***Buick Invitational Live Thread***[Golf Ping]

Thanks Z! Appreciate that. The thing that amazes me with Tiger is his ability to recover from mistakes. If he is in trouble off the tee, his short game bails him out.

Thanks for the advice on so many golf issues.

If your clubs are THAT old, then you’d might consider finding something new if you can,

My dad's clubs are mostly McGreagors. He and I are/were about the same height so they feel pretty good. The grips could probably use some work.

Know what you mean about bargains- my wife's son got a set of clubs, with bag and wheels for $75 from a guy he did some work for, as this guy was a biker and at some point blew-out a knee in an accident.

As a left-hander, finds such as this are few and far, if you know what I mean. When I've gone into a sporting goods store where they'll have a barrel of clubs marked down, all I can find are right-handed sticks. Try this next time you're in one of these stores: find the left-handed club--I guarantee, you'll be using the other side of your brain. (LOL)

As you mentioned, a particular brand of club may not be that important, and I agree. I think good construction should be obvious and would go from there. I've watched others at the range hitting some big 460s with varied results. Maybe the club doesn't quite fit them.

As a former ball player I had to hit a leather bound ball moving at me at about 90mph. What amazes me still is, that if you hit the sweet spot, it was over the fence without putting a lot of power into the swing.(I did this a few times ;^) So, as you mentioned, teeing up properly and getting that 'sweet' spot on the ball is sooo important. In both instances, there is almost no jarring in the hands- it just feels great. No pain = big gain

There's a big home located at the end of the range I go to- probably 300+ yrds from the tees- dude, you'd be bouncing balls off his siding! Therefore, I shall not hit that far, LOL!

I don't see myself playing even a fraction of the games you play but know this: this game is a test that you take willingly, never knowing how you'll do. It consists of eighteen questions, some you'll ace, some you'll flunk. A passing grade, however, goes only to those that apply.

Round 3 results. The PGA may have to involk the "mercy rule", like the Little League does, to prevent embarassment.

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Pos.

Player	Overall	Today	Thru	R1	R2	R3	R4
1.	Woods, Tiger	-18	-6	18	67	65	66
2.	Cink, Stewart	-10	-3	18	68	69	69
3.	Durant, Joe	-9	-5	18	70	70	67
4.	Baddeley, Aaron	-7	-1	18	71	67	71
4.	LaBelle II, Doug	-7	-3	18	68	72	69
4.	Leonard, Justin	-7	-7	18	76	68	65
4.	Weekley, Boo	-7	-1	18	72	66	71
8.	Appleby, Stuart	-6	-1	18	67	72	71
8.	Imada, Ryuji	-6	-3	18	69	72	69
8.	Quinney, Jeff	-6	-2	18	69	71	70

Tiger Builds Lead to Eight at Torrey
By Associated Press - January 26, 2008

SAN DIEGO -- Winning the Buick Invitational is now a matter of when, not who.

Tiger Woods hit his stride Saturday at Torrey Pines, missing only one green in regulation on his way to a 6-under 66 and an eight-shot lead, the largest 54-hole margin on the PGA TOUR since Phil Mickelson in 2006 at the BellSouth Classic.

Woods was at 18-under 198, tying the 54-hole record at Torrey Pines set by Woody Blackburn in 1985. Woods also shattered tournament records for 54-hole lead (five shots), and appears well on his way to capturing the Buick Invitational for the fourth straight year, and sixth time in his career.

Stewart Cink holed a 35-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to lead the B-flight. That gave him a 69. One shot behind was Joe Durant, who shot a 67 on the South Course and lost ground to Woods. Durant was at 9-under 207, and when someone asked if a mercy rule was in order, he could only laugh.

"If there was ever a week for it, this might be it," Durant said.

Mercy might come from Mother Nature. Sunshine gave way to cloud cover late in the day, and the forecast Sunday is for heavy rain that could wash out the round. Players would have to return on Monday if the course conditions and forecast allow.

The last 54-hole event on the PGA TOUR was the BellSouth Classic in 2005 the week before the Masters.

Justin Leonard, who made the playing cut on the number, turned in the best score Saturday with eight birdies in a round of 65. That moved him up 44 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for fourth and gave him incentive for the final round.

"There's two tournaments going on," he said. "I'm going to try to win the tournament that Tiger's not playing."

Woods had none of it.

It was his largest 54-hole lead since he led by 10 on his way to a 15-shot victory in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, an ominous sign with Torrey Pines hosting the U.S. Open this summer.

"If it was over, they'd be handing out the trophy," Woods said. "Tomorrow, conditions are going to be tough. You just plod along and be steady and not make any bogeys."

Kevin Streelman, the 29-year-old rookie who was the last alternate to get into the Buick Invitational, finally had his introduction to Woods in more ways than one.

They shook hands on the first tee, and Streelman held his own. He hit past Woods on the opening tee shot, hit his approach to 4 feet, but missed the putt on the low side, and that became a common occurrence. Even so, he was 1 under through the day until sending a wedge long on the par-5 ninth and taking double bogey.

Streelman finished with a 75 and tumbled into a tie for 11th. But he was all smiles.

"It was one of the coolest experiences in my life," he said. "I learned a lot and did my best."

Even his best might not have mattered. Woods built a four-shot lead going into the weekend despite some scrappy play off the tee. He sorted that out on Saturday, and once the putts started falling, he was on his way.

Phil Mickelson made an early charge with a 30 on the back nine (he started on No. 10) to get within five shots of the lead. Woods holed a 10-foot birdie on the fourth, and his approach at No. 5 spun back and grazed the edge of the cup for a tap-in birdie.

He hit his tee shot on the 212-yard 11th hole to 3 feet, and two-putted for birdie on the 13th, his only look at eagle all week. Even though he was at 18 under, Woods has played the par 5s in just 6 under this week.

The only thing left to determine at the end was the size of his lead. Woods hit a 3-iron from the first cut of rough on the 18th that was all over the flag, came up short, and he was lucky the ball stayed on the bank of the pond. He chipped to a foot for birdie, then watched Cink roll in his eagle from across the green.

Woods and everyone else will find out Sunday whether they play, but even if the fourth round can't finish until Monday, that might bring another omen to the world's No. 1 player.

The last time a PGA TOUR course held the U.S. Open -- the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am -- Woods won that on a Monday. But he had to rally from a five-shot deficit that year. This was a runaway impressive even by Woods' standards.

Tiger: "Nope, I don't see anyone behind me."

Justin Leonard, who made the playing cut on the number, turned in the best score Saturday with eight birdies in a round of 65. That moved him up 44 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for fourth and gave him incentive for the final round.

"There's two tournaments going on," he said. "I'm going to try to win the tournament that Tiger's not playing."

Kevin Streelman, the 29-year-old rookie who was the last alternate to get into the Buick Invitational, finally had his introduction to Woods in more ways than one.

They shook hands on the first tee, and Streelman held his own. He hit past Woods on the opening tee shot, hit his approach to 4 feet, but missed the putt on the low side, and that became a common occurrence. Even so, he was 1 under through the day until sending a wedge long on the par-5 ninth and taking double bogey.

Streelman finished with a 75 and tumbled into a tie for 11th. But he was all smiles.

"It was one of the coolest experiences in my life," he said. "I learned a lot and did my best."

Phil Mickelson made an early charge with a 30 on the back nine (he started on No. 10) to get within five shots of the lead. Woods holed a 10-foot birdie on the fourth, and his approach at No. 5 spun back and grazed the edge of the cup for a tap-in birdie.

He hit his tee shot on the 212-yard 11th hole to 3 feet, and two-putted for birdie on the 13th, his only look at eagle all week. Even though he was at 18 under, Woods has played the par 5s in just 6 under this week.

Inside the Numbers

Woods thru 54 Holes

Category	Total	Rank
Eagles	0	N/A
Birdies	19	1
Pars	34	T34
Bogeys	1	T65
Double Bogeys	0	N/A
Other	0	N/A
Driving Accuracy	47.6%	T57
Driving Distance	280.0 yds.	27
Greens in Regulation	85.2%	1
Putts per Round	27.3	T3
Putts per GIR	1.630	2
Sand Saves	100.0%	T1

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A Historical perspective since this tournament became the Buick Invitational:

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Buick Invitational of California
Year	Winner	Score	Runner up	Score
1992	Steve Pate	200	Chip Beck	201
1993	Phil Mickelson	278	Dave Rummells	282
1994	Craig Stadler	268	Steve Lowery	269
1995	Peter Jacobsen	269	Mark Calcavecchia	273
1995			Mike Hulbert	273
1995			Hal Sutton	273
1995			Kirk Triplett	273
Buick Invitational
Year	Winner	Score	Runner up	Score
1996	Davis Love III	269	Phil Mickelson	271
1997	Mark O'Meara	275	Donnie Hammond	277
1997			David Ogrin	277
1997			Mike Hulbert	277
1997			Lee Janzen	277
1997			Jesper Parnevik	277
1997			Craig Stadler	277
1997			Duffy Waldorf	277
1998	Scott Simpson	204	Skip Kendall	204
1999	Tiger Woods	266	Billy Ray Brown	268
2000	Phil Mickelson	270	Shigeki Maruyama	274
2000			Tiger Woods	274
2001	Phil Mickelson	269	Frank Lickliter II	269
2001			Davis Love III	269
2002	Jose Maria Olazabal	275	J.L. Lewis	276
2002			Mark O'Meara	276
2003	Tiger Woods	272	Carl Pettersson	276
2004	John Daly	278	Luke Donald	278
2004			Chris Riley	278
2005	Tiger Woods	272	Luke Donald	275
2005			Charles Howell III	275
2005			Tom Lehman	275
2006	Tiger Woods	278	Nathan Green	278
2006			Jose Maria Olazabal	278

Now, for something completely different . . .

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Scott Fires Sunday 61 for Qatar Title
By Associated Press - January 27, 2008

DOHA, Qatar -- Adam Scott shot an 11-under 61 Sunday to win the Qatar Masters by three strokes over Henrik Stenson.

The Australian had 11 birdies, including five in a row to start, at the Doha Golf Club to finish at 20-under 268 and win his 14th title. Scott, the 2002 Qatar Masters champion, is the first repeat winner of the tournament.

Stenson, who won the event in 2006, shot a 65 with seven birdies to finish second at 271.

Charl Schwartzel (67) was third, five strokes behind Scott, and Johan Edfors (70) was fourth, another stroke behind. Lee Westwood (65) was next, followed by Colin Montgomerie (69).

Sergio Garcia (67) tied for seventh with six others.

***** $5,200,000 Buick Invitational Tee Times *****

Torrey Pines Golf Course (North, South Courses)
San Diego, California
Par 72 - 6,874 (North). 7.569 (South)
(All Times Eastern)

Pairings and Starting Times for Sunday’s Final Round

1st Tee
Sunday

Dean Wilson, Bill Haas, Jim Furyk 11:50 a.m.
Justin Bolli, Troy Matteson, Hunter Mahan 12:01 p.m.
Robert Allenby, Nathan Green, Briny Baird 12:12 p.m.
Rory Sabbatini, Matt Jones, John Mallinger 12:23 p.m.
John Senden, Kevin Streelman, Carl Pettersson 12:34 p.m.
Fred Couples, Carlos Franco, Charles Howell III 12:45 p.m.
Kevin Sutherland, Phil Mickelson, Kenneth Ferrie 12:56 p.m.
Stuart Appleby, Steve Elkington, Camilo Villegas 1:07 p.m.
Boo Weekley, Ryuji Imada, Jeff Quinney 1:18 p.m.
Doug LaBelle II, Justin Leonard, Aaron Baddeley 1:29 p.m.
* Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Joe Durant 1:40 p.m.

10th Tee
Sunday

Matt Kuchar, Tag Ridings, Parker McLachlin 11:50 a.m.
Shigeki Maruyama, Frank Lickliter II, Vijay Singh 12:01 p.m.
Jeff Maggert, Steve Marino, Rod Pampling 12:12 p.m.
Chris Stroud, Jon Mills, J.B. Holmes 12:23 p.m.
Jin Park, Dustin Johnson, Cliff Kresge 12:34 p.m.
Tim Herron, Roland Thatcher, Jason Gore 12:45 p.m.
Jamie Lovemark (a), Kevin Stadler, Sean O’Hair 12:56 p.m.
Brett Wetterich, Brad Adamonis, Marc Turnesa 1:07 p.m.
Bubba Watson, Craig Barlow, Mark O’Meara 1:18 p.m.
Jason Day, Tom Pernice Jr., George McNeill 1:29 p.m.
John Rollins, Cody Freeman, Travis Perkins 1:40 p.m.

* - defending champion.
a - amateur.

NOTE: The final two rounds will be played at the South Course.

The view is pretty much the same unless you're out front.

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Tell Algore we've finally found ManBearPig