Wonder workie Alex "Pat Sharp" Dimond has penned this blog because I had a headache.



Take it away Princess Di...

Here at GP Towers we are never ones to blow our own trumpet (well, not if someone else can do it for us) but with the dust settling on Padraig Harrington’s epic Open victory, now seems as good a time as any to proclaim that we knew it first. In an age when ‘The Sun’ brand their latest story on Carlos Tevez an ‘EXCLUSIVE!’ (even when everywhere from Sky Sports to the Independent has the story covered), we actually knew Paddy’s future before even he did.



Way back in GP11 (Sept 05), in an article generously entitled ‘The Grinder’, we announced that Harrington was ‘the man who took Tiger’s breath away at Sawgrass and will one day win a major’ – although for the sake of suspense we refrained from publishing the exact time and date of this success.



Aside from the golf, we had the scoop on Paddy’s private life, including facts about his Ipod (“it’s still in the box, can’t work it out”) and his leisure interests (“cinemas and restaurants, that’s my thing”). Unfortunately, with son Patrick only two at the time, there is no mention as to where the family ladybirds were kept.

Harrington is, of course, a famous teetotaller. Fans and media alike went into raptures when he admitted to a cheeky swig of a John Smith’s after that particularly arduous Sunday’s work - which he explained was down to a bet he had with his manager (and new found drinking buddy) Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler. Back in GP11, our intrepid reporter questioned Harrington on his activities after winning the ’02 Ryder Cup – where it appeared to all the world that he downed half a bottle of finest champagne:

http://delivery.viewimages.com/xv/71981688.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193F669B259AB992A04CE02CA8B28D8C69D450D130E33168C39

“How do you explain the picture of you swigging from a bottle of champagne after the Ryder Cup win then?” “I was thirsty” came Paddy’s response. So it seems it is true what they say about the Irish needing any excuse to get the alcohol flowing. Lets hope we see Paddy plastered a few more times in his career…….



To get your mits on Golf Punk 18 and read the ‘Mystic Meg-esque’ article on Padraig Harrington, click here.

8/3/2007 3:40:01 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Now the dust has truly settled on the open, Jean Van De Velde has chucked his two euros in about the differences between this years event and his fateful tournament of 1999.

” I'm Jean Van de Velde, and I can't believe my eyes. The soggy final round of the 2007 Open Championship is on TV, and the cameras are showing Carnoustie's 18th hole from every angle. Or at least they say it's the 18th hole. Where's the boomerang board that smacks two-iron approaches backward across the Barry Burn? Where's the knee-high rough that swallows golf balls without even a hint of a burp? Where are the swarms of African tsetse flies and the blinding smoke from brush fires set by the R&A? When I famously blew my three-stroke lead on the 72nd hole of the 1999 Open, the 18th was so tough that you needed a team of Navy SEALs to get across the Burn. Paul Lawrie, who beat me and Justin Leonard in a four-hole playoff, celebrated by getting a tattoo: I BIRDIED THE LAST AT CARNOUSTIE. And it wasn't only the 18th hole. The fairways at the '99 Open were 12 yards across at their widest point, the greens were overseeded with ornamental cactus, and the par-3s had pot bunkers--between the tee markers! Only one guy equaled par in the first round, and that guy, Rod Pampling, shot 86 on Friday and missed the cut by three strokes. The headline writers dubbed it carnasty, and it was. When I jammed home my clutch putt for a triple-bogey 7 to gain the playoff, I joined Paul and Justin at six-over-par 290. It was the highest winning score in an Open since 1946, when Sam Snead won with the same number at St. Andrews…..”

For more on this story click here…

7/28/2007 3:06:17 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

This Ryder Cup mania has gone absolutely crazy!

We were prepared for 300,000 disappearing for a few days and mysteriously turning up on Monday with a slight Irish accent, we were even prepared for a huge upsurge in electricity use during TV breaks and had notified the relevant authorities. But what we weren’t prepared for, what you could of knocked us down with a feather with, was the news that one of our GolfPunk stable would go renegade!!!!!

In the run up to the Ryder Cup we rang around and checked to see how all our GolfPunks against the World were getting on. Ollie Fisher was doing what Ollie Fisher does. Playing golf and winning. Suzann and Jonathan are playing over in the States, which is fair enough. James Heath is plying is trade on the Challenge Tour trying to get onto the big boys tour next year. We phoned the tow Graeme's Storm and McDowell, which went something a bit like this....

GP: "Hi guys, how are you?"

Graemes: "ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!!!"

GP: "What the hell was that? Where are you??"

Graemes: "Yoooooooouuuuuuuu ddaaaaaaaaaa mmaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!" (Line goes dead)

It turns out that the duo are at the Ryder Cup following Europe and mingling with the fans. So say hi if you see them. Then we went to check on Sam. A certain Mr Torrance. But we got no reply. That's not unusal. Normally he's on duty with the BBC. So we tried again later, but still nothing and the parental instinct in us started to worry. He hadn't called, left no note etc, etc....then we heard that he was definitely at the K Club, so we sent a craic (see what we did there) unit to find him, but they've taken over a pub in Naas called the Ivy and apparently, he isn't there. But they did give us this...

Sam Torrance Blog 

Live commentary A not so serious look at the action as it unfiolds. 

The Atlantic Divide A bit of banter from both sides of the pond. 

It's the Ryder Cup coverage on AOL and if you look closely you'll find a certain moustachioed Scottish fella filling you in on all the juicy gossip behind the scenes at the Ryder Cup. We've been on it all day - checking in to see that he's behaving himself - and we recommend you do the same. And if you see him, tell Sam we know what he's been up to!!!

9/22/2006 7:48:08 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

A golf course somewhere in Libya - Hole 2

A golf course somewhere in Libya - Hole 10

Watched the Open via BBC interactive on our Astra 6 metre dish and thought the whole affair was brilliant - was that you guys the BBC caught on the beach?

Yes it was.

They didn't show an arial shot of what was written in the sand - that, of course, would be advertising (and that's not allowed on the BBC?!?)

It said 'Golf Punk at 17th Green' in giant letters.

We made a replica of the 17th green at St. Andrews. We dug the bunker to 6 feet deep, which was tough to get out of, just like the road hole in which we practised our bunker shots for hours. We also took sofas, a bar, a coffee table, an ironing board, carpets and made a front room environment whilst we chilled on the beach.

Phil Sharp & our friends at pga.com joined and showed us how bunker shots should be taken.

Practicing my bunker play as you can see in attached photos from our golf course...

Jim McCann

8/1/2005 5:11:32 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

The weather has agreed to be warm and pleasant (correct at time of publication), and the golfing gods have promised lavish entertainment. For which we of course thank them. This Year The GolfPunk Clubhouse and The American Golf Marquee will be situated at The Gin House Bar in St Andrews.

For those of you who can’t make it to sunny Scotland, never fear, GolfPunk will be posting photos of the golf festival daily, you’ll be able to view all the action right here www.golfpunkonline.com/open.

7/14/2005 10:55:34 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

If you're looking for daily pics from the Open you've found it!

7/12/2005 9:19:22 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [1]