK GOLA DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
New York Daily News
14 May 2008

A SHOCKER? Maybe not. There have been rumblings. But when Annika Sorenstam announced at the Sybase Classic yesterday that this would be her last year of competitive golf, the players she has dominated for years were still surprised. “I didn’t think it...read more...

Tech Tags: New York Daily News newspaper Stats Extra Tonight’s Lotto Jackpot Is $14 Million

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And the 2008 Player's Champion is....

TPC Sawgrass!

In second place...from Spain...the best golfer in the world who has yet to win a major....every reporter's favorite punching bag -- Sergio Garcia!

Now how's that for a knock em down, beat em up kind of weekend! :)

With 6 out of the top 11 golfers missing the cut (notably: Steve Stricker, Geoff Ogilvy, KJ Choi, Vijay Singh, Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington), it's hard not to give top honors to the course.

But Sergio tamed it as much as anyone could this weekend. And he really demonstrated the potential we've been waiting for since 1999.

I have to say that I really enjoyed watching Sergio stick it to them [reporters] at the Players. I loved it in the post round media conference when he was asked if he had silenced the critics and he responded with a smile and said something to the effect that, "Maybe I should ask you that question - I don't write newspapers." Good shot Sergio!

Sergio has always been the "straight man" to the media's "quick on the draw" put-downs because he sets himself up so well with comments that he should think, but never say. But this weekend, it was almost like they were grovelling over him. I had to laugh.

When The Golf Channel brought Sergio over to the commentary desk, I noticed Brandel Chamblee wasn't there - Mark Rolfing was there instead. Brandel was quite brutal with Sergio after last year's British Open from what I recall and I was wondering if his removal from the desk for that interview was intentional. It would not surprise me in the least. Rolfing has always been a Sergio fan and maybe the only way TGC could get Sergio up there was to replace Chamblee with Rolfing for that interview. Maybe a coincidence? I wonder...

Oh well...I'm really happy for Sergio. He deserves this win and many many more. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see him win a Major this year. I don't think it will be the US Open at Torrey Pines, but the British Open is a real possibility with his record there, regardless of what happened last year. He's has 6 top tens in his last 7 tries at that event. It's only a matter of time for him to close that one out

And I for one, think maybe this year, his time has come.

Golfgal

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‘Brutal’ Sawgrass the winner as challengers struggle
William S Callahan
Irish Independent
12 May 2008

“THE challengers are not really challenging.” With these exasperated words on Saturday evening, one TV pundit set the tone for the weekend at The Players Championship. So it continued into yesterday’s fourth round at Sawgrass. Plenty of ‘oooohs’ and...read more...

Tech Tags: Irish Independent newspaper Sport

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Big Break Ka'anapali - Ask the Ladies Opportunity

Hi everyone

As some of you know, I have a blog on Golf For Women Magazine and I've been following Big Break Ka'anapali closely through the eyes and experience of Big Breaker Christina Lecuyer, Last week I had privilege of interviewing Tina Miller, another BB contestant who also offered to share her thoughts on each week's episodes.

So...I'm a busy golfgal, watching the show each week, taking notes and interviewing these two amazing women by phone and posting the interviews on GFW.

Today, GFW is asking their readers to send in questions for Stina Sternberg who hosted the show, and Christina Lecuyer and Tina Miller.

Stina will answer hers in her post-episode blog and I will include Christina's and Tina's questions in the post-show interviews with them. If you want me to include your name or nickname and where you're from, that's cool too. Just let me know. Otherwise I'll treat them as anonymous to protect your privacy.

So head over to Golf For Women and read the posts and add your questions to the comments 'section of my posts or Stina's.

Any if there are any other Big Breakers out there, past, present, men or women who want to share their thoughts on this series, I'd love to interview you too! Just send me an email at golfgal [@] on-mark-it.com or post your comments or questions here.

Hey, I feel like I'm making a career out of this BB frenzy....Aaaand, loving it!!!

Golfgal

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Can this Tony tame the Tiger?

Many have lumped Anthony Kim in with the ranks of Rory Sabbitini and Jason Day as "upstarts" who should keep their mouths shut about being (or beating) the number one in the world. Even Tiger himself didn't hesitate to try and put Kim in his place last year by ridiculing his AK belt buckle. But Kim took it in stride with a rebuttle, ""Well, Nike hasn't put my initials on anything yet."

Well, I for one, was happy to see Anthony Kim let his clubs do the talking this weekend, blasting to a 5 stroke victory at Quail Hollow yesterday. At 22 years old, AK is the youngest PGA winner since Sergio García won his third title at the Mercedes Championship in 2002.

Kim's fellow players know that the young gun has great promise. In fact, Jason Bohn compared Anthony to the world's number one, "I played with somebody who played extraordinarily good, almost Tiger-esque’’.

Watching Kim on the 18th green yesterday was just great. He could hardly contain himself before his last putt - the grin sneaking out time and time again as he was trying to focus on closing it out. It was so cool to see that kind of excitement in a winner.

“I’m a little bit numb right now, but that walk up 18 was the best feeling of my entire life,” Kim said. “I’ll never forget that feeling. I had chills going up and down my spine. I want to recreate that as many times as possible now, so I’m really going to work hard.”

I think this will really propel Anthony into more wins this year. He admits freely that a year ago he was immature. That's pretty humbling to admit, but I think he really did show this weekend that he's grown up a lot. At 22, he has a long way to go and from my seat...it looks like it will all uphill from here to the top of the leaderboard many times over.

I wouldn't be surprised if he is responsible for breaking the Tiger Grand Slam streak in 2009 like Immelman did at the Masters this year.

Golfgal

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The next Tiger
by Andrew Both in Charlotte, North Carolina
The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)
05 May 2008

A 2 year-old KoreanAmerican appears destined to be the world’s next great golfer, whether or not he wins the Wachovia Championship today. Anthony Kim charged to a four-stroke lead after the third round at Quail Hollow yesterday, and those who have...read more...

Related:
Kim lets his game do talking

Tech Tags: The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) newspaper Main Game

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Cavemen alert - missing link found on links

Cavemen - I thought they were extinct, but I was wrong. At least 2 live in California and golf in Vegas.

I just got back from playing 5 days in Las Vegas at 5 different courses. Heaven! Well, it was on some courses. But on others, it was a good walk spoiled. Not because the course was bad....on the contrary...all the courses were in good shape and the weather couldn't have been better. The problem was a lack of golf etiquette by 2 other golfers we had the unfortunate pleasure to play with.

We were paired with a couple of young guys on Boulder Creek Golf Course last week that were completely oblivious to the concept of golf etiquette. And they were obviously not in the "more women should play golf" camp, if their behavior was any indication. You could tell the minute they laid their eyes on me that they were not too pleased to be playing with a golfgal. One boasted a 16 handicap, which was either completely bogus or he was really off his game. He certainly was off the fairway enough all day.

They talked constantly and paid no attention to what my golfguy and I were doing. Sure it's fine to "play your own game", but you need to pay attention to others and respect their game too. They did all the things I really hate, such as:

They never spoke to me, but chatted up my golfguy all day long.

They took off in their cart after they had tee'd off, zipping past the forward tees without a second thought about me still having to hit my first shot.

On the green, one guy kept taking out the pin even if I was off the green without even asking me if I wanted it in or out. What bothered me was he didn't do that with the two other guys - just me - Ms. Invisible.

When I got home I started looking for websites, books and stories on golf etiquette. I ran across this article recently in the Seattle PI about Jim Corbett, also known online as Mr. Golf Etiquette. Mr. Corbett has been promoting golf etiquette for about 12 years and has a website devoted to his passion for teaching others about proper behavior on the links. He’s written a couple of books on the subject too, including “The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Golf Rules and Etiquette.” I think I'll grab a copy and see if he addresses gender etiquette issues. I hope so... I'll let you know.

I realize that 99.9% of golfers are gentle people, but when you run into that 0.1%, you just want to pack up your clubs and go home. I almost felt like asking those Neanderthals to play through and leave us alone, but I didn't have the guts. It ruined my game, and it bugs me still that I let it ruin my game.

The good news is that a couple of days later, I had the great privilege to play with two terrific gentlemen. They were friendly, respectful and we had a great time playing together. I posted a review of the course and included their friendly faces in it. It's guys likes these ex-airforce buddies that make all the jerks seem irrelevant. Thanks Paul and Pete for proving once again that golf is a gentleman's/gentlewoman's sport.

Golfgal

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Seattle Post-Intelligencer
24 Apr 2008

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