Posted on 08/15/2005 8:47:12 AM PDT by TheBigB
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- Phil Mickelson delivered another dramatic finish in a major on Monday, flopping a chip out of deep rough to 2 feet for a birdie on the final hole and a one-shot victory in the PGA Championship.
The putt wasn't nearly as long as his 18-footer to win the Masters last year, and there was no need to jump for joy this time.
Still, it was a sweet conclusion to a major championship season that had gone sour until he put together his best golf of the summer stretched over five days at Baltusrol by a storm-delayed final round.
It was the first Monday finish at the PGA Championship in 19 years. And not since 1986 at Inverness had a player from the last group won with a birdie on the 72nd hole at the final major.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
Well, one needs look no further than this week. On Friday, Woods came to the 17th -4 and on the cut line. If he parred the final two holes, he would make the cut. On 17, he blasts a huge drive down the middle of the fairway, and, for some unknown reason, tries to hit the green of a 650 yard par-5, which had only been reach twice before in major championship history (and at shorter lengths). There was ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to go for the green in two. What happened? Woods missed his second shot and carded a bogey, forcing him to birdie 18 to make the cut. Incidentally, sitting in the clubhouse at -3 would have looked a lot better on Sunday, wouldn't it?
Bad course management. He should have laid up, hit a wedge to approach, and scored a birdie or, at worst, a par. Poor course management. I blame his caddy, too. He hits driver WAY too often. He's in trouble off the tee more often than almost any other player, just because he wants to hit the ball 375 yards. He can hit his three wood 330--why is he using the driver, especially when he gets into trouble?
It happened at the Masters this year, when his driver almost cost him the tournament--he's just lucky that everyone else around him choked, otherwise he wouldn't have won that one, either.
Still waiting for source for your comments about Tiger and steroids. Pretty serious allegation to make if you can't back it up.
And Erin has a degree in mechanical engineering to boot.
You Woods worshippers could see him putting a needle in his arm and not believe it. Open your eyes man!
Not exactly a mechanical engineering degree, but she is certainly not dumb. Anyone graduating from RPI has certainly accomplished something great. She managed to get her college to sponsor her and modify her school schedule to allow racing & degree completion.
I'm not a "Woods worshiper." I just think you ought to have some evidence before you slander the man.
10 million unproven Hillary lesbian accusations are OK on FR, but when someone looks at a muscled up athelete and says "steroids", he'd better have the used needle????
There is no entry fee per se. For regular Tour events, all the Top 125 players can enter free of charge. They simply have to notify the particular event organizers. If you are 'fully exempt' you get a lot of freebies. I don't know if they even have to pay to get into the US Open or British Open. Certainly not The Master's, which is invite only.
I thought, based on the post, that even if you qualified you had to pay. I hear the newbies talking about sponsors and thought that they helped with entry fees. I don't know how much it would take to get started. MAybe sponsors pay for living expenses while one is trying to qualify and earn a payday.
The Walker Cup is a match-up of teams from Europe and the USA, in a format similar to the Ryder Cup, but for amateurs only. Way back when it was a big deal as some very strong players remained amateurs - Bobby Jones for instance. Nowadays, most guys jump to the professional ranks as soon as they complete their personal goals (or just go straight to the pros, like Sean O'Hair) whether that be a collegiate championship or an individual one like the US Amateur or Public Links. So the Walker Cup is the place to check out future stars and is for the real afficionados.
Well, there are sponsors and there are sponsors.
It has not been uncommon for local businesses or businessmen to sponsor a promising player on the Tour, i.e., paying travel expenses and room-and-board, in return for a share of the palyer's winnings. But the player still has to qualify to play on the Tour, usually by going through the competition at the Qualification School in November / December each year. I think when Trevino first started he was sponsored by a car dealer in El Paso.
When Tiger left Stanford to turn pro, he played on 'sponsor's exemptions' in a number of tournaments. These are entries left to discretion of the tournament organizers, used to add a big draw, for instance Tiger Woods as a rookie or Michele Wie earlier this year. He was allowed up to ten of these for that season. Since he actually won one of these tournaments, he was qualified as a full member of the Tour for the next season and has been winning ever since.
Of course the other sponsors would be equipment and clothing manufacturers, but one has to establish oneself at least a little to get one of those deals, unless you're a certified phenom like Woods. Several years ago it was big news when Calloway ended their sponsorship of John Daly (he had walked out of rehab). Cost Daly about $2M per year!
Pretty face, but she's got the bod of a twelve-year-old!
DD a Dem? I thought he was a big fan of Ayn Rand. How could he be a dem????
Stadler's nickname is The Walrus - for obvious reasons!
There used to be a lot more characters on the Tour but I think the competitive demands and all the TV exposure have kinda homogenized the players. Tommy Bolt, who won the Open back in the fifties, was notorious for his on-course temper and really let the expletives fly. One of the guys in the lead yesterday, Pat Perez, has had some big blow-ups on the course and they are hesitant to put him on camera. Mark Calcavecchia once smashed a driver into a cart path and pieces of it hit some spectators. And yes, Tiger has dropped an F-bomb too, famously at the Open in 2000.
As a guy Tiger doesn't do much for me. I very much admire his work ethic, his tenacity, his refuse-to-lose attitude,and the fact that has never, ever made race into a big issue.
Now Mrs Tiger on the other hand..... well, I've always had a thing for those Nordic types!
Many years back when I used to get tickets to The Memorial Tournament I was able to sit in on a semi-informal "clinic" (really a Q&A session) that Nicklaus held for some of the locals. While his ball-striking ability is unquestioned, it was interesting to hear Jack place almost as much emphasis on "playing smart", i.e., managing one's game, managing the course properly, positioning shots to play to one's strengths, etc. He mentioned that any number of times he gained a shot or two in a round by making the right play (and also losing a stroke or two from making poor decisions). It was interesting to hear that from a guy who most weekend hackers like me tend to think of as a big hitter note that smarts can serve you almost as well as clobbering the ball.
I admire Tiger too, but don't pull for him and you've read what I think about his physique. I like the rags to riches guys & underdogs, but the networks don't.
I could've sworn DD is a conservative too!
Case closed..he's a roid head!!
Carter is the volcano
Like I said, he's a head case. It was a previous article on FR where he was quoted as saying he's a Democrat.
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