Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Open Qualification Window Nearly Shut.

Several top European golfers hopes of Open qualification hang by a thread after 36 hole qualifying at Sunnigdale over the weekend. Notable names to miss out on the 18 places up for grabs include Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, Jose Maria Olazabal and Rory McIlroy. Thomas Bjorn was forced to withdraw due to injury. Players who secured their places at Birkdale include Johan Edfors, Ross Fisher, Steve Webster and Phillip Archer, who was attempting Open qualifying for the 12th time. "It's just great- a dream" said Archer. Two time US Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal did not fare so well. The Spaniard failed to qualify despite shooting 71 and 65. He is now set to take a lenghty break from golf, due to his ongoing struggle with fatigue after returning from 7 months out the game with rheumatism. "Because it's the Open it was a good reason to come, but it was bascially a test for me" said Olazabal. "I haven't played at all and can't practice much, so I wasn't really expecting great things". For those who didnt qualify, their only hope now is to finish in the top five of the upcoming European and Scottish Opens.
 
'Mmmm..yeah definatley time for a break I think...'


7/1/2008 11:53:44 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Park Walks It

South Korea's Inbee Park became the youngest winner of the US Women's Open on Sunday with a final round 71. The 19 year old finished on nine under par to win by four strokes from Sweeden's Helen Alfedsson. Park was the only player to break par in all four rounds of the tournament, which was also her first win on the LPGA Tour. The tournament was not a great success for the British players involved, with Scotland's Catriona Matthew the leading Brit in 17th place. England's Karen Stupples finished with a 75 for a tie of 31st place, alongside world number one Lorena Ochoa. Three time champion Annika Sorenstam, who retires at the end of the year, finished on a dissapointing 3 over par, but did hole a six iron from 199 yards for an eagle three at the final hole.
 
The course designers had made the most of thier limited space.


7/1/2008 11:16:34 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Monday, June 30, 2008
Spain Reigns Again.

Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal claimed his maiden PGA Tour title on Sunday with a surprise victory at the French Open in Paris. The 25 year old shot a final round 67 to finish on 15 under, four strokes ahead of Colin Montgomerie. "I don't know how it feels- it's fantastic" he said. "I really played great golf and my putter was great all week". Ranked 481 in the world prior to the tournament, Larrazabal began his final round with three birdies in his first five holes. His double bogey on nine though put Montgomerie to within to of the lead, but birdies on 15 and 18 at Le Golf National settled proceedings, with Larrazabal picking up a cheque for 527,800 pounds, and qualification for The Open at Birkdale later this month. Lee Westwood continued his good form by finishing on 7 under par, with fellow Brit Oliver Fisher finishing on 5 under, alongside Irishman Paul McGinley.
  'The old super glue trick had finally reached France.'


6/30/2008 10:34:20 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Friday, June 27, 2008
An Apology

After bigging him up this morning we see Oli had a so so round this afternoon.

He's still in there but we can't help but feel a little responsible. So Mr Fisher were just going to shut up about it and let you crack on.


Babbsy handing Oli our apology in a nice bag.

Check the leaderboard to see how he did.




6/27/2008 5:28:41 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Fisher In The Hunt

What were you doing when you were 19? Still struggling to get served? Crashing your first car? Slacking off in your McJob? Then you clearly aren’t Oli Fisher.

Our GOLFPUNK Against The World has decided to be one shot off the lead held by Spanish rookie Pablo Larrazabal after day the first round the French Open.

Fisher ended with a five-under 66, level with Dubliner Peter Lawrie, who is bidding to clinch the first Spanish and French Open double for 24 years.

Lawrie began with a double bogey six but then hit 10 birdies in the next 14 holes at Le Golf National near Paris.

"I hit a lot of good putts and it was a rollercoaster ride," he said.

Oli Fisher, well good at golf.

"When I put my second shot in the water I thought 'you stupid you-know-what'," he added.

"That's not me usually. I'm normally calm and collected - par, par, par and the occasional birdie. Ten in a round is possibly a record for me."

Two more birdies for Lawrie would have matched the European Tour record of Darren Clarke, Fred Couples, Ernie Els and Russell Claydon, but he bogeyed two of the last three holes.

Larrazabal is making his debut in the event as a player after he caddied for his older brother Alejandro.

His own switch to the professional ranks was delayed on the instructions of his father Gustavo, who instead made him work on the family fish farm.

"I was up at 5.30 and had to clean trays and make sure the temperature was right - I was the rookie there," he said.

"He wanted me to know how normal people work for a living."

GP’s next cover star Lee Westwood was back in action on Thursday for the first time since his third-place finish in the US Open and finished level with Colin Montgomerie on two-under par 69.
    
Ian Poulter, partnering Westwood, returned a one-over 72, but was pleased he had no real problems with his right wrist after pulling out of the US Open during his second round.

"It felt good," he said.

"I had a couple of shots that tested it, but there was one where I could have gone for the green and decided it was not the clever thing to do."

Good luck this afternoon Oli. Let’s hope we haven’t jinked the lad.




6/27/2008 5:23:14 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Ouch

World number one Hop-a-long Woods has had successful reconstructive surgery on the torn ligament in his left knee overnight.

The procedure was performed in Park City by the same doctor who performed arthroscopic surgery on that same knee for Woods in April.

"It was important to me to have the surgery as soon as possible, so that I could begin the rehabilitation process," Sir Limp-a-lot said on his website.

"I am very appreciative of Dr. Rosenberg and Dr. Cooley and his staff's guidance and look forward to working with them through the necessary rehabilitation and training."

The doctors were also positive about the prognosis for the man who has become the face of golf worldwide.

Tiger's knee yesterday. Probably.

Captain Peg Leg announced that he would be having the season-ending surgery last week, days after capturing his 14th major title in a thrilling play-off victory over Rocco Mediate at the US Open.

Woodsy said he had played the open with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and with two stress fractures in his left tibia.

Throughout the US Open, played on the Torrey Pines South course in San Diego, California, Tiger could be seen limping and grimacing, sometimes even doubling over in pain after hitting a shot.

His distress was most apparent during a remarkable third round, when the Bert Trautman of golf seized the tournament lead with a back nine that included a 65-foot putt for eagle on the par-five 13th hole, a chip-in birdie at 17 and another eagle at 18.

The next day, Woods birdied the 72nd hole of regulation to force an 18-hole play-off with Mediate.

Trailing Mediate at the 18th play-off hole, he birdied that as well to force sudden-death, finally winning on the 91st hole of the tournament.

Woods ranked the victory as one of his best, right alongside his first major triumph at the 1997 Masters.

Get well soon Tiger, we miss you.




6/27/2008 5:07:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Thursday, June 26, 2008
Buick Open 2008

Isn’t it nice to see people looking on the bright side?

Some overzealous doom mongers think a season without Tiger is going to make golf implode. Not Greg Johnson. This level headed journo for the Grand Rapids Press has come up with some reasons why Tiger’s absence from this weekend’s Buick Open could actually benefit spectators.

He asserts this is the 50th anniversary of the Buick Open, which means it has pulled off an event 42 times without Woods at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club. It will pull off another, and honestly, there are reasons to venture here this week, or at least watch on television.

Here’s his list:

Saving Money
No Woods means less money for parking because of less demand and more supply, and that means you save money before you get in the gate.

Then, the crowds are down, so you can actually move around and not fight thousands of people for good spots along the ropes.

The real golf fans -- as in the ones who liked the sport before Tiger -- should be very pleased with this access to the action.

Parking was just $5 Tuesday. It will go up each day, but it shouldn't skyrocket. Don't forget to car pool. Gas was $4.08 in Flint on Tuesday.

Rocco Is There
Rocco Mediate won here in 2000, and each year he stays with Grand Blanc resident Steve Purtis, who is a friend of his from high school.

Sure, he is tired of talking about taking Tiger to task at the U.S. Open only to fall when the King of Golf Drama put him away, but he promises to be engaging, entertaining and excited to play.

He's the guy golf fans can watch instead.

I played in a pro-am with him before, and he couldn't have been a better pro partner. He told me once that golfers have to remember they exist only because the fans exist.

John Daly Is There
Sure, he's a human car wreck waiting to happen much of the time, but he has wowed the crowd here before with his grip-it-and-rip-it approach to the game. He has attracted galleries that rival Tiger's followers in previous visits.

A few years ago, Vijay Singh was winning, but everybody on Sunday was following Big John. Simple reason: He's fun to watch.

Car wrecks make you look when you go past.

Billy Casper Is There
Sure, some of the younger golf fans have never heard of him, which is reason to come.

Call it golf history 101. Casper was the winner of the 1958 Buick Open, the first Buick, and local golf fans should remember he was a former champion in Grand Rapids after he helped bring the Senior PGA Tour to town for an 18-year run.

Casper also won two U.S. Opens, a Masters and was on eight Ryder Cup teams while winning 51 PGA Tour events. He signs autographs, and he remembers names.

All valid reasons I’m sure you’ll agree. So if you're knocking about the streets of Michigan with nothing to do get involved.

We wanted to post a video of some great moments from the Buick Open but found this video was more fun. Click the image to check it out.



6/26/2008 12:36:43 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Funny Ha Ha

An oldy but a goody.

Alan Partidge waxing lyrical about everyone's favourite shot maker.

It leaves us in hysterics every time.



6/25/2008 3:53:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The World Matchplay Moves To Spain

Golf’s richest tournament has scarpered to sunnier climes.

The World Match Play Championship, which has been held at Wentworth in England since its inception in 1964, will not take place this year but is to move to Spain in 2009 under a round-robin format.

The International Management Group said on Tuesday the event, with a prize fund of $5 million, would be staged at the Finca Cortesin club near Marbella with a new sponsor, Volvo.

This year's season-ending Volvo Masters in Valderrama will be the last, to be replaced in 2009 by the Dubai World Championship forcing Volvo to get back on the sponsors merry go round and switch backing to a revamped Match Play.

A field of 16 will be split into four groups of four over the first two days over 18 holes with group winners progressing to the 36-hole semi-finals on the Saturday.

"Now I have to get up three hours earlier."

Arnold Palmer won the first Match Play title in 1964. South African Ernie Els, last year's champion, has a record seven victories to his credit dating back to 1994.

We suspect the ‘Big Easy’ will be a bit gutted about the move. Some put his success to the fact the tournament was played in his back yard.

We imagine it would help.


Els feeling mardy about the move. Probably. To be fair we haven’t talked to him about it.


6/24/2008 12:43:18 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Golf Sale

A golf ball more than 170 years old and stuffed with a top hat's worth of goose feathers is expected to fetch £25,000 when it is auctioned next month.

We wish we’d have found it when looking for one of our wayward balls.

The feathery “midget”, smaller than a modern golf ball, dates from 1835 and is believed to be the only one of its type in existence. The ball used to belong to Harry B. Wood, a friend of “Old” Tom Morris and predates the introduction of gutta-percha balls by 15 years.

The sale is to take place on July 12 at Ludlow racecourse in Shropshire. We’d suggest if you fork out 25 grand for the antique golf ball you don’t tee it up for crack at the 17th at Sawgrass. If it ends up in the drink you’ll be right ticked off.


Pricey and old, much like the Italian squad.


6/24/2008 12:37:23 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Monday, June 23, 2008
Kids What Are Better Than Us

Kids eh? If there not boring you to death at their school play they’re being much better than could reasonably be expected at golf.
 
A twelve-year-old boy will lead Tanzania’s team of six players to the 2008 East African Nation Golf Classic series grand finale at Muthaiga Golf Club in November.

Victor Joseph, an orphan who knew nothing about golf eight months ago, beat a field of 139 players with a superb 39 stableford points to emerge the leading qualifier of the East African Nation Golf Classic Tanzania edition at the tough playing Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club.

Joseph, currently playing off 18, fired five over par 22 at the front nine despite double-bogeying thee par three-ninth.

He later posted 17 points at the back nine which included three double-bogeys and a three back to back bogeys at the last three holes.

“I am very excited that Joseph has won this event. I started off with these boys on September 28 last year and not only are they playing well but they are likely to be single figure players by the end of the year,” said Dar es Salaam resident professional and golf administrator Charles Farrar.

Elsewhere Tommy Fleetwood, from Southport, lost three and two to Reinier Saxton, of the Netherlands, in the Amateur Championship final at Turnberry on Saturday, but the calmness and touch shown by the 17-year-old on and around the greens will stand him in good stead when he joins the professional ranks.

He has convinced two members of the Park Golf Club, Southport, where he learnt the game and hit a course-record 65 last year, to place a £500 bet on him becoming Open champion before his 27th birthday.

They have been given odds of 66-1.

After his semi-final win on Friday, Fleetwood had said that the biggest plus of his winning streak was that he got to play Turnberry for free. He got two more rounds on Saturday and could have become the youngest winner of the Amateur, but having been one up after 19 holes, he faded on the closing stretch.

Fleetwood was a gallant loser. “He just played much better than me,” he said. “Tee to green he was much better. I can't be disappointed - I did better than 286 other golfers.”



6/23/2008 12:17:13 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Cink Triumphs At Travelers

Stewart Cink shot a three-under 67 to win the Travelers Championship on Sunday, 11 years after he claimed his first PGA Tour title at the event.

Cink got up-and-down for par on the 18th hole to squeeze out a one-shot victory over Tommy Armour III and 2007 champion Hunter Mahan. It was the fifth PGA Tour title of his career and first since he won twice in 2004.


Stewart Cink yesterday.

Stu's victory followed a good, but winless, season that saw him post six top-10 finishes, including two runner-ups and a tie for third place at the Masters.

For the man fro Florence Alabama, it was his first win since the 2004 NEC Invitational, a lucrative World Golf Championships event. He moved from seventh place on the FedEx Cup points list to third behind Woods and Mickelson.

But with Woods sidelined for the rest of the season following his U.S. Open win, Cink is, for all intents and purposes, second on the list to Mickelson.




6/23/2008 12:11:42 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Kaymer Comes Through

Despite our best efforts to curse him on Friday Martin Kaymer survived a final-round collapse to win the BMW International Open in Munich with a play off victory over Anders Hansen.

The 23 year old led by six shots going into the last day but he struggled in the final round, even carding a triple bogey eight at the 11th.


Martin Kaymer and his retro car phone.

He needed a birdie at the 18th to match Hansen's target of 15 under.

And on the first extra hole, a birdie four from Kaymer was enough for victory after Hansen found two bunkers.

The win pushed Kaymer up to sixth place on the European Ryder Cup ladder.




The Ryder Cup ladder (left).


6/23/2008 11:49:07 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Friday, June 20, 2008
BMW International Open 2008 - Round 2

Things are hotting up nicely in Munich. A couple of rounds in Martin Kaymer is top of the pile which reminded us why he won Rookie of the Year in the 2007 GOLFPUNK Staunch awards.

In December last year Editor Shaun McGuckian wrote..

"At the Dunhill Links I was stood watching the golf with an agent when we watched one player monster a drive, stiff his chip, hole the putt and then hit a tee shot to two feet at the next hole. The agent remarked with knowing guile that no-one had yet signed the man. That man was Martin Kaymer.

To those in the know, Martin Kaymer’s form has not come as a surprise. Unfortunately, Mr Kaymer was the only one who knew. He joined the European Tour this year after attacking the Challenge Tour in 2006 like a Tasmanian Devil. He played only eight events, winning two and finishing in the top five another four times, claiming fourth place in the rankings. The year before that he shot a competitive 59.

The 22-year-old German is unfazed by grand arenas and that is why he took to the European Tour with the same gusto as he attacked everything else. In his first full season he easily saw off his nearest rival in this category, Anton Haig, and Anton won an event! More astonishing than his 41st place finish is the fact that Kaymer is currently ranked 76th in the world and only going one way. By the way he has now been signed to a management company.

It says enough about his meteoric rise that you guys know who he is and have applauded his achievement by voting him the rookie of the year. The next step is surely to the bookie counter..."

Perceptive even if he says so himself (which he did). Now that's Sergio Garcia isn't rubbish at golf, Danny Willet is well good at golf and Martin Kaymer could be a star that the man from Holywood has gotten right.

Hardly makes him a soothsayer. He hasn't got anything right before or since.

Hopefully we haven't cursed the lad.



6/20/2008 9:03:18 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 


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