Bleacher Report - Articles by Andy Reistetter

The Magic of Disney for Stephen Ames

Andy Reistetter — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:57:06 -0500

On the enchanted back nine, where there are no hole yardage numbers posted on any tee box in the Magic Kingdom for fear the guests would be stressed, Stephen Ames continued strolling merrily down the middle of the fairways with his 10-year-old son Ryan at his side making birdies like they were included in the price of admission on his way to his fourth PGA title, his second at Disney in three years.

A family man won at a family resort.

"I enjoy life. I enjoy the quality of my life. I enjoy the fact of watching my kids grow up. I think that's what's important about life," is how Ames characterized his life on the PGA Tour after receiving the hardware from Mickey Mouse and his wife Minnie.

Not to understate his intensity for the game when compared against the likes of Tiger Woods or Vijay Singh, the 2006 Players Champion stated the obvious: "I've put my time in where I need to practice and get myself ready for each event each year."

Though he closely followed that statement with a "but" and the most obvious: "I do enjoy the quality of life that I live in Calgary with my family, and to me family comes first. Golf is secondary. It always has been."

The 45-year-old golfer born in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago with dual citizenship in Canada has won $2 million in each of the past four years on the PGA Tour.

Second on a spectacular Floridian sunny and warm November day were Justin Leonard and George O'Neill. Both exited the playoff with mojo and title-killing three putts— Leonard's an official three-putt from 63 feet on the first playoff hole and McNeill's an unofficial one from off the fringe and over a ridge 30 feet from the hole on the second playoff hole.

All four Falls Series events played on the PGA TOUR ended with playoffs. Leonard who barely missed a 17-footer to win in regulation thought he had made it with a fist pump that was stopped mid-pump. He was visibly disappointed likely because this playoff loss runs his playoff record to won two, lost five.

"To be this close and not be able to pull it out is disappointing. I had such good putts in regulation on 18, and you know, obviously I thought I made it by my reaction. Surprised it didn't go in, but you know, it is what it is. I hit the ball great. Didn't putt that well this weekend, and you know, that was the difference."

It would have been the third straight year with a victory for the 37-year-old Texan and 12-time winner on the PGA Tour who resurrected his game a decade after his glory years as a player when he won the 1997 Open at Royal Troon and the 1998 Players Championship, lost the 1999 Open at Carnoustie to Paul Lawrie amidst the Jean Van de Velde collapse and made that huge putt on the 17th green at The Country Club to ignite the American 1999 Ryder Cup victory.

McNeill, a Florida State alumni and journeyman of sorts has had three solid years on tour after winning the 2006 Qualifying Tournament, a.k.a. Q-School. He won the Frys.com tournament in the Fall series of his rookie year.

"Eagle" McNeill, who eagled three straight par-fives starting with both par-fives on the back nine on Saturday before finishing bogey-double bogey, came back to the field and was caught by Ames' 66-64 and Leonard's 71-67 when all was said and done at the end of regulation on Sunday afternoon.

McNeill also lost in a playoff to Martin Laird two tournaments ago at Justin Timberlake's event in Las Vegas. The 34-year-old golfer won there in 2007 when it was the Frys.com Open which is now held in Arizona.

Though ranked No. 1 in putting this week in terms of total putts per round and average putts when hitting a green in regulation in the end the difference between victory and defeat came down to six footer and the ultimate rim out on the second playoff hole.

"(My putt) made a full 360. It went down in the hole and came back at me. So obviously that's not what I was looking for. I was looking for it to go in. But I guess we're looking for them all to go in."

Both Nicholas Thompson (T11) and Jimmy Walker (T15) found the magic they were looking for this week and moved into the Top 125 on the money list at the season's final event.

David Duval, playing on a Top 50 career money list exemption this year and a runner-up at the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black along with Robert Garrigus dropped out of the top 125 this week.

That puts them behind the Golden 25 from the Nationwide Tour and a similar number expected from Q-School finals the first week of December as far as priority ranking goes on the PGA TOUR in 2010.

Still though partial exemption is not anything like full exemption when it comes to getting into tournaments.

As Porky Pig would say "That's All Folks" for the 2009 edition of the PGA TOUR.

But in the Magic Kingdom it was a storybook ending for Stephen Ames and his son Ryan.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, FL near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Rickie a Follower of Tiger Tracks?

Andy Reistetter — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:09:11 -0500

Rickie Fowler is taking the PGA TOUR by storm.

The humble 20-year old who left Oklahoma State after two years, and held out turning professional until after a second Walker Cup team victory at Merion in early September, is trying to do what Tiger Woods did in 1999—avoid Q-School and get a pass directly to the PGA TOUR.

As a professional, Fowler warmed up with two starts on the Nationwide Tour before teeing it up with the Big Boys at the last two PGA TOUR Fall Series events.

With four rounds in the 60s and a T7 finish at the Justin Timberlake event in his new hometown of Las Vegas the new pro won over $100K in his first week.

The next week he did even better—though he lost in a playoff to Troy Matteson at the Frys.com Open and went home netting $440K.

His professional earnings of $553,710 in two events would place him 135th on the Money List if he was a member of the PGA TOUR.

The Bubble Boy who is probably too young to know Seinfeld's Bubble Boy episode opened with a six-under 66 this morning at the Disney hosted Children's Miracle Network could pull on Tiger's Tail with three more solid rounds.

At T2 position after Day One, a Top 15 finish in the season's final event would eliminate the $70K gap to the 125th place on the Money List and likely earn Fowler a fully exempt PGA TOUR card for 2010.

In the fall of 1996 Tiger came on the scene in Milwaukee, Canada, Quad Cities and the B.C. Open with T60, 11, T5, and T3 finishes respectively.

Then he won in Las Vegas and two weeks later added another tournament victory here at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Tiger the Big Cat, no offense to Mickey or Minnie Mouse.

All in all he played 11 events as a professional earning nearly $800K and finishing No. 24 on the Money List earning his PGA TOUR Card without going to Q-School.

With four wins in his rookie season of 1997 including his first Major at The Masters "the rest they say is history," except in Tiger's case it continues to be "history in the making."

Fowler with a high finish this week can avoid Q-School and proclaim that he did in three tournaments what it took Tiger to do in eleven- earn the ticket to the Big Tour.

Turning 21 on Dec. 13, Fowler would be the youngest winner on TOUR since Phil Mickelson won in 1991 at 20 years and 6 months.

Shooting in the 60s in your first nine rounds as a professional on the PGA TOUR is a nice way to start off a career.

Birdieing five of his last six holes including a chip-in on the last the former Motocross competitor turned Cowboy now professional golfer is as fearless as they come.

"It's nothing special. I'm not doing anything different really, just kind of playing golf. It's nothing better than I've ever played before."

The Titleist equipment and Puma clothing ambassador may not have proclaimed "Hello World" like Tiger did before turning pro and signing big contracts with Nike and Titleist.

But nevertheless he is making a huge initial splash into the world of professional golf as big a story as when other youngsters Rory McIlroy, Ryo Ishikawa and Tadd Fujikawa competed on the PGA TOUR earlier this year.

There is absolutely no "deer in the headlight" look when it comes to this Tiger cub. Rather there is the steady gaze of a soon-to-be winner on the PGA TOUR.

"With amateur golf and college golf now we travel so much that, you know, it's nothing new."

"The biggest difference is we're playing for money, but you know, I'm still out here playing to win, so my mentality hasn't changed with that."

Still young and fearless making putts left and right, look for this white pant wearing Sunday Cowboy orange phenom to make it happen this week.

After all Fowler is in Tiger's tracks.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Enjoying the pursuit of his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it he can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

The Charm of Charleston- The Daniel Island Golf Club

Andy Reistetter — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:01:13 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter was on site at the Nationwide Tour Championship at the Daniel Island Club in Charleston, South Carolina last week. He helped cover the action for The Golf Channel and thoroughly enjoyed witnessing in person the crowning tournament of the Nationwide Tour where 25 golden golfers earned their 2010 PGA TOUR cards.

To top that experience he was invited by Greg Keating, Vice President of Club Operations and Bobby Donnellan, Director of Golf to play the Rees Jones designed Ralston Creek Course on Monday morning. From the tips and with Sunday hole locations this devoted amateur golfer tells the story of the Nationwide Tour Championship and his "Monday Morning Golf" outing in his own words.

I have always wanted to go to Charleston, South Carolina so it was a no-brainer to drive up from Jacksonville Beach, Florida on Thursday morning to catch all the action of the Nationwide Tour Championship at the Daniel Island Club.

My connection with Charleston was through the movie The Prince of Tides. You know the one nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1991 with Barbara Streisand and Nick Nolte. I loved it when Nolte drove over the picturesque bridge in a convertible. So my dream was always to go to Charleston and drive over that bridge with the top down.

The Daniel Island Club is a couple of miles off the interstate highway. It’s a Wizard of Oz Munchkin like moment. It is that dramatic of an entrance into an enchanted land of Low country natural oaks, beautiful palms and saltwater marshes.

What is the quickest way to paradise from Interstate 526 around Charleston, South Carolina? Take Exit 24- Daniel Island and proceed to the Daniel Island Club.

Sixty of the best golfers on the Nationwide Tour did exactly that for their championship event- the culmination of the landmark 20thseason of PGA TOUR Driven excellence. There is no question that the skill, desire and work ethic of these golfers mirror that of the big tour.

In fact the PGA TOUR is simply the grown up version of its younger brother. Nationwide Tour graduates account for 258 PGA TOUR wins including 13 Major and 3 PLAYERS Championships.

Make that 259 PGA TOUR wins with Nationwide Tour alumni Troy Matteson winning the Frys.com Open last week.

You do the math on that one- 20 years, about 40 PGA events a year is about 800 events… so about one in three come from the Nationwide Tour. With Tiger Woods with 71 victories and players coming directly from the European Tour being the key exceptions.

Matt Every who came in at No. 49 shot 63 in Friday's second round and a pair of 67s on the weekend to overcome the tour's best golfer Michael Sim who came out firing on all cylinders with a 64 on Thursday.

The 25-year old Every would make his first win on the Nationwide Tour his biggest and hopefully his last. His stellar performance vaulted him to No. 10 on the money list. That gold status earned him his playing card on the PGA TOUR in 2010.

The heart pounding and heartwarming story of the week on Daniel Island was 44-year old Fran Quinn. Turning pro in 1988 he made it to the PGA TOUR for the first and only time in 1992 when he finished T8 at Q-School.

First and only time until now.

After twelve straight seasons on the Nationwide Tour where he is now ranked third in all-time starts at 324, Quinn fought off a painful bladder infection and was inspired by his 11-year-old son Owen.

"Dad, you're going to do it. You're going to have a great day," were the words spoken early Sunday morning though it was the tone that was really inspiring.

The son in his heart already knew his father was a champion and all he hoped was that everyone else would know the same thing come the end of competition on Sunday.

His father was locked in as No. 25 when Brian Stuard missed an eight foot birdie putt on the final hole to finish T14 in the Championship and only $2,844 out of the Top 25 and a golden passport to the big show next year.

Quinn's success really was determined by his finish on Saturday. At 6-under par for the tournament he missed a short par putt on the 13th green. He then hit a poor iron from the fairway bunker on No. 14 failing to get out which led to double bogey.

On the par-3 15th he hit a poor chip shot and then a good one for a one-putt bogey. On the 16th he drove it left into the water and came away with another double bogey.

In total, he was 6-over par for four holes and back to even par for the tournament.

It easily could have been the end of the story but not for this gutsy competitor playing hurt.

Beware of the ill golfer.

After steadying the ship with a two-putt par on No. 17 he finished strong with a birdie on No. 18.

That was the key to the tournament for Quinn. Despite his ailment, he finished with a birdie put the poor stretch of golf behind him. He came through with a decent 74 on Sunday, a T46 finish and the $3,750 he needed to finish in the 25th slot after starting the week at No. 20.

"Those words (of my son) were an inspiration for me all day," the elated Quinn said afterwards.

While Quinn was fortunate to remain in the Top 25, another golfer named Steve Wheatcroft came into the gold with Every.

The 31-year old Indiana University graduate from Indiana, Pennsylvania shot three rounds in the 60s and an even par 72 on Sunday to finish T3, win $58,000 and vault from No. 31 to No. 20.

In the tough reality of championship golf and a limited number of PGA TOUR cards to pass out at the awards ceremony late Sunday afternoon when two come in two have to go out.

Along with Brian Stuard who started at No. 23 Alastair Presnell the "bubble boy" at No. 25 coming in slipped to No. 28 despite a respectable T19 finish.

The big picture of the Top 25 movement for 2009 was that Matt Every (1^st) and Steve Wheatcroft (T3) came out of nowhere and surged ahead to No. 10 and No. 20 respectively on the final money list.

Quinn held on for dear life to remain in the Top 25 while Stuard and Presnell were bumped out despite reasonable finishes in the Tour Championship at Daniel Island.

Daniel Island was the perfect place for the championship with the difficult "U.S. Open Doctor" designed Ralston Creek course, superb facilities and near perfect weather.

The winning score of 21-under par on the 7,446 yard par 72 masterpiece was due surprisingly to a lack of wind in this beautiful coastal community. Generous fairway widths in the landing zones despite the deep Rees bunkers was also good news for the bombers.

The winding 557-yard par 5 9th hole with water right off the tee and water short left of the green on the second shot was an exciting finishing hole. A perfect drive meant an opportunity to reach the green in two and possibly make eagle.

The beauty of the grounds with the purplish hue to the whimsical vegetation and the majestic clubhouse setting on high ground to the left as the player walks down the 18th fairway for the last time on Sunday afternoon.

Imagine the thoughts, feelings and emotions of Michael Sim as he completed perhaps the most dominant season ever on the Nationwide Tour.

Or Matt Every who triumphed as Nationwide Tour Champion just in time to catch the train to the PGA TOUR for 2010.

The informal hospitality of the Low country and that of Daniel Island was certainly evident on the grassed plateau behind the clubhouse. Overlooking the vast marsh the view is literally endless with natural beauty as far as the eye can see.

An open hospitality tent designated the 19th hole provided spirits and musical tunes to dance to as the evening sun set over the marshland.

On Sunday afternoon the festivities were taken inside the large ballroom where Golf Channel Host Jerry Foltz emceed the final chapter of the Quest for the Card series where the 25 golden graduates of the 2009 Nationwide Tour receive their official 2010 PGA TOUR card.

The graduation ceremony started with 25 empty chairs on stage draped in the numbered gold caddie bibs. One by one the successors are introduced and come across the stage to shake hands with Bill Calfee, President of the Nationwide Tour and Jim Lyski, Chief Marketing Officer for Nationwide.

Better than a high school or college graduation, this ceremony utilizes high tech life size portraits of each golfer with a twirling PGA TOUR card framing the background for the handshakes and presentations. There is no pomp and circumstance playing over and over again.

Family and friends whoop it up a bit as each player is introduced. This ceremony being the culmination of the hard work of a year or of a career brings out the emotions and tears of joy especially for the successful bubble boys and streakers like Every and Wheatcroft.

The joyous gathering spilled out to the grassy plateau where Jerry Foltz continued the festivities recognizing a Nationwide Tour volunteer for the past 31 years in a very inspiration manner.

The lady Lainey Keller drives to many tournaments from her home in South Carolina. Her car with over 300,000 miles on the odometer has seen better days. A grassroots collection was taken up with contributions received from players, caddies, other volunteers, and the media among others to purchase her a new car so she could continue her volunteer activities.

Though she did not leap on the car like Rich Beem did when he aced the 14th hole at Riviera in the 2007 Northern Trust Open Lainey was obviously moved by the outpouring of love and respect for all she has accomplished in a humble manner the last 31 years.

The celebrations on the grassy plateau continued on into the darkness on Sunday evening with hugs and kisses and pictures and toasts occurring nonstop for a few hours as players, caddies, family, friends and fans milled around enjoying the special moment.

Want to experience the Nationwide Tour family up close and personal?

Make plans to attend the 2010 Nationwide Tour Championship at the Daniel Island Club in Charleston, South Carolina.

I was like a kid that simply could not wait for Christmas morning to come.

An opportunity to play the Ralston Course with exactly the same setup of the tour players was granted to me for which I am extremely thankful.

My peg was in the ground at 8 a.m. walking and playing in a twosome with a distinguished member named Richard.

He was distinguished to me in that it was immediately evident he loved the game and cherished the walk in the park we would surely enjoy over the next few hours.

Off we went with me playing from the tips a la my friend Sir Walter's way… go to the back of the back tee, take one step with your right foot, then another step with your left, bend over and put the tee in the ground at the tip of your left shoe.

Wait a minute, this course measures 7,446 yards. Even for a 7-handicapper that is quite the challenge.

Especially for a 7-handicapper who doesn't get out as much as he use to.

It is definitely try what they say about being in the golf business—you do play less golf.

The key to being able to play a golf course of this length is having the fairways hard and fast so the ball rolls like crazy. That is the only way my 260 yard drives will ever stretch to the needed 300 yards.

Looking back the length of the golf course was not overwhelming to me. It was long and I did hit every club in my bag. I was hitting the ball extremely solid and straight for the most part.

On the four par-3s I hit two hybrid 4 irons and two drivers to carry the marsh on the 250-yard 9th hole and to carry the water into the wind on the 227-yard 12th hole. I bogeyed No. 9 pulling my drive way left though I two-putt for par on No. 12.

On the par-5s after reasonable second shots I hit 6-iron, 8-iron and pitching wedges into Nos. 6 and 18. I played the par-5s one over par and the par-3s two-over par sadly three-putting No. 15 from 30 feet.

The heart of the Daniel Island Club like any golf course is the 14 par-4s which bring the designer's challenge and intrigue into play. The shortest iron I had into any par-4 was an 8-iron on No. 17 which I played from the back tees at 368 yards. The longest was a 3-wood into No. 10 playing 468 yards into the wind.

With Richard as a wonderful playing companion I started off well with hybrid 3-irons into the par-4 Nos. 1 and 2 and coming away with par.

Thinking I was off to a good start with the third hole a par-5 coming up I pulled out my 3-wood to advance the ball as far as I could on the second shot on the 618-yard hole. A quick swing trying to hit the ball from the top of my backswing resulted in a duck hook that rolled to a stop in the left fairway bunker.

Now I was in Rees Jones country—a fairly deep fairway bunker with 160+ yards to the hole over water and the front part of the bunker. Another quick swing resulted in a top shot that encountered the signature Jones grassed finger trying to escape the bunker.

With the ball still in the bunker I was challenged with the same shot only ten yards shorter. Trying to calm myself down a bit I exchanged my 6-iron for a 7-iron. Taking a deep breath I made a perfect swing with the ball rising over the lip of the bunker, carrying the water, covering the back left flagstick all the way to the hole.

I chipped delicately from slightly past the putting surface from light Bermuda rough with an 8-iron. The challenge of disaster had passed as I tapped in for a bogey. Still a good start one over par after three holes.

After a hybrid four iron to 30 feet and a two-putt regulation par on the 188-yard par-3 4th hole disaster struck quietly but soundly on the 402 yard par-4 5th hole.

My drive right landed in another fairly deep fairway bunker. Failing to get my 8-iron I managed to escape barely with a 9-iron. Granted I am not the most skilled fairway bunker player but I am not bad. There is something about these bunkers that subtlety pull you into misjudging the lie or height needed to escape in a routine manner.

A skulled wedge over the green left me with a snarly heavy Bermuda rough lie that I was fortunate to get up near the green only to mischip and two-putt my way to a quadruple bogey 8- a snowman on a warm Charleston morning.

So much for the good start at least score wise. Though battered a bit I felt confident this was still my day.

After parring the par-5 6th hole I drove right again on the par-4 458-yard 7th. Forced to punch out with a 5-iron I wedged to the green only to lip out a 40-footer and make bogey.

After a perfect drive on the 395-yard dog-leg-left par-4 8th hole the beauty of the Daniel Island Club unfolds with a vast marsh to the left of the fairway. The marsh goes forever necessitating a carry over it on the long par-3 9th hole.

The openness continues the full length of the 468-yard par-4 10th hole and then simply expands in all directions. To the north along holes nos. 11, 12, 13, and 14, To the east as far as the eye can see. If the marsh was an ocean you would be at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.

What a feeling to be in awe of these natural surroundings.

A good par on the 8th and the previously mentioned driver over the marsh pulled to safety left on the 9th and I carded a plus-7 43 on the front nine holes. Not bad but I played really well though the score does not indicate it.

I hit a pro long bunker shot from the short right bunker on the 10th green only to miss a 6-footer for par. Other than that putt and a similar 6-footer for par on No. 9 and the 3-putt on No. 15 I putted well all day.

An alligator-less par on the 583-yard par-5 11th hole and a solid driver par on the par-3 12th got my round back to stable condition. Another plus-1 start over the first three holes. I was determined to post a good score on the back nine possibly break 40 for my normal low 80s posting.

Though this was not a normal course. At 7,446 yards it carried a rating of 77.3 and a slope of 143. Who said only Pete Dye was diabolical? Honestly thought the course played fairly with no tricked up holes. Only solid well designed good golf holes coming at you.

I made a good par on the dog-keg-left par-4 467-yard 13th hole. Driving left I hit a flyer with a hybrid 4-iron that just kept rolling and rolling down the firm fairway. A nice chip and tap in gave me confidence.

Plus the back nine holes were the ones I covered for the Golf Channel so I knew them well. I had seen some great golf shots over four days. In fact, I have seen a lot of good golf shots at over 40 PGA TOUR events in the last two years.

Not that I am one of them but I have seen and know how it can be done. Get the ball in the hole however you can—great drive, recovery shot, long putt whatever just get it in the hole in as few strokes as possible and there you have the game of golf.

A key to success for my back nine performance came after I pulled a 6-iron in the left bunker on the par-4 424-yard 14th hole. I had to carry 30 feet of sand, an embankment to a near sided hole location.

An honest assessment is that I did not have the skills let alone the lie to carry that shot off. I played out sideways and two-putted from 30 feet for a "good" bogey.

Two over after five holes on the back nine with a par-3, tough par-4, short par-4 and the par-5 finishing hole left I started to actively think about how good it would be to break 40.

Distracted I three-putted the 15th after a nice hybrid 2-iron to 30 feet. There's nothing worse than a 3-putt to kill the mojo on a golf course.

Now I had the toughest hole of the Nationwide Tour Championship in front of me—a 450-yard par-4 dog-leg-left with water all the way down the left side with bunkers right.

After a solid drive I hit a hybrid 4-iron to 25 feet and drained the putt for my only birdie of the day. What a treat to birdie the toughest hole on the golf course. Richard was beginning to think maybe I was a pro disguised as a golf writer if there ever could be such a thing.

I tried to step up an 8-iron from 140 yards on No. 17 and fell short hitting the bank and rolling back in the bunker. Though I did not get my bunker shot all the way to the green I did perform well with a delicate chip and tap-in bogey.

Four bogeys and a birdie on the back nine. With a par on the closing par-5 I will shoot a respectable 39 on the back nine.

After a drive and a lay-up hybrid 4-iron my wedge fell short of the ridge protecting the back hole location I was faced with a difficult two-putt from 60 feet. The lag putt almost went in and left with a tap-in par for 39.

The 18-hole score of 82 putt a smile on my face.

Though no Top 25 finish or 2010 PGA TOUR card awaits this golf writer it was a fantastic round to play the course after seeing the professionals compete for four days.

I guess I should keep my day job if only I had one.

Daniel Island Club—Charleston's in-town country club amidst a remarkable planned community.

Only a dream for some but if you can make it a reality I would highly recommend doing it.

Did I mention the "other" golf course there is the Tom Fazio designed Beresford Creek?

By the way I did drive over the bridge a few times with the top down.

I think it’s a new replacement bridge but quite spectacular with its twin towers and streaming cables.

With great sadness, I leave the Charleston area for now.

Remember if you can; catch the Nationwide championship there in 2010.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR, the Nationwide Tour and the Champions Tour working for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel.

He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mail to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

PGA Tour: All Couples' Men Performed at Harding Park

Andy Reistetter — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:29:17 -0400

The United States has dominated the Presidents Cup competitions since the inaugural event outside the nation's capital in 1994.

In this year's eighth rendition the outcome was the same, though the path to victory was entirely new and exciting.

Youthful and exuberant Fred Couples took over the captaincy of the heavily favored U.S. team.

Stoic and competitive Greg Norman led the International Team whose best player, at least on paper was Geoff Ogilvy, ranked No. 10 in the world.

Couples and Norman took over as captains for golfing legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player respectfully and respectively.

The tradition of worldwide friendship and good sportsmanship in golf certainly continued during the four days of competition at Harding Park Golf Course, a municipal course owned and operated by the county and city of San Francisco.

Norman's leadership, making the game of golf a global one, heightened as he selected Ryo Ishikawa an 18-year-old golfing phenom from Japan as one of his two Captain picks.

Make no mistake about it, golf is going global with a new Asian Amateur Champion eligible for next year's Masters and Olympic golf in South America in 2016.

Though a champion three times this year on the Japan Golf Tour Ishikawa's emergence on the PGA TOUR was reserved with missed cuts in the Masters and Open at Turnberry and a T56 at the PGA at Hazeltine.

This week was different as he beat Kenny Perry three times in all three Presidents Cup formats and lost to Tiger Woods twice. Even though he was beaten his best memory of the week will be "playing with Tiger."

Maybe age does matter in a youthful sense when it comes to the game of golf.

Norman's other Captain's pick started off strong with a Thursday's foursomes win partnered with Ernie Els, though finished weakly with a pivotal hammering by Stewart Cink in Sunday singles competition.

That American victory in the second group out was like the rising and overwhelming tidal wave that Scott so dearly loves to surf in his native Australia. This wave would wash out any hope of an international comeback.

Scott's 1-4-0 (W-L-Tie) record for the week gives credence to the basic tenet of golf. While friendship with the captain is important, performance and results in terms of strokes recorded on the golf course has been, is, and will continue to be the overwhelming metric in golf on the world stage.

Couples' Captain picks were a similar split personality with U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover having a dismal 0-3-1 week and Hunter Mahan (2-1-1) coming through with a W against Camilo Villegas in the opening match on Sunday.

This Presidents Cup was the first in America away from the friendly confines of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, where the national team recorded four victories without a loss.

The recent Ryder Cup and long time Presidents Cup trend of American supremacy in the foursomes format where teammates alternate shots continued at the new venue.

The dynamic and exciting duo of Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim lead off for America in the Thursday foursomes competition. They ended their match with four straight birdies resulting in a 3 & 2 victory over the small in stature but big in heart and game twosome of Mike Weir and Tim Clark.

The teams of Kenny Perry/Zach Johnson and Tiger Woods/Steve Stricker would also win as Jim Furyk/Justin Leonard halved their match to give the United States a quick 3.5 to 2.5 lead on the first day.

Furyk missed a 14-inch putt on the last hole to win the match outright for the Americans.

The new team of Woods and Stricker recorded six birdies (in 14 holes) as they never lost a hole and trounced Ogilvy and Ishikawa.

The International team rebounded in Friday's fourball competition where the best ball of one team is matched against the best ball of the other team.

Mickelson/Leonard, Johnson/Mahan, and Stricker/Woods won for the U.S. while Els/Weir, Ishikawa/Yang, and Singh/Clark won their match for the International Team.

With a 3-3 split on Friday the internationals were only down 5.5 to 6.5 going into Saturday's marathon with five foursomes in the morning and five fourball matches in the afternoon.

Each team sat out two players for each match. For the Americans, Glover (0-2-0) and Kim (1-1-0) were benched in the morning while it was Perry (1-2-0) and Mahan (1-1-1) in the afternoon.

Internationals Ogilvy (0-2-0) and Cabrera (0-2-0) missed the foursomes while Goosen (0-2-1) and Villegas (0-3-0) missed the fourballs.

Once again on Saturday the foursome (1.5 to 3.5) completion would put the Internationals further behind while they held water in the fourball matches (2.5 to 2.5).

Mickelson teamed up with Presidents Cup rookie Sean O'Hair to win again in foursomes.

Woods stayed with Stricker and they won the pivotal match of the morning. Down two holes with six to play they won the 13th with a birdie. Then Woods made a 23-footer on No. 17 for birdie pressuring Weir to miss a four-footer to halve the hole and be dormie for the match.

Seizing the moment Woods' 3-iron from 232 yards stopped eight feet from the hole for eagle on the final green. Knowing it was pure, Woods did a celebratory twirl of the club and maestro hand gesture to accentuate the moment.

When the Internationals could do no better than par, the eagle putt was conceded and the Americans walked away with a point where they easily could have lost a point.

Down seven to 10, the Internationals looked to the afternoon fourballs to narrow the gap going into Sunday singles competition.

But the Americans held tough leaning on Woods/Stricker who beat Ishikawa/Yang to remain undefeated at 4-0-0 and Mickelson teamed with O'Hair again to halve a match with Singh/Clark.

While Woods rose to the occasion in the morning, it was Stricker to the rescue in the afternoon recording seven of the team's eight birdies in a match that went only 14 holes.

At the end of the third day of competition the margin of victory in foursomes would remain the difference in score with the Americans leading 12.5 to 10.5.

With historically strong performance in the Sunday singles format, where all 12 members of the team face a member of the opponent's team, the American team was heavily favored to go 6-1-1 in Presidents Cup competition and they did.

International captain Norman elected not to front load his team and let the chips fall where they may.

With the first four matches in on Sunday afternoon, the U.S. team posted four points and set the stage for Tiger Woods to sink a birdie putt on 13th hole and win the clinching point as he avenged his PGA Championship defeat and convincingly beat Y.E. Yang 6 & 5.

Open Champion Cink beat Scott, Kim beat Allenby, Mahan beat Villegas, O'Hair beat Els and Tiger scored the knockout punch as the Americans would go on to a 19.5 to 14.5 victory.

Quite incidentally that final tally is the same for the American wins in last year's Ryder Cup at Valhalla and the 2007 President's Cup in Montreal.

So in the end the outcome was the same while the story lines were quite different and exciting.

Michael Jordan, snubbed by the PGA TOUR as they banned him from the stage during the Opening Ceremony, didn't let it affect his ability to help this team jell to victory. Behind the scenes it may have been a rallying point for the American team as evidenced by the red "23s" on the white caps of the caddies during the competition.

Ryo Ishikawa has validated his claim as possibly the next Tiger Woods. Rory McIlroy, the 20-year-old from Northern Ireland, came onstage this year with high finishes in the Majors (Masters T20, U.S. Open Y10, British Open T47, and PGA T3).

Along with 16-year-old Italian amateur Matteo Manassero and America's own sensations 18-year-old Tadd Fujikawa and 20-year-old Rickie Fowler it will be interesting to see who takes it to the next level in the youth department.

Tiger Woods, perhaps feeling a little bit left out of the American victory at Valhalla last year, fully embraced the team concept in San Francisco and found a new best playing partner in Steve Stricker.

Though the fog and coolness rolled into Harding Park on Wednesday afternoon, this venue proved itself as equal to any other for being the stage for any world golf competition.

With elevated vistas of Lake Merced and ghostly, twisty, and knarled tall cypress trees that steal balls from golfers, this site can stand proud and tall when neighboring Olympic Club hosts the U.S. Open in 2012.

In the end Couples' three amigos who happen to be Nos. 1, 2, and 3 in the world, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Steve Stricker, came through for him.

Looking forward to the Ryder Cup next year in 2010 with Captains Corey Pavin for the U.S. and Colin Montgomerie for the Europeans, one surely cannot expect another love fest like the one we had this week in San Francisco.

That will have to wait until the next Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne in Australia in 2011.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. The Presidents Cup marks his 17th event of the year. He attended 22 events in 2008.

Residing in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, he enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Pulse of the Nationwide Tour

Andy Reistetter — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:23:43 -0400

With the FedExCup trophy firmly in Tiger's possession the focus now becomes who will be eligible to compete and possibly upstage him next year on the PGA TOUR.

Look no further than the Nationwide Tour the official "proving grounds" of the PGA TOUR.

The performance of Marc Leishman who finished No. 19 on the Nationwide Tour last year to earn his rookie card to the "Big Show" is "proof positive. Peaking in the Playoffs with a 62 in the second round at the Deutsch Bank and finishing T2 in the BMW Championship he finished the year No. 20 on the FedExCup points list.

From No. 19 on the Nationwide Tour to No. 20 on the PGA TOUR in less than 12 months is moving through the express line which includes a 2010 Masters invitation for the soon to be 26 year old Aussie.

Another guy going through the express line in literally the last two weeks is Jerod Turner who won the inaugural Soboba Classic today by two strokes in San Jacinto, California. His express ticket will take him to the 2010 PGA TOUR and who knows where else given Leishman's example.

With only limited status on tour as the result of a T154 finish in the 2008 Q-School, two weeks ago he had played in only five Nationwide events this year missing the cut in the last four. Having never played in a single PGA TOUR event his only other experience was two Nationwide events in 2008 and on the mini tours.

The general contractor by day opened with a pair of 67s last week in the WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas. He held tough over the weekend and the T7 finish gave him a ticket to this week's first $1 million event on tour this year.

The little known 34-year old with only a partial profile on the PGATOUR web site took full advantage of his spot in the inaugural Soboba Classic coming from two strokes behind and passing two guys on a windy and cooler Sunday afternoon in the grandeur of the san Jacinto Mountains.

With his first three rounds in the 60s Turner managed a 2-under par 69 when it counted. The field averaged an amazing three and a half strokes more in the final round versus the third round. The other seven golfers in the last four pairings averaged over 74.

Turner's winner's check of $180,000 boosted his earning to over $200,000 and moved him from No. 150 to No. 17 on the official money list. As one of the golden Top 25 graduates he will tee it up with the likes of Tiger Woods next year on the PGA TOUR.

There were other exciting story lines this week on the Nationwide Tour in the California desert.

Rickie Fowler, a two time United States Walker Cup Champion and two-time All-American in two years at Oklahoma State shot 65 on Saturday to contend for the lead heading into the weekend. A disappointing 77 on Sunday dampened his breakthrough hopes. With a T31 finish he is outside the automatic Top 25 berth in next week's Chattanooga Classic.

Fowler's presence electrified the galleries as he grew up within 30 miles of the Country Club at Soboba Springs in Marietta, California. His light orange colored shirt is surely to become a staple of the Nationwide Tour and the PGA TOUR within the next few years.

Who knows who the next Tiger Woods will be? Maybe 16-year old Italian Matteo Manassero who played with Tom Watson in the Turnberry Open and finished T13? Or 18-year old phenoms President's cup International Team member Ryo Ishikawa of Japan or American Tadd Fujikawa?

Northern Ireland's 20-year-old Rory McIlroy has certainly proved himself this year with a T10 finish at the Bethpage Black U.S. Open and a T3 finish at the Hazeltine PGA Championship.

Or maybe it will be the 20 year old Rickie Fowler who made an impressive yet limited performance on a golf course revamped since he played there during his high school years.

It feels like playoff season on the Nationwide Tour.

Maybe at the casino the key numbers are seven and 11 though on the golf courses of the Nationwide Tour the two key numbers are 25 and 60.

Make the top 60 on the money list during the next two events- the Chattanooga Classic in Tennessee and the Miccosukee Championship in Miami to get into the season grand finale at the second $1 million event—the Nationwide Tour Championship in Charleston, South Carolina.

From there make the Top 25 to earn the golden promotion to PGA TOUR in 2010.

Of course if one does not make it through the Nationwide Tour avenue there is always the Qualifying Tournament a.k.a. Q-School. The compelling nerve-racking finals scheduled for conclusion on Monday, December 7 at Bear Lakes CC in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The pulse of Marc Leishman is calm and steady after a sensational 2009 PGA TORU season where he made over $1.7 million.

After today's performance at the Soboba Classic the pulse of Jerod Turner is beating rapidly after a dramatic Nationwide Tour victory that will take him to where he wants to go.

Keep an eye on the pulse of the Nationwide Tour over the next few weeks as it surely will be exciting to watch!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR, the Nationwide Tour and the Champions Tour working for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel.

Wintering in the Ponte Vedra Beach, FL near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass he enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mail to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Perry Tour Champion, Woods FedEx Cup Holder?

Andy Reistetter — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:23:29 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at The Tour Championship Presented by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia and is providing daily reports covering the action both inside and outside the ropes.

Forget the Harrington-Woods matchup…it's all about the old guy Kenny Perry facing down gunslinger Tiger Woods in the Playoff Finale at East Lake.

The old guy is hot, hot as can be after firing 66-64 over the last two trips around the golf course upon which the legendary Bobby Jones learned the game of golf.

Perry started Saturday's third round with four straight birdies and made the understatement of the year about it in the media center.

"Well, four birdies in a row puts you in a good mood is all I can say."

Woods is intent on winning his 72nd PGA Tour victory, not the FedExCup.

"I'd much rather just win the tournament, and the FedExCup will take care of itself."

"As of right now, I'm two (strokes) back and have an opportunity to win the tournament, and that's what I'm going to focus on tomorrow."

Tiger knows Kenny Perry.

"Golf is not his No. 1 priority, his family is. He has other interests off the golf course such as racing, which he loves to do. I think he's made a resurgence over the last few years, I think just because he's seen that 50 is coming up."

Tiger knows Kenny's game too which is basically a right-to-left draw.

"(Kenny) work(s) the ball only one way."

Perry would tell you the same thing especially when asked about his four birdie run to start the day.

"(On the) second hole I hit a beautiful five‑iron from 223 or whatever it was, back left pin. That's where I like them; kind of hit my little draw in there about eight feet right of the hole."

"(On No. 6) I hit an eight‑iron to about eight feet past the hole. It was another beautiful golf shot to that back left pin."

If there are several back left hole locations on Sunday then "advantage Perry."

Don’t count out Phil Mickelson (66) or Sean O'Hair (70) who are tied for third place four strokes back of Perry and two strokes behind Woods.

If Perry falters and Woods has a mediocre day then Padraig Harrington (71) five strokes back or even Steve Stricker (66) or Ernie Els (71) could come from six strokes behind the leader and win the tournament.

The FedExCup and its $10 million prize are all Tiger Woods unless he falters badly.

Sean O'Hair was seemingly in control and in contention for the final pairing on Sunday when unexpectedly he hit his tee shot on No. 17 into the water and walked away with a double bogey.

He summarized everyone's thoughts about the final round.

"You know, it's going to be exciting tomorrow."

The ever-the-optimist Phil Mickelson who is 7-under par since his quadruple bogey 8 on No. 14 on Thursday shared his thoughts about possibly winning for a third time this year.

"To come back the way I have and play the way I have, I feel like I'm playing some really good golf, that no matter how many shots back I am, I think I'll still be a factor."

Who will win THE TOUR Championship? Who will win the $10 million FedExCup?

Kenny Perry the stand up guy who led the United States to Ryder Cup victory in his home state of Kentucky last fall put the $10 million FedExCup prize in perspective, his perspective.

"I'll tell you this; it's not going to change my life if I win the $10 million. My life will stay the same. But it will definitely give me some opportunities to help some people. I want to start a foundation. There are some things I want to do for charities. It's definitely not going to change my life."

The 49-year old 14-time winner on the PGA TOUR is the epitome of the PGA TOUR's "giving back" program. His actions have always spoken louder than his words.

Heck Perry was named as the recipient of the 2009 Payne Stewart Award earlier this week as a player that respects the traditions of the game, upholds the game's heritage of charitable support and presents himself in a professional and meticulous manner.

During the last two seasons Kenny Perry has won five times. The only guy to win more is Tiger Woods with 10 wins.

Wouldn't they be a good team at Harding Park in two weeks against the Internationals?

Perry thinks so.

"I look forward to it. I'm going to jab him a little bit tomorrow. I want to be his partner in the Presidents Cup."

Winning THE TOUR Championship tomorrow would be the biggest victory of Perry's career.

Forget about the Masters' playoff loss to Angel Cabrera earlier this year.

This guy is a winner.

Heck why not throw in the $10 million FedExCup as well so he can start that foundation?

Good golf- play well gentlemen!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel.

Having attended the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Honda Classic, WGC-CA Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Masters Tournament, Verizon Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, THE PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open at Bethpage, AT&T National, British Open at Turnberry, PGA at Hazeltine, The Barclays, and The Deutsche Bank Championship; the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola at Eastlake is Andy's 15th event of the season.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Woods vs. Harrington in Firestone Rematch at East Lake

Andy Reistetter — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:18:46 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at The TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia and is providing daily reports covering the action both inside and outside the ropes.

O.K., so it is not Sunday afternoon at a World Golf Championship event.

It's not Woods versus Rocco Mediate during a Monday playoff for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

But is sure felt like it today at East Lake, with the marquee Woods and Harrington twosome in the next-to-last pairing at The Tour Championship/FedExCup Playoff Finale.

Call it what you like, but it was dramatic. It was intense. It was playoff golf at its best, and I can't wait until Sunday afternoon.

You know you are a golf nut when you used to enjoy when the football season came. All the golf pretenders left the golf courses to you and your pals when they went inside and started watching college football on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday. Talk about three-and-a-half hour rounds in all their glory!

But then Commissioner Finchem and the PGA TOUR had to invent the golf playoffs to stretch the season, interest, and revenues into September. Now, we are as hopeless as those football guys and missing out on our autumnal exercise on the links.

It was classic Woods early on, with razor-sharp irons and makeable birdie putts slipping by on the edge of the hole. Then the frustrated three-putt bogey on No. 5 that really got "da man"—as they call him here in Atlanta—pissed off.

You knew a streak was coming and sure enough, it happened, when Woods birdied three in a row to close out the front nine.

The birdie on No. 7 coupled with a Harrington bogey erased the Irishman's two-stroke lead. Ditto the same two-stroke swing with a Stewart Cink birdie and a Sean O'Hair bogey moments later in the final pairing of the day on the same seventh hole.

It was O'Hair, Cink, Woods, and Harrington dodging up and down the leaderboard on the front nine.

Whose tournament would it be on this no-cut Friday? An exclusive 30-member field earned their chances for the $10 million FedExCup prize with outstanding performance over the prior 36 weeks of competition.

We all knew "who" it would be. Tiger is always on first base when it comes to leaderboards. whether it is an "Abbott and Costello" flick or not. No worries in Who-Ville come Christmastime in September on the PGA TOUR.

Harrington matched Tiger's birdie on the eighth hole, but Tiger's birdie on the ninth put him at 5-under par, giving him the lead. Cink would match his birdie on nine and a front-nine 2-under par 33, briefly tying Tiger at the top.

Tiger overcooked his draw on No. 10, though it landed softly on the outside downward slope of the left fairway bunker precariously close to a perimeter out of bounds fence. The world's top golfer recovered and made par.

British Open Champion Cink sailed two tee balls in succession over the same fence at his home club moments later. He never recovered and made an eight, posting a 4-over par 39 on the back nine, finishing only four strokes back tied for seventh.

Woods and Harrington were enjoying themselves and chuckling quite a bit as they walked together between shots on the front nine. It almost appeared that they were laughing at the absent rules official and toying with the tour as to how slow they could play their round in defiance of what happened at Firestone.

Before they even chipped their third shots to the 10th green, the group ahead of them was teeing off the 12th hole.

Come Sunday afternoon, it is unlikely that any rules official will put them on the clock with the high stakes of the FedExCup on the line. This is no ordinary week on tour: It's the climax of the year.

Remember: small field, difficult golf course, anything can happen quickly.

The unbelievable did happen to Tiger Woods on the closing four holes. After a 20-footer to save par on the difficult par-4 14th, Tiger lofted a tremendous second shot to the par-5 15th that gracefully cleared the front bunker, landed softly and looked like it wanted to roll in the hole for an albatross.

It did not go in, rolling to a stop four feet away from the hole. Nor did Tiger's eagle putt go into the hole, as he settled for a two-putt birdie and a two-stroke lead over Harrington.

Unbelievably, he missed another short one inside three feet for birdie on the next green. Instead of running away from the field, Tiger was snuggling up to it. O'Hair recovered by birdieing the same two holes to post an even par round, and remain at 4-under after two rounds.

On the 17th hole it looked like Harrington would reverse the two-stroke swing from earlier in the day on No. 7. But Tiger made a downhill right-to-left putt for par and Harrington missed from inside four feet for birdie.

Tiger would bogey the last hole, a 230-yard par 3, after pulling a 4-iron up against the grandstand. After taking a drop, he flopped a shot and settled for a round=ending bogey. Harrington almost drained a 50-footer to tie Woods but finished at 4-under in a second-place tie with O'Hair.

Woods' 2-under-68 followed an opening 67, and enabled him to leapfrog O'Hair, Cink, and Harrington to lead The TOUR Championship and the race for the FedExCup.

Ernie Els (fourth place), Kenny Perry (T5), and David Toms (T12) shot 4-under-66s today, matching O'Hair's lone 66 on Thursday as the tournament's lowest round.

Bottom line, it is Woods versus Harrington again on Saturday in the final pairing at the TOUR Championship.

They have now played in the same group eight times this year, with Woods bettering Harrington seven times and averaging three strokes better per round.

Harrington has not won on the PGA TOUR in over a year dating back to the 2008 PGA last August at Oakland Hills CC outside Detroit. If he were to win The TOUR Championship, he would be the first European golfer to do so.

With rain forecasted for the late afternoon, the tee times have been moved up to the morning. Woods and Harrington will start at 10:20 a.m.

Let's see if this one goes down to the wire and who will kiss the FedExCup trophy come Sunday afternoon.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. Having attended the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Honda Classic, WGC-CA Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Masters Tournament, Verizon Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, THE PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open at Bethpage, AT&T National, British Open at Turnberry, PGA at Hazeltine, The Barclays, and The Deutsche Bank Championship; the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola at Eastlake is Andy's 15^th event of the season.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Nationwide Tour: These Guys Are Really Good

Andy Reistetter — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:34:03 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at The TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA. Next week he is heading to the inaugural Saboda Classic in San Jacinto, CA to catch some of the action on the Nationwide Tour. With only five events remaining in the 29 event Nationwide schedule the race to be a "Top 25 Gold" graduate and earn the prize of a 2010 PGA TOUR card is as hot as can be.

How closely have you followed the Nationwide Tour this year?

If you were at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida where the PGA TOUR is headquartered you saw the tractor trailer (see article picture) celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Nationwide Tour.

If you have been tuned into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedEx Cup you know how well the 2008 graduating class of the Nationwide Tour has done on the PGA TOUR this year.

Marc Leishman was supposed to be in Midland, Texas this week defending his title in the WNB Golf Classic. Instead the 25-year old Aussie who finished 19th on the Nationwide Tour last year is playing in the TOUR Championship at East Lake as one of the 30 best golfers this year on the PGA TOUR.

Talk about an impressive rookie season.

He started getting noticed with good play back in May in Texas with solid back-to-back performances at the Valero Texas Open and the HP Byron Nelson Championship finishing T5 and T8 respectively.

But it wasn't until the playoffs that he really got hot.

He entered as No. 93 on the FedEx Cup points list and shot a second round 62 in The Deutsche Bank Championship, the second playoff event at TPC Boston. Then he eagled the last hole on Sunday to finish T15 and make the field for the BMW Championship.

At Cog Hill's Dubsdread course Leishman had his best career event ever. On a golf course which was recently upgraded by Rees Jones in hopes of landing a U.S. Open or even possibly becoming the venue for 2016 summer Olympics if Chicago is the chosen city he shot four rounds in the 60s and finished T2 with Jim Furyk eight strokes behind Tiger Woods.

In the first round of the Playoff Finale the rising star was admittedly a little nervous.

"A few nerves early, got off to a bit of a shaky start, but then fought back all right."

Then he started hitting fairways and making birdies to get it back to even par for the day on a day when the world's hottest golfers could manage a low round of only 4-under par.

"(It) would have been even better to shoot a 1-under, but that bogey on the last got me back to even. But I feel it's a pretty good day all up."

His even par round of 70 has him in a T9 position for the tournament and a projected 17th finish in the FedExCup race.

Who knows what Leishman will do today, tomorrow or come Sunday afternoon.

"I need to hit more fairways and hole for putts, and hopefully shoot myself a low number in the next couple days."

Leishman isn't the only 2008 Nationwide Tour graduate to make the playoffs. Also in the 125 golfer field for The Barclays were Matt Bettencourt (No. 1 on the Nationwide Money List last year), fellow rookies Jeff Klauk (No. 3) and Bill Lunde (No. 5), Greg Chalmers (No. 8), Scott Piercy (No. 9), Greg Owen (No. 10), rookie David Mathias (No. 14), D.A. Points (No. 16), and Bryce Molder (No. 23).

Klauk, Chalmers, Piercy, and Points made the 100 golfer field at the Deutsche Bank while Molder made it to the BMW.

Don't forget about the last guy to earn his tour card as No. 25 on the Nationwide Tour money list last year.

Ricky Barnes, 2002 U.S. Amateur Champion and rookie on the 2009 PGATOUR after three hard working seasons on the Nationwide finished T2 with Phil Mickelson and David Duval at the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, two strokes behind Champion Lucas Glover.

Looking back it has been an exciting year on the PGA TOUR for the golden graduates.

Looking back at the "official proving grounds" of the PGA TOUR this year one can look forward to some outstanding golf on the 2010 PGA TOUR.

Michael Sim, a 24-year old Aussie born in Aberdeen, Scotland won his third Nationwide Tour event a month ago. Though he automatically qualified for the PGATOUR with a "battlefield promotion" he will not play as a member of the PGA TOUR until next week in the Turning Stone Resort Championship, the first event of the Fall Series.

With a T18 finish in the U.S. Open and a T51 finish at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine, Sim is already No. 64 in the official world golf rankings.

So enjoy the Playoff Finale and keep an eye on the Nationwide Tour as you will definitely be watching the champions of tomorrow on the PGA TOUR.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, FL near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte VedraBeach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his web site www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Sean O'Hair in Good Standing for FedExCup, Combing Way through TOUR Championship

Andy Reistetter — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:39:29 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at The TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, and is providing daily reports covering the action both inside and outside the ropes.

That's: 33 weeks, four playoff Events, one champion…598 different individual golfers have teed it up in 40 PGA TOUR (including four opposite field) events to date this year.

The TOUR Championship makes it 41…

That number of golfers—598—has not changed since five new guys slipped into the Wyndham Championship five weeks ago in mid-August at the last regular season event.

It's playoff time, crunch time, "The Playoff Finale," as they say at East Lake this week in PGA TOUR country. In other words, it is elimination time on the PGA TOUR.

We are down to the last 30 golfers standing in the quest for the FedExCup. There's also the TOUR Championship tournament going on at the same time. But who cares?

Isn't that another pop-up on the screen when the main deal is who will win the $10 million Race to Memphis, Tennessee, where the Headquarters of FedEx is located? Will the same person win both of the two tournaments? Could we have two separate sudden death playoffs? Who knows, but…?

Yes, the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup and the Playoff Finale are grand and exciting!

Okay quick catch-up: 125 golfers made it to the first playoff event, The Barclays. The next-to-last golfer, Heath Slocum, scored a huge upset win at Liberty National with Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Padraig Harrington, and Ernie Els all sitting on the sidelines one stroke short waiting for a playoff.

Twenty-five were eliminated as their playoff hopes were held captive within a few drivers of Ellis Island, where freedom abounded for countless millions of immigrants. No hope for Aussies Adam Scott or Aaron Baddeley.

Steve Stricker won for the third time this year at the Deutsche Bank at TPC Boston, demonstrating his playoff prowess one more time over Jason Dufner and Scott Verplank.

Another 30 were eliminated on the way to Chicago and the BMW Championship at a renewed Cog Hill No. 4 Dubsdread golf course, including defending FedExCup Champion Vijay Singh.

Tiger Woods dominated once again, winning by eight shots over Jim Furyk and Marc Leishman.

So long to another 40 poor souls including last year's two-time playoff victor, Camilo Villegas, and the injured Paul Casey, both of whom did not make it to the Grand Finale at East Lake.

And here we are at East Lake awaiting Super Golf Course Sunday when the FedExCup and TOUR champions will be determined from a minuscule field of the 30 best golfers of the FedExCup season.

Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, and Heath Slocum are the "Fabulous Five" who can control their own destiny in the FedExCup by winning the TOUR Championship.

If any of the remaining 25 contestants wins the TOUR Championship it will be much more complicated to determine who wins the FedExCup.

Sean O'Hair went out and shot a 4-under par 66 today to lead the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup points race. Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington shot 67 and are in a three-way tie with Stewart Cink for second place and effectively neutered their chances of winning the FedExCup if it ended today.

With a victory O'Hair would gain 2,500 points for a total of 3,700, compared to Woods' projected 3,583. Tiger would get only 1,083 points for a three-way tie for second versus an outright 1,500 for a solo second place finish. No FedExCup for Tiger because of how Harrington and Cink finished.

Stricker shot an even par 70 and is tied for ninth in the tournament and is projected to finish third in the FedExCup points race.

Furyk shot a two-over par 72 and is tied for 21st and projected fifth overall.

Zack Johnson shot even par 70 and is tied for eighth and projected sixth.

Slocum shot three-over par 73 and is tied for 26th and projected seventh.

Other than O'Hair, only Padraig Harrington moved up and is projected to finish fourth.

Cink moved up the most of anyone today rising from 26th to eighth.

Every shot for every player counts this week.

These guys are good and they know where they stand as evidenced by O'Hair's response to a question about whether he knew what he and others would have to do for him to win the Cup:

"I do. I think I need a win and Tiger and Stricker, I think, need to finish worse than second (alone)."

O'Hair is both inspired and in awe of Tiger Woods.

"I looked up to him when I was a teenager, I was in high school, and he was just winning the Amateur and turning professional. I mean, he's a phenom. I mean, he's just the man."

O'Hair is confident though realistic about his chances come Sunday afternoon.

"If you go out and play good golf, hopefully at the end of the day you're right there. But you're not going to play average golf against him and do anything worthwhile."

O'Hair was buoyed by a putting tip offered by Tiger during a practice round on Wednesday afternoon.

Why would Tiger Woods give a fellow competitor a tip that could help him play better with so much money and prestige on the line?

Only Tiger could answer that question.

"It's very simple; you always help your friends. Sean is a friend of mine, and like all my friends, you always try to make their life [sic] better somehow. That's the whole idea of having friends in your life."

A friend in time of need is a friend indeed.

"Sean has been struggling a little bit on the greens this year, and I thought I could offer a little bit of help and insight to how he could change that, and now, as I said, I'm going to go chew him out."

Or maybe beat his brains out on the golf course for the next three days?

With three playoff events done there are now three very important competitive rounds of golf remaining in "The Playoff Finale" at East Lake.

We will have to be patient and see who comes out on top as the TOUR Champion and the FedExCup Champion come Sunday afternoon.

All we know for sure is that the determination of the Champions will be strictly by the numbers.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. Having attended the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Honda Classic, WGC-CA Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Masters Tournament, Verizon Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, THE PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open at Bethpage, AT&T National, British Open at Turnberry, PGA at Hazeltine, The Barclays, and The Deutsche Bank Championship; the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola at Eastlake is Andy's 15th event of the season.

Steve Stricker is Simply the Best

Andy Reistetter — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:59:25 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes.

Steve Stricker took command of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup with a birdie-birdie finish and a win at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Knowing where he stood on the 17th fairway, he needed two birdies and the now three-time winner on this year's tour made those two birdies happen on the final two holes at TPC Boston.

Stricker burst back onto the world golfing scene when he won the first PGA TOUR playoff event ever at The Barclays at Westchester CC back in 2007.

His comeback was so strong, so inspirational that he was named Comeback Player of the Year for a second consecutive time in 2007.

After not getting it done at the Bob Hope Classic shooting a Sunday 77 and missing out on a playoff with Phil Mickelson a few weeks later with a bogey on the last hole at the Northern Trust Open, there were doubts early in the season about Stricker's ability to close out a tournament.

He got it done at Colonial at the end of May dusting off Tim Clark and Steve Marino with a birdie on the second playoff hole. But there were still doubts with Stricker losing the lead and having to chip in on No. 17 to get into the playoff and win the tournament. Tim Clark should have with a birdie on the first playoff hole.

Then he won a tournament near his home state of Wisconsin the week before the British Open, outlasting and beating everybody by three strokes after shooting 68-64 on a Sunday 36-hole finale.

"The John Deere Classic really gave me a lot of confidence and it showed that I could finish off a tournament."

After missing a make-able par putt on the last hole at last week's first playoff event that would have forced a playoff with winner Heath Slocum, the now ranked No. 2 golfer in the world didn't look back.

Instead of bogeying to lose he birdied to win, laboring it out in style for the Labor Day Monday finish at the Deutsche Bank.

"I had the opportunity to do that (finish off and win another tournament), and I did it. I made a birdie at 17, hit a couple good shots at (the par-5) 18 when I had to, and you know, slowly I've been gaining confidence when I'm under the gun."

A parade of contenders for the title came to the 18th tee with a chance to win the tournament.

But Stricker, playing in the last group with Retief Goosen, had one key advantage throughout the afternoon over all of them: more holes to play.

Even Tiger Woods had a chance to win this one, or so we thought.

Woods was thinking a round in the low 60s would get him into the Top 10. After starting 6-under par the first seven holes, including a holed iron shot from the fairway for eagle on No. 6, everyone else was thinking 59 and maybe another "W" for Tiger.

"Certainly from where I was at, I couldn't win the tournament, even if I shot 60 or something like that. I was so far back, these guys are—no wind, soft greens, and pretty benign pins, they'll go low."

Bogeys on Nos. 11 and 17 offset four backside birdies as Tiger settled for a 63 final round and 12-under for the tournament. He missed his Top 10 prediction by a stroke, finishing tied for 11th.

A 59 would have elevated him to 16-under and a second place tie with Scott Verplank and Jason Dufner.

One stroke behind was Masters Champion Angel Cabrera, three-time Major Champion Padraig Harrington, and long-hitting Dustin Johnson.

TPC Boston's reachable, though potentially tragic, finishing hole coupled with playoff elimination as the field size reduces to 70 for the BMW third playoff event this week really made for an exciting finish.

How does Stricker internalize winning three tournaments in one year and finally winning one with Tiger Woods in the field for the first time in his career?

"It means a lot. It solidifies myself, solidifies my chances of winning the FedExCup. It ensures that I'm going to be in that Top 5 (after the points reshuffle going into the TOUR Championship at East Lake)."

"I can control my own destiny come that last TOUR Championship, and that's what my goal was coming into these first three events was just to make sure that I played well and remained in the Top 5 so I could have a chance to win it all."

Stricker is a dynamic and inspirational leader. His golfing skills speak for themselves.

How does one get out of a hole?

Stop digging, keep a positive attitude, and work your butt off.

"You know, when I didn't win early in the year at LA and the Bob Hope, I was starting to—you get doubts. I mean, it's just normal, I guess. I doubted myself; I doubted whether I had the ability to win again. And that's just natural."

"But I figured if I just kept putting myself in those positions with opportunities to win that a break would go my way or I'd pull off the shot that I needed to to win the tournament."

"So I still kept a very positive outlook. I still thought—I didn't look at those tournaments as a negative. I didn't feel like—I didn't beat myself up over those events. I thought the Bob Hope was a little fluky. I just kind of blew it off, even though it hurt. LA hurt a little bit more because if I make par I'm in a playoff with Phil on the last hole."

"So really when I finally won at Crowne Plaza and hit the shot on the second playoff hole and ended it like that, that boosted my confidence, and slowly and surely, my confidence was getting better with the more times I got into contention."

"It's just a process with me. It always has been. It's a process with me no matter what I do, whether I didn't keep my card at the end of the 2005 season, you know, it was a process for me to start working at it and gain momentum to—you know what I'm saying, I need those steps, those ladders to build on, and that's what I've felt like it's been for me this year with the confidence and being in contention a lot."

Another guy on the comeback trail is Padraig Harrington, who suffered an unlucky double bogey on the 12th hole yet had a make-able eagle putt at No. 18 to tie the clubhouse leaders and eventual second place finishers Dufner and Verplank.

"I'm disappointed with today's (finish) because it was in my control. I was leading the tournament, and going into the back nine it was mine to lose, and I lost it."

Padraig may think he lost it but everyone knows Steve Stricker won this one with two birdies on the final two holes.

His buddy Jerry Kelly, who finished tied for 11th with Tiger, was waiting to offer his hearty congratulations.

Stricker is simply the best and now the leader of the FedExCup points race!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. Having attended the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Honda Classic, WGC-CA Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Masters Tournament, Verizon Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, THE PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open at Bethpage, AT&T National, British Open at Turnberry, PGA at Hazeltine and The Barclays last week this is Andy's 14th event of the season.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Tigerless but Exciting Finish Coming at the Deutsche Bank

Andy Reistetter — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:55:24 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes.

On moving day Tiger Woods shot a 1-over par 72 to fall out of contention in Week Two of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup at TPC Boston.

The World No. 1 golfer is nine strokes back of a Tigerless marquee leader board that includes Steve Stricker, Retief Goosen, and Sean O'Hair at the top.

With 16 players within four shots it's anybody's tournament if they go low on the Labor Day Monday finish.

Others within the Sweet 16 include three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington who has been knocking at the door recently at the PGA at Hazeltine and the first playoff Barclays event last week at Liberty National.

Don’t rule out long hitting Dustin Johnson who gave away three shots down the stretch today with bogeys at No. 13 and 16 and a three-putt par on No. 18. Or Jim Furyk who chipped in on the last hole to salvage a 73 and stay within three strokes.

Long hitting Masters Champion Angel Cabrera and Geoff Ogilvy are four back after shooting 70s in the sunny but cool and breezy day outside Boston.

Is anyone complaining that Tiger is not in the hunt hunting them?

Certainly not one of the the co-leaders Steve Stricker. "It's good for the tournament when he's there. It's good for TV when he's up there. But as a player, it's nice that if you're up around the lead that he's not."

Nor the other co-leader Retief Goosen. "The players are happy that he's not up top of the leader board. The sponsors are unhappy that he's not on top of the leader board."

The third and final co-leader Sean O'Hair is counting his blessings that Tiger is so far back in the pack that there are 36 players between them to protect him.

"(If) I wake up, and there's a little bit of doubt. It takes me a few holes to get going. I mean, Bay Hill two years in a row, it's taken me seven holes to get going, and I can't do that with a player like Tiger Woods nipping at my heels."

Stricker played with his Wisconsin buddy Jerry Kelly today. Kelly posted a 67 while Stricker came through with a 65 which was the best round of the day. Kelly is two strokes back tied with Kevin Sutherland in 7^th place.

Okay so here is the set-up for tomorrow…

Leaders by two strokes Steve Stricker and Retief Goosen playing in the final twosome. If conditions stay hard and fast as they will and the wind comes up there is a big advantage to these two guys plus Padraig Harrington who is only one stroke back.

No wind, no golf even here in America.

Sean O'Hair the bright and articulate upstart has regained his confidence with the flat stick. But he is paired with Kevin Na one of the slowest players on tour. At THE PLAYERS this year playing partner Angel Cabrera and his caddie actually sprawled out on a knoll 20 feet from the hole on No. 10 while Na took forever and a day to line up his putt.

Never rising until after Na's lag putt Cabrera got the honors when Na three putted for bogey. He promptly walked to the 11^th tee put a peg in the group and hit into the group in front as they were just walking out of his rather lengthy range.

Cabrera's message?

The way to combat slow play on the PGA TOUR is to play faster than the group in front of you not slower!

So who knows if O'Hair gets hotter than hot he may win this thing.

Harrington and Scott Verplank are one stroke back as is Na. Harrington is motivated to win again and say "hey those swing changes I made were the right thing to do and thank you very much to those of you who doubted me."

Then comes Jerry Kelly and Kevin Sutherland. Sutherland finished tied for 9^th last week. Two nice guys with Kelly keeping the atmosphere light hearted. Either or both might catch fire like the water fire celebration in Providence last night.

Look for Furyk, Johnson and Cabrera to make a charge sometime during the final round.

Bottom line… Stricker and Harrington where knocking on the door last week at The Barclays and they are there again this week. Look for one of them to win the Deutsche Bank tomorrow.

Tigerless finish?

Well not exactly…

With Tiger out at 10:30 a.m. a full three hours ahead of the leaders maybe a fierce 59 or something like that will put the fear of the Tiger back in their minds.

Happy Labor Day and good golfing!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. Having attended the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Honda Classic, WGC-CA Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Masters Tournament, Verizon Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, THE PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open at Bethpage, AT&T National, British Open at Turnberry, PGA at Hazeltine and The Barclays last week this is Andy's 14^th event of the season.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

The Game Of 'Don't Get Eliminated'

Andy Reistetter — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 12:58:34 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass. and is providing daily reports from both inside and outside the ropes.

The name of the game is "Don't Get Eliminated."

Like the children's game of musical chairs the remaining 120 golfers alive in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup are willing to walk dizzily in circles around the links at TPC Boston hoping to plop down in one of the remaining 70 chairs when the music ends on Labor Day Monday in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

The FedExCup jingle has been revamped for its third straight year of existence and it is darn right exciting!

With no point resetting until prior to the TOUR Championship, the players are working off the points earned in the 37 tournaments in 34 weeks of regular season competitions (remember there are opposite field events for the WGC Accenture Match Play, WGC CA Championship and the British Open).

And if they were good enough to make it they also have FedExCup points from last week's first playoff event, The Barclays.

Heath Slocum pulled a miraculous upset on the fairly new to the world and absolutely new to the PGA TOUR golf course called Liberty National. His one-stroke victory over Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington catapulted him from No. 123 to No. 3 in the now remaining three-tournament race to the FedExCup.

Imagine if that playoff had happened… it could in a sudden death format for the $10 million first prize of the lucrative $35 million FedExCup bonus money.

Aussie Marc Leishman, a 2008 Nationwide Tour golden graduate is pulling a "Heath Slocum" today in the second round of the Deutsche Bank. Posting a 62 in the morning wave and currently tied for third place he will dramatically improve his standing relative to his start at position No. 93.

Golfers of the world start your engines!

Why ride an ungulate into the desert to play in front of a bunch of emirs when America is still the land of opportunity for world golfers?

Get it? That other race from the other tour?

Speaking of which, who didn't even take the opportunity to be eliminated in the PGA TOUR Playoffs?

This year's PLAYERS Champion Henrik Stenson for one who only competed in 10 PGA TOUR events.

British Open runner up and "inspirational golfer of the year" Tom Watson who finish five slots out of the race for the golfer's cup is another.

Hey what about some wildcard entries next year in the playoffs for the FedExCup?

Who was eliminated in the first week of the playoffs?

Not necessarily those who played the worse or even did not play. Remember this is not a "sudden death" playoff format. It is have enough or get enough points as the field dwindles in size "stay alive" format.

Paul Casey is slowly dancing to the tune of "Staying Alive" while not playing the first two playoff events due to a rib injury first noticed a week before the British Open. The world No. 2 ranked golfer is currently No. 27 and will be eligible to compete if healthy next week in the BMW Championship outside Chicago at Cog Hill.

Casey is ranked No. 2 in that other race. Stenson is No. 13.

Golfers without a chair and gone last week at the Barclays include K.J. Choi, Ben Curtis, Senior PGA Champion Michael Allen, Aussies Adam Scott and Aaron Baddeley, and popular Americans Mark Calcavecchia and Chris DiMarco.

How many golfers have competed on the PGA TOUR this year?

A total of 598.

How many remain in the race?

There are 99 left standing dancing around TPC Boston and looking for one of the remaining 69 chairs that Casey is not already sitting in and a ticket to Chicago.

It is playoff time on the PGA TOUR!

Who will win the Deutsche Bank Championship?

Who will be among the top 70 points-earners and advance to next week's BMW Championship at the revamped Cog Hill outside Chicago?

Who will then be among the top 30 points-earners and advance to the TOUR Championship two weeks later at East Lake in Atlanta?

Who will be the 2009 FedExCup Champion?

The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup are as exciting as that silly musical chair game we all played as kids.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. Having attended the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Honda Classic, WGC-CA Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Masters Tournament, Verizon Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, THE PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open at Bethpage, AT&T National, British Open at Turnberry, PGA at Hazeltine and The Barclays last week this is Andy's 14^th event of the season.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Stricker & Furyk Lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship

Andy Reistetter — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:25:03 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on-site at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass., providing daily reports covering the action in and outside the ropes.

Having attended the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Honda Classic, WGC-CA Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Masters Tournament, Verizon Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, THE PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open at Bethpage, AT&T National, British Open at Turnberry, PGA at Hazeltine and The Barclays last week, this is Andy's 14th event of the season.

Here are his notes from the first round on Friday, Sept. 4.

Well surprise, surprise! Look who last week's playoff winner Heath Slocum was paired with today in the first round off the 10th tee at 8:40 a.m. on a picture-perfect early September day in the Northeast?

The two guys who failed to make a putt on the 18^thgreen to force a playoff with him: five-time winner on the PGA TOUR this year—though "Majorless"—Tiger Woods and the winner of the first PGA TOUR Playoff event two years ago at the Barclays and two-time winner this year Steve Stricker.

Slocum's 2-under 69 beat the inaugural 2007 FedExCup Champion Woods' 70, but was trumped heavily by Stricker's eight-birdie bogeyless 8-under 63.

Last week's new golf course on the PGA TOUR- Liberty National leveled the playing field for Slocum's unlikely upset victory.

For Woods, last week was a week of poor putting and a week of dodging the media inquisition into his failure to continue an impressive 14 for 14 streak of winning Majors when it counted leading after three rounds.

This week it is neither, as he succinctly made a statement at the start of his post-round interview:

"I didn't really do much of anything positively today. I didn't feel good over any shot today and didn't drive it very good, hit my irons worse and didn't make any putts. Other than that, it was a good day."

Was Woods distracted in any way by Stricker's impressive play?

"No, I've got to worry about my own game. It's a four-day tournament. If you have a bad day, the whole idea is just to mitigate the mistakes and keep yourself in the ballgame. Today is a day I certainly could have shot over par, but I kept it under par, so that's a good sign."

Stricker got off to a birdie-birdie start before he birdied five holes in a row (Nos. 18,1, 2, 3, and 4), getting it to 8-under after 12 holes to finish with six straight pars.

What makes Stricker tick for the playoffs?

"It's just the time of the year. I guess we're winding down on the season, there's a lot at stake, and I don't know what it is, if I reach another level of focus or whatever, but I feel comfortable with my game the last three years since these Playoffs have started. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it."

It seems Stricker can handle playing with the Tiger galleries as well as anyone on the Tour.

"I guess I'm to the point where I'm comfortable with what I'm doing, and I'm really not worrying about him," Stricker said.

It seems to be more than an external physical matter; something inside Stricker has clicked when it comes to playing well when paired with the world's No. 1-ranked golfer for well over the last four years.

"When he first came out and I was trying to stack up my game with his, it didn't stack up. I'm over that. I don't care. He can do all those great things, and I'll just do the things that I need to do to try to play well. I think once I took that pressure off me, off myself, it kind of freed me up a little bit to play with him."

Another Tour veteran, Jim Furyk, posted a 63 in the afternoon to tie Stricker for the lead.

Furyk's round like Stricker's included eight birdies and no bogeys. Unlike Stricker's, he started on No. 1 at 12:46 p.m. with four in a row and five of the first six holes before parring seven holes in the middle. He birdied No. 14 and the last two holes.

Furyk's last win came in 2007 at the Canadian Open. Though he has averaged $3 million in winnings these last two winless years, the No. 13-ranked golfer admits to being frustrated a bit.

"Yeah, because it sounds like the same stuff every time about last year at this time. I've had two pretty solid years. I wasn't able to win last year in '08 and I haven't been able to win this year in '09, and yeah, it absolutely eats at me.

"I'm trying my best, I'm playing my hardest, I'm working hard, and I think when you're doing that, you go home and you can sleep."

Most would agree it is only a matter of time before Furyk wins again—maybe even a matter of days or weeks during this PGA TOUR playoff season.

Notable scores include a 6-under-65 by Masters Champion Angel Cabrera. He is tied for second place with Scott Verplank, Justin Leonard, Retief Goosen and upstart Matt Kuchar.

Geoff Ogilvy, who won twice early in the year but hasn't had a Top 10 since the Memorial, shot a 5-under 66 along with Jerry Kelly, Troy Matteson, Sean O'Hair and Jason Dufner.

Padraig Harrington, like Tiger Woods winless in Majors this year—and unlike Tiger winless on the PGA TOUR in 16 starts this year—shot 4-under 67.

Vijay Singh, defending Deutsche Bank and FedExCup Champion, also shot 67 to stay in the hunt for this year's FedExCup.

U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover shot a 2-under 69 while British Open Champion Stewart Cink, PGA Champion Y.E. Yang, and Phil Mickelson shot even-par 71s.

The average score for the first round was 69.7, or just more than two strokes under par.

If the cut came today to the low-70s golfers and ties, it would have come at even-par 71.

That cut would have seen guys like Ian Poulter (72), Hunter Mahan (73), Fred Couples (74), Ernie Els (75) and Robert Allenby (76) going home for the rest of the Labor Day weekend.

It is playoff time on the PGA TOUR!

Who will win the Deutsche Bank Championship?

Who will be among the top 70 points-earners and advance to next week's BMW Championship at the revamped Cog Hill outside Chicago?

Who will then be among the top 30 points-earners and advance to the TOUR Championship two weeks later at East Lake in Atlanta?

Who will be the 2009 FedExCup Champion?

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

PGA Champion Y.E. Yang Deserves All Credit for Victory

Andy Reistetter — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:05:14 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes. Here are his notes from the final round on Sunday 8/16/09.

Some will say he wasn't aggressive enough during Saturday's round.

Others will say records are made to come to an end.

Tiger will say he simply did not putt well enough on Sunday to win his 15^th Major at this time.

Yong Eun (Y.E.) Yang from South Korea became the first Asian golfer to win a Major.

Unlike the HSBC in Shanghai, this time he defeated Tiger Woods head-to-head in the final pairing on the biggest stage in the world of golf—the PGA Championship—Glory's Last Shot.

Yang's last full swing shot was a glorious three-iron to the 18^th green. His ensuing birdie putt dropped for a three-stroke victory over the World's No. 1 golfer and the strongest field in golf.

Make no mistake; this come-from-behind taking of the Wannamaker Trophy is a statement to the world that Asian golfers have finally and completely arrived.

Coupled with the Masters and R&A establishing an Asian amateur tournament this fall with the prized invitation to the 2010 Masters, this victory will be the spark that totally ignites the game of golf in the Far East.

Padraig Harrington, himself a victim of a "snowman 8" with a watery chip two Sundays in a row, characterized the opportunity for himself and other champion golfers like Lucas Glover:

"I suppose it's easy for us in that situation [trailing Tiger going into the final round], because we have nothing to lose. Everybody expects it's going to be him, so we get a free run at it."

"Obviously to get a win, you've got to beat him by three tomorrow; that's a tall order, but as I said, everybody in the situation who is behind is going to think, well, you know, we have nothing to lose."

For Harrington, he lost it on the par-three eighth hole where, after hitting his tee shot in the water, he hit a chip shot in the water, too.

The last two shots on the fateful hole were a magnificent up-and-down.

"I did the classic amateur thing."

Yang did the professional thing during the Sunday finale shooting a two-under 70 while Tiger got around in 75. He not only beat him by three, he beat him by five strokes, two of which came on the final hole.

It was closer than the score indicated, with Tiger's putting woes beginning on the very first hole, a missed birdie putt inside 10 feet.

For the second day in a row, Tiger three-putted the par-three fourth hole and fell into a tie at seven-under with Yang who birdied the par-five third hole.

Tiger's two-stroke lead had evaporated at that point, and one stroke back was U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover and defending PGA Champion Padraig Harrington.

Glover faded gradually with bogeys on holes six, eight, nine and 12, while Harrington went in two splashes at eight.

All order seemed to be restored when Yang bogeyed the par-four fifth hole—Tiger was back leading the PGA Championship when he bunkered his iron tee shot on eight, but then bogeyed, falling into another tie with the 37-year old South Korean.

At the turn, Tiger Woods was two-over par on the front nine while Yang shot even for par.

Tiger birdied the par-five 11^th hole to take the lead back at seven-under.

After a Woods bogey in the long par-four 12^th hole, Yang chipped in for eagle at the short par-four 14th hole to take the lead for first time, as Tiger could only manage a birdie.

Tiger knew this is when the likely outcome was not likely to occur.

"As far as the tournament switching, [on No.] 13, I stuffed it in there. He made a mistake, hit it in the left bunker. He blasted out. I missed my putt. He made his. And then he chipped in on the next hole. So that two-hole stretch turned (the momentum and the tournament around).

Yang nervously three-putted the par-three 17^thhole, though Woods failed to take any advantage, missing his own 12-footer for par after his seven-iron tee shot sailed directly over the back flagstick, ending up in the treacherous rough of Hazeltine.

"I hit my shot. I got the downwind gust. I couldn't ask for a better golf swing, just hit it right over the top of the flag. And, unfortunately, it didn't get up-and-down."

Woods faced the media after his 14-for-14 record of winning when leading a Major going into the final round was ended by Yang.

"Y.E. played great all day. I don't think he really missed a shot all day. He just made that mistake at 17. But other than that, he hit it great all day. It was a fun battle. Unfortunately, I just didn't make the putts when I needed to make them."

"I played well enough to win the championship. I did not putt well enough to win the championship today. I didn't get it done on the greens, and consequently I didn't win the golf tournament."

"It was just a bad day at the wrong time and that's the way it goes."

England's Lee Westwood for the second Major in a row and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy both shot 70 and tied for third place.

Yang's caddie, A.J. Montecinos from San Antonio, knew it wasn't over until both shots were hit into the 18^th green.

"After not closing out Tiger missing putts on 16 for birdie and 17 for par, there was a chance Tiger would beat him on 18. Y.E. pulled a 3-iron, hit it and never looked back."

Though on the green Yang would admit to thinking the following as Tiger tried to chip in for birdie from the rough:

"Please [don't go in]."

Afterwards A.J. promoted his golfer and now-PGA Champion.

"He's very, very low key and very easy to get along with, and just when the general public gets to know him, they are going to fall in love with him because he has a heart as big as his face."

Some golfing fans in the U.S. already know Yang from his win at the Honda Classic earlier in the year.

We will get more of a chance to know him as winning the PGA Championship comes with a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

With no rounds in the 60s on a tough day at Hazeltine, Yang's 70 was good enough to beat Tiger by three strokes and the field to win the 91^stPGA Championship.

Tiger will have to wait until next year's PGA at Whistling Straits before tying Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen for five PGA Championship victories.

Yang and all of Asian golf can't wait until tomorrow, knowing they are triumphant with a Major Championship and have arrived in glory and style on the world golf scene.

Congratulations Yung Eun Yang, PGA Champion!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA Tour, volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, near the PGA Tour headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Live from the PGA at Hazeltine on Saturday: Tiger Can't Shake Padraig

Andy Reistetter — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:21:36 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, MN and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes.

Here are his notes from Saturday, Aug. 15, '09.

Well, it is "moving day" at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National in Chaska, MN.

Will Tiger move further out in front of the field thereby guaranteeing his 15th Major and 71st PGA TOUR win come Sunday afternoon?

Or will one or more in the field narrow or eliminate the gap or even overtake Tiger and lead the 91st PGA going into the final round on Sunday.

There was a calming effect midday at Hazeltine as storms circumvented the golf course. Winds remained relatively calm enabling some fairly impressive scoring.

John Rollins starting three hours before the last pairing of Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh teed off made six birdies and no bogeys in his last 13 holes and posted a 4-under 68 for the day and was in the clubhouse at 2-under for the tournament.

Rollins' playing partner Alvaro Quiros made five birdies and two bogeys and posted a 3-under 69 for the day and was also at 2-under in the clubhouse early in the day.

After Woods shot a mediocre even par 36 on the front nine the field caught up a little. Ernie Els four under through 12 holes, Padraig Harrington through 10 holes were within two strokes of Tiger's 7-under par lead.

As Tiger waited to hit his tee shot on the par-3 13th hole Padraig Harrington drained a 15-foot birdie putt on the short par-4 14th hole. He surrendered his lead and is now tied for the lead with Harrington with the remainder of the back nine and Sunday's 18 holes to go in this the season's last major and last shot at glory.

Then Tiger birdied No. 14 to regain the one stroke lead. A downward fist pump illustrating his competitive edge to not let this Major slip away.

Y.E. Yang the second Korean after K.J. Choi to win on the PGA TOUR when he won the Honda Classic earlier this year posted six birdies and one lone bogey in an impressive 67 to stand at 6-under after three rounds.

As light rain appeared and the winds picked up the final groups finished up the third round of play.

PLAYERS Champion Henrik Stenson bogeyed No. 1 and followed with five birdies throughout his round of 68 to move to 4-under par.

Ernie Els who birdied five of nine holes midway through his round finished poorly bogeying the last three for a round of 2-under 70 and stands at 3-under par tied for sixth place with Soren Kjeldsen who shot 70.

U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover shot 71 and is tied for fourth place with Stenson.

As Tiger readied himself to play on the tee at the par-3 Padraig bogeyed the 18th hole to fall into a second place tie with Y.E. Yang at 6-under.

Tiger finished par-par missing 10 footer for birdie at the last.

He is the leader at 8-under with a two stroke lead over Yang and Harrington.

Vijay Singh playing in the final group with Tiger shot a disappointing 75 and is now tied for 18th place.

After being fortunate to make the cut, Yang will be playing in the final group with Tiger on Sunday in a Major Championship.

"The second day (Friday, I had) four bogeys (in the) first five holes, it was a bit of a nerve-racking experience for myself. So (I) stopped trying to force it and just tried to make the cut. And somehow it just all came back to me like earlier this year (at the Honda Classic)."

Back in 2006 at the HSBC Championship in Shanghai, China Yang defeated Tiger down the stretch to win. That was then and now is now- the PGA Championship.

"With Woods, he's won 70 times now. I've only won once so it's sort of 70-to-1 odds. Yeah, might as well go for broke as well."

Padraig Harrington did not get his wish to play with Woods on Sunday to personally avenge his loss at Firestone where he tripled bogeyed the 16th hole.

Maybe that is just as well and he will put together a round like the last at Oakland Hills last year to defend his PGA title one group ahead of Woods.

But the odds on favorite to win his 15th Major and 71st PGA TOUR event tomorrow at Hazeltine is Tiger Woods.

He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Live from the PGA at Hazeltine on Friday

Andy Reistetter — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:06:43 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes.

Here are his notes from Friday, August 14, 2009.

After shooting a two-under 70 and increasing his lead from one to four strokes in the year's last major, Tiger Woods was asked to recall a time "when he choked in the majors."

His response was a stoic and somewhat amused though smile-less blank stare.

His calculated response continued until the moderator awkwardly intervened and translated Tiger's response to a "no."

The question is not relevant nor is it present in the official media transcript.

It is not relevant in Tiger's mind, not in the golfing consciousness and certainly not in any one of the other 79 players to make the cut at four-over par in a drying out Hazeltine golf course.

This is Tiger's PGA Championship to win.

While holding the lead in a major after the second round Tiger is eight-for-eight in his determination to hoist the championship trophy come Sunday afternoon.

Watch out Jack- Tiger will be only three shy of your 18 Majors and only two shy of your 73 wins come Sunday afternoon.

How confident is Tiger Woods at the midpoint of the 91st PGA Championship?

"Well, I think it's just—in order to have a lead in a major championship you can't be playing poorly. And all the times that I've been in this position, I have played well. And I'm playing well now."

Padraig Harrington was off his game a bit today shooting 73 to fall into a second place tie with two-time PGA Champion Vijay Singh (72), relatively unknown Aussie Brendan Jones (70), U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover (70), and Open at Turnberry contender Englishman Ross Fisher (68).

Missing a short par putt on the 18th green drops Padraig into the second to last twosome on Saturday.

After playing with Woods the last three competitive rounds including his slow Sunday second place finish last week at the WGC-Bridgestone maybe Harrington needs a break.

"It's not bad to have a day off. Hopefully I'll see him again on Sunday."

The honor of being the first of the second placers to finish and play with the leader Woods in the final pairing falls to Vijay Singh who is jump starting his year with three Top 10s starting back in May at THE PLAYERS Championship.

Remember the big Fijian won the first two playoff events last year on his way to winning the coveted FedEx Cup after a stellar season last year.

"I could have scored one or two more better than I did. And every time I made a birdie I followed up with a bogey or vice versa. And bogey on the last hole was, the conditions, I was up on top of the hill and then the wind blew."

The wind blew hard with gusts up to 25 M.P.H. impacting the scores upward a stroke higher than the first round and slightly over an average of 75.

Vijay does not see the windy conditions at Hazeltine impacting the outcome of the tournament.

"These conditions don't favor anybody. Not even me. I just think if it blows like this it favors whoever is hitting the ball the best, and putts the best. So just have to go out there and hit it solid."

Lucas Glover after winning his first Major Championship eight weeks ago at Bethpage Black was fortunate to play in the morning.

"I thought the greens might have been a little more receptive this morning, and it's getting pretty windy. We had seven or eight pretty good holes and it blew pretty good the last 10 or 11 (holes)."

How is he approaching the possibility of winning his second Major?

"(Keeping a) pretty similar mind-set, just put myself in a good position and see what happens."

Does he see a need to validate his first Major victory?

"I think winning any tournament is important. I don't think—I don't think I have to validate anything. I've been out here six years and had a pretty good career. Just be nice to win another one. I'm not looking to prove anything to anybody else."

This is definitely a more relaxed Lucas Glover both before and after his Father's Day triumph.

"I've been working with sports psychologist, Dr. Morris Pickens, for years, and he's always said, you know, it's really not that big a deal. You know, it took a little while for that to get through my thick skull."

Notables to miss the cut include: Sergio Garcia by one stroke after double bogeying his final hole; 1997 Champion Davis Love III; up-and-coming Bubba Watson and Nick Watney; two-time winner this year but Major-less Steve Stricker; past Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger and future European Captain Colin Montgomerie.

American Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin and President's Cup Captain Fred Couples both made the cut.

Others still in contention include Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter at two-under nine shots behind Woods. Ernie Els is at one-under after shooting a 68 in the second round.

Two Club pros out of twenty made the cut—Grant Sturgeon an assistant at Oakmont CC playing in his first PGA and Greg Bisconti an assistant at The St. Andrew's Golf Club in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. who has missed the cut in two prior PGAs.

No player is conceding this championship to Tiger especially the defending champion Padraig Harrington:

"I've got to play very well on the weekend to overhaul Tiger and my attitude will be the same, as I said, regardless on that (missed par) putt (on 18). I've got to take my chances. I've got to be a bit more trusting on the weekend and not in any way cautious."

There are two things for certain going into the weekend at Hazeltine.

No. 1 is that Tiger will win his 15th Major and 71st PGA TOUR event on Sunday afternoon.

No. 2 is the guy who asked "the choke question" will not be asking any more questions at PGA TOUR events.

Enjoy the weekend of golf at Hazeltine and the making of history before our very eyes.

Live from the PGA at Hazeltine on Thursday- Tiger and Padraig Continued

Andy Reistetter — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:09:48 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes.

Here are his notes from Thursday 8/13/09.

Today's excitement started early at 8 a.m. in the media center.

"On behalf of the International Golf Federation and the members of the International Golf Federation Olympic Golf Committee, I'm very pleased to be able to announce that we just received word from the IOC Executive Board who are meeting in Berlin this afternoon that they are recommending that golf and rugby sevens be presented to the IOC session in October for a vote of the membership of the IOC to be included in the 2016 Olympic Games."

Those were the words of Votaw who has been on loan from the PGA TOUR as Executive Director for the International Golf Federation's Olympic bid.

Golf is almost in, though not in yet.

The IOC Executive Board recommendation will now be presented to the 107-member general session of the IOC on October 9th. A majority vote of those 107 members is required for golf to be added to the 2016 Olympics.

It is not yet clear if golf and rugby will be blocked together or voted on separately. If blocked together their fate would be the same "do or die" decision.

First I am not sure what rugby sevens means. I thought it was just rugby. Are there seven players? Maybe we will see a joint promotion campaign with Tiger Woods and a rugby sevens star joking around together.

Wouldn't the golfer get hurt?

Tiger is 100% behind golf as an Olympic sport>

"I think it's great for golf. We're long overdue to have it in the Olympics. Our sport is a global sport. It's played all around the world. And I think it's a great time and hopefully it will be passed in October or November and hopefully it will be truly in the Olympics."

The games of the 91st PGA were well underway by the time the Olympic news conference was over.

It seemed like the last three days since Sunday at Firestone CC with Padraig and Tiger going down the stretch one a rabbit the other a turtle were lost.

Padraig versus Tiger continued.

Off at 8:35 a.m. off the 10th tee they raced around the course playing well and evidently having a relaxed and enjoyable time.

Tiger shot a 5-under 67 and Padraig a 4-under 68 to lead the PGA Championship at Hazeltine after Day No. 1. Both had five birdies. Padraig one bogey, Tiger zero bogeys.

Three of Tiger's five birdies came on par-5s the other two on par-4s.

"I played really well today. I hit just a bunch of good shots. And this round could have been really low. I missed a bunch of putts out there. So it was just a very positive start."

"It's always nice to get off quick. But the first round, you can play yourself out of a golf tournament. Certainly cannot win the golf tournament on the first day."

Tiger and Paddy did have fun out there today with no interference from any outside agents.

"Today we talked a little bit more because obviously it's the first round and most of the guys usually talk the first two or three days. But you get a little more quiet on the weekend."

Will Tiger win a Major this year at glory's last stand?

"You have to play well at the right time, and that's about it. I just didn't put it all together the other three major championships. The first two I was there with a chance; the last one I wasn't, but hopefully I will be this one as well."

Paddy was in a great mood today as if it was St. Patrick's Day and the luck of the Irish coming his way.

He bogeyed the par-4 first hole (his 10th hole of the day) and had four birdies on par-4s and one on a par-5.

"Obviously I'm very happy. First day of a major it's always good to keep yourself in there. I think probably did a little bit more than that. Anytime you break 70 you've got to be very pleased."

"Last Sunday both of us were very much into our own games and working very hard. And I think both of us were in the zone. Today was a lot more relaxed, a lot more talking and chatting."

With much stronger winds forecasted for Friday's second round the way this Major is playing out is to Paddy's liking.

"If you ask me the ideal tournament, I'd like at least one day of difficult conditions for everybody."

Woods in first place, Harrington in second place.

"(A) 4-under par (round) is always a good return in a major. I think there's a factor about the fact that Tiger is 5-under par and looks like he's playing well and looks like he could move away and the key will be obviously if he's moving away to make sure I'm moving away with him."

"The great thing is if you're playing with Tiger Woods you're doing well."

Well not exactly true on Thursday and Fridays but definitely true on Sundays.

Both golfers seemed to like the length and setup of Hazeltine National.

The defending champion put it this way:

"The golf course is brilliant. What they have done is they have got some length in it so they can have fair pin positions. It's like Augusta, since they have lengthened the golf course, the pin positions have become much fairer and much more enjoyable to play."

Tees were up today on some of the longer holes like Nos. 12 and 13 and the course played much shorter than the scorecard length of 7,674 yards the longest of any Major championship ever. Even the tees at the 248-yard par-3 13th hole were up at 218 yards.

Paddy was agreeing with Tiger on everything.

"You can be a bit more relaxed and it is only Thursday. Sunday's the business day."

Ditto for golf being in the Olympics though who knows if either of these leaders will qualify as one of the world's best golfers in the year 2016?

"Even a player who is dominant is not going to play more than once or twice in the Olympics because of the time frame."

Hopefully Tiger and Padraig will play together the next three rounds of the PGA Championship and we see another duel down the stretch on Sunday afternoon.

Hopefully we will also see them playing the Olympic sport of golf in the year 2016.

P.S. My picks for the winner other than Tiger Woods aren't doing that great: Steve Stricker (72, T69), Jim Furyk (71, T44) and Lee Westwood (70, T9).

Live From the Wednesday's PGA at Hazeltine: The Best Field in Golf

Andy Reistetter — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:17:30 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes.

Here are his notes from Wednesday 8/12/09.

By field, I mean the level of competition, not the real estate in Minnesota.

"All you need is 80 acres of corn and some cows," is how Dave Hill characterized Hazeltine back in 1970 when he finished second to Tony Jacklin in the U.S. Open by seven strokes.

While the real estate at the Augusta National Golf Club may be more refined, the condition and redesigned Hazeltine National Golf Club takes second place tomorrow to no other Major or golf course, as the 91^stPGA Championship gets underway.

Let's look at the field of players ready to compete for the Wanamaker Trophy.

First there are the 13 former PGA Champions. Between them, they account for 17 PGA victories. Tiger Woods has the most with four (1999 Medinah, 2000 Valhalla, 2006 Medinah and 2007 Southern Hills).

Vijay Singh is the only other multiple winner, with two (1998 Sahalee and 2004 Whistling Straits).

Defending Champion Padraig Harrington (2008 Oakland Hills) and Phil Mickelson (2005 Baltusrol) would love to become a multiple winner of the PGA.

Rich Beem, 2002 PGA Champion is defending his win here at Hazeltine.

Bob Tway fresh from his victory over Greg Norman in 18=986 at Inverness in Toledo, OH, is in the field. Every winner back to 1995 is here.

Nick Price PGA Champion in 1992 and 1994 is not in the field. Likely he has a similar perspective as to when he missed a victorious return to Turnberry in the Open after winning there in 1994.

I can't win so let the spot go to a younger guy who can. Didn't he see Tom Watson compete and almost win at age 59?

Colorful John Daly (1991 Crooked Stick) is here after missing the cut at the Buick Open shooting 76-88. Let's hope he is rested up after a killer schedule playing six weeks straight in Europe, Scotland, Canada, and America.

Other past champions playing include Shaun Micheel (2003 Oak Hill), David Toms (2001 Atlantic Athletic Club), Davis Love III (1997 Winged Foot), Mark Brooks (1996 Valhalla), Steve Elkington (1995 Riviera), and victorious Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger (1993 Inverness).

The next category for entry into the PGA Championship is winners of the last five U.S. Opens. That adds Lucas Glover (2009 Bethpage Black), Angela Cabrera (2007 Oakmont), Geoff Ogilvy (2006 Winged Foot) and Michael Campbell (2005 Pinehurst).

2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson is in. 2008 Masters Champion Trevor Immelman twittered out due to a re-injured left wrist. Alternate Bob Estes is in after earning $1.4MM since last year's WGC-Bridgestone.

Stewart Cink, 2009 British Open Champion at Turnberry, is in the PGA Championship. The only other two guys who have won the Open in the last five years (back-to-back wins) are already in the field—Padraig Harrington and Tiger Woods.

2009 Senior PGA Champion Michael Allen is in the field still looking for his first PGA TOUR victory in his 339^th start.

Sixteen golfers are playing in the PGA this year after finishing in the Top 15 with ties last year at Oakland Hills CC. Four golfers tied for 15^thplace, including the cooled off Paul Casey who won his first PGA TOUR event at the Shell Houston in early April and two European Tour events.

His highest finish in the last five events is a T47 at the Open at Turnberry.

Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis were outdueled down the stretch by Harrington last year and finished tied for second place.

PLAYERS Champion Henrik Stenson and two-time 2008 FedEx Cup playoff victor Camilo Villegas finished tied for fourth place last year and are looking to move up to the top notch this year at Hazeltine.

Then come the 20 PGA Professionals that earned their trip to the big show by virtue of their performance in the PGA Professional National Championship in New Mexico on the first day of July.

This group is led by two-time Champion Mike Small, head men's golf coach at the University of Illinois. The 43-year old golfer has appeared in four prior PGAs with his best finish, a T69 in 2007.

The next category to qualify for the PGA is the Top 70 money earners for the last 12 months from the 2008 WGC—Firestone through the 2009 Buick Open. Top on this list are guys like Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk and Brian Gay.

Narrowly qualifying for the PGA were No. 68 Jeff Overton, No. 69 Lee Westwood, and No. 70 Jason Dufner.

The above criteria accounted for 108 participants—roughly two thirds of the 156 person field.

All members of the 2008 United States Ryder Cup Team are eligible for the PGA, provided they remain in the Top 100 of the Official World Golf Ratings.

Americans J.B. Holmes and Boo Weekley qualified as Ryder Cuppers. Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, Denmark's Soren Hansen, and England's Oliver Wilson also qualified under the same Category 9 exemption. Evidently, the European Ryder Cup Team is welcomed to compete as well.

The next category is for tournament winners of PGA TOUR—sanctioned events, since last year's PGA Championship not otherwise qualified.

Five guys, including opposite WGC field champion Michael Bradley (Puerto Rico Open), Nathan Green (RBC Canadian Open), Will Mackenzie (2008 Viking Classic), Ryan Palmer (2008 Ginn Sur Mer Classic), and Marc Turnesa (2008 Justin Timberlake Shiners Hospitals), made it in this category.

That makes 118 players.

An additional 36 players were invited by the PGA of America who did not qualify in the previous categories.

Included in this esteemed category are upcoming American President's Cup Captain Fred Couples, but not International Captain Greg Norman.

Native Minnesotan and previous Ryder Cup Captain Tom Lehman now residing in Scottsdale, AZ, was invited. Native Minnesotan, and the only current PGA TOUR member who resides in Minnesota Tim Herron, was not. He is No. 8 on the list of alternates and likely not to get in the field.

2009 Ryder Cup Captains Corey Pavin and Colin Montgomerie are in the field. Don't forget the PGA of America runs and receives financial benefit from the Ryder Cup competitions.

The three youngest players in the field have the PGA and this special invitation category to thank for their tee time at Hazeltine on Thursday, and an opportunity to win a mega first place prize.

Japan's phenom Ryo Ishikawa will not be 18 years of age until Sept. 17. This is his fourth PGA TOUR event in America, with 71^st as his best finish at the Transitions Championship.

He missed the cut in the other three events. Both he and his idol Tiger Woods played together the first two rounds of the Open at Turnberry and missed the cut.

He has won four times on Japan's PGA TOUR.

Better known is Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who turned 18 on May 4. He has played well in 10 PGA TOUR events, with a T10 at the U.S. Open his best Major performance.

In his first event in America, he beat Tim Clark after he beat Tiger Woods, before losing to eventual champion Geoff Ogilvy in the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship.

Making his first appearance on the PGA TOUR in America will be 21 year old Chris Wood. As an amateur he placed joint fifth at the Open at Royal Birkdale in 2008. This year he came back as a professional after placing fifth in the European TOUR Q-School.

He finished T3 one stroke out of the Cink-Watson playoff and earned over $400,000.

Another youngster in the field who is no longer thought of as being young is Anthony Kim.

Old timers in the field include 50-year old youngsters Bob Tway, Tom Lehman, and senior PGA Champion Michael Allen.

The oldest player in the field is 53-year old club pro Chris Starkjohann from Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA. He was low club professional in the 2009 Senior Open at Canterbury that Allen won, and has one victory on the Nationwide Tour in 1998.

The winners of the WGC-Bridgestone (Tiger Woods) and Legends Reno-Tahoe (John Rollins) were already in the field, so the reserved spots were filled by alternates Scott McCarron and Matt Kuchar.

That is it—the field of 156 golfers in the 91^stPGA Championship set to start Thursday at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, MN, just outside Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The field will be cut to the low 70 golfers and ties after the first two rounds.

Regardless of the eligibility category that enabled them to make the field, their performance alone will dictate whether or not they make the cut or win the PGA Championship and have their name etched on the Wanamaker trophy.

Good golfing!

P.S. My picks for the winner other than Tiger Woods—Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and Lee Westwood.

Live from the PGA on Tuesday: Harrington-Woods Rematch at Hazeltine

Andy Reistetter — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:40:18 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes.

Here are his thoughts after attending the morning media interviews on Tuesday 8/11/09.

Padraig Harrington's meltdown on the 16^th hole at Firestone CC on Sunday will be long forgotten come 8:35 a.m. on Thursday morning.

At that time in the appointed place of the 10th tee at Hazeltine the defending champion will be teeing off in the 91st rendition of the PGA Championship.

Next up on the tee will be Rich Beem who won the PGA here at Hazeltine in 2002.

The last member of the threesome will be Tiger Woods winner of the last two PGA Championships he competed in back in 2006 at Medinah and 2007 at Southern Hills.

Let the games begin!

The debate over "WGC Gate"- the slow play warning administered by European Tour Referee chief referee John Paramor to the final twosome of Harrington and Woods continues.

Harrington came in for his 10:00 a.m. Media Center interview at Hazeltine and played coy at first when questioned if he was surprised Tiger sprung to his defense and reportedly will be fined for his comments.

"I didn't read any of his (Tiger's) comments. As normal, I don't read anything written about anything that I'm involved in. I haven't done it since I'm 18 years, so I have no idea what was said. And you know, so I can't comment because I don't know."

Apparently rattled by the intrusion at the time it appeared it impacted his ability to play the pivotal hole. "I reacted poorly to the situation, and that's my own fault. It's part of the rules that these things are going to happen."

The end result was the three-time Major Champion triple bogeyed the hole to lose his one stroke lead and the golf tournament.

Tiger with 14 Major Championships on his resume birdied and went on to win his 70^th golf tournament.

Padraig, with his memory apparently no longer on the relapse then made an interesting comment.

"As regards (to) what he said, you know, I think it's easier for having won the tournament, he can take the moral high ground and say what he wants. Having lost the tournament, I'm going to sit back and just -- you know, there's not much; I'm going to take it on the chin and say it was my mistake."

So it did impact his play and he agrees it was a dumb call to make by the referee?

Harrington then exited right and left the media center.

Next up was Tiger Woods for the main show at 11 a.m.

He was running 5-to-10 minutes late and didn't laugh at one reporter's comment that maybe he should be put on the clock or possibly fined again.

Not even a Tigeresque wide smile or grin. Nothing honey.

Hey Tiger what's going on with that fine from Sunday comment naming names and questioning the judgment of a tour official?

"Yes, I've heard from the TOUR and there's no fine that was an erroneous report."

What no fine?

He heard from the tour and there is no fine.

Make a note of that quotation.

Is Tiger Woods bigger than the PGA TOUR?

Is Tiger Woods bigger than the world federation of golf tours that run the WGC events?

Tiger's perspective is simple.

"The way I understood it, we were the only two in contention to win the event. We had separated ourselves. The winner was not going to come from the groups ahead, even though Robert played just a great round ahead of us. It was going to come from our group. And we were having a great battle."

"We got on the 17th tee, hit our shots down the fairway and as we were arriving at the ball, the group ahead of us was now entering the 18th fairway."

Does it depend what you mean by the word "at"?

Does golf need a 45 second clock for hitting golf shots?

They should have left us alone and no I am not going to pay a fine.

Wow this is two Majors in a row with a little controversy early in the week.

Remember the Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie faceoff at the Open at Turnberry?

Referees in golf?

Players behaving badly?

What sport is this? Football, basketball or baseball?

There is a vote on Thursday concerning golf being an Olympic sport come the summer games of 2016.

Let's get back to the above reproach standard.

"That's why I said what I said, because that certainly affected how Paddy played the hole, and how the outcome of the tournament."

Is Tiger's 70th win tainted?

Do we need an investigation to determine what relationship, if any, exists between Tiger Woods and referee John Paramor?

Does John Paramor bet on the game of golf?

Just nonsense I hope.

Let's not go there.

Rather let's get on with the playing of the 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine.

Great golf course.

Strongest field of the year.

"The year's last Major, Glory's last stand."

Please let the right games begin!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte VedraBeach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Live from the PGA at Hazeltine - Monday, August 10th

Andy Reistetter — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:35:33 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes.

Here are his notes from Monday, August, 10, 2009.

Don't ask me why, but I woke up this morning singing these words of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Glory, Glory, Hallelujah! Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!

That was in Chicago and, after a leisurely five-to-six hour drive up here, I made my way out to the golf course late this afternoon.

Now I am singing.

My eyes have seen the beauty of Hazeltine golf course…

What a golf course!

It is a parkland setting with a gentle topography that eventually finds its way down to the shores of Lake Hazeltine at the tight and tricky par four 16th hole, a hole that will undoubtedly impact the final outcome come Sunday afternoon.

The course has the feel of a Medinah, or last year's Oakland Hills, or one key participant's favorite—last week's Firestone CC.

What a PGA Championship it will be!

Tiger Woods leads the pack on the PGA TOUR this season, winning back-to-back at the Buick Open and WGC-Bridgestone after missing the cut at the Open Championship at Turnberry.

Seven times a winner of the WGC-Bridgestone at Firestone CC, and now his 70th victory is now a reality.

How great is Tiger Woods?

Seventy times seven I tell you better than the rest.

Tiger needs only three more victories to tie Jack Nicklaus for second place with 73.

Could he possibly do it by the end of this season?

Then, nine more after that to tie Sam Snead's all-time record of 82 PGA TOUR triumphs.

Tiger Woods' pace to victory is seven years ahead of both Nicklaus and Snead.

So maybe it is just a matter of time and staying healthy?

More than a year has gone by since his last major accomplishment at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Of course, he was sidelined with reconstructive left knee surgery for eight of those twelve months.

Major Talley: Nicklaus 18, Woods 14.

Don't forget Tiger has won the last two PGA Championships he has competed in and also back-to-back PGAs in 1999 and 2000.

What a major championship it will be at Hazeltine this week!

Of course Woods is the favorite, but don't count out defending champion Padraig Harrington, who got back on track last week at the WGC-Bridgestone until a slow train derailed him a bit at the 16th hole, where he lost his lead and the tournament.

If it was a high school basketball game, the dads would be yelling "let 'em play."

Did being put on the clock on the 16th tee unnerve Harrington a bit?

Not one bit.

This afternoon I caught up with the three-time major champion on the 14th green and walked in with him as he played the final four finishing holes.

His demeanor was excellent.

He was workman-like, studying the golf course, but humorous at times with his entourage of eight and a gallery of a couple hundred fans.

He seemed to be focusing on his wrist position during the initial takeaway. He hit the ball solidly and with a high degree of accuracy. He seems ready to defend and is showing the same form that helped him win three out of six majors in 2007 to 2008.

Remember the finish last year with Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis on his heels? He made a 20-footer for par on No. 16 while Sergio dunked his ball for a bogey.

Then he made a 10-footer for deuce on No. 17 where Curtis bogeyed and Sergio missed his birdie from half that distance.

Two more crowning strokes came at No. 18 with a seven iron from the right rough and another 20-footer for par and the victory.

A light rain came down over the last two holes as Harrington was finishing up his Monday practice session. Never a thought for an umbrella as Padraig is all Irish and Irish golfers love a little rain and a little wind in their face.

As Harrington walked up the 18th fairway a glorious rainbow with bold red, yellow, green, and purple stripes appeared to the west out over Lake Hazeltine. And then another rainbow right beside the first—two rainbows at one time!

Is that a sign for the reemerging Davis Love III whose rainbow appeared as he triumphed at the PGA Championship at Winged Foot in 1997?

Or is the sign intended for the luck of the Irishman Harrington going for his fourth Major Championship in a little over a two-year time span.

Maybe the pot of gold at the end of those rainbows will come to the Irishman come Sunday afternoon at Hazeltine?

Whichever way this one goes…my eyes have seen the beauty of Hazeltine and the 91st PGA Championship will get underwayThursday morning at 7:15 a.m. local time.

Hallelujah, glory's last stand!

Padraig Harrington Poised to Win WGC and Defend at the PGA Championship

Andy Reistetter — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:30:26 -0400

Two months ago, in early June, Padraig Harrington was looking ahead to the last three majors of the 2009 PGA TOUR season.

"It really is now starting to get into the beef of the season. Any player really wants to play well from now on to the end of August. My goal is to peak through these three months. I haven't had such a great start to the year. I've been kind of focused on other things. Now I've got to get down to business, and hopefully through the U.S. Open, the Open, and the PGA, I'll be back to my top performances."

It did not happen at the U.S. Open, where a pair of 76s led to an early exit at Bethpage Black.

At the Open at Turnberry, it was an early Sunday T65 finish, receiving polite applause from a sparse crowd at the 18th green well before Stewart Cink and Tom Watson even teed off at the nearby first tee.

Now one week before "glory's last stand," Harrington has found his form, starting 64-69 at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

"I have found what I was looking for in my swing, so I've now put more attention onto the other parts of my game, the short game and things like that, that provide scores like this."

Can the lucky Irishman come all the way back in time to win this week at Firestone CC and defend his PGA title at Hazeltine next week?

Since winning at Oakland Hills last August, Padraig is now 0-for-3 in majors, including a T35 at the Masters after winning three out of six majors.

Padraig's first major victory came at Carnoustie in the 2007 Open, where he beat Sergio Garcia in a four-hole playoff for the Claret Jug.

He followed that with a T32 finish at Southern Hills in the 2007 PGA Championship, with the last three rounds in the low 70s.

After a Sunday 72, he tied for fifth place at the 2008 Masters.

Then came a T36 finish at the U.S. Open last year at Torrey Pines after an opening 78 and a Saturday 77.

Then came his back-to-back major wins at the Open at Royal Birkdale and the PGA at Oakland Hills.

Then came the major slump.

In America, his best finish since last year's PGA Championship is a T11 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. On the European Tour, it was a T5 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in early January.

He did win the Irish PGA Championship this year for the sixth time (five of last six years) the week before the Open at Turnberry, though it was a weak field against the European Tour at Loch Lomond in Scotland and the John Deere Classic in the States.

Though still ranked No. 17 in the world, Padraig has slipped to 84th on Order of Merit, No. 134th on the Money List, and 142nd in the FedEx Cup points race to East Lake.

"Over the last couple years I've been trying to get to the bottom of my swing. Since I won the two majors last year, I got a little bit deeper into it, trying to figure something out, been very much concentrating on that for the last eight months.

"The results have been quite lean certainly in the last five months. I've got to get back to working on my scoring."

There are those of us that wish Padraig would stop tinkering with his swing and do a reality check when he makes comments like the following:

"I think I'm in a far better position than I was this time last year, or even this time at the end of August last year. I just won two majors. I think I'm a far better player now than I was then."

The reality is this man did recently win three of six majors, and he likely knows what he is doing.

"I just have got to be patient and let it happen and wait for the results, which ultimately are the judge to turn around."

Maybe the real "Paddy Slam" starts at Hazeltine next week?

"I do like the idea of the majors. They do seem to be easier to win in some ways. They're a bit like playing—they feel like you're in a marathon rather than a sprint. A regular event, it feels like a quick dash. If you don't get off to a good start, you feel you're a little bit behind.

"Whereas in a major championship, you know it's going to come down to the last nine holes on Sunday. It's all about getting yourself in position."

Is there more pressure for Harrington being the defending PGA Champion?

"There's definitely more pressure the year you're defending. There's more focus on you. There's more questions being asked. There's a little bit more expectations. Even though you've done it before, can you do it again? Yeah, it brings more pressure.

"Hazeltine itself, fantastic golf course. It is a golf course that's there in front of you, with plenty of options. In major golf nowadays the best majors are played on golf courses that have options. When you have a bigger, stronger golf course, you can settle for a big golf course, a tough course, but you can set a very fair course."

Harrington is doing the Irish jig thinking about next week's final major of 2009.

"What I keep hearing about Hazeltine is music to my ears. It's sounding like we're going to have a big, strong test, but nothing that's going to be tricky."

Yes, there is more pressure being the defending champion, especially at a major.

Having successfully defended his Open title at Royal Birkdale last year, Harrington knows how to do it.

"It's a good place to be. Like we all know, when you're under pressure, it means you care a little bit. You're exactly where you want to be in life if you're under pressure. You kind of embrace it."

Bet on the Irishman winning at Firestone CC this week, and don't count him out for Hazeltine next week.

"I think winning majors makes it easier to win majors in the long term because you've done it before."

He may just successfully defend his PGA Championship earned last year at Oakland Hills CC, lift that 44-pound Wannamaker trophy, keep it, and silence his critics.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR, volunteering for the tournaments and working part-time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel.

He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net.

Tiger Roars Back at the Buick Open with a Fierce 63

Andy Reistetter — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:28:27 -0400

So after a missed cut at the Open at Turnberry and an opening 71 at the Buick Open, you think Tiger is just like us?

NOT!

Tiger came roaring back with a fierce 63 to get back into contention at the Buick Open.

Starting on the 10th tee early in the morning, the 33-year-old golfing phenom began birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie, which placed him a nice six-under after only five holes.

"Today, I hit my irons a little closer and I made some putts. Even though I three-putted 18 and missed a few out there, I also made a bunch, too."

Did the world's best player do anything different after finishing late yesterday?

"No. The same. Absolutely the same. Same routine, didn't change anything. Just made sure I was committed to what I was doing out there today, and I got my speed a little bit better."

He did decide not to practice after yesterday's "sub par" round of 71, with respect to performance, not the par 72 at Warwick Hills CC.

"I normally do, but I was a little bit hot yesterday, so I decided to just go home and get away from it for a little bit. And came out today with a better understanding of what I was going to do and just hit the ball."

What is the strategy of a champion who spots the field one round, the first round?

"I was so far back, but I had three more rounds to go."

"It's not one of those sports where you just go ahead and hit as hard as you want. You got to keep your patience, and as I said, take care of the par-fives, the two drivable par-fours and sprinkle on a couple here and there, and there's your round in the mid 60s. And I happened to make a couple more beyond that, and here we are at 63."

"It's a process. I can't get it back in one round. At least I'm back in the tournament."

"This golf course is playing soft and easy, you should birdie every hole, but you also can make a few mistakes, like I did yesterday. If I shot that number again today, I'm out of here."

Don't say that to John Daly in the locker room though. He followed a Thursday 76 with a Friday 88. Yes, that is correct, he had a 16-over par 88.

Take a break John, you can't play every week. You need a rest. Three European Tour events, the Open at Turnberry, the Canadian Open, and this week's Buick Open—that's six weeks straight. Your body is out of gas.

Tiger was not exiting after two rounds, two tournaments in a row.

With another birdie on No. 16, Tiger was seven-under after seven holes.

Was he thinking a 13-under par 59 was possible?

"(I) just keep playing shot to shot. It (his routine) doesn't change. It's how you got there in the first place, so why would you change?"

With only three birdies on his last nine holes, Woods fell four strokes shy of that magical number "59."

All he needed was a two-putt on No. 18 and three more birdies out of the other eight holes and he would have joined Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, and David Duval in the "59 club."

What a difference a day makes. Four birdies and three bogeys on Thursday then an eagle, eight birdies, and a bogey on Friday.

As word got around the course that Tiger was hot, his gallery began to grow. Hot as in his playing performance, not hot under the collar, like yesterday.

Okay, it is time to name Tiger's gallery. Arnie had his army, Jack his pack. Tiger's fans like to surge. Tiger's Tide? No, it has to be something with a Tiger's roar in it. Tiger's Torrent Tide. No, thunder?

Tiger's Torrent Troops—that's it!

"You could feel more people coming out. I didn't think people were going to get up that early and watch us tee off, but it was nice to have everyone excited. And I was playing well and making a little bit of a run, and I think that everyone got a little bit excited about that."

What excitement will the weekend bring?

What will the winning score be?

Tiger has an opinion and a new mantra:

"If the wind doesn't blow, you'll have to get into the (low) 20s (under par)."

"If the wind doesn't blow, you have to go low."

So far in the afternoon pairings only John Senden is going really low today at five-under through 11 holes. He is leading the tournament at 13-under par, only three strokes ahead of Tiger Woods, who is resting comfortably for a late tee time on Saturday.

Give the Tiger a 24-hour break and you just might see that magical 59 tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

Regrouped Tiger Woods To Streak Through PGA, Nervous Field Covers Its Eyes

Andy Reistetter — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:27:43 -0400

Okay, so he didn't play in last year's PGA Championship at Oakland Hills CC, which is less than 40 miles from Warwick Hills CC—the site of this week's Buick Open.

At Oakland Hills, Padraig Harrington took advantage of the absence of Tiger Woods and his inability to defend his 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills.

Actually golf's iconic figure was also defending his 2006 PGA Championship at Medinah CC. You have to go back four years to remember Tiger not playing and winning the PGA.

In 2005, at Baltusrol GC, it was Phil Mickelson the PGA Champion edging Tiger by two strokes.

The 91st PGA Championship starts in two weeks.

But first is this week's Buick Open at Warwick Hills CC in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Next week is the WGC-Bridgestone at Firestone CC in Akron, Ohio.

Tiger played a practice round today with a local Detroit area artist, Bob Seger.

"I played well here in the past, and hopefully I can play well here and keep it going over the next two weeks after that."

That is a major understatement if there ever was a major understatement. The last time Woods played in the Buick Open was in 2006, and he won it.

The week before he won his third British Open at Hoylake.

Then he went on to win his next four official PGA TOUR starts to finish off his year in style—the PGA, the WGC-Bridgestone, the Deutsche Bank and the WGC-American Express.

Winning the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines to start off 2007 meant Tiger Woods won seven straight PGA TOUR events, the majority of which were against world class fields.

"I played well here (at the Buick Open) in the past" is definitely an understatement.

World class golfers and the world please take notice:

"Hopefully I can play well here and keep it going over the next two weeks after that."

Is that a Major overstatement?

Tiger is on the prowl to make sure everyone understands that the missed cut at the last Major, The Open Championship at Turnberry was a fluke.

The world's best golfer has his sights set on winning the Buick Open, winning the WGC-Bridgestone and winning the PGA Championship—three in a row.

Woods was humming that Michael Jackson song "ABC, as easy as 1, 2, 3 or do re, me" while walking to the beat of "Old Time Rock and Roll" a song made famous by Seger.

Literally as he was walking down the 14th fairway today Seger's song was being played loudly in the backyard of the home adjacent to the cozy and quaint Warwick Hills CC.

The 64-year old singer-songwriter got a major kick out of playing a round of golf with the world's best player in the Wednesday Pro-Am.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what a thrill, you know. I mean nine putts on the front nine. He (Tiger) didn't miss a putt on the front nine. I went nine under, so that helped."

It's all about the team. Who says Tiger isn't a team player? But seriously, Tiger is serious about winning his next three starts.

As serious as a heart attack.

"It's something I don't think I've ever done is played two events prior to the PGA. I usually have played one event, and usually it's this event (the Buick Open) when it's the week prior to the PGA."

"We're going to have a busy stretch, and I think that's the way it's kind of turned out with the World Golf Championships, the Majors, and then the playoff events."

Okay make that three in a row plus the four playoff events. Oh that is seven again. Just like in 2006?

"I just gotta put it together at the right time. That's the whole idea. You can't win Majors playing poorly. You gotta play well."

Oh, by the way, Phil Mickelson was in Minnesota today playing a practice round at Hazeltine and is entered in next week's WGC at Firestone CC.

Tiger versus Phil on his way to a third consecutive PGA Championship.

Enjoy the next three weeks of golf!

One To Stew Over: Cink's Victory Latest in Line of Memorable Turnberry Events

Andy Reistetter — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:52:12 -0400

This Turnberry Open was no exception.

Yes, it all started with Tom Watson defeating Jack Nicklaus in the "Duel in the Sun" in 1977. Tom edged Jack by one and together they beat the field by ten strokes;

The 1986 Turnberry Open was the Greg Norman Show. The Aussie in his prime shot 63 in the second round including a three—putt bogey on the last hole from 30 feet. He won by five strokes while shooting an even par 280.

Most recently in 1994 Nick Price edged out Jesper Parnevik making a long putt for eagle on the par—5 17^th hole. His score matched Watson's 12—under par 268 in 1977.

Now 15 years later the Open returned to Ayrshire on the newly renovated Ailsa Championship golf course and it was an Open to remember.

No doubt it will be remembered as the one 59—year old Tom Watson lost as much as it will be as the one Stewart Cink won with a birdie on the 72^nd hole and shooting 2—under in the four hole playoff.

But there was so much more to this Open beginning with the "mechanic" Miguel Angel Jimenez firing a 6—under 64 finishing late in the day on Thursday.

Jimenez made note of the easy conditions.

"Since I woke up this morning you can see through the window and you look at the sea, it looked like a pond, so nice, so calm. And well, you can't ask a better day to play. No wind, no nothing, and it (the golf course) took care of me."

Inspired by his mentor Seve Ballesteros and his battle for life the 45—year old Spaniard pleaded a personal message to Seve.

"(To) see him the way he fights and the way he going forward is of course give you lots of motivation to do anything in life. The power is inside yourself, and the power is inside Seve. I just want to say keep going and see you soon on the fairways."

Others that went low that first day shooting 5—under par 66s included most notably Watson a five—time winner of the Open, 37—year old Kenichi Kuboya a regular on the Japan Tour, and 2003 Open Champion Ben Curtis.

Stewart Cink was one of five that shot 66. Steve Marino was one of 11 golfers that posted 67. England's Lee Westwood was one of sixteen golfers coming in with a 68. Ross Fisher along with two—time defending champion Padraig Harrington and Masters Champion Angel Cabrera were among 14 golfers to shot 69.

All in all 50 players out of the field of 156 broke par on an atypical Scottish links golf day

The winds arrived overnight on the Ayrshire coast. The rains even came for a few holes in the afternoon. With 15 mph winds out of the north gusting to 25 mph going around the Ailsa Course at Turnberry would be much difficult for the final three days of the Open competition.

To see how different and how much harder one needed to look no further than Ben Curtis and his opening 65. Same golfer, same course, different weather conditions turned that 65 into an 80. The 36 hole total of 145 was one too many for Curtis to have a chance of redemption over the weekend.

Another casualty of Turnberry's toughness was Tiger Woods. He missed the cut as a professional in a Major for only the second time.

Though Woods made a gallant effort with a birdie on No. 16 and 17 his demise was being 7—over par on six holes starting with No. 8. His chip—in for birdie at No. 18 stopped short of the hole and he missed the cut by one stroke.

Steve Marino out early in the morning followed a Thursday 67 with a Friday 68 to stand at 5—under par after 36 holes.

"Today was so much different than yesterday. It was like a totally different golf course. It played so difficult out there today, you know, with the wind early and the rain. It was kind of raining on and off early. It was one of the hardest courses I've ever played today."

The 29—year old golfer who is winless on the PGA TOUR found out last Wednesday that he was second alternate and found out he was in the tournament Sunday morning.

He sent his father to Florida to overnight his passport to him at the John Deere Classic so he could board the charter jet to Scotland for his first Open Championship. Once here his agent went shopping for the appropriate clothing just in time for Friday's change in the weather.

At the opposite end of the spectrum from Tom Watson, Steve Marino's links golf experience was limited to two practice rounds and two competitive rounds.

"It's an advantage to have experience. But it can also be an advantage to not have experience, like you said. I haven't really experienced any nightmares over here yet, knock on wood."

Unfortunately the knock on wood wasn't hard enough and those nightmares and the school of hard knocks would be in session for Marino in the third round.

Watson would go out in the afternoon starting at 5—under par and come back in five hours later still at 5—under and tied with Marino for the 36—hole lead at the Open.

As Watson would put it "Lady Turnberry took off her gloves today and she had some teeth."

After being bogeyless for 18 holes the day before, the oldest player in the field made five bogeys going out on the outward nine holes playing into the wind. After that he answered with four birdies including making two 60—foot bombs on No. 16 and 18. Along with a birdie at the first hole he managed a level par round amidst difficult conditions.

Playing partner Sergio Garcia gave him a bit of encouragement coming up the eigth fairway saying "come on old man" and play like we know you can.

When asked about his Saturday playing partner Steve Marino's absolute lack of experience playing links golf Watson wisely replied: "Well, I never played links golf before I played Carnoustie in 1975, and it turned out pretty good for me there (first Open and first Open win).

As for what it says for the game of golf for him at age 59 to be leading the Open Championship:

"I think it's very clear what it says for the game of golf. It means that the game of golf is long—lived. We've always said that you play this a game of a lifetime, and that's not a cliché. You start at any age, and you can continue to play this game for a long, long time."

Mark Calcavecchia, age 49, shot 67—69 to stand at 4—under and alone in third place behind Watson and Marino. Like Watson he has some fond memories winning the Open championship twenty years ago in 1989 at nearby Troon.

Calc would falter on Saturday with a 77 though recover on Sunday with a 71 finishing T27.

First round leader Jimenez would shoot 73 on Friday and finish the day T4 only two strokes back. Like Calc his high round on Saturday, a 76 was his undoing though his Sunday 69 boosted him back up to finish T13.

In an Open oddity Daniel Gaunt from Australia improved on his first round by nine strokes and shot the best second round, a 69 by anybody in the field. The local qualifier who ranks No. 1212 in the world made the cut in his first Open appearance.

A weekend 79—82 finished him at No. 73 dead last on Sunday though he beat 83 of the world's best golfers including Tiger Woods.

Marino's nightmare would come then go away then come back worse than ever in his manic third round of 76.

After an opening par the Virginian bogeyed the next three holes before effectively ending his Open dreams with a double bogey on the par—3 sixth hole.

Thought to be dead Marino resurrected himself with an eagle on the par—5 seventh and a birdie on No. 11. Even with a bogey on the difficult par—4 14^th hole he came to the par—3 15^th hole only 3—over for the day and within one shot within Watson and clubhouse leaders Mathew Goggin and Ross Fisher at 3—under par.

His tee shot to the par—3 15^th was right of the green, dead right in a place few recover from. Once the ball was found down the hill in heavy grass even Watson tried to help by raising the flagstick upright over his head so Marino could get his bearings.

Forced to take an unplayable lie and hit his third shot from the eigth fairway 90 or so yards away Marino erred long and was unable to get up—and—down on the subsequent shot. All totaled the result was a triple bogey 6.

After a double bogey on the 16^th Marino got to the clubhouse with a strong birdie—birdie finish. But the damage was done and with a Sunday 75 he would finish T38 at his first Open.

Watson took his own lumps on the 15^th bogeying from the back bunker further solidifying the Turnberry saying that "bunker equals bogey."

Making another birdie bomb on No. 16 and a two—putt birdie on No.17 Watson salvaged a respectable 71 and remained the leader of the tournament after the third round at 4—under par.

Watson put his extraordinary play the first three days into perspective.

"The first day here, yeah, let the old geezer have his day in the sun, you know, 65. The second day you said, well, that's okay, that's okay. And then now today you kind of perk up your ears and say, this old geezer might have a chance to win the tournament."

The Kansan was focused on winning his sixth Open championship and tie Harry Vardon as the winner of the most Opens.

"Today I made some good putts. I made some great pars today, which you have to do on a windy day here at Turnberry. Tomorrow maybe I can go out there and complete the game plan and do what I think I have to do to win the tournament."

Mathew Goggin shot 69 and Ross Fisher a 70 to sand at 3—under par one stroke behind Watson after three rounds of play.

Lee Westwood (70) and two—time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen (71) stood at 2—under par two strokes behind the leader of the pack.

2003 U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk (70) and Stewart Cink (71) were at 1—under par and three strokes back of Watson.

Bryce Molder a 30—year old Nationwide Tour Graduate playing in his first Open shot the best round on Saturday, a 67 which moved him up to solo seventh place.

Sunday would bring more Scottish links golf weather with the temperatures in the low 60's and wind gust up to 30 mph.

Goosen after bogeys on No. 2 and 12 would double the par—3 15^th hole from that diabolical back bunker. An eagle at No.17 and par at 18 would result in a final round of 72 and a T5 finish.

Molder double bogeyed the first and followed that with five bogeys and zero birdies. His Sunday 77 left him at T43.

Furyk also had a bad day with seven bogeys until a birdie at the 17^th. His final round 76 resulted in a T34.

Ross Fisher would start birdie—birdie and even after a bogey on the par—3 fourth hole the expectant father led the tournament by two strokes standing on the fifth tee.

After failing to extract himself from the tall stuff a couple of times Fisher recorded a snowman, a quadruple bogey 8 in the heat of a Scottish summer day. Though still not out of it two more bogeys and 10 straight pars led to a Sunday 75 and a T13 finish.

The 138^th Open would come down to Goggin, Westwood, Watson and Cink.

Goggin, paired with Watson in the final group would stay in contention until three straight bogeys on No.14, 15 and 16 would end his Open aspirations. Shooting a 73 he would end up T5 with Retief Goosen.

Westwood had the lead at 3—under after 14 holes. The Englishman would not make a par over the last four holes. He bogeyed No. 16 from the dubious back bunker to lose the lead. After another bogey on No. 16 he birdied No. 17 then 3—putted No.18 thinking he had to make the long putt to have a chance.

Westwood's respectable 71 in the final round left him at 1—under tied with fellow Englishman 21—year old Chris Wood. Wood, the low amateur Silver Medal winner from last year's Open shot the lowest round of the day, a 67. Others to shoot 67 included Luke Donald (T5), Soren Hansen (T8), Andres Romero (T13) and Jeff Overton (T13).

Cink had an up—and—down typical Open round recording five birdies and four bogeys.

The five—time PGA TOUR winner made a five—footer for deuce on No. 15 but then bogeyed No. 16 and failed to birdie the easy par—5 17^th hole. He then finished with a birdie at the 18^th to become the new clubhouse leader at 2—under par.

Watson's destiny was his own after a bogey on No. 14 dropped him to 2—under par.

After two pars he made the needed birdie on No. 17 to take the lead at 3—under.

Failing to par the 18^th from the fairway with an 8—iron in his hand Watson fell into a playoff with Cink.

The difficult par—4 fifth, par—3 sixth, easy par—5 17^th and the grandstand encapsulated 18^th were used for a cumulative medal score four hole playoff.

Though the outcome was lopsided it really was not determined until the tee shots on the 17^th.

After Cink bunkered his long approach to the fifth green Watson was unable to take advantage of the situation. In fact he lost the advantage by bunkering his shot short left with his third shot impacted by the sod walled face of the bunker.

Cink made a spectacular long sand save by making a 10—footer for par. Watson two—putted from sixty feet for bogey. Cink had a one stroke advantage.

Cink reached the green on the 231—yard par—3 sixth hole. Watson hit a terrible hybrid way right down an embankment. After hitting a magnificent blind recovery shot he made a tricky downhill left—to—right 10—footer to match Cink's par.

Only one stroke down Watson was still in the playoff until he pulled his driver left into the hay on the 17^th. Failing to recover completely he ended up 3—putting from 80 feet and making double bogey.

Cink finished in style with a two—putt birdie on the 17^th and to top it off another great iron shot into the 18^th green and subsequent short birdie putt.

A dejected Watson rallied the press corps as they silently filed into the interview room.

"This isn't a funeral, you know," said the iconic golfer.

"It's a great disappointment. It tears at your gut, as it always has torn at my gut. It's not easy to take. I'll take some good things from it, but it's still a disappointment to do what I did and lose the golf tournament."

Though not a champion this day, Tom Watson will forever be a champion in the minds of golfing fans around the world.

How did Cink make the pivotal putt at end of regulation?

"I hit that putt without a care in the world of whether it went in or whether it missed. A blank mind like that is the best way to approach a pressure—packed situation, and I was proud of myself the way I handled that."

Cink was brutally honest in his assessment of what happened. "The golf course is so hard that someone eventually is going to probably lose the tournament with mistakes. And I think that's ended up what happened."

The family man playing in front of his wife and two sons was also brutally honest with himself and the role he played in this the 138^th Open Championship.

"I have to be honest, playing against Tom, you know, in the playoff; it's mixed feelings because I've watched him with such admiration all week. And of course it would come down to me against him in the playoff."

"Whether Tom was 59 or 29, you know, he was one of the field, and I had to play against everybody on the field and the course to come out on top."

He then drew on his experience competing in other big moments with the likes of crowd favorites Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

"I'm usually the guy that the crowd—they appreciate but they're not behind me 100 percent of the way. You know, they aren't. So, you know, that's the sort of role I've been cast into for my whole career. And, hey, that's not the worst. It's okay."

Golfing fans as did those at Turnberry as Cink played the 18^th for the last time without a doubt of his victory will appreciate Cink more now that he has won his first Major Championship.

In the split second of time it took Cink's ball to roll 15 feet for birdie on No.18 in regulation and for Watson's 8—iron approach shot to run though the green history was changed.

Watson did not win his sixth Open title to tie Harry Vardon and did not become the oldest to win a Major or PGA TOUR event for that matter at age 59.

Stewart Cink deservingly so won his first Major Championship.

Another great Open at Turnberry.

Stewart Cink, a True Champion

Andy Reistetter — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:28:10 -0400

Stewart Cink shot an opening round of 66 at the Open Championship at Turnberry.

He was asked two questions in a short media interview after the round. Both questions were about Tom Watson going around Turnberry in 65 strokes.

Following the 66 and as the winds came to the links course off the First of Clyde in the glance of the Ailsa Craig, Cink posted a 72 on Friday and a 71 on Saturday.

He was lost; he was forgotten at least from a media perspective.

He was ready to emerge onto the world stage of golf and win its biggest championship.

"Apart from Tom Watson there's a lack of experience up on the leader board in front of me in majors," he said. "I've got experience in majors, I just haven't won any. I think tomorrow I'm just going to come out here and try to attack the course a little bit, do the same thing I've been doing and just keep my composure. That's really all you can do. The golf course is so difficult; you can't really alter your strategy based on where you are."

Finishing three groups ahead of Tom Watson, Cink drained a 15-footer at the 18th for a 69 and to tie Watson at two-under. This was after bogeying No. 14, deucing No. 15, bogeying No. 16 and failing to birdie the par-five 17th hole. Talk about a dramatic up-and-down get it to the clubhouse finish.

How did he make the decisive putt at end of regulation?

"I hit that putt with really—really without a care in the world of whether it went in or whether it missed. A blank mind like that is the best way to approach a pressure-packed situation, and I was proud of myself the way I handled that."

Then the world watched as 59-year old Tom Watson birdied No. 17 for a one stroke lead. With an eight-iron in his hand from a perfect position in the fairway the five-time Open Champion did the unthinkable and made bogey to fall into a playoff with Cink.

In the playoff he would play like the "old geezer" he joked about being and lose by six strokes in four holes.

Cink was brutally honest in his assessment of what happened.

"The golf course is so hard that someone eventually is going to probably lose the tournament with mistakes," Cink said. "And I think that's ended up what happened."

The family man playing in front of his wife and two sons was also brutally honest with himself and the role he played in this the 138th Open Championship.

"Whether Tom was 59 or 29, you know, he was one of the field, and I had to play against everybody on the field and the course to come out on top."

He then drew on his experience competing in other big moments with the likes of crowd favorites Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Golfing fans as did those at Turnberry as Cink played the 18th for the last time without a doubt of his victory will appreciate Cink more now that he has won his first Major Championship.

"Having outlasted this field on this golf course with the way the weather tried to beat us down the last three days; it's something that I'll never forget. It's great to be the one left."

"I just felt so calm," he added. "I never even felt nervous at all. I felt like I was just totally at peace about whatever happened because I was proud of how I played up to today. I was just calm the whole way. Somebody at a major championship always has that calm peace about them, and I had it today."

"I'm not sure I really thought much about whether I was good enough to win a major or not. I knew I'd been close a few times, but I never really heard my name tossed in there with the group of best ones not to have won. So maybe I was starting to believe that, that I wasn't one of the best ones to never have won a major."

Now that he has won a Major the question everyone will be asking is "how many more Majors will Stewart Cink win?"

Could he be another Padraig Harrington and win three of six?

Remember Tiger was in the field this week at Turnberry. Well at least for the first two days.

Stewart please don't change your swing!

Congratulations Stewart Cink, a true Champion.

Live from the Open at Turnberry-July 19

Andy Reistetter — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:29:31 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at the Open at Turnberry and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes. Here are his notes from the final round and playoff on Sunday 7/19/09.

Well, that was one heck of an Open!

Congratulations to Stewart Cink, your win was truly well-deserved.

You are a true champion.

For Cink to shoot 66-72-71-69 and to birdie the 72^ndhole to finish at two-under was a brilliant performance.

His endurance in the playoff was brilliant as well.

He stuck to his game plan and played conservatively on the difficult par-four fifth hole in the playoff. His four-iron approach shot scurried across the short right front of the massive green ending up in the right bunker.

A long recovery shot and an uphill 10-footer gave him a one-stroke lead over 59-year-old five-time Open champion Watson.

Watson, who was hitting second, also bunkered his approach shot, but his shot went into the leftside bunker. Near the face, he was forced to play out conservatively. After two putts from 60 feet, he recorded a bogey and lost the lead in the Open for good.

Despite being terrible in the playoff, Watson made a magnificent recovery shot from nowhere on the long par-three sixth and holed a difficult downhill left-to-right 10-footer for par.

Cink then converted his second consecutive par by calmly sinking a tricky four-footer, helping him maintain a slight advantage.

If pars win Opens, they certainly win Open playoffs.

The outcome of the playoff came down to the difficult tee shots on the easy par-five

17^thhole. Cink hit three-wood right down the pretty fairway. The right play in this quasi-match play format based on cumulative strokes over four playoff holes.

Watson hit his drive left into the cabbage,

Sadly, he never recovered, making a double bogey.

Cink does what a champion does, recording a two-putt birdie on No. 17 and then birdying the 18^th again for good measure to win his first Major Championship.

Despite disappearing from the media's Open coverage after his opening 66 on Thursday, Stewart Cink did not forget about himself nor his abilities and his desire of becoming a Major champion.

Two days later and over 3,000 miles from Turnberry, I am still overwhelmed after attending my first Open Championship.

It will take a while "to sort it out" as my friends in Scotland would say.

First of all, the people in Scotland are very friendly and accommodating.

I went there with no accommodations, and they put me up. Not only that, they also put up with me.

Turnberry is simply a masterpiece of God's natural design.

With the openness of the links course and the Firth of Clyde, the Irish Sea, and the Ailsa Craig to the west, one could not help but be inspired.

I always wanted to experience an Open championship, especially the large grandstands at the 18^thgreen and the orangish-yellow scoreboards. Now, I have, and I'll never be the same as a result of the experience.

How about that picture of me at the 18^th green during the awards ceremony?

That's one for the ages!

Sunday morning marked the sixth day in a row I went down to the bus stop and never got on the bus. This morning's ride came from John a member at Prestwick.

I left my luggage with Jackie and Ray, the dynamic security duo at the entrance to the TV compound. Before I could pass, Jackie had already found me a bus ride from the golf course to Ayr so that I could begin my journey home later in the evening.

I really didn't want to leave, but I knew this was the last day of the golf tournament.

My asQignment was Game No. 27 off the first tee at 12:35 p.m., about two hours before the leaders teed off.

As usual, this was perfect timing. I would have the distinct pleasure of walking the links before heading back to the grandstands at No. 15. Then I could follow the last group and, presumably, the leaders right up to those grandstands and the orangish-yellow scoreboards surrounding the 18^th green.

Game No. 27 was Branden Grace, a South African who became eligible for the Open through the International Final qualifying in Europe, and American golfing icon John Daly.

Both started the day at plus-2, six shots behind the leader Tom Watson.

Daly looked great. Slim and trim from his Lap-Band surgery five months ago, he had the old bounce in his step.

Looking somewhat formal and conservative with his black and white razzle-dazzle Oakmont houndstooth pants on, Daly could have brought his third Major championship home to Arkansas with a 5-under 65.

Word had it he was striking the ball well; he just wasn't making the putts.

After missing a makeable 13-footer on the first hole and taking four strokes to get it in the hole from just off the green on No. 3, it seemed like it wasn't going to be his day on the links.

After another double-bogey at the par-four eighth due to a poor drive, the nickname "Double Daly" seemed appropriate.

With no Mojo going in this pairing until Daly's late eagle at No. 17, periodic appearances of his girlfriend in a matching skirt kept the galleries interested.

Daly would finish the same distance from the leaders as he started—six strokes out of the playoff, and he finished T27.

Grace would score three strokes worse and finish T43.

I hustled off to the grandstands at the 15^th for some of the most scenic golf watching in the world.

With the ABC broadcast in my ear and the BBC broadcast visible on a JumboTron not far away, I was in grandstand potato heaven!

The last four twosomes paraded through while Cink caught my attention by making a six-footer for deuce on No. 15 after bogeying the difficult 14^th hole.

In the next group, both Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen put it in the back right bunker. Not on the fly mind you, links golf likes to titillate you by rolling the ball across the green nearly hitting the flagstick before barely rolling down the swale into the bunker.

It takes Goosen two to get out of the bunker, and "the goose is cooked."

Lee Westwood, who was in the next-to-last group with soon-to-be Papa Ross Fisher, nearly holed his tee shot, though he faced a difficult bunker shot, which resulted in a bogey he could not afford.

Watson came along and calmly two-putted from 30 feet for a par while playing partner Mathew Goggin recorded the common bunker bogey.

I thought of Steve Marino's ill-fated triple bogey here at the 15^th on Saturday from down the hill on the golfer's right. Fisher's "snowman" on the par-four fifth hole earlier that afternoon while leading by two strokes early in the day came to mind as well.

Certainly, this Open had its drama.

I took in one last 360-degree view from the top of the grandstand—the clubhouse in the distance to the south on the hillside, the links course strewn out below along the coast of the First of Clyde, the Irish Sea beyond the Ailsa Craig, and right here in front of me, the iconic Lighthouse of Turnberry.

Like everyone else, I hoped for the most dramatic finish of all—59-year-old Tom Watson winning his sixth Open Championship to tie Harry Vardon for the most ever.

As I left the grandstand, Westwood and Watson lead at two-under. Goggin, Cink, and Chris Wood are at one-under. Wood is the clubhouse leader of the Open after earning the Silver Medal as low amateur last year.

Westwood bogeyed No. 16.

Cink failed to birdie the easy par-five 17^th.

Tom Lehman watched Watson two-putt for a par on the 16^thgreen from the 17^th. Goggin bogeyed No. 16 to fall to par.

Cink birdies No. 18 to become the new clubhouse leader at two-under.

Watson stood at the 17^th tee needing a birdie-par finish to win the Open.

Watson drove right into the first cut of rough then ran it through the green with a hybrid from there. A solid 30-foot chip with his putter left the tap-in for the needed birdie.

Westwood three-putted No. 18 to finish at 1-under with Chris Wood.

Watson's drive was perfect on the 461-yard par-four 18^thhole—on the right side of the fairway about 180 yards to the flagstick.

If only he had hit a nine-iron instead of an eight-iron?

We will never know. He hit the 9-iron though the green and failed to make par and win the Open outright.

Cink beat him convincingly in the four-hole playoff.

Congratulations to Stewart Cink, a true champion of the Open.

If you have the opportunity and we all do, go to the Open at St. Andrews next year.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part-time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Tom Watson, Natural Leader

Andy Reistetter — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:21:10 -0400

We all wanted Tom Watson to win the Open at Turnberry.

It's that simple.

Any of the thousands surrounding the 18th hole on the Ailsa course or any of the millions watching on television would have done anything to help him win his sixth Open Championship at the age of 59.

It's that simple: Tom Watson is a natural leader.

Standing there on the sidelines of the 18th fairway if I ever dreamt eight iron would be too much club from nearly 180 yards even for a near sexagenarian I would have risked my golf writing career and ran out there to tell him to hit the nine iron.

Natural leaders do that. They get out in front and lead. And you want to follow and are willing to do anything to make the venture a success.

After not winning the Open Championship Tom Watson was sitting there in the interview room waiting and patiently watching as the press corps somberly filed into the room in a silent manner.

"This isn't a funeral, you know," said the iconic golfer.

Everyone burst out in laughter and was immediately at ease.

This wasn't going to be a doom and gloom interview it was going to be uplifting and a celebration of what happened this week at Turnberry in the 138th rendition of the Open Championship.

Nobody thinks Tom Watson lost this golf tournament.

Yes he bogeyed the 18th hole and lost the playoff but he did it as a Champion in the manner of winning not losing.

His drive on No. 18 was perfect. His second shot was perfect though hit too well and narrowly carried through the green and down the other side. Even 59 year olds get pumped up and adrenaline enables them to do things which do not seem physically possible like an 8-iron second shot too far on a 461-yard par four.

The decision was good to use a putter on the third shot and hit it a little harder since it was into the grain with the grass on the slope falling towards the location of the golf ball.

He missed the comeback putt as even the best players in the world do from time to time.

Remember who was not playing the weekend at Turnberry and you will realize how difficult that golf course was especially for the final three days of competition.

Who could have faulted the Champion, even though he wasn't the Champion today?

Would he have done it all again even though it meant reliving that disappointing bogey on the final hole of regulation play and being trounced in the playoff by deserving Champion Stewart Cink?

"Well, hell, yes. Yeah, darn right. I knew I had a chance starting out. So, yeah, I'm glad this happened."

"I take from this week just a lot of warmth, a lot of spirituality in the sense that, you know, there was something out there. I still believe that. It helped me along."

A natural leader embraces a diversity of thought, of physical differences and yes even that of the spiritual world.

Something was out there that we could all relate to no matter what your religious views happen to be.

After all we simply happen to be. We come into this world in one sense predetermined with our heritage and nationality. Though in another sense with the gift of life, the chance to improve upon our circumstances and make the world a better place for people.

Tom Watson brought us together this week in the sense that even the impossible is once again possible.

All it takes is commitment, hard work, an opportunity and belief.

Yes, nostalgia, thoughts of the good old days plays a role.

"It reminds me of what it used to be like when you played the big Tour, played the kids' Tour (the U.S. PGA Tour) and were in contention all the time and the responsibilities that you had, that you have, to take care of business.

After all it does come down to the business. Winning not losing. Making a profit not a loss.

Trust in one's leadership that they have a wider and more thorough view and a plan for success. Not only for themselves but for the organization and all its members.

Watson admittedly so had a plan this week to win the Open but came up one stroke short of doing it when it had to be done.

Whether there at Turnberry or at home watching on television there was that special magic that brings us together for at least a moment.

Tom Watson acknowledged "the feeling is mutual. And that warmth makes you feel human. It makes you feel so good."

Thanks for making us feel good.

That is the type of leadership we need whether on the golf course, at home or wherever it is that we go to work.

Natural leaders are realistic that they are fortunate to be in a leadership position.

It's an opportunity to give back.

"That's what I've always said is when all is said and done, one of the things I hope that will come out of my life is that my peers will say, you know, that Watson, he was a hell of a golfer."

Yes sir, that Tom Watson was a hell of a golfer and a natural leader.

Sadly, at the end, Tom Watson winning his sixth Open Championship at the age of 59 wasn't to be.

But it was- after all was said and done this week at Turnberry Tom Watson showing us again as he did all week that he is a "natural leader."

He led us once again to the heart of the matter- our love and respect for the game of golf, the essence of golfing competitions, and our love and respect for young Tom Watson.

Cheers to all three!

He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his web site www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net

Live from the Open at Turnberry: Third Round, July 18

Andy Reistetter — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:43:49 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at the Open at Turnberry and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes. Here are his notes from Saturday 7/18/09.

Well is there anything that this Open is missing?

Okay so there is no Tiger Woods playing on the weekend.

But does it matter?

In his absence there are a million different reasons why this Open is and will be long remembered as a special one.

I hope to share some of those reasons right here right now at least from my perspective.

Today makes five days in a row that I can't seem to catch a ride on the bus to get to the golf course. The bus was running late so I put out my thumb.

An official Open Lexus vehicle with a clubhouse parking pass on the dashboard came screaming by. I thought maybe it was Stevie Williams driving Tiger Woods to Turnberry. Not! Remember they missed the cut.

A very nice couple coming across from Edinburgh to see the Open stopped and picked me up.

I try to give back something to the nice people I meet along the way when and where I can. This couple did not have a parking pass so I used the one I from yesterday to find us a spot in the car park. At 35 pounds a pop there was a considerable amount of unadvertised savings to the couple for stopping and picking me up.

That's what I like to think at least. There are unadvertised benefits to being my friend!

Gosh where do I start?

My report time was one hour later today so that meant an extra hour of sleep. That is relative though since I don't think I finished yesterday's article until about 1 a.m. With seven hours of sleep the bounce was back in my step when I hit the fairways of Turnberry.

Judy Rankin was navigating her way through a bunch of us guys waiting for our assignments on her way to the toilet (gosh I am writing like a Euro now). I said please make way for the next Commissioner of the LPGA Tour. She laughed and said "No, no not for me!" See I am working always trying to break a story. Officially though I think that would be a "no comment."

I finally asked the lady who wanted the "inside the ropes" arm badge with the number "69." Sorry I could not resist. Evidently she wants to score a "69" in golf. Her best so far is an 80 so she has a ways to go. I told her visualization is the key. No, no, no I am not a dirty American. Just trying to help!

I watched some of the BBC broadcast while eating my standard breakfast of bacon roll, scrambled eggs, and potato cheese scone. The fairways are so hard you see a puff of dusty dirt upon impact of the club.

Another neat thing is how the player signals to the gallery to come help look for a lost ball. One minute you are outside the ropes and the next you are inside milling around with Tiger Woods trying to find his ball.

Oh yeah right you never did find that ball on the ninth hole yesterday. Now Tiger is back in Florida watching the "other TW" win this Open.

My assignment was an early game—No. 22 off the first tee at 12:20 p.m. almost two-and-a-half hours before the leaders tee off at 3 p.m. That is good since that means there is two-and-a half hours of golf to watch after my group is done.

I followed 2007 Masters Champion and two-time winner this year Zach Johnson and the Italian Francesco Molinari for 18 holes. They are both really classy guys who came over to introduce themselves and shake my hand on the first tee.

Neither player started the third round the way they wanted. Both golfers bogeyed the first hole after poor drives. Zach was in the hay left and Francesco was in the first fairway bunker on the left side. Both spots different cells in the same jail requiring a simple but short recovery shot. No heroic iron approach third shot and bogey is the result.

The "Bunker equals Bogey" rule is hereby updated to the "Bunker equals Bogey and the Hay means Hey say Goodbye to Par."

Once I walked out past the grandstand on the first tee I could feel the wind coming directly off the Irish Sea out of the west. I heard later that Tom Watson walked out past the first tee prior to teeing off to gauge the strength of the wind. Wise Old Tom Morris doesn't have anything over wise young Tom Watson.

Maybe it is the little things that win you Open Championships.

By the time we reached the fourth tee down by the sea the wind was howling and gusting to 20-25 mph. With the next eight holes heading to the north along the sea there was a cross wind left-to-right. Any sort of cut or fade spin and the ball would go far right. For a right-hander a low draw into the wind was the play of the day.

Molinari bogeyed three of the first five holes and made a good par on the par-five seventh hole after bunkering his ball two times. Another bogey on No. 8 and no offsetting birdies, he was four-over for the day at the turn.

Johnson did a little better but not much as he missed a short birdie putt on No. 3 and bogeyed No. 5. With no birdies he was two-over at the turn.

With a three-putt bogey on No. 10 the high wind condition seemed to wear him down. He did get a respite on No. 12, recording the first birdie of the day for the twosome with a six-foot putt on the downwind 12th hole.

Molinari recorded his first birdie on the difficult par-three 15th hole with a six-iron to 30 feet, then drainined the putt. Johnson bunkered back left and failed to get it up-and-down.

Zack's real problems started on the scenic but difficult par-four dog-leg-right 16th hole. His approach iron did not carry a sufficient distance and released back down the bank into the burn. After a chip he three-putted for a triple bogey seven.

Molinari salvaged his round with a great second shot on No. 17 and converted the 30-foot eagle putt. With a 3-under back nine he shot one-over 71 for the day, and stands at two-over for the tournament.

Johnson bogeyed No. 18 to shoot a seven-over 77 and virtually eliminated his chances to win the Claret Jug standing at eight-over par for three rounds.

I have always wanted to sit in one of the large grandstands at a British Open. They look so massive on TV and in person really are massive!

I decided to head out to the 15th hole and see if I could find myself a seat. I did at the very top of the grandstand, the largest one on the golf course. Not that I was as high as the aerial crane they use over here instead of a blimp, but I was very high up.

The view all around was spectacular. The Firth of Clyde and the Isle of Arran directly in front and the Ailsa Craig with the Irish Sea beyond to the left. The Turnberry Lighthouse looked almost miniature in size while the Turnberry Hotel didn't look so big in the distance behind. The golf holes in the links land were perfectly outlined from this lofty perch.

From this vantage point you could literally see all 18 holes with binoculars and Hole Nos. seven, eight, 14, 15, and 16 easily without. I enjoyed the view and the golf as the final eight twosomes paraded themselves through on the way to the clubhouse.

No. 15 played difficultly. Though the green was large with punchbowl contours, it was extremely hard. Golf balls without the proper spin and impact into an inclining part of the green bounded through right into the back left bunker.

The hole was cut middle of the green to the right side bringing the tall grass and steep side hill into play.

No. 15 played most difficult for contender Steve Marino who had battled back from a disastrous start going five-over par on holes two-five. His six-iron stayed right and he found himself down the slope and needing the help of the gallery to find his ball. He needed the help of an unplayable lie penalty shot to be able to pitch it up from the eighth fairway. Failing to get up-and-down resulted in a triple bogey six in the blink of a second.

I followed the lead group into the clubhouse watching Tom Watson continue to make history as a 59-year old competing for his sixth Open Championship. After bogeying No. 15 from the back bunker he made a bomb of 40-feet for birdie on No. 16. He nearly eagled No. 17 from 15 feet. After a routine par on No.18 he posted a one-over 71 to remain the leader by one stroke going into Sunday's final round.

The question will be the same tomorrow as it was for Norman at last year's Open. Does he have the stamina to compete and finish the win off on the fourth day? Senior golfers are used to competing in three day events with option of riding in golf carts on the Champions Tour.

Tom Watson and 12 other players can win the Open tomorrow.

One stroke behind Watson is Aussie Mathew Goggin and Englishman Ross Fisher whose wife is expecting a baby at any moment.

Two strokes back is another Englishman Lee Westwood and South African Retief Goosen.

Three strokes back are Americans Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink.

At even par, four strokes back are American Bryce Molder and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee.

The four players five strokes back are Sweden's Richard S. Johnson who won at Milwaukee opposite the Open last year and is unable to defend his title there this year; reigning Masters Champion and fierce competitor Angel Cabrera and Americans Boo Weekley, and second round co-leader Steve Marino.,

Don't count Steve Marino out. After the triple bogey on No. 15 he double bogeyed the 16th but finished birdie-birdie.

Old Tom Morris Sr. is the oldest winner of the Open Championship when he won in 1867 at age 46.

Maybe it is time again for young Tom Watson to win the Open.

Live from the Open at Turnberry- July 17

Andy Reistetter — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:54:26 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at the Open at Turnberry and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes. Here are his notes from Friday 7/17/09.

Well today makes four days in a row that I can't seem to catch a ride on the bus to get to the golf course. Today I met a new friend at the bus stop. He is a greenskeeper from Italy here helping out the retiring greens keeper here at Turnberry. It was late and the bus was almost coming so I put out my thumb. Sure enough a guy named Harry stopped and gave us both a ride to the golf course. Two new friends where usually I only meet one!

I have to admit my legs were a little tired after only six hours of sleep and walking more than 36 holes yesterday. Though once I arrived at Turnberry I felt find and haven't thought about how tired I am until now.

Open weather showed up at the Open today. The wind was constant all day out of the north. At least a 1-2 club wind more when it was gusty. This made holes Nos. 4 through 11 extremely difficult. Plus the rain came for a couple of holes and the temperatures cooled off a bit. As Tom Watson said in his interview in the evening "Lady Turnberry took off her gloves today."

Steve Marino was off the first tee at 7:03 a.m. with Sandy Lyle and shot a 2-under par 68 to post 5-under at the midway point of the 2009 Open Championship. I caught his post-round interview and the moderator noted it may very well hold up for the rest of the day. It did with only Tom Watson reaching that mark by shooting a 32 on the back nine and an even par 70 to go with his opening 65.

Oh I mentioned Sandy Lyle. His row with Colin Montgomerie is still quite the tiff over here. Both missed the cut with Colin besting Sandy by three strokes. Maybe they will have that pint together now since they have the time. One lady characterized the situation to me as "pathetic, tell them to sort it out." Captain Montgomerie and Major Champion Lyle—sort it out as the lady says.

Marino though he hasn't won on the PGA TOUR has been quite successful since getting through Q School and winning over a $1MM in his 2007 rookie season. Last year he won over $2 million and is currently No. 27 on the Money List YTD with almost $1.5MM. The single 29-year old is ranked No. 77 in the world.

Confident and playing well is how I would describe Marino. This is his first Open and exposure to true links golf. There was a slight "deer in the headlights" look to him but he reminded me of Lucas Glover's demeanor and how he played a difficult course and won the U.S. Open only four weeks ago.

I watched some of the Furyk-Ogilvy-Harrington game. Ogilvy tanked and missed the cut by nine strokes as did Ian Poulter (eight strokes) and Hunter Mahan (7 strokes). Furyk always the gutsy competitor drained a 25-footer for deuce on the difficult par-3 15^th hole. He is still in the hunt only four strokes back of Watson-Marino along with not Euro Martin Kaymer, Masters Champion Angel Cabrera, the "best player to never have won a Major" Sergio Garcia, Ryder Cupper Boo Weekley and "watch out if he gets hot" Camilo Villegas.

My main assignment today was the game of Vijay Singh, Bubba Watson and Northern Ireleand's Graeme "G-Mac" McDowell. Vijay the 2008 Fed Ex Cup Champion obviously had a great year last year but has fought through injury and resurrected his game with a T9 finish at THE PLAYERS. He has followed that up with two Top 10s in his last five tournaments.

Singh almost aced the par-3 4^th hole tapping in for deuce to get it to 4-under par. He double bogeyed the next par-3 6^thhole with a wayward right 3-wood and then a mo jo killing three putt missing a short one that I had recorded as already in the hole.

The 46-year old came right back with a birdie at the par-5 7^th but then 3-jacked the 8^th and bogeyed the 10^thfrom the hay greenside. He birdied 14 and 16 and eagled the par-5 17^th hole sinking a 30-footer just when you thought he could not putt anymore. He salvaged a round of par 70 and is only two back of the leaders.

Bubba with his pink shafted driver was hitting a nice low ball off the tees and it was running forever. He just had to pay the piper too many times as evidenced by his play on par-4 No. 3-driver left, failed to extract it completely from the hay, got it out short of the green, long chip-putt of 80 feet and then solid 8-footer for a solid bogey.

He reached the 7^th in two swings and two putted for birdie but was long on the par-3 11^thwith 7-iron into the wind. He chipped out of the hay and the ball rolled through the green into the front bunker for a quick double bogey five. The golfer with "the most talent though winless of the PGA TOUR" missed the cut by four strokes.

"G-Mac" has game and was interesting to watch. He made a mess out of the par-5 7^th hole with a wayward left second shot. Opting to not to drop out of the hay onto a nearby path he reversed that decision after swinging and not advancing the ball much if at all.

He recorded a double bogey that should have been bogey at worse. Hopefully not a stroke that comes back to haunt him on Sunday afternoon. Though hopefully it will mean "first loser" is better than 3^rd place which is better than 4^th place and so on.

After a 73 McDowell made the cut by two strokes and is at 1-over par six strokes back with the likes of Ernie Els and PLAYERS Champion Henrik "I will strip if I have to in front of my female caddie Fanny" Stenson.

While on the 17^th fairway we heard the roar from the 18^th green knowing immediately five time Open Champion Tom Watson had birdied to tie Marino for the 36-hole lead.

I managed to catch Watson's rather lengthy interview in the media center as I did the other co-leader earlier in the day. All I can say is that he is remarkably calm and to me it felt like an extended Ben Crenshaw "I got a feeling" Ryder Cup moment turned into a 15 to 20 minute discussion.

It seems pre-destined to me if only his body can hold up for the remaining two rounds. With little if no rain here the last couple of weeks the ground is hard and I am sure his legs and body is aching too. Though the flip side is the golf course is becoming hard and fast and his experience with the ground game and Lady Turnberry could mean a few strokes a round.

When asked to compare his much experience with Steve Marino's little or no experience he wisely commented on his first Open experience at Carnoustie in 1975 which he won. He humbly attested to the fact that "that one worked out pretty well for me."

It is "kind of spiritual" for my dear Watson. It has to be at age 59 and the love of the links so profuse he stated he will be back playing with friends and his sons for a long time after his competitive days are over and before "they plant me in the ground."

His heart speaks out of his love for the game which is "a game of a lifetime."

If only he could play with Sergio Garcia and 16-year old amateur Matteo Manassero the final two rounds as the chemistry and mo-jo within the threesome was evident throughout the first two days. "Come on old man" was Sergio's urgent request to Watson coming up the 17^th fairway. The three respected each other's role in this Open as the young, the old and the yet to be ordained as they approached the 18^th green.

My day on the links ended in a memorable though unexpected manner as I watched the Tiger Woods-Lee Westwood- Ryo Ishikawa threesome play the home hole. Tiger paid the price of wayward drives and missed the cut in a Major for only the second time in his professional career (other time was the 2006 U.S. Open).

Woods' streak of 38 cuts made as well as Charley Hoffman (26) and hot Hunter Mahan (22) were broken this week at Turnberry. Tiger stood in front of the media and answer their questions as the stand up guy that he is.

Other second round scoring notes:

1989 Open winner at Troon and 49-year old Mark Calcavecchia with 67-69 is solo third place 4-under par one stroke back.

Steve Stricker winner last week at the John Deere Classic followed his Thursday 66 with a Friday 77 but still made the cut and will play the weekend.

John Daly is hanging around shooting 68-72 and at even par is only five strokes back though with 21 players in front of him with 36 holes to play.

World No. 3 Paul Casey shot 68-76 and made the cut on the number.

David Duval shot 71-76 and missed the cut by three strokes.

PLAYERS Champion Henrik Stenson shot 71-70 and is six strokes behind the leaders.

Youth does count well sort of: 16-year old Matteo Manassero, an amateur shot 71-70 and old timer 20-year old Rory McIlroy shot 69-74 both making the cut.

Japan's 17-year old Ryo Ishikawa shot 68-78 and missed the cut along with his playing partner Tiger Woods.

Watch out for Retief Goosen (-3) and Lee Westwood (-2).

That's a wrap. Time for bed.

I wonder who will be picking me up at the bus stop in the morning and if I am still dream the night after the first round?

Tom Watson leading the Open again?

Live from the British Open at Turnberry, July 16

Andy Reistetter — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:51:59 -0400

Golf writer Andy Reistetter is on site at the Open at Turnberry and is providing daily reports covering both inside and outside the ropes. Here are his notes from Thursday, July 16.

I can't seem to catch a ride on the bus to get to the golf course. This is the third morning in the row I have gone down to the bus stop in plenty of time to catch the bus. Someone stops or backs up and says, "Hey do you want a lift?" Of course I do ,because I love meeting local folks.

I think that is the way to truly experience the Open.

I followed Tiger Woods, meeting up with him, Lee Westwood, and 17-year-old Ryo Ishikawa as they hit their approach shots into the green at the par-4 fifth hole.

I took a moment to take in the scene—hillocks and dales surround the green making for a natural amphitheater. Stadium golf before Pete Dye was even born for sure. Colorful streams of people all over the place. I thought this is Turnberry, this is the Open, this is Tiger Woods, it does not get any better than this.

No British Open weather though. The sun was shining, the temperatures in the low 70s by my personal thermometer and there was little wind. The weather was perfect for golf and going low just like in 1977 when Tom Watson (the other TW) outlasted Jack Nicklaus at the "Duel in the Sun."

Lee Westwood was the leader at three-under par through four holes. The Japanese golfing phenom Ishikawa was beating the world golfing phenom at age 33, Tiger Woods, one-under to even par.

Ishikawa had chipped out of the rough and back into the fairway. He hit a medium iron to the green on the 474-yard par-4 hole and two-putted from 70 feet for a bogey. All square with the world's No.1 golfer.

Ishikawa likes to wear plaid slacks with a large cross barred pattern. Yesterday it was orange and today it was a more muted color. I am not saying they are as loud as John Daly's Loudmouth attire, but you can definitely see him coming before you see him.

Tiger hit a great shot on the 231-yard par-3 sixth hole, but missed a makeable uphill birdie putt from inside 10 feet. Though he birdied the par-5 seventh hole, he then missed another 15-footer for birdie, leaving it dead in dead-short two inches.

You could tell he was frustrated big time by the flat stick.

After a three-putt bogey on No. 10, Woods' frustration with the flat stick started to carry over to his tee shots. He had the two-iron stinger going really well for a while, but then started to get the "rights."

Right on 13, "fore right" on 14, way back on No. 16, and surprisingly his approach shot found the burn to the right of the green and right on his tee shot at the par-5 17th hole.

Right, right right.

He missed a makeable 10- foot birdie putt on No. 18 and finished the day with a one-over par 71.

Ishikawa and Westwood shot two-under 68s.

Ishikawa missed a bunch of makeable birdie putts, but then started hitting laser irons so close he started making the putts. He missed short birdie putts on 12, 13, and 14 before birding the par-3 15th from 10 feet, and No. 17 from seven feet.

The youngster beat his idol by three strokes using a local Turnberry caddie, by the way.

The first question posed to Westwood in the post-round interview wasn't even a question, it was a comment.

"It seems like you left a few strokes out there."

He immediately rattled off where—on No. 4, a four-footer to go to four-under through four holes; two when he bogeyed the birdieable par-5 seventh; he also went in the burn at No. 16 for double bogey and failed to birdie the par-5 17th.

Six strokes left out there. The 68 could have, should have, would have been a new Open and Major record 62.

Chills went down my spine when I looked up to the scoreboard at 18 green to see Tom Watson on top, posting a five-under 65. Just like in the final round when he beat Nicklaus by a stroke in 1977—32 years ago. Major reason when Nick Price should play the Open even though he doesn’t think he can win.

Way to go, Tom!

Off to the first tee for Game 42 at 2:31 p.m. The threesome of Davis Love III, 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie and Aussie Stewart Appleby. The well known first tee announcer Ivor Robson…Game No. 42 from the United States' David Love the Third…with his voice getting high and trailing off at the end. Another WOW like at the fifth green earlier with Tiger's gallery.

Out of respect, I think they should let prior Open Champions tee off first. Especially old timers like Tom Watson, Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie. They may never get the honor again for the next 17 holes.

Oh you caught that. Montgomerie never did win the Open or any Major for that matter. Lyle has won two Majors. Lyle should have been the upcoming Ryder Cup Captain or at least an assistant with a promise for the job in 2014 at Gleneagles. Montgomerie did beat Lyle on the Ailsa golf course today, shooting a 71 to Lyle's 75.

Boo Weekley shot a three-under 67. I loved his comment last year at Royal Birkdale—can't get no sweet tea over there.

Walking up to the green on the par-3 fourth hole, the first of eight along the Irish Sea, thinking this is definitely a beach day. Why did I bring the umbrella? DL3 taps in for deuce though like Appleby he would follow a birdie with a bogey and never really get on track today.

One thing is for sure at Turnberry—the bunkers are really two-three times their actual size due to the contours of the ground around them. Like a vacuum cleaner, they suck balls in. It is a simple equation—bunker equals bogey at Turnberry, if you are lucky.

Here's the deal at the Open—there are no bunker rakes left on the course. Members of BIGGA (British and international Golf Greenskeeper Association) walk around with each group and rake the bunkers. The guy in my group gets a ball from Appleby after he bunkers on the fourth hole.

The logo on the ball is a red apple and a yellow bee for Appleby.

While on the eighth tee, I saw John Daly in the group behind almost hole out his second shot into the par-5 seventh hole for an albatross. Daly has lime green dot pattern pants on today. His girlfriend is wearing a matching skirt. OK we get the picture.

Love battles back from two-over to shoot a one-under 69 while Lawrie and Appleby shoot one-over 71s.

The Mechanic Miguel Angel Jimenez birdies Nos. 17 and 18 after shooting four-under on the front nine to record a six-under par bogey-free 64. He is the leader after Round 1 of the 2009 British Open.

Five-time Open Champion Tom Watson and 2003 Open Champion Ben Curtis both shot five-under 64s to tie for second place. Both golfers incidentally won the British Open in their first attempt. The 65 ties Watson's lowest first round in 128 Major appearances.

Other first round scoring notes:

Steve Stricker winner last week at the john Deere Classic shot 66.

John Daly shot a two-under par 68 and is tied for 21st.

World No. 3 Pal Casey shot 68.

Martin Kaymer winner the last two weeks on the European Tour shot 69 as did two-time defending Open Champion Padraig Harrington.

A refreshed and back to his normal self Sergio Garcia shot 70 in his quest for his first Major victory.

David Duval shot 71 while U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover shot 72.

PLAYERS Champion Henrik Stenson shot 71.

Masters Champion Angel Cabrera shot 69.

Scores of the youth: 16-year-old Matteo Manassero, an amateur shot 71, 17-year-old Ishikawa shot 68, and old-timer 20-year-old Rory McIlroy shot 69.

That's a wrap. It's after 11 p.m. and the sun has been down for a little over an hour. Sunrise is before 5 a.m. so I better hit the sack.

I wonder who will be picking me up at the bus stop in the morning.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net