The Dimond geezer is back again, this talking about Tiger Woods and David Beckham.



In what must have been a fairly slow news day for members of the press at the USPGA the other day, headlines were made when Tiger Woods proclaimed that David Beckham probably had a higher global profile than he did.

"As far as world athletes, I don't see how Beckham didn't beat me. As far as global figures, he's probably more global than me.”

This whole debate arose from a programme the US broadcaster ESPN ran, called ‘Who’s Now’, in which 32 high profile athletes squared off in a series of knockout bouts to find the public’s most popular sports star. Tiger emerged with a comfortable final victory (winning 65.1% of the vote against Cleveland Brown’s basketball star LeBron James). David Beckham, meanwhile, had to put up with a narrow defeat to world renowned LaDainian Tomlinson (the San Diego Chargers Running Back, and 2006 NFL MVP).

Now, while the fact I felt the need to explain who Tomlinson actually is effectively demonstrates the narrow-mindedness of the poll (I mean, Austin Healey would probably beat him in a popularity AND most stupid name contest this side of the pond) it does raise an interesting debate. Tiger has consistently been voted the most high profile sportsman by the US media – and to do that in a predominantly US-sports market (i.e. baseball, basketball, American football…..WWE) is no mean feat. Yet, unless he is playing a clever media game, he does not believe that hype. As he puts it:

“You know, golf is not truly played all around the world. It is played in most places but not like soccer or football is”

He’s not wrong. Golf is not truly played around the world – hell, half the people I play with cheat! And while football might not be universally popular - it is after all the 27th most popular sport in America (narrowly behind dodgeball and hotdog-eating) - it does have a huge following pretty much everywhere else. It seems to me (as nothing more than a GP workie) that the best yardstick probably comes from their earnings. Becks has a far bigger take home pay (wages of $25m compared to Tigers $10m depending on season results) but it is sponsorship where the big bucks lie. Becks doubles up through sponsorship, but Tiger rakes in over $70m to emerge rich-torious. I would use this as conclusive evidence, but then again David Beckham did play at the FIFA World Cup (the world’s most watched sporting event) whereas Tiger gets a fraction of that audience for his annual Augusta jaunt. So, at the end of all that, I am going to bottle it, call it a draw and quickly hurry onto another topic…….



Away from the Billy Big-Timers arguing over who is more popular, there is an intriguing quandary gripping the working classes of golf. With the FedEx Cup heading towards the final stages (well, qualification for the last 144 players ends after the USPGA) attention is beginning to turn towards the hunt for overall victory – and the $10million prize that goes with it. Such a prize is unheard of in golf, and arguably still is as the sum will actually be paid as a supplement to the lucky players PGA pension (rather than the standard oversized cheque - though no doubt one will make an appearance). For the players this is no big deal, for the caddies it creates a delicate situation. With caddies generally earning 10% of all winnings, the lucky bagman will be in line for a $1m windfall. With no PGA pension, said person will be expecting to see that money, in full, soon after that drunken victory party has ended. But with the victorious player not seeing that money for between 20 and 50 years (depending on whether he is Vijay Singh or Tadd Fujikawa) it is unlikely they will be too keen to stump up $1m they don’t actually have. How will they resolve this problem? Who knows, but everyone will be watching with a great deal of interest (well, at least when they get their money they will, arf arf) Whatever the case, the champion golfer will have some issues to deal with, which rather reminds me of Puff Daddy, who infamously (and wisely) sang about ‘Mo Money, Mo Problems’. How true these words could be, and in the video it was at a golf tournament this fact was illustrated!!

Tournament Questioner: I guess this means more money, more problems for you?
Winning Golfer (Puff): Yeah, [sighs], yeah. Mo money, mo problems……

A modern day Nostradamus I tell you!

To read about ESPN’s ‘Who’s Now’ click here

For all you need to know about the FedEx Cup, click here

To watch Puff Daddy’s video for ‘Mo Money, Mo Problems’ click here

8/9/2007 4:12:54 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

On the eve of the USPGA talk has again returned to the World No.1. The New Zealand Herald’s website has a piece about how TW is majorless so far this season and must take advantage of his last chance in 2007 in the pursuit of his Herculean goals.

The last time somebody questioned Tiger he went and blew all away before him. Personally, I suspect history to repeat.

”A year without a Tiger major is a bit like a year with a European major winner - not a one-off, but a definite rarity.

That's the intriguing possibility when the golfing caravan pitches up at its last stop of real significance this season, the USPGA Championship at Southern Hills.

Defeat in the state of Oklahoma this week would mean that for only the fourth time in his 11 complete seasons as a professional, Woods will have drawn a blank. Turn out the lights? End this farce? Tiger is finished?



Well, not quite, but still a pretty unpalatable prospect for this competitor of the most voracious of appetites…

For more on this story click here…

8/8/2007 3:51:45 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

With the USPGA starting this week Mechelle Voepel has been seeing what the three rookie major winners of 2007 have been upto.

”Winning a major championship is every golfer’s dream. Some will tell you, though, there is a hidden cost. Specifically, greater demands on your time.

But you’re not going to hear any complaints from this year’s three first-time major winners. Zach Johnson (Masters), Angel Cabrera (U.S. Open) and Padraig Harrington (British Open) — who will be grouped together for the first two rounds — are very much enjoying the wave you get to ride after a major title….”


Will there be fresh finger prints on the Wannamaker Trophy?

For more on this story click here…

8/7/2007 3:49:51 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

An interesting yarn about a seven year old golfing prodigy. According to his mum Galven Kendall Green’s victory in the US Kids Golf World Championships is pre ordained. Not just because of the huge amounts of work he puts in or undeniable natural talent. Although they both contribute she puts part of his success down to the lucky numbers in his birth date. I mean if that’s all it took….

”His mother thinks that his auspicious birth date is one reason for Malaysian golf prodigy Galven Kendall Green's phenomenal victory in the US Kids Golf World Championships.

The seven-year-old, who was born on Aug 8, 1999 (8/8/99), beat 111 other players in his age group on Saturday, making the nation proud with his second international title.


Lucky (and talented) lad.

Last year, he became the first Malaysian to win the prestigious international junior world golf tournament (under-6 category) in San Diego, California.

Mum Vivienne Beh quipped that the “ong” (lucky) numbers of Galven’s birth date could very well have contributed to his success…”

For more on the amazing Galven Green (the golfer not the clothing make) click here…

8/6/2007 3:47:19 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Bob Gillespe has penned a piece on Carolina Golf about the joys (and pain) of being a golfer over 50. It’s an interesting read even for whipper snappers like myself. So a bit of respect please and listen to what the old fellow has got to say.

”I still remember the phone call from my mother shortly after my 50th birthday. "How are you feeling about (turning 50)?" she asked. Fine, I told her. "Oh, good," she replied. "Your father went totally to pieces when he hit 50." Thanks for sharing that, Mom. Seriously, the best thing about hitting the big 5-0, at least for golfers, is that whole "mulligan" business. In professional golf, you turn 50 and you start playing the Champions Tour, against a crew of guys who now call you "junior." Most of the money won on the Champions Tour usually comes in the first three-to-five years after 50; then, unless your name is Hale Irwin, the descent starts, and it's not pretty. And there's really not an equivalent bonus when you hit 60; you're just getting old, pal….”


An Older Golfer
For more on this story click here….

8/5/2007 3:44:49 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Not quite the GP Essential 100 but Golf Digest has compiled a list of the 100 greatest golfers from the world of sport. Most of them are people I have never heard of but American sports fans are sure to see a few familiar names.

“Following in the tradition of its best musician and best Hollywood golfer lists, Golf Digest released its ranking of the top 100 golfers from the world of sports. Using official USGA handicaps to compile the rankings, the magazine determined that former pitcher Rick Rhoden is the best athlete golfer. Rhoden has been the “Tiger Woods” of the Celebrity Golf Tour, wining more than 40 events while boasting a +2.5 index.

Other successful athlete-golfers include ex-Green Bay Packer Sterling Sharpe (+2.4), ex-Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer (+1.5) and retired slugger Mark McGwire (+.7). Among non-retired athletes, quarterback Brett Favre (+.8) and Seattle Supersonic Ray Allen (1.2) are notables.

New York Yankee Derek Jeter’s 30 handicap is surprising. Jeter will likely follow in the footsteps of NCGA Golf Q and A subject (Bluebook 2007) Jerry Rice. The NFL legend, an NCGA member through Sharon Heights, has played to as low as a .8 index after not playing golf seriously until his playing days were over.

Who says golfers aren’t athletes?”

For more on the list click here….

8/4/2007 3:43:04 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

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] 

Our campaign to make golf the number one sport may just be working. World.com say that it was the No.1 Profesional sport in the US during July.



” Historians will look back to July 2007 and reach a startling conclusion - golf is the greatest sport in the world. It reached that lofty height by default, of course, but there can no longer be any doubt - golf is king of all professional athletic endeavours. Cycling, which has officially ceased being a sport and is now a pharmacy on wheels, took another hit as Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen was tossed from his team and the race after violating Rabobank team rules. Rasmussen grows the growing list of cyclists who have at least been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, a list that now includes everyone from Floyd Landis to Lance Armstrong to Robin Williams. But that's just cycling, and face it, it's a sport that committed seppeku about this time last year with Landis. But right now is about the most miserable time in professional sports history….”

For more on this story click here…

To join our campaign click here…

8/2/2007 3:28:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0]