Michelle Wie and US Open..."I think I can win."

There's little doubt that Michelle Wie has a ton of talent. And there's little doubt that someday she will/could win the US Open (the Ladies that is :)). And of course, we all agree, that if you don't believe you can win, you never will.

But come on people! This is not Munich - this is not a qualifying round - this is the big leagues and Michelle is in no way ready to contend in this year's US Open.

Some people may think I'm not a Michelle Wie fan and that couldn't be farther from the truth. I believe this girl has more talent in her pinky than many players on the LPGA, but she's just not ready for prime time.

Michelle needs to pay/play her dues and she needs to take baby steps to stardom. I don't know where the pressure lies (she says it's herself, but few of us believe that), but it's time for Michelle to face the truth, play golf, finish school and keep silent. Let her clubs do the talking and eventually they'll sing a new song for her.

It's Friday morning and Michelle is lying 77th in the field at +7 after 12 holes - 13 strokes behind the leader who's also just finished her 12th.

It's time for Michelle to grow up and face reality. Confidence is great and it can turn a contender into a winner, but unrealistic expectations can kill a career.

Golfgal

---

No Longer A Teen Idle
Leonard Shapiro
The Washington Post
26 Jun 2008

EDINA, Minn., June 25 — As Michelle Wie prepared to play her final early-morning practice round for Thursday’s start of the U.S. Women’s Open, first-tee announcer Mary Mayer decided to have a little fun with her introduction of the Stanford University...read more...

---

Injuries Hamper Wie’s Forward Progress

The Washington Post
26 Jun 2008

her 16th birthday. As a high school junior in 2006, she had top five finishes in three of the majors, missing out in a playoff by a shot at the Kraft Nabisco. She also was attracting attention from big-time sponsors, including Nike and Sony, and...read more...

Tech Tags: The Washington Post newspaper Golf Scoreboard On The Next Tee

Tech Tags: The Washington Post newspaper Wie Wobbles U.s. Women’s Open Sports

New Golf Etiquette Movie starring Padraig Harrington

Hey everyone If you've been watching The Big Break Ka'anapali, you'll already know that golf etiquette (or lack thereof) has fueled controversy and conflict with the contestants and has brought many golf forum participants to the boiling point over the past few weeks.

Well, I just read in The Irish Times - Sports Saturday newspaper this weekend that Pádraig Harrington and fellow golf professionals have gone Hollywood and have created a 10 minutes film that promotes good etiquette in golf.

The R&D site provides two downloads for you, which makes it a great teaching aid for golf students even when you don't have an Internet connection.

I watched this film and thought myself a pretty knowlegeable person when it came to golf etiquette. I didn't know some interesting facts about pitch marks and their lifecycle. I also thought the divot repair section was very good - I think I'll send this off to some of the BB ladies, since it was a big topic of heated debate on last week's show.

I really think this short video is worth watching - lots of great people in it (e.g Nick Dougherty, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey) and footage from famous events like the British Open and Ryder Cup.

Popcorn anyone?



Golfgal

---

Newrole for Harrington Saturday - Sports 21 Jun 2008 NEWS: Pádraig Harrington has taken a lead role in a film — to promote good etiquette in golf. The 10-minute film is available as a free download from the R&A website and will be promoted to national golfing bodies around the world as a teaching...read more...

Tech Tags: Saturday - Sports

newspaper Golf News

Congratulations to US Open Challenger, John Atkinson

- the man who faced fear straight on and took the Golf Digest Challenge at Torrey Pines this weekend, playing one round at Torrey Pines in the exact conditions that the pros play at the US Open.

Remember last year, Tiger Woods said that a 10-handicap player couldn’t possibly break 100 on the US Open setup - no way.

Well, some smart person at Golf Digest jumped on that and created this wonderful challenge that resulted in over 56,000 essays being submitted by people just like Atkinson who desperately wanted to win that coveted spot next to singer Justin Timberlake, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and NBC’s The Today Show co-host Matt Lauer.

A 39-year-old medical device salesman from Omaha, Nebraska and father of three children, Atkinson is fighting more than fear of feeling naked on the first tee at this event. A non-smoker, he's also fighting inoperable lung cancer after being diagnosed with it a year ago. But he's no loser...

"If I can beat America's deadliest cancer, then I can definitely break 100 at its Open. Everybody will witness a man with a heart of a champion and a soul of a survivor. More importantly, you will understand why you never, never NEVER give up!"

There were some pretty impressive caddies in tow as well: Butch Harmon and Greg Norman were right there with the 4-some.

Watching the show today, I wished we'd seen a little more of the golf itself, but it was still great. Atkinson started off well, but struggled in the middle. But who can blame him! I would have probably wiffed it off the first tee - he was the only one to get it into fairway on the first hole from what I could see.

So was Tiger right? Well...

- Atkinson (8-handicap) shot a 43-over-par 114, but ended in style with a solid tee shot and great 2 putt bogey from a long way off.

- Lauer (6.2-handicap) shot the targetted 100 - bang on!

- Timberlake (6.0 handicap) shot 98 after a great 9-iron into that very scary 18th green.

- Romo (2.2 handicap) won with an impressive 84. Who knew football players could play golf!

But regardless of his final score, Atkinson is a winner...

“It was the best 114 I ever shot,” Atkinson said. “I had a good time, and that’s really what golf is about.”

Well done, John! Not sure why you didn't hit driver off the tee more often after seeing you hit your tee shot off the 18th. Nice to see your bro on the bag for your final walk down 18 as well - very classy of you.

Yes, John, we all lived vicariously through you today as we watched you live your dream.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Greg Norman say that this challenge is “one of the most important events of the game’s history.”

Wow! That's a little over the top perhaps, but maybe with this kind of support, this challenge will become a standard event before all majors - wouldn't that be fun?

I sure hope they do it for the LPGA too. Golf for Women...it's your turn!

Golfgal

Another Sting by Vijay Singh

Not sure how I missed this story earlier this week, but it really doesn’t surprise me too much. Vijay has gotten himself into media trouble before.

He sure isn’t afraid to say what he thinks, is he? And obviously he's been thinking that the UK players are slacking off…

“Lots of them start out with the right intentions and the opportunities are there for them to become great,” Singh said. “ Once they’re on tour, though, they find themselves having a fine time and wondering, ‘Why should I bother to work hard?’ Their way of life is so comfortable that it doesn’t matter if they have a bad tournament. The disappointment is not as big any more. There’s another event the following week and they just move on.”

I actually don’t disagree with Vijay on this issue, but I don’t think it’s a problem with just the British players. Heck…look at how many millionaires there were made in 2007 on the PGA – 99! And look at how many winning players lose their cards on the PGA Tour every year after many years of success – Lee Jansen comes immediately to mind (winner of 8 PGA tour events, including 2 US Opens, he lost his card in 2006 and failed to qualify for 2007). BTW...he missed the cut this weekend.

Not to pick on Janzen, I think that a lot of PGA players start to take it easy when they hit “Easy Street”. John Daly could be the poster child for this group.

Some, not all, PGA players don't seem to have the same hunger they once had. I just heard this week on The Golf Channel by one of the analysts (I wish I could remember who it was), but he said he was convinced that Phil was a more talented player than Tiger, but he just didn’t have the work ethic. That's a pretty bold statement don't you think?

Anyway, with comments like this, I don't think Vijay should plan a career in golf media after he retires from the game. But he'd be fun to watch - he’d put Johnny Miller to shame with his less than politically correct barbs.

Golfgal

---

Singh slates ‘work-shy’ Britons
By Lewine Mair in San Diego
Sport
11 Jun 2008

VIJAY SINGH last night sparked a row ahead of this week’s US Open when he claimed British golfers were failing to win a major because they did not work hard enough. The Fijian, a winner of two USPGA Championships and a Masters, said too many of them...read more...

Tech Tags: Sport newspaper Golf

Monty needs a Miracle at this Major

If you like Monty like I like Monty, then you should check out this story in the Independent below. It's full of good quotes, some humor and definitely some "oh really's!".

The comment that surprised me the most was this quote from Colin about his future in the majors...

“I think I will play in 15 to 20 more majors, of which I expect to really contend in four,” said Montgomerie. “And one of those four I will really contend. Not just top five or backing my way into fourth. But really, really contend. I have one golden opportunity left when I will be right there. That will be my chance. And I’ve got to take it, otherwise it is not going to happen for me.”

When I first read this, I thought he must be delusional. How does he possibly think he'll really contend in 4 majors over the next 5 years? Look at his record of majors to date.

Even in his best years, Colin has struggled. And in the past 7 attempts at majors, he didn't qualify for 1, missed 5 cuts and tied for 42 in the other. Sure he had a near miss in 2006 at Winged Foot, but that was two years ago.

Yes, Monty has won 31 times in his professional career and proudly held the honor of the Order of Merit 8 times. He's played in every Ryder Cup since 1991 and he's considered a Ryder Cup legend - undefeated in eight singles matches. He holds 2 Ryder Cup records:

1) six wins
2) seven points from singles after six wins and two halves

Monty was once mighty, but today, mostly Monty is just miffed.

- Miffed at the media for harping on his "best player never to win a major" title
- Miffed at himself for not playing his A game at majors

- Miffed at the Masters for not inviting him to play this year
and
- Miffed at the fans who constantly do something to annoy him while he's playing

Now don't get me wrong. I really do like Monty very much. I always enjoy watching him on TV and I find his grumpy, growly, grizzly demeanor very entertaining, if not "endearing". He's just kind of loveable - a curly haired teddy bear (a little over stuffed perhaps, but cuddly anyway).

Some have called Monty the dark horse at this week's US Open - an understatement if there ever was one. But I believe in miracles, so this weekend, I'm hoping for Monty to play as if an angel is sitting on his shoulder. Play well Monty! Let's give Nick Faldo a reason to pick our favorite Scot for the 2008 Ryder Cup Team. It won't be the same without you.

Golfgal

---

Montgomerie’s last chance of a major step

The Independent
11 Jun 2008

The statement has been made before; boy, has it been made. Indeed, in certain media fourballs the “that’s that for Monty” have even started to rival the “fores” in number. And believe it, there are an awful lot of “fores“. The man, himself, has heard...read more...

Tech Tags: The Independent newspaper Golf Countdown To The Us Open

Happy 60th birthday Sandra Post!

Hey all you Crazy Golfing Canucks!

Sandra Post turned 60 today! Can you believe it? Just last week she was at UBC giving a golf clinic for Jazz Golf. I wish I had known then...I'd have gone up and wished her a Happy B'day.

Actually, I had a tee time and couldn't stick around anyway, but I wanted to thank her for creating a brand of clubs that new women golfers can hit well (Jazz was my first driver and I loved it - my husband kept calling me the "robot" because I kept hitting it so straight down the middle).

I didn't follow women's golf much in Sandra's day, but I wish I had watched her when she became the youngest player (at 20) to win the LPGA Championship defeating the great Kathy Whitworth in a playoff. Remember....Whitworth has won 81 LPGA tournaments, so that says something about Sandra's game way back then. She was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame the same year.

I didn't realize she "retired" from pro play in her mid 30's like Annika is about to do. I wonder if she regrets that a bit. Even with that short career, she won 9 LPGA Tour events. Maybe Annika should have a chat with her.

The article below is a good one and worth reading. It says that Sandra enjoys teaching and works with golfers from 8 to 80. I played one day with one of her ex-students and she said she was really good - but really tough - no nonsense and no pansy with her students.

Well, I expect Hank Haney and Butch Harmon aren't pansies with their players either. I guess the great ones never are.

Happy Birthday Sandra!

Golfgal

---

Post’s enthusiasm for the game hasn’t waned
LORNE RUBENSTEIN rube@sympatico.ca
The Globe and Mail
04 Jun 2008

Sandra Post turns 60 today and has enough energy for any dozen baby boomers. The winner of nine LPGA Tour events, including a major when she was 20, has been a one-woman self-motivator, not that she believes she’s done it without help. Some of the...read more...

Tech Tags: The Globe and Mail newspaper Sports

Strange golf weekend - Robert Karlsson a bridesmaid again

You all know by now what a big fan I am of the European Tour and my fave players include Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Nick Dougherty, Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington and so many other greats we see pretty regularly on the PGA as well, like Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter. And of course, the ever loveable Monty :)

But this weekend, I was cheering for one my new favorite players, Robert Karlsson. The tall lanky Swede is such a pleasure to watch swing a club. Nothing against Mr. Strange, who played very admirably and obviously deserved to win the Wales Open, but Karlsson has caught my eye recently. So I did a bit of research on him in the printed media. I discovered that he's got some "baggage". Not that we don't all have a little, but his is rather bizarre.

According to reporter, Mark Reason of The Sunday Telegraph (Sport), the calm, quiet Swede isn't exactly what he first appears...

1) Has a very bad temper. Apparently, at last year’s Open, Karlsson attacked a metal railing with his driver. Ouch!
2) He tried to finance a school in northern Sweden and was strangely rejected. Hmmm...who turns away money?
3) Last year he was unfairly portrayed as a member of a wacky sect by a Swedish TV programme, which made him retreat to the edges of the Arctic Circle for a while.
4) Apparently, a week or two ago, Karlsson had been on a two-week fast, spending all night hitting putts while a friend shouted abuse every time he missed. And according to Reason, "Robert relived the moments of conception and gestation before heroically, and presumably metaphorically, forcing himself out of the birth canal. " Haha...too funny. Reason, you have a way with words!

Anyway, watching Karlsson on TV has been a lot of fun and regardless of what the media says about him, he looks altogether to me on the golf course and he's now one of my picks for the Ryder Cup.

In the last 4 tournaments, he's place 3rd 3 times and 2nd once. Time for a win, don't you think Robert? This bridesmaid stuff is getting old - like your white belt and white shoes - those have got to go - a little too "Herb Tarlek" for me. Only Ian Poulter can get away with matching shoes and belts.

Golfgal

---

Clarke pulls rank but can’t close gap on super Strange
By Graham Otway
Daily Express
02 Jun 2008

AS ONE of the few professionals to have twice shot 60 in his career, Darren Clarke thought he knew all about the art of low scoring. But as the red figures of birdies and eagles – a fair number of them his own – crowded the scoreboards at Celtic Manor...read more...

Tech Tags: Daily Express newspaper Daily Expresssport

Keep golfing - live longer

As I started to write about the Wales Open results today, I came across this article and had to share it.

As an avid and fanatical golfer who just can't get enough of golf, I think I may now know why. I must instinctively have known that if I golf, I'll live longer. And the longer I live, the more I can play golf.

A recent study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science found that playing golf reduces the death rate by 40 percent, equating to a 5-year increase in life expectancy. Five years!!! For me, that's like 500 more rounds!

The study measured 300,000 Swedish golfers and controlled for factors such as age, sex and socioeconomic status. It also found that the lower the handicap, the longer the life expectancy. Hmmm...how low is low enough to save those 5 years?

Anders Ahlbom, who led the study at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said: "A round of golf means being outside for four or five hours, walking at a fast pace for six to seven kilometres, something which is known to be good for the health. The lower death rate among the best golfers may be due to the extra time they spend on the course."

He went on to say..."Maintaining a low handicap involves playing a lot, so this supports the idea that it is largely the game itself that is good for the health. People play golf into old age, and there are also positive social and psychological aspects to the game that can be of help."

And...according to this article, "Research published last year showed that the key to success on the golf course could lie in a happy marriage." Well, I certainly do agree with that. My golfguy and I play regularly and this week when I shot the lowest score of my life, he was more happy for me than he was for his own good game. I guess maybe that's why I married him :)


Golfgal

---

How playing golf putts you on course for five years’ extra life
By Fiona MacRae Science Reporter
Daily Mail
31 May 2008

AS sports go, it is far from the most strenuous. But golf appears to have significant health benefits, including the ability to make you live longer. A study of 300,000 golfers revealed that they were 40 per cent less likely to die at any given age...read more...

Related:
Golfers lead longer lives
Puttering along

Tech Tags: Daily Mail newspaper News