The first great golf interview I read on the plane from Sydney to Melbourne last week. My one hour flight seemed to take 5 minutes as I immersed myself in the best golf article I have read for many years. Bob Shearer was interviewed by Australian Golf Digest for their August 2009 magazine and it's fantastic. He was one of Australia's great moustached golfers, winning 27 times in his professional career including one win on the PGA Tour."Fantastic. Nicest bloke I ever met," Shearer says of Nicklaus."My first Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village - I played at Pinehurst in '75 but he invited me to his first Muirfield tournament in '76. We were staying in the Hilton Hotel near the course there and apparently Jack and Barbara were staying there - and he asked us to come to dinner with them, just him and Barbara and Kathie and me. Well, I couldn't get there quick enough.
"It was quite daunting having dinner with your idol. He was my idol and I was sitting there having dinner trying to make conversation. At the end of dinner he said, 'Dessert's not too good here. I've got to do a few signatures. Barbara, you get the car and bring it around the front. Bob and Kathie, get in the car with Barbara. I'll do these things and I'll be out.' So we went out from there and went down the road to a Baskin-Robbins ice creamery.
"Now, I walked in there with Jack Nicklaus. They didn't know who I was, but they knew who he was. We got the ice creams and do you know where we ate them? We sat in the gutter and ate the ice creams. That's the truth, the honest truth. We're sitting on the kerb and… he's a regular person. I couldn't believe it. That was 1976 and it made me think, Christ Almighty, this is the No.1 player in the world, by far, and I'm with him sitting on a kerb in Ohio having an ice cream. And he's driven me here and he'll drive me home. Unbelievable."
Put it this way, had it been Greg Norman in his prime who took a three-shot lead into the final round of a major and then lost by three to his playing partner, that dreaded "c" word would have been bandied around by just about every commentator.
"...creates beneficial negative ions, which balance the positive ions and increase serotonin levels." The “ion” is similar in principle to the various bracelets and necklaces that some athletes wear, which they say uses the mystic physics of “minus ions” to improve an athlete's performance and promote an overall sense of physical well being.Mystic physics? Ok.
For more details check out the World Minigolf Sport Federation website.
Michael Sim has won for the third time on the Nationwide Tour this morning earning him instant promotion to the PGA Tour. He earnt battlefield promotion after a 2-stroke victory in Kansas in a solid, solid win.
Lind Golf are offering free embroidery on any golf bag purchased through their website up until August 31. Purchase a bag and they’ll embroider any name you choose onto it for you. If you’re having trouble telling Dad he’s a “hacker”, maybe this is the perfect way to do it.
In 1982, Jim Simons became the first tour player to win a professional tournament with metal woods in his bag and edespite Justin Leonard winning The Open Championship in 1997 with persimmon woods, it set metal woods firmly into golf bags around the world.
Herein lies the beauty of the hybrid which many golfers already know. It's easier to hit than a 3-iron and can be used from a multitude of lies and situations. Like any new club it takes a little bit of getting used to but thanks to Yang Yong-Eun's history making shot, it can hold it's hybrid head high with a new nickname - "A Tiger Beater".
It seems the Australian Masters is almost sold out. Offering 20,000 tickets a day, 90% of tickets have been sold, three months out from the event. Tickets for Thursday and Saturday are still available through www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849.
Y.E. Yang's win at the PGA Championship has seen him force his way into the International Team for the Presidents Cup taking place at Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco, October 6 - 11, 2009. It was at the expense of Rory Sabbatini. Team captain's Greg Norman and Fred Couples will announce their two wild card picks to bring each team to 12 players on September 8.| USA | International |
| Tiger Woods | Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) |
| Phil Mickelson | Vijay Singh (FIJI) |
| Steve Stricker | Camilo Villegas (COL) |
| Kenny Perry | Retief Goosen (SA) |
| Zach Johnson | Ernie Els (SA) |
| Stewart Cink | Angel Cabrera (ARG) |
| Sean O’Hair | Mike Weir (CAN) |
| Jim Furyk | Robert Allenby (AUS) |
| Anthony Kim | Y.E. Yang (SK) |
| Justin Leonard | Tim Clark (SA) |
Did you feel that? Did anyone else feel that? I’m guessing even non-golfers may have felt a rumble. Y.E. Yang has single-handedly created a golfing earthquake by winning the PGA Championship.
He’s beaten Tiger Woods and all of the associated statistics that come with it. The most notable one being that Tiger had never been beaten in a major championship on 14 occasions after leading after three rounds.
The first major quake came on the 14th when Yang chipped in from off the green for eagle to out-bird Tiger’s paltry birdie.
After this ornithological moment came the second and biggest shock wave on the final hole. Faced with a tough pin and middle of the green looking like a perfect option, Yang fired a hybrid over bunkers and trees to land his ball within a few feet of the hole, eventually settling around 6 feet away.
Yang appeared to fly in the face of his famous opponent. He threw a ball into the crowd before Tiger putted out on 15 and then putted out along Tiger’s line on the 16th green. I think most other golfers would have marked their ball and let His Royal Highness putt first. It almost appeared like Yang didn’t know who Woods was. Probably the perfect way to play against him.
This was a major golf earthquake. The biggest shock we’ve had for quite some time. The after-shocks will reverberate around the globe for quite sometime with a major tsunami of equally willing and classy Asian golfers following shortly.
*Photo courtesy of AP.
Related post
Videos: Yang's two amazing shots
This may the craziest idea Aussie Golfer has ever had.| Australia | England |
| Geoff Ogilvy | Paul Casey |
| Robert Alleby | Lee Westwood |
| Adam Scott | Ian Poulter |
| Mathew Goggin | Ross Fisher |
| Brendan Jones | Luke Donald |
| Aaron Baddeley | Oliver Wilson |
| Rod Pampling | Justing Rose |
| Michael Sim | Chris Wood |
| John Senden | Nick Dougherty |
| Stuart Appleby | Anthony Wall |
Lastly, Michael Campbell has made headlines and it's not a good one. The always factual and credible English newspaper The Mirror has labelled Michael Campbell a "serial quitter" after withdrawing from the Open Championship last month. It was the fifth time he has withdrawn from an event this year. He made his first cut on the European Tour this year in Sweden two weeks ago and he's playing the PGA Championship this weekend. Maybe he's better suited to majors. [Editor's Note: It appears the report of Tiger receiving a fine was inaccurate.
"Yes, I've heard from the Tour, and there's no fine," Woods said, referring to the Monday AP article. "It was an erroneous report."
He then didn't hold back in continuing his criticism of the situation:
Q: "Do you in any way regret personalizing the issue by naming John Paramor in your criticism of — "
A: "No, because he's the one who did it."
It seems the PGA Tour have not fined Tiger this time. He's reportedly the most fined player on tour. It does not change the precious nature of the PGA Tour and my comments relating to their reactions to criticism's indeed still apply.]
The final major of the year, the US PGA Championship tees off this week at Hazeltine National in Minnesota. FoxSports is providing live TV coverage this week in Australia with some repeat showings at respectable hours. See the FoxSports TV Guide for more details.
Robert Allenby lashed out earlier this year after being furious as to the way he was treated at last year's Australian Open. There is no decision as yet but his management have said he is still considering boycotting this year's Australian Open at New South Wales Golf Club and will make a decision after the PGA Championship.
Channel Ten’s One HD are covering the World Golf Championship Bridgestone Invitational this weekend. The country chosen to host this fabulous world event this week is.....the United States of America!
The Gerringong Golf Club lies on a stretch of road joining the towns of Gerringong and Gerroa. If you're a golfer and you've ever taken this road, you must remember the course. Placed in an open valley that stretches down to the ocean, it's quite a sight. Supreme real estate and a gorgeous place to hit the golf ball around.
The highlight for me was the par-5 fifth hole which requires a lot of thought on each and every shot. Going for the green in two would be very high risk even with the wind behind you. The hole extends around the beach at the bottom end of the course. It has two large bodies of water to negotiate and the fairway is tight.
Chatting to some of the most friendly locals you'll come across after the 18th (I wish I'd chatted before teeing off), it seems they are in the process of building a new place to house the golf carts and looking for some financial input from out-of-towners. On a hilly stretch of land, a cart isn't a bad option here. Surprisingly there's no 19th hole on course but this is more like a local secret than an emerging resort course and if you haven't taken time out to check out the views at some point during your round, you're missing one of the points of golf.
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