Throughout Rory McIlroy's young career, having only played professionally since 2009, he has already done many things that either hurt him a lot or help him a lot. At one moment he could seem like a man with tremendous amounts of class, will the next moment he will seem like a totally arrogant and immature baby. This has been the case for McIlroy from 2010 to 2011.
The most latest came in the first round of the Irish Open. After his round, golf commentator Jay Townsend made the following tweets regarding McIlroy's round:
"McIlroy's course management was shocking"
"@wenners just made a great point, @mcilroyrory should hire Stevie Williams, as I thought JP allowed some SHOCKING course management today"
"@HunterandIan Some of the worst course management I have ever seen beyond under 10's boys golf competition"
And McIlroy, despite showing so much class and maturity at the Masters and US Open, got his feathers ruffled this time and tweeted back to Townsend:
"@JayATownsend shut up.... You're a commentator and a failed golfer, your opinion means nothing!"
Jay Townsend tweeted back:
"@McIlroyRory Sorry, but I stand by my comments"
And McIlroy responded:
"@JayATownsend well, I stand by my caddie"
Afterwards, Rory blocked Jay Townsend on his Twitter account so he didn't have to read anything that Townsend writes about him anymore.
Here's what happened: Rory got off to a good start, being 4 under par thru 10 holes to hold the outright lead. But he played the last eight holes 3 over par thanks to bogey on 11 and double bogey on 18 along with a series of demonstrations of sloppy course management.
The defining moment of his round came on the 18th hole. He hit a 3 wood and landed in the fairway bunker, when he could have used less club and avoided risking hitting a shot in the bunker. Then, facing a shot over water, McIlroy attacked the flagstick but caught the shot fat and it landed in the water.
So, anyway, I thought Rory took this too much of a big deal. Jay Townsend just gave Rory his honest opinion. Nothing wrong with simple being candid and not mincing words.
And by saying that Rory is a double-edged sword, it's because this kind of thing happened to him many times already on his currently short, but roller-coaster career. As in, as soon as he shows his positive attributes in front of golf fans, he immediately loses their respect with some negative attributes.
Here's what I mean:
Rory had a lot of fans embracing him when he shot that 62 at Quail Hollow in 2010 and then followed it up with a stellar British Open, and showing so much class despite shooting 80 in the second round of St. Andrews.
Then, he immediately gave away the respect by making a series of brash comments. Beginning with him appearing to kick Tiger while he's down by saying he fancies his chances of beating him at the Ryder Cup. Then he says the Ryder Cup is just an exhibition. Then he says he doesn't want to take up PGA Tour membership in 2011. Then he says he skips the Players Championship because he dislikes the course. Then he says the players of the older generation are no longer as good as they used to be.
And then, just as McIlroy went from being a superstar to being Public Enemy Number One, he starts gaining respect from the public once again. First he handled the final-round 80 at Augusta with tremendous class. Then after losing the Malaysian Open he again showed class in his interview. And then he helped UNICEF by making a visit to Haiti and helping the children there. And then he had a very gracious US Open win, which was well received by just about everybody. It seems at that time, that everybody had forgiven him for his past incidents of brash.
But then, just as everybody began loving him again, McIlroy yet again showed why he wasn't as mature and nice as everyone thought he was. After the British Open, he said that he didn't like links golf because of the impact of the weather. Which, honestly, sounded like sour grapes because he didn't play in any tournament since the US Open win. And when that happens you just can't expect to do well. And now, most recently, McIlroy has this incident with Jay Townsend.
So there is Rory McIlroy, the double-edged sword of the PGA Tour. Doing a lot of very nice and classy gestures on one hand, but can also show off a lot of immaturity and arrogance on the other hand.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Tom Watson Playing the Greenbrier Instead of the US Senior Open
Toledo, OHIO - Tom Watson, the world famous hypocrite and alcoholic, notorious for criticizing Tiger Woods' infidelity and lack of respect for golf, while hacing sex with loads of women and urinating in the trees of golf courses himself, made the decision to play in the PGA Tour's Greenbrier stop, instead of the US Senior Open, arguably the biggest tournament in all of senior golf.
His decision was considered by many to be highly odd and unusual. Tom Watson has apprently decided to play in a tournament on the PGA Tour where the young guns are outdriving him by 20-40 yards, and if the weather and course conditions are good, him being the par grinder he is known for, has zero chance to contend, and with high odds of missing the cut.
He chose to play a PGA Tour event with no chance to win when he very much could have been playing the Senior Open at Inverness Golf Club, a course with the usual US Open setups, narrow fairways and deep rough, a course set to his liking.
Here are certain speculations to why Watson chose to play in the Greenbrier instead of the Senior Open.
1. Watson is scared of fast greens. He has the yips. YIPS, YIP YIP YIPS. On fast greens, if you have the yips you won't make any putt. Putts will keep lipping out if you hit the edge of a cup, which is not always the case for slow greens. You must not pull or push any putt. Watson does it regularly whenever he has a putt from 3 to 6 feet. These types of par putts are commonplace for an US Open.
2. There are more washrooms at the Greenbrier than at Inverness. Tom Watson is an alcoholic, and alcoholism results in a highly active bladder, which was demonstrated earlier this year's Masters, when Watson URINATED into the pine trees on the 12th hole. The Greenbrier is a resort course, designed for golfers to have fun, and as a result of its accomondation for golfers, there's been bound to have many washrooms and portable toilets scattered throughout the course. Watson won't have to worry about potty issues no more. Inverness is NOT a resort course. It's a very tight championship course. With this being the US Senior's Open and the course being stretched out to its limits, and having to accomodate all the spectators, and the course being very tight, there is probably not enough washrooms.
3. Tom Watson is afraid of the mother of Phil Mickelson's illegitimate child. It has been reported by NUMEROUS sources that Phil Mickelson is secretly married to a black woman in Ohio and they have a child named Darnelle Mickelson. Well, it has been speculated that Watson sometimes secretly spends time with the child and Watson has been teaching the child on how to be the biggest hypocrite in the state. So the child began telling his mother that he wanted to grow up being a hypocrite. So the mother threatened Watson that if he were ever to spend time with the child again she would call the police. Watson is now afraid that the child will come to Watson and the mother would think that Watson voluntarily chose to spend time with the child.
Whatever the reason maybe, I'm sure he'll be dearly missed in the US Senior Open. The vieweship would go down. After all, people tune in to watch Tom Watson, right?
Right. BUT!!!
People tune in to watch Watson STRUGGLE!!! People who have contempt for hypocrites love watching Watson have the yips and repeatedly and continuously miss 3 foot putts!!!
His decision was considered by many to be highly odd and unusual. Tom Watson has apprently decided to play in a tournament on the PGA Tour where the young guns are outdriving him by 20-40 yards, and if the weather and course conditions are good, him being the par grinder he is known for, has zero chance to contend, and with high odds of missing the cut.
He chose to play a PGA Tour event with no chance to win when he very much could have been playing the Senior Open at Inverness Golf Club, a course with the usual US Open setups, narrow fairways and deep rough, a course set to his liking.
Here are certain speculations to why Watson chose to play in the Greenbrier instead of the Senior Open.
1. Watson is scared of fast greens. He has the yips. YIPS, YIP YIP YIPS. On fast greens, if you have the yips you won't make any putt. Putts will keep lipping out if you hit the edge of a cup, which is not always the case for slow greens. You must not pull or push any putt. Watson does it regularly whenever he has a putt from 3 to 6 feet. These types of par putts are commonplace for an US Open.
2. There are more washrooms at the Greenbrier than at Inverness. Tom Watson is an alcoholic, and alcoholism results in a highly active bladder, which was demonstrated earlier this year's Masters, when Watson URINATED into the pine trees on the 12th hole. The Greenbrier is a resort course, designed for golfers to have fun, and as a result of its accomondation for golfers, there's been bound to have many washrooms and portable toilets scattered throughout the course. Watson won't have to worry about potty issues no more. Inverness is NOT a resort course. It's a very tight championship course. With this being the US Senior's Open and the course being stretched out to its limits, and having to accomodate all the spectators, and the course being very tight, there is probably not enough washrooms.
3. Tom Watson is afraid of the mother of Phil Mickelson's illegitimate child. It has been reported by NUMEROUS sources that Phil Mickelson is secretly married to a black woman in Ohio and they have a child named Darnelle Mickelson. Well, it has been speculated that Watson sometimes secretly spends time with the child and Watson has been teaching the child on how to be the biggest hypocrite in the state. So the child began telling his mother that he wanted to grow up being a hypocrite. So the mother threatened Watson that if he were ever to spend time with the child again she would call the police. Watson is now afraid that the child will come to Watson and the mother would think that Watson voluntarily chose to spend time with the child.
Whatever the reason maybe, I'm sure he'll be dearly missed in the US Senior Open. The vieweship would go down. After all, people tune in to watch Tom Watson, right?
Right. BUT!!!
People tune in to watch Watson STRUGGLE!!! People who have contempt for hypocrites love watching Watson have the yips and repeatedly and continuously miss 3 foot putts!!!
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Top 10 Surprises of the 2011 British Open
Another major, another championship full of surprising storylines. This is no different, so here's the countdown of the Top 10 surprises:
10. Lucas Glover. All year in 2011 up to the British Open week he played poorly with the exception of Quail Hollow, and now he gets out there and ties for the lead at the British Open after 36 holes. He would fall back on the weekend though, but still finishes a respectable T12.
9. Martin Kaymer. The surprising part was not the fact that he contended, but rather, the fact that he fell back after being 1 back thru 36 holes, despite being a potential big-time player. Shot back-to-back 73s over the weekend to finish T12.
8. Rory McIlroy. The surprising part was the fact that he acted like a sore loser after the week despite showing so much class after the Masters loss. He said that he didn't like tournaments with weather that much of a factor, when in reality, it was mostly sour grapes for him who was clearly unpreprared due to not playing any tournaments since the US Open.
7. Anthony Kim. Another one of these guys who hasn't done much all year, and gets in the field with no expectations and ends up with a tie for fifth. A guy whom everybody thought he was going to be a superstar to challenge Tiger Woods, but apparently his poor work ethics have held him back. This week he showed exactly how much talent he has but he couldn't keep it consistent week in and week out without good work ethics.
6. Tom Lewis. Another showing that the young guys just get younger and younger. A 20-year-old tying for the lead after 18 holes at the British Open? Just more and more young guys are playing well at an early age. Still finished the tournament with a very respectable T30.
5. Thomas Bjorn. Not a lot of people have been talking about Bjorn, the guy that squandered the 2003 British Open at the same venue, whose game wasn't in good form coming into the tournament. But he goes out and shoots 65 and ties for the lead after one round, and would finish with a tie for fourth at the end. An interesting note about Bjorn is that after the first round, the British media asked Bjorn how his (passed away) father would have felt if he saw Bjorn in the lead, and Bjorn broke down in tears. Just another indication about how harsh the British media could be.
4. Chad Campbell. He is probably THE biggest underdog story of the week. I can almost guarantee that NOBODY, absolutely NOBODY, talked about Campbell being a potential contender or winner. At least some people still talked about Anthony Kim having no expectations and having a potential to do well. Or Lucas Glover who played well early in last year's Open, or Thomas Bjorn who had a good track record. But NOBODY talked about Chad Campbell. And he goes out there are notches a Top 5 finish.
3. The guys who missed the cut. The fact that Donald, Westwood, Kuchar, and Watney, which were guys who were heavily hyped coming into the tournament, and the arguably most consistent guys on Tour, MISSED THE CUT. That was something VERY hard to believe, because throughout the season they have been almost regularly cashing in on Top 20 finishes, and now they ALL MISS THE CUT??? Especially Donald and Westwood who were #1 and #2 in the world coming into the tournament. Besides, Donald won the Scottish Open the week prior to this week and Kuchar had another high finish at the Scottish Open.
2. Phil Mickelson's week. There were MANY aspects of Phil's week that were surprising. First of all, nobody took him seriously and expected him to be a contender because of his poor track record, only 1 Top 10 in first 17 starts. Yet he was lurking after each round thru 54 holes. And that was WITHOUT his best golf. He missed numerous short putts the first three days and still was only 5 back coming into the final round. Secondly, then in the final round, through the first 7 holes, he made EVERYTHING. Made some long birdie putts and an eagle bomb at the 7th. And lastly, the last surprise was the fact that he had a total meltdown after his great front nine charge. On 11, he three-putted from 35 feet after lipping out a 2-footer. After a perfect drive on 13 he yanks his approach way right and makes bogey. He misses a 6 footer on 14 for birdie. He drives it into a fairway bunker on 15 and makes bogey. And then he three-putts again on 16 when he desperately needed a birdie and was overly aggressive with his 30-footer and rammed it 6 feet past.
1. Darren Clarke's week. Him winning wasn't really a HUGE surprise, but the huge surprise was the WAY he won. He was tied for the lead thru 36 holes. Then on Saturday, he had a VERY nice ball striking day, but he couldn't make any putt. He missed numerous 5 footers which could have got him shooting a 65 instead of a 69. Then on Sunday, he did NOT have as good a ball striking as he did Saturday, and a lot of people expected him to falter judging by his mediocre putting on Saturday, but he did not falter. He putted much better than he did Saturday and made clutch putt after clutch putt to keep his momentum going and he never faltered. He aslo caught many great breaks which he took advantage of, such as his approach on 9 carrying the fairway bunkers by a yard.
10. Lucas Glover. All year in 2011 up to the British Open week he played poorly with the exception of Quail Hollow, and now he gets out there and ties for the lead at the British Open after 36 holes. He would fall back on the weekend though, but still finishes a respectable T12.
9. Martin Kaymer. The surprising part was not the fact that he contended, but rather, the fact that he fell back after being 1 back thru 36 holes, despite being a potential big-time player. Shot back-to-back 73s over the weekend to finish T12.
8. Rory McIlroy. The surprising part was the fact that he acted like a sore loser after the week despite showing so much class after the Masters loss. He said that he didn't like tournaments with weather that much of a factor, when in reality, it was mostly sour grapes for him who was clearly unpreprared due to not playing any tournaments since the US Open.
7. Anthony Kim. Another one of these guys who hasn't done much all year, and gets in the field with no expectations and ends up with a tie for fifth. A guy whom everybody thought he was going to be a superstar to challenge Tiger Woods, but apparently his poor work ethics have held him back. This week he showed exactly how much talent he has but he couldn't keep it consistent week in and week out without good work ethics.
6. Tom Lewis. Another showing that the young guys just get younger and younger. A 20-year-old tying for the lead after 18 holes at the British Open? Just more and more young guys are playing well at an early age. Still finished the tournament with a very respectable T30.
5. Thomas Bjorn. Not a lot of people have been talking about Bjorn, the guy that squandered the 2003 British Open at the same venue, whose game wasn't in good form coming into the tournament. But he goes out and shoots 65 and ties for the lead after one round, and would finish with a tie for fourth at the end. An interesting note about Bjorn is that after the first round, the British media asked Bjorn how his (passed away) father would have felt if he saw Bjorn in the lead, and Bjorn broke down in tears. Just another indication about how harsh the British media could be.
4. Chad Campbell. He is probably THE biggest underdog story of the week. I can almost guarantee that NOBODY, absolutely NOBODY, talked about Campbell being a potential contender or winner. At least some people still talked about Anthony Kim having no expectations and having a potential to do well. Or Lucas Glover who played well early in last year's Open, or Thomas Bjorn who had a good track record. But NOBODY talked about Chad Campbell. And he goes out there are notches a Top 5 finish.
3. The guys who missed the cut. The fact that Donald, Westwood, Kuchar, and Watney, which were guys who were heavily hyped coming into the tournament, and the arguably most consistent guys on Tour, MISSED THE CUT. That was something VERY hard to believe, because throughout the season they have been almost regularly cashing in on Top 20 finishes, and now they ALL MISS THE CUT??? Especially Donald and Westwood who were #1 and #2 in the world coming into the tournament. Besides, Donald won the Scottish Open the week prior to this week and Kuchar had another high finish at the Scottish Open.
2. Phil Mickelson's week. There were MANY aspects of Phil's week that were surprising. First of all, nobody took him seriously and expected him to be a contender because of his poor track record, only 1 Top 10 in first 17 starts. Yet he was lurking after each round thru 54 holes. And that was WITHOUT his best golf. He missed numerous short putts the first three days and still was only 5 back coming into the final round. Secondly, then in the final round, through the first 7 holes, he made EVERYTHING. Made some long birdie putts and an eagle bomb at the 7th. And lastly, the last surprise was the fact that he had a total meltdown after his great front nine charge. On 11, he three-putted from 35 feet after lipping out a 2-footer. After a perfect drive on 13 he yanks his approach way right and makes bogey. He misses a 6 footer on 14 for birdie. He drives it into a fairway bunker on 15 and makes bogey. And then he three-putts again on 16 when he desperately needed a birdie and was overly aggressive with his 30-footer and rammed it 6 feet past.
1. Darren Clarke's week. Him winning wasn't really a HUGE surprise, but the huge surprise was the WAY he won. He was tied for the lead thru 36 holes. Then on Saturday, he had a VERY nice ball striking day, but he couldn't make any putt. He missed numerous 5 footers which could have got him shooting a 65 instead of a 69. Then on Sunday, he did NOT have as good a ball striking as he did Saturday, and a lot of people expected him to falter judging by his mediocre putting on Saturday, but he did not falter. He putted much better than he did Saturday and made clutch putt after clutch putt to keep his momentum going and he never faltered. He aslo caught many great breaks which he took advantage of, such as his approach on 9 carrying the fairway bunkers by a yard.
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Hilarious Phil Collapse of the 2011 British Open.
The 2011 British Open has to be one Open Championship that is to be remembered for a long time.
Earlier this week, we had 20-year-old amateur Tom Lewis tie the 18-hole lead. So did Thomas Bjorn who's looking for redemption after the heartbreaking 2003 loss at the same venue.
Later on in the week, more and more great storylines emerged. Tom Lehman turning back the clock. Lucas Glover looking to jump-start his career. Darren Clarke looking to finally win a major after busting out of a slump that made him disappear from the golf world from 2008 to 2010. Chad Campbell suddenly appearing out of the blue and contending. Ditto for Anthony Kim. Martin Kaymer bidding for 2 major championships in under 12 months. Miguel Angel Jimenez's hilarious warm-up routine that catches a lot of golfers attention with him contending. 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love contending. Rickie Fowler looking for a breakthrough win. And Dustin Johnson looking to overcome the 2010 major heartbreaks and win a major.
So many great storylines and so many players to root for. It looked like nothing was going to ruin the championship. Just a stress-free, relaxing Open Championship, right?
Almost right, but WRONG.
Through 3 rounds, one guy that you'd never expect to contend in the Open Championship, Phil Mickelson, lurked only five behind the leader Darren Clarke after the three rounds.
Phil was the one guy which I did NOT want to win at all. Phil, the guy with the jiggly man breasts and the silly, obnoxious, sheepish smile. A guy that appeared to be a nice guy but looks far from genuine. He looked like a guy who's hiding something. Only trying to be nice to get money and publicity from the media.
Him winning would ruin a perfectly good tournament. There are so many players who deserved a win, and it must not be Phil, who has already had many wins. He was EASILY the primary antagonist for this Open Championship. No good story does not have an antagonist, so this is fitting.
It was a great morning, with all those wonderful players teeing off. As player by player teed off, the anticipation for the leaders increased. A lot of excitement building up. The best part about all this excitement? Three words. Anybody. But. Phil.
Coming into this week Phil has only had one Top 10 in 17 British Open starts, so one would easily consider him irrelevant. Add that to the fact that he drives the ball erratically and missed many short putts throughout the week. There was no way he was going to be in contention or threaten to win.
Or is it?
Phil parred the first hole, and birdied the second hole. At first, one's initial reaction is: B.F.D! The 2nd hole was downwind to a very benign hole location! EVERYBODY's birdieing that f'ing hole! Phil still can't win, just wait until he bogeys the third or the fourth!
Except he didn't. He parred the third hole, and after a good drive and good second shot, he sank the 18 foot birdie putt on the VERY difficult Par-4 fourth hole. That was when the first alarm signal of threat began being sent.
When Phil made a par save on the 5th with a 8 foot putt, the threat increased knowing that Phil didn't look like he was going to lose momentum anytime.
Thankfully, Darren Clarke stayed tough with clutch par putts on 1 and 3, and a birdie on 2 in between. No way Darren Clarke was going to give this away.
But just the next half-hour, Darren Clarke's lead vanished when Phil sank a 23 foot birdie putt on 6 and a 40 foot eagle putt on 7, contrasted by Clarke's bogey on 4.
UH-OH!!! RED ALERT!!! BRITISH OPEN IN BIG TROUBLE!!! That was when all hell began breaking loose. A great British Open was about to go down in flames thanks to Phil.
The danger signal reached its maximum point when Phil crushed an iron into the wind to 15 feet on the 8th hole. If Phil were to make that putt, he would have the outright lead.
The only hope was for Phil to miss that putt and lose his momentum.
Thankfully, Phil finally got off this insane, ridiculous momentum train when his putt caught the right edge and lipped out. A big crisis averted. Big bullet dodged by Darren Clarke.
All hope for a happy ending had vanished at that time, but with that miss, some hope had rekindled as Phil went to the 9th hole and Clarke played the 7th.
Suddenly, a huge patch of hope burst onto the scene when Clarke arrived on the 7th hole. His 25-foot eagle putt went up a mound and went down, caught the right edge and drilled into the hole. The crowd went thunderous.
Darren Clarke suddenly had a two-stroke lead! Maybe not all hope was gone.
Just then, Phil stuffed his iron on 9 to 12 feet. Big trouble given the fact that Phil was putting well all day. Uh-oh! Thankfully, he missed the putt and another ray of hope had returned.
Darren Clarke then caught a great break on 8 when his indifferent approach caught a good bounce on the mounds and rolled onto the green. A two-putt par kept his momentum going.
The temporary burst of good hope was very momentary however. Phil inexplicably birdied 10 from the rough when he drove into the rough, hit to 18 feet and made the putt. One-stroke lead from Clarke.
Then came the next hole, Hole 9 for Clarke and Hole 11 for Phil. The defining 15-minutes of this championship that turned EVERYTHING around.
After a decent iron shot, Phil had 30 feet for birdie. The birdie putt was left 2 and a half feet short. A formality for par right? WRONG!!!!! Phil got careless and it hit the left lip and spun out. Oh, boy!!! That must have been the moment of the championship right there!!! What a hilarious and priceless moment!!!
And it gets even better!!! Darren Clarke drove it into the rough on a very NASTY lie. He tried to hit a knock-down shot which cleared some VERY deep fairway bunkers by only a couple of yards and bounced all the way to the green, 50 feet to the hole. Clarke lagged the putt to 5 feet and sank the par putt.
That was probably THE most relieving 15-minutes of the championship, BUT...30 minutes later, something might be even better that went on to happen!!!
After a perfect drive on 13 right smack in the middle, Phil only had a 9-iron left for his second shot, but he pulled the iron and it went long and right, in a back-right hole location, leaving an awkward chip. He chipped to 8 feet and his par putt burned the left edge. Drops another shot.
And meanwhile, Darren Clarke hit his tee shot into a bunker on 11, blasted it to six feet, and sank the par putt. Another huge moment of relief that 15 minutes was.
Things just got better from there on. Phil missed a seven foot birdie putt on 14, making that hole the only time all week he didn't shoot birdie or better on a Par 5. While all the meantime Clarke hit ANOTHER indifferent approach on 12 but got ANOTHER lucky bounce from the mounds, making another great par.
Then Phil bogeyed 15 after hitting his drive into a pot bunker, while Clarke made another nice par save on 13 when his approach flew over the green. At that point Clarke was FOUR ahead of Mickelson. Unless Clarke REEEEALLY goofs off, there was NO WAY Mickelson was going to ruin Clarke's day!
The nail on the coffin struck the very next hole. Phil hit his approach to 35 feet at the 16th. Desperately needing a birdie, Phil hammered his birdie putt 6 feet past the hole and missed his comebacker for par. Four bogeys in the last six holes for Phil now. Now it was for sure that Phil wasn't going to win, and the ending was going to be good. The fact that Clarke wasn't going to succumb to the pressure was even further made certain when his closest pursuiter Dustin Johnson double-bogeyed 14 after he tried to hit a draw for his second shot but it double-crossed and went hard right over the white stakes and out-of-bounds.
The next hour was just a coronation for Darren Clarke now that all his competitors have fell by the wayside, the most hilarious one being Phil, who missed a 10-foot birdie putt on 17 and then pushed an approach shot so badly on 18 that it went into the grandstands.
Being Mr. Phony Nice Guy, Phil threw the ball back to the crowd when the crows threw Phil's ball to him. Yuck, another phony attempt to enhance his image. Phony, phony, PHONY. Bet he hit his ball in the stands on purpose just so he can pretend to be a nice guy again by having an excuse to give the fans a ball.
Anyhoo, Phil parred that hole, and the stage was cleared for Darren Clarke, who did bogey the last 2 holes but still finished with a stress-free 70 that gave him a three-stroke win. A very wonderful redemption story indeed.
The best part is, the Anybody But Phil philosophy stands true for yet another major. And for the people that know Phil is a phony, they can rest easy, knowing that this wonderful tournament again had another happy ending and Mr. Phony Photo-Op Krispy Kreme Guy had another loss and possibly blew his most golden opportunity at winning a British Open.
Earlier this week, we had 20-year-old amateur Tom Lewis tie the 18-hole lead. So did Thomas Bjorn who's looking for redemption after the heartbreaking 2003 loss at the same venue.
Later on in the week, more and more great storylines emerged. Tom Lehman turning back the clock. Lucas Glover looking to jump-start his career. Darren Clarke looking to finally win a major after busting out of a slump that made him disappear from the golf world from 2008 to 2010. Chad Campbell suddenly appearing out of the blue and contending. Ditto for Anthony Kim. Martin Kaymer bidding for 2 major championships in under 12 months. Miguel Angel Jimenez's hilarious warm-up routine that catches a lot of golfers attention with him contending. 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love contending. Rickie Fowler looking for a breakthrough win. And Dustin Johnson looking to overcome the 2010 major heartbreaks and win a major.
So many great storylines and so many players to root for. It looked like nothing was going to ruin the championship. Just a stress-free, relaxing Open Championship, right?
Almost right, but WRONG.
Through 3 rounds, one guy that you'd never expect to contend in the Open Championship, Phil Mickelson, lurked only five behind the leader Darren Clarke after the three rounds.
Phil was the one guy which I did NOT want to win at all. Phil, the guy with the jiggly man breasts and the silly, obnoxious, sheepish smile. A guy that appeared to be a nice guy but looks far from genuine. He looked like a guy who's hiding something. Only trying to be nice to get money and publicity from the media.
Him winning would ruin a perfectly good tournament. There are so many players who deserved a win, and it must not be Phil, who has already had many wins. He was EASILY the primary antagonist for this Open Championship. No good story does not have an antagonist, so this is fitting.
It was a great morning, with all those wonderful players teeing off. As player by player teed off, the anticipation for the leaders increased. A lot of excitement building up. The best part about all this excitement? Three words. Anybody. But. Phil.
Coming into this week Phil has only had one Top 10 in 17 British Open starts, so one would easily consider him irrelevant. Add that to the fact that he drives the ball erratically and missed many short putts throughout the week. There was no way he was going to be in contention or threaten to win.
Or is it?
Phil parred the first hole, and birdied the second hole. At first, one's initial reaction is: B.F.D! The 2nd hole was downwind to a very benign hole location! EVERYBODY's birdieing that f'ing hole! Phil still can't win, just wait until he bogeys the third or the fourth!
Except he didn't. He parred the third hole, and after a good drive and good second shot, he sank the 18 foot birdie putt on the VERY difficult Par-4 fourth hole. That was when the first alarm signal of threat began being sent.
When Phil made a par save on the 5th with a 8 foot putt, the threat increased knowing that Phil didn't look like he was going to lose momentum anytime.
Thankfully, Darren Clarke stayed tough with clutch par putts on 1 and 3, and a birdie on 2 in between. No way Darren Clarke was going to give this away.
But just the next half-hour, Darren Clarke's lead vanished when Phil sank a 23 foot birdie putt on 6 and a 40 foot eagle putt on 7, contrasted by Clarke's bogey on 4.
UH-OH!!! RED ALERT!!! BRITISH OPEN IN BIG TROUBLE!!! That was when all hell began breaking loose. A great British Open was about to go down in flames thanks to Phil.
The danger signal reached its maximum point when Phil crushed an iron into the wind to 15 feet on the 8th hole. If Phil were to make that putt, he would have the outright lead.
The only hope was for Phil to miss that putt and lose his momentum.
Thankfully, Phil finally got off this insane, ridiculous momentum train when his putt caught the right edge and lipped out. A big crisis averted. Big bullet dodged by Darren Clarke.
All hope for a happy ending had vanished at that time, but with that miss, some hope had rekindled as Phil went to the 9th hole and Clarke played the 7th.
Suddenly, a huge patch of hope burst onto the scene when Clarke arrived on the 7th hole. His 25-foot eagle putt went up a mound and went down, caught the right edge and drilled into the hole. The crowd went thunderous.
Darren Clarke suddenly had a two-stroke lead! Maybe not all hope was gone.
Just then, Phil stuffed his iron on 9 to 12 feet. Big trouble given the fact that Phil was putting well all day. Uh-oh! Thankfully, he missed the putt and another ray of hope had returned.
Darren Clarke then caught a great break on 8 when his indifferent approach caught a good bounce on the mounds and rolled onto the green. A two-putt par kept his momentum going.
The temporary burst of good hope was very momentary however. Phil inexplicably birdied 10 from the rough when he drove into the rough, hit to 18 feet and made the putt. One-stroke lead from Clarke.
Then came the next hole, Hole 9 for Clarke and Hole 11 for Phil. The defining 15-minutes of this championship that turned EVERYTHING around.
After a decent iron shot, Phil had 30 feet for birdie. The birdie putt was left 2 and a half feet short. A formality for par right? WRONG!!!!! Phil got careless and it hit the left lip and spun out. Oh, boy!!! That must have been the moment of the championship right there!!! What a hilarious and priceless moment!!!
And it gets even better!!! Darren Clarke drove it into the rough on a very NASTY lie. He tried to hit a knock-down shot which cleared some VERY deep fairway bunkers by only a couple of yards and bounced all the way to the green, 50 feet to the hole. Clarke lagged the putt to 5 feet and sank the par putt.
That was probably THE most relieving 15-minutes of the championship, BUT...30 minutes later, something might be even better that went on to happen!!!
After a perfect drive on 13 right smack in the middle, Phil only had a 9-iron left for his second shot, but he pulled the iron and it went long and right, in a back-right hole location, leaving an awkward chip. He chipped to 8 feet and his par putt burned the left edge. Drops another shot.
And meanwhile, Darren Clarke hit his tee shot into a bunker on 11, blasted it to six feet, and sank the par putt. Another huge moment of relief that 15 minutes was.
Things just got better from there on. Phil missed a seven foot birdie putt on 14, making that hole the only time all week he didn't shoot birdie or better on a Par 5. While all the meantime Clarke hit ANOTHER indifferent approach on 12 but got ANOTHER lucky bounce from the mounds, making another great par.
Then Phil bogeyed 15 after hitting his drive into a pot bunker, while Clarke made another nice par save on 13 when his approach flew over the green. At that point Clarke was FOUR ahead of Mickelson. Unless Clarke REEEEALLY goofs off, there was NO WAY Mickelson was going to ruin Clarke's day!
The nail on the coffin struck the very next hole. Phil hit his approach to 35 feet at the 16th. Desperately needing a birdie, Phil hammered his birdie putt 6 feet past the hole and missed his comebacker for par. Four bogeys in the last six holes for Phil now. Now it was for sure that Phil wasn't going to win, and the ending was going to be good. The fact that Clarke wasn't going to succumb to the pressure was even further made certain when his closest pursuiter Dustin Johnson double-bogeyed 14 after he tried to hit a draw for his second shot but it double-crossed and went hard right over the white stakes and out-of-bounds.
The next hour was just a coronation for Darren Clarke now that all his competitors have fell by the wayside, the most hilarious one being Phil, who missed a 10-foot birdie putt on 17 and then pushed an approach shot so badly on 18 that it went into the grandstands.
Being Mr. Phony Nice Guy, Phil threw the ball back to the crowd when the crows threw Phil's ball to him. Yuck, another phony attempt to enhance his image. Phony, phony, PHONY. Bet he hit his ball in the stands on purpose just so he can pretend to be a nice guy again by having an excuse to give the fans a ball.
Anyhoo, Phil parred that hole, and the stage was cleared for Darren Clarke, who did bogey the last 2 holes but still finished with a stress-free 70 that gave him a three-stroke win. A very wonderful redemption story indeed.
Great major. A great champion in Darren Clarke. He's well liked by his peers, would never be referred to as FIGJAM. He was signing plenty of autographs before the round. The guy went through some rough times in his life, but he doesn't have a self-serving publicity machine going to get the sympathy support. Just a decent guy.
The best part is, the Anybody But Phil philosophy stands true for yet another major. And for the people that know Phil is a phony, they can rest easy, knowing that this wonderful tournament again had another happy ending and Mr. Phony Photo-Op Krispy Kreme Guy had another loss and possibly blew his most golden opportunity at winning a British Open.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
The Biggest "Anybody but Phil" Moment of the Year
It had been the end of the third round of the British Open, a lot of really compelling and interesting storylines unfolding. So many great players who deserve a win. It had been hard to pull for anyone because so many players deserve a win and a win would be very special for them.
Looks like it was going to be a stress-free final round, right? WRONG. One player who's lurking, five back of the leaders, is the infamous glutton Phil Mickelson. Phil is a guy who had never come across as genuine. He had always been a phony in my point of view. Therefore, it was important that the 2011 British Open was won by anybody but Phil Mickelson.
Even I couldn't believe how many great storyline players topped the leaderboard. 20 out of the top 21 players would benefit for a win. The one player that does NOT deserve a win? You guessed it -- Phil Mickelson.
Here is a full breakdown of the players who deserve a win. To be realistic, this list includes anybody who's within 7 strokes of the leaders.
Darren Clarke (-5). Played some high-level golf early last decade but ever since his wife passed away in 2006 he hasn't played well. Had a lack of competitiveness for a long period of time but began resurfacing in 2010. And now is in primed position to win a major. Great sentimental story if he could hang on to win.
Dustin Johnson (-4). A guy who's notorious for having the final-round 82 at the 2010 US Open and then the club grounding in a bunker at the PGA. He handled both losses with exceptional class. This would be a great bounceback, redemption story.
Thomas Bjorn (-2). A guy who's had a very close call in 2003 when he had a three-shot lead with 4 to play but finished 1 behind Ben Curtis, when he needed three strokes to get out of the bunker on #16 -- now known as the Bjorn Bunker. A win would be a huge redemption story.
Rickie Fowler (-2). A young gun who's been in the spotlight a lot, and for a year and a half the media had been riding on his coattails non-stop hoping for him to break through for a win but so far he has yet to break through. A win would prove that he is a great player and not over-hyped.
Lucas Glover (-1). Hasn't done much since the 2009 US Open win. Loved his Quail Hollow Championship win though, partially because he beat the prick Sabbatini. This win would be a huge jump-start to his career.
Miguel A. Jimenez (-1). A great, entertaining character to watch. Including his recent hilarious warm-up routing that looked like he ate too much cabbage and was expelling methane compounds.
Martin Kaymer (E). A rising young star who hasn't done much recently but a win would make him win 2 majors in less than 12 months. That would be a huge jump-start to his career.
Davis Love III (E). One of the older veterans with many PGA Tour wins but hasn't done much since 2008. Always a nice story to have one of the older guys beat the young guns and win.
George Coetzee (E). WHO??? This would be a HUGE underdog story if he were to win. If you aren't a European Tour watcher, chances are, he was an almost complete unknown up to this week.
Anders Hansen (E). Ditto with George Coetzee. Though some people might know him.
Anthony Kim (E). A guy who's really come totally out of the blue from a totally mediocre 2011 season. Had the potential to be a huge star but injuries and poor work ethics had held him back. Another surprising underdog story.
Chad Campbell (+1). A guy who hasn't done much since a decent 2009 season including a painful loss at the Masters. Though he's gained notoriety for being disqualified at both the Hawaiian Open AND the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2010, for not pre-registering for the event before showing up. Another great underdog that needs a win.
Tom Lehman (+1). A player who's been winning regularly at the Senior Tour. In the 1990s he's had a lot of really close calls in majors, particularly the US Open. Always been a nice guy and class act, so great story if he could come back and win, especially because he is one of the older guys.
Zach Johnson (+1). Zach has had a decent 2011 season with many good finishes but no wins. Always a very low-key guy who's had 7 wins but doesn't get much coverage. Maybe when he wins this one everybody would pay more attention to him from now on because he would become a 2-time major winner?
Ryan Palmer (+1). Another one of the nice, but low-key, young guns. Had a close call at the Byron Nelson Championship under very high winds. Really showed that he was a great wind player. Great jump-start to his career if he could win, though the chances are not high.
Adam Scott (+1). Undoubtedly one of the greatest players without a major. Played so well at the Masters, had a two-shot lead with 2 holes to play, but then Charl Schwartzel came along and steamrolled over everyone with his 4-birdie finish, "stealing" the win from Scott. Since Tiger Woods has been out and his caddie Steve Williams has been caddying Adam Scott, and since a lot of fans rooted for Tiger with Stevie on the bag, now Steve is on Adam Scott's bag, why not root for him?
Webb Simpson (+2). Great player who's handled adversity very well when he lost the New Orleans tournament with a ruling with a one-stroke penalty. Still, I'm not a big fan of him because he's SLOOOOOOW!!! Still, he would greatly benefit a major win though, a great redemption from the loss earlier this year.
Steve Stricker (+2). Another one of the players that enters the conversation of the greatest player to never win a major. Always a class act with a lot of fans following him, especially after being fresh off the dramatic win at the John Deere Classic.
Simon Dyson (+2). Another underdog that's almost totally unheard off! Interesting factoid: In the 2007 PGA Championship final round, Dyson carded the round of the day, a 64, to snatch a Top 6 finish despite being T32 in the beginning of the day. If he can go low again in the final round, who knows what could happen?
Raphael Jacquelin (+2). Another underdog story. His fellow Frenchman Gregory Havret almost won a Major -- the 2010 US Open the previous year. Maybe this is the year he could win one for the French? Not likely though, but a story worth mentioning.
So there is the stellar list of great storylines heading into the final round of the 2011 British Open. What's the motto of the British Open?? Hint: One player has been skipped in the long list of storylines.
Answer is: ANYBODY BUT PHIL!!!!!! GO EVERYONE GO!!! BOO PHIL BOO!!!!!!!! GO HOME PHIL!!!! THE CLARET JUG DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU!!!!!!
So, anyway, here is the ranking of the list of players whom I most wanted to win to least wanted to win. Preference, sentimentality, and leaderboard position are the three factors used to judge this.
1. Darren Clarke
2. Thomas Bjorn
3. Lucas Glover
4. Davis Love III
5. Miguel A. Jimenez
6. Dustin Johnson
7. Rickie Fowler
8. Chad Campbell
9. Tom Lehman
10. Adam Scott
11. Steve Stricker
12. Martin Kaymer
13. Ryan Palmer
14. Simon Dyson
15. Zach Johnson
16. Anthony Kim
17. George Coetzee
18. Anders Hansen
19. Raphael Jacquelin
20. Webb Simpson
21. Phil Mickelson
Looks like it was going to be a stress-free final round, right? WRONG. One player who's lurking, five back of the leaders, is the infamous glutton Phil Mickelson. Phil is a guy who had never come across as genuine. He had always been a phony in my point of view. Therefore, it was important that the 2011 British Open was won by anybody but Phil Mickelson.
Even I couldn't believe how many great storyline players topped the leaderboard. 20 out of the top 21 players would benefit for a win. The one player that does NOT deserve a win? You guessed it -- Phil Mickelson.
Here is a full breakdown of the players who deserve a win. To be realistic, this list includes anybody who's within 7 strokes of the leaders.
Darren Clarke (-5). Played some high-level golf early last decade but ever since his wife passed away in 2006 he hasn't played well. Had a lack of competitiveness for a long period of time but began resurfacing in 2010. And now is in primed position to win a major. Great sentimental story if he could hang on to win.
Dustin Johnson (-4). A guy who's notorious for having the final-round 82 at the 2010 US Open and then the club grounding in a bunker at the PGA. He handled both losses with exceptional class. This would be a great bounceback, redemption story.
Thomas Bjorn (-2). A guy who's had a very close call in 2003 when he had a three-shot lead with 4 to play but finished 1 behind Ben Curtis, when he needed three strokes to get out of the bunker on #16 -- now known as the Bjorn Bunker. A win would be a huge redemption story.
Rickie Fowler (-2). A young gun who's been in the spotlight a lot, and for a year and a half the media had been riding on his coattails non-stop hoping for him to break through for a win but so far he has yet to break through. A win would prove that he is a great player and not over-hyped.
Lucas Glover (-1). Hasn't done much since the 2009 US Open win. Loved his Quail Hollow Championship win though, partially because he beat the prick Sabbatini. This win would be a huge jump-start to his career.
Miguel A. Jimenez (-1). A great, entertaining character to watch. Including his recent hilarious warm-up routing that looked like he ate too much cabbage and was expelling methane compounds.
Martin Kaymer (E). A rising young star who hasn't done much recently but a win would make him win 2 majors in less than 12 months. That would be a huge jump-start to his career.
Davis Love III (E). One of the older veterans with many PGA Tour wins but hasn't done much since 2008. Always a nice story to have one of the older guys beat the young guns and win.
George Coetzee (E). WHO??? This would be a HUGE underdog story if he were to win. If you aren't a European Tour watcher, chances are, he was an almost complete unknown up to this week.
Anders Hansen (E). Ditto with George Coetzee. Though some people might know him.
Anthony Kim (E). A guy who's really come totally out of the blue from a totally mediocre 2011 season. Had the potential to be a huge star but injuries and poor work ethics had held him back. Another surprising underdog story.
Chad Campbell (+1). A guy who hasn't done much since a decent 2009 season including a painful loss at the Masters. Though he's gained notoriety for being disqualified at both the Hawaiian Open AND the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2010, for not pre-registering for the event before showing up. Another great underdog that needs a win.
Tom Lehman (+1). A player who's been winning regularly at the Senior Tour. In the 1990s he's had a lot of really close calls in majors, particularly the US Open. Always been a nice guy and class act, so great story if he could come back and win, especially because he is one of the older guys.
Zach Johnson (+1). Zach has had a decent 2011 season with many good finishes but no wins. Always a very low-key guy who's had 7 wins but doesn't get much coverage. Maybe when he wins this one everybody would pay more attention to him from now on because he would become a 2-time major winner?
Ryan Palmer (+1). Another one of the nice, but low-key, young guns. Had a close call at the Byron Nelson Championship under very high winds. Really showed that he was a great wind player. Great jump-start to his career if he could win, though the chances are not high.
Adam Scott (+1). Undoubtedly one of the greatest players without a major. Played so well at the Masters, had a two-shot lead with 2 holes to play, but then Charl Schwartzel came along and steamrolled over everyone with his 4-birdie finish, "stealing" the win from Scott. Since Tiger Woods has been out and his caddie Steve Williams has been caddying Adam Scott, and since a lot of fans rooted for Tiger with Stevie on the bag, now Steve is on Adam Scott's bag, why not root for him?
Webb Simpson (+2). Great player who's handled adversity very well when he lost the New Orleans tournament with a ruling with a one-stroke penalty. Still, I'm not a big fan of him because he's SLOOOOOOW!!! Still, he would greatly benefit a major win though, a great redemption from the loss earlier this year.
Steve Stricker (+2). Another one of the players that enters the conversation of the greatest player to never win a major. Always a class act with a lot of fans following him, especially after being fresh off the dramatic win at the John Deere Classic.
Simon Dyson (+2). Another underdog that's almost totally unheard off! Interesting factoid: In the 2007 PGA Championship final round, Dyson carded the round of the day, a 64, to snatch a Top 6 finish despite being T32 in the beginning of the day. If he can go low again in the final round, who knows what could happen?
Raphael Jacquelin (+2). Another underdog story. His fellow Frenchman Gregory Havret almost won a Major -- the 2010 US Open the previous year. Maybe this is the year he could win one for the French? Not likely though, but a story worth mentioning.
So there is the stellar list of great storylines heading into the final round of the 2011 British Open. What's the motto of the British Open?? Hint: One player has been skipped in the long list of storylines.
Answer is: ANYBODY BUT PHIL!!!!!! GO EVERYONE GO!!! BOO PHIL BOO!!!!!!!! GO HOME PHIL!!!! THE CLARET JUG DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU!!!!!!
So, anyway, here is the ranking of the list of players whom I most wanted to win to least wanted to win. Preference, sentimentality, and leaderboard position are the three factors used to judge this.
1. Darren Clarke
2. Thomas Bjorn
3. Lucas Glover
4. Davis Love III
5. Miguel A. Jimenez
6. Dustin Johnson
7. Rickie Fowler
8. Chad Campbell
9. Tom Lehman
10. Adam Scott
11. Steve Stricker
12. Martin Kaymer
13. Ryan Palmer
14. Simon Dyson
15. Zach Johnson
16. Anthony Kim
17. George Coetzee
18. Anders Hansen
19. Raphael Jacquelin
20. Webb Simpson
21. Phil Mickelson
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Excerpt of Tom Watson's DVD "Lessons of a Lifetime"
Sooo, if you watch the Golf Channel regularly, you must have heard of Tom Watson advertising his DVD of his video "Lessons of a Lifetime", right? During the commercial, Tom Watson is heard saying "Ever done this? This? Or this? How about this? I can help you turn this...into this." You might start thinking that Tom Watson's catchphrase is the word "this".
Anyway, in case anyone is interested in buying the DVD, here is an excerpt of his DVD, lessons of a lifetime.
"
One important lesson I learned is not while I was younger while playing golf, but rather, an embarrassing situation in the 2011 Masters.
I was playing a practice round. Before the round, I decided to drink lots and lots of alcohol to celebrate my 34th anniversary of my 1977 win at the Masters. Aaaaaah, the alcohol felt good.
So then I teed off for my practice round. With a lot of alcohol in my blood, I felt really good and played really well. Ripped my first drive down the middle of the fairway. Flagged my iron to 15 feet and drained the birdie putt.
On my second hole, I hit the fairway again and hit my second shot just in front of the green. Pitched to four feet and made the birdie.
Made another birdie on the third when I hit my wedge to 3 feet. For a while it looked like I was going to shoot the round of my life.
Made a solid par on 4 by two-putting from 35 feet.
One thing I didn't know was that alcohol is a stimulant in the beginning upon ingestion, but gradually becomes a depressent. This was evident on the fifth hole. After hitting another good drive, the alcohol began to kick in for I left my approach short of the green. The alcohol dampered on my short game and touch around the greens, for I chipped to 12 feet short and missed the par putt for a bogey.
This continued on the next hole. Hit to the middle of the green, 30 feet to hole. My short game let me down again and I hammered my putt eight feet past. My par putt lipped out, settling for back-to-back bogeys.
Feeling mad, I tried to bomb my drive on 7 but hit it into the left rough. With the alcohol resulting in me not thinking properly, I tried gouging the ball out with a mid iron. It flew the green into a back bunker. Luckily I hit to two feet to save par.
That was when I began to feel an urge to urinate. I tried my best to shake off that feeling. I hooked my drive on 8 in the left woods. Pitched it out, and went for the green on my third shot. It ended up short right, leaving an impossible chip shot and I wound up with another bogey.
On 9, I then finally hit a good drive and a good iron shot to 20 feet. The urine in my bladder distracted me, for I left my putt 4 feet short, then my par putt horseshoed around the cup and missed. Made another bogey.
There was an opportunity for me to take a wazz, but I decided not to go because there was an 8-year-old watching me intently and I am afraid that if I were to go then the little kid would start making fun of me and distracting me. So I held my weewee and tried to last the full round without urinating.
But I began regretting this decision right the next hole. Being distracted by my pressured bladder, I hooked my next drive well left near Butler's Cabin (which was what Rory McIlroy would do in the final round of the Masters). I punched my shot back in the fairway, and hit my third shot left again. Pitched to 10 feet and then I narrowly missed my bogey putt and tapped in for double bogey.
Then I finally found my drive in the fairway the next hole. With a good angle, just as I began my back swing, the weewee in my bladder made a push to get out. That distracted me and I duckhooked my next shot. It dribble off to the left, 70 yards remaining to the hole over water. Trying hard not to do the potty dance, hit my shot and it flew over the green. Now my fourth stroke, I nearly holed out my beautiful pitch as it reached the hole and lipped out. I walk on the green to make my tap-in while beginning to do the potty dance. Got distracted and pulled my putt. It ended up even longer than my previous putt! I missed the next one too, and tapped in for a triple bogey. I was now 6 over par through 11.
Doing my potty dance, I hit my iron shot on 12 so badly that it didn't even reach Rae's Creek. My second shot landed short left into a bunker. Then I walked over the Hogan Bridge. By looking at the water at the bridge, I couldn't take it anymore. The bladder was desperately yearning to flow out. I ran across the green and into the woods. I unzipped my neatly zipped fly and the urine just flowed out.
After 30 seconds, the last drop of urine was spread onto the pine trees of Augusta. I zipped back my pants and climbed out of the woods. Luckily, the 8-year-old kid didn't even see me urinate nor he knew I was doing the wee wee! I now had 100% focus and hit my bunker shot. Believe it or not, it went in the hole for a miracle par!
Riding the momentum of the miraculous par, I ripped my next drive down the middle of the fairway on the par 5 13th and went for the green. Hit it to 35 feet and two-putted for an easy birdie.
Hit another good drive on 14, and the second shot nearly went in the hole! Stopped one foot short. Tap-in birdie.
Hit another good drive on 15, and hit a pure second shot to 15 feet, and holed the putt for an eagle. Despite being 6 over par thru 11 all of a sudden I was only 2 over par now!
Another birdie on 16 followed as my tee shot landed 30 feet away and funneled to 8 feet and I made that putt. Then I hit a perfect drive on 17 and had a short iron into the green, looking for another birdie which would actually bring me back to even par!
But that's when I suddenly felt a rush of dizziness, lethargy, and drowsiness. That was worse than the feeling I felt on the 5th hole! It turns out this was because all the ethanol (alcohol) in my body has been metabolized to acetaldehyde, a chemical even more toxic than alcohol! Overcome by those feelings, I shanked my iron shot and it dribbled left about 50 yards to the left pine straws.
Without even thinking, I hit a punch shot which hit a tree and bounced backwards to the fairway with 200 yards left to the hole! Dumped my next shot into the bunker short right, left my next shot in the bunker, and finally got it out the next shot. Pulled by 5 foot putt, and had to settle for a quadruple bogey 8.
Feeling totally numb and stupefied, my tee shot on 18 ended up so far right that it didn't even find the trees. It ended up on the other side of the trees and I actually had a clear shot to the green! My shot ended up in the mounds left of the green. Hit my slippery chip 20 feet past the hole and made the putt for a crazy up-and-down par. When all was said and done, I had shot a 77 which could have been a 65 if not for my bladder that ruined my round!
-- Signed, 1977 Masters Champion and 2009 British Open runner-up, Tom Watson
"
Anyway, in case anyone is interested in buying the DVD, here is an excerpt of his DVD, lessons of a lifetime.
"
One important lesson I learned is not while I was younger while playing golf, but rather, an embarrassing situation in the 2011 Masters.
I was playing a practice round. Before the round, I decided to drink lots and lots of alcohol to celebrate my 34th anniversary of my 1977 win at the Masters. Aaaaaah, the alcohol felt good.
So then I teed off for my practice round. With a lot of alcohol in my blood, I felt really good and played really well. Ripped my first drive down the middle of the fairway. Flagged my iron to 15 feet and drained the birdie putt.
On my second hole, I hit the fairway again and hit my second shot just in front of the green. Pitched to four feet and made the birdie.
Made another birdie on the third when I hit my wedge to 3 feet. For a while it looked like I was going to shoot the round of my life.
Made a solid par on 4 by two-putting from 35 feet.
One thing I didn't know was that alcohol is a stimulant in the beginning upon ingestion, but gradually becomes a depressent. This was evident on the fifth hole. After hitting another good drive, the alcohol began to kick in for I left my approach short of the green. The alcohol dampered on my short game and touch around the greens, for I chipped to 12 feet short and missed the par putt for a bogey.
This continued on the next hole. Hit to the middle of the green, 30 feet to hole. My short game let me down again and I hammered my putt eight feet past. My par putt lipped out, settling for back-to-back bogeys.
Feeling mad, I tried to bomb my drive on 7 but hit it into the left rough. With the alcohol resulting in me not thinking properly, I tried gouging the ball out with a mid iron. It flew the green into a back bunker. Luckily I hit to two feet to save par.
That was when I began to feel an urge to urinate. I tried my best to shake off that feeling. I hooked my drive on 8 in the left woods. Pitched it out, and went for the green on my third shot. It ended up short right, leaving an impossible chip shot and I wound up with another bogey.
On 9, I then finally hit a good drive and a good iron shot to 20 feet. The urine in my bladder distracted me, for I left my putt 4 feet short, then my par putt horseshoed around the cup and missed. Made another bogey.
There was an opportunity for me to take a wazz, but I decided not to go because there was an 8-year-old watching me intently and I am afraid that if I were to go then the little kid would start making fun of me and distracting me. So I held my weewee and tried to last the full round without urinating.
But I began regretting this decision right the next hole. Being distracted by my pressured bladder, I hooked my next drive well left near Butler's Cabin (which was what Rory McIlroy would do in the final round of the Masters). I punched my shot back in the fairway, and hit my third shot left again. Pitched to 10 feet and then I narrowly missed my bogey putt and tapped in for double bogey.
Then I finally found my drive in the fairway the next hole. With a good angle, just as I began my back swing, the weewee in my bladder made a push to get out. That distracted me and I duckhooked my next shot. It dribble off to the left, 70 yards remaining to the hole over water. Trying hard not to do the potty dance, hit my shot and it flew over the green. Now my fourth stroke, I nearly holed out my beautiful pitch as it reached the hole and lipped out. I walk on the green to make my tap-in while beginning to do the potty dance. Got distracted and pulled my putt. It ended up even longer than my previous putt! I missed the next one too, and tapped in for a triple bogey. I was now 6 over par through 11.
Doing my potty dance, I hit my iron shot on 12 so badly that it didn't even reach Rae's Creek. My second shot landed short left into a bunker. Then I walked over the Hogan Bridge. By looking at the water at the bridge, I couldn't take it anymore. The bladder was desperately yearning to flow out. I ran across the green and into the woods. I unzipped my neatly zipped fly and the urine just flowed out.
After 30 seconds, the last drop of urine was spread onto the pine trees of Augusta. I zipped back my pants and climbed out of the woods. Luckily, the 8-year-old kid didn't even see me urinate nor he knew I was doing the wee wee! I now had 100% focus and hit my bunker shot. Believe it or not, it went in the hole for a miracle par!
Riding the momentum of the miraculous par, I ripped my next drive down the middle of the fairway on the par 5 13th and went for the green. Hit it to 35 feet and two-putted for an easy birdie.
Hit another good drive on 14, and the second shot nearly went in the hole! Stopped one foot short. Tap-in birdie.
Hit another good drive on 15, and hit a pure second shot to 15 feet, and holed the putt for an eagle. Despite being 6 over par thru 11 all of a sudden I was only 2 over par now!
Another birdie on 16 followed as my tee shot landed 30 feet away and funneled to 8 feet and I made that putt. Then I hit a perfect drive on 17 and had a short iron into the green, looking for another birdie which would actually bring me back to even par!
But that's when I suddenly felt a rush of dizziness, lethargy, and drowsiness. That was worse than the feeling I felt on the 5th hole! It turns out this was because all the ethanol (alcohol) in my body has been metabolized to acetaldehyde, a chemical even more toxic than alcohol! Overcome by those feelings, I shanked my iron shot and it dribbled left about 50 yards to the left pine straws.
Without even thinking, I hit a punch shot which hit a tree and bounced backwards to the fairway with 200 yards left to the hole! Dumped my next shot into the bunker short right, left my next shot in the bunker, and finally got it out the next shot. Pulled by 5 foot putt, and had to settle for a quadruple bogey 8.
Feeling totally numb and stupefied, my tee shot on 18 ended up so far right that it didn't even find the trees. It ended up on the other side of the trees and I actually had a clear shot to the green! My shot ended up in the mounds left of the green. Hit my slippery chip 20 feet past the hole and made the putt for a crazy up-and-down par. When all was said and done, I had shot a 77 which could have been a 65 if not for my bladder that ruined my round!
-- Signed, 1977 Masters Champion and 2009 British Open runner-up, Tom Watson
"
Monday, 11 July 2011
Top 10 Most Surprising / Interesting / Significant Events for Week of July 4 to 10, 2011
For this week, there were a lot of things going on in the world of golf. The European Tour has the Barclays Scottish Open, the PGA Tour has the John Deere Classic, and the LPGA Tour has the US Women's Open. There were definitely a lot of surprising, interesting, or significant things that happened throughout the week, and here is a countdown of the surprising things.
10: Colin Montgomerie fails to qualify for the British Open, resulting in him out of the Open the first time since 1989. What makes his week surprising, was the fact that he was actually making a big charge in the final round and at one point was actually tied for the lead with a logjam of many different players. But he stumbled on the back nine and finished T31. Speaking of Monty, he is hands down the greatest player ever to never win a PGA Tour event, let alone a major. Of course, the Scottish Open is NOT a PGA Tour event, but still. Just feel like pointin' that out.
9: David Toms's withdrawal at the John Deere. This surprised a lot of people because Toms appeared to be playing decently, with a T17 at the Travellers Championship, and showed no sign of injury until this week, when he withdrew after 9 holes because of a hip injury. Other players who withdrew were George McNeill, Scott Verplank, and Robert Garrigus. This was particularly disappointing for me because I placed a bet for Toms as a contender and McNeill as a dark horse.
8: Louis Oosthuizen's participation of the John Deere Classic. Seriously, Oosthuizen is the defending champion for the 2010 British Open. Add that to the fact that he is an Euro Tour player, one would expect him to play the Scottish Open as a good links course for the tune-up, right? WRONG!!! Oostdsgsdgdsgffen did the exact opposite of what others were doing. While many PGA Tour players played in the Scottish Open instead, Oostdgsdggewgten, despite being an European Tour member, played in the PGA Tour event instead. This is one of the most surprising entries yet, especialyl because of the fact that the John Deere course has nothing in common with a British Open links-style course. And it turns out his decision might have not been a good one, for he missed the cut by 1 stroke at the John Deere.
7: Luke Donald's another dominant win. Luke Donald continues to show why he is ranked #1 in the world, with a commanding 4-stroke victory at the rain-shortened 54-hole Scottish Open. Including a final round 63 which tied for his best round ever on the European Tour. He made just about every putt and had a brilliant short game putt as usual. Interestingly, it seems that Donald finally found a way to close the deal, with the win here and the win at Wentworth earlier the year. Before his win at Wentworth, he squandered a lead at Harbour Town to Brandt Snedeker, and then at the Volvo Match Play he lost to Ian Poulter because of his some shaky iron shots down the stretch and Poulter's brilliant short game.
6: Yet another meltdown by Graeme McDowell. McDowell was the player well-known for his clutch performances he made in 2010. His US Open win. His Ryder Cup performance. And his Chevron Challenge win. But instead, in 2011, after his multitude of third- and final-round collapses we can officially say that he was developed a reputation of throwing in the towel when things don't go his way. This was evident in the Heritage tournament at Hilton Head where at one point he was just 1 back of the leader and was very much in the hunt. But after a succession of mistakes he wound up with a T60. Then at the Players he had a 3 stroke lead at one point but a final round 79 led to him finishing T33. Then at the Wales Open after tying for the lead thru 36 holes he shot a 81 which included a 3-chip and 3-putt on the 12th hole, resulting in a T27 finish. And now at the Scottish Open, he was in contention once again, sharing the 36-hole lead but made a 9 on the Par 5 12th hole in the final round en route to a 74 and a T41 finish.
5: The bad weather effect. This week was supposed to be a very, VERY interesting and compelling week, but it seems like the weather delays are what hampered the week and it made a perfectly good week go wrong. This happened in both the Scottish Open AND the US Women's Open. At the Scottish Open play was called off early on Friday because of thunderstorms (are there really thunderstorms in Scotland?) and the storm did so much damage, including a landslide on the 1st fairway, that they couldn't get any play on Saturday because they worked all day repairing the course, and it had to be shortened to 54 holes to avoid a Monday finish which disturbs the players' preparation for the British Open. And then, on the LPGA's US Women's Open, there were weather delays on each of the four rounds, including delays for the majority of the first and third rounds, forcing a Monday finish. What makes the LPGA weather delay so weird is that it's very rare to have thunderstorms 4 days in a row. And certainly weird for the European Tour to have a storm doing so much damage to a golf course.
4: John Daly making a 13 on the 4th hole, second round. ANOTHER big score on one hole for Daly. If this were a different golfer this might be #1 or #2 in the countdown, but since it's John Daly it isn't TOO surprising or significant. Daly was flirting with the cut line in the second round, and he was 1 under par, slightly below the cut line, when he sliced a drive into the trees right. He didn't take a drop, he just tried hacking it away, and after 8 hacks, finally got out of the trees on his 9th shot. Hit his next one into a greenside bunker, hit the next one 25 feet past the hole, and two-putted for a 13. Dropped from 3 under to 6 over in one hole. He bogeyed 3 of his next 5 holes to finish with a 81, 11 over par for the tournament after a first round 72. Had he not made the 13 he would still be well below the cutline though.
3: Kyle Stanley's finish. Really, who is this guy? This guy was in contention at the Honda Classic and the AT&T National and that was just about the only other two times we've heard things about him. What was really surprising about him was the huge charge he made on the back nine Sunday. Trailing Stricker by 4 shots, he made 4 birdies in a row, from 3, 25, 18, and 36 feet, respectively. It's rare to have a rookie like Stanley make so many long putts in a row but that's what he did. However, his charge was cut short with a missed 8 foot birdie on 16. And he bogeyed 18 after his 8 footer lipped out, and he finished 1 shot behind Stricker.
2: Steve Stricker's finish. There are many things surprising about Stricker's finish. First of all, his bad luck from the bunkers. On the 6th hole, first round, he had a buried lie in the fairway bunker with the ball sitting right underneath a big lip, resulting in his only bogey of the day (he actually had to make a 8 footer just to avoid double bogey!) And then he again had a buried lie in the greenside bunker of the 5th and it took him two shots to get out of the bunker and he made double bogey. The same thing happened at the 16th and he made bogey there. Interestingly enough, Stricker actually had a 5 shot lead after 9 holes, and it looked like it was going to be a walk-away win for him, but for the next 7 holes, there was a 7 shot swing and Stricker ended up being 2 back of Kyle Stanley with 2 to play. Stricker made a 14-footer for birdie on 17. Then after driving it in the fairway bunker on 18 with another tough lie, Stricker hooked a 6-iron to 24 feet on the back fringe, and then sank the super-birdie putt to win by a stroke over Stanley who made bogey. As clutch as it gets for him.
1: And the most surprising headline of the week was the LPGA's US Women's Open crazy finish. First off, Hee Kyung Seo and So Yeon Ryu were in a 3-hole playoff after being tied for 72 holes. Wait, WHAT?!?!? WHO AND WHO?!?! That's right. Two players who were almost completely unknown on the LPGA Tour albeit being very well-known in Korea. (And many people forgot Seo's win at the 2010 Kia Classic.) Surprisingly those two played so well in the final round despite all the other competitors unable to mount any charge. Seo at one point had a three-shot lead, but when she got to the 17th hole, her group was warned about falling behind the previous group, so they had to jog between shots. That was probably the mistake Seo made, because since she was jogging, her adrenaline level increased, and as a result, with 20 feet left for birdie on 17, Seo hammered her putt 4 feet past the hole, and then missed the par putt, making bogey and her only 3-putt of the tournament. Meanwhile Ryu made an ultra-clutch birdie on the 18th hole, the toughest hole of the week, by flagging her approach shot to 6 feet and making the putt to force a playoff with Seo. In the playoff, Ryu won when Seo bogeyed the 17th hole again while Ryu birdied the same hole.
10: Colin Montgomerie fails to qualify for the British Open, resulting in him out of the Open the first time since 1989. What makes his week surprising, was the fact that he was actually making a big charge in the final round and at one point was actually tied for the lead with a logjam of many different players. But he stumbled on the back nine and finished T31. Speaking of Monty, he is hands down the greatest player ever to never win a PGA Tour event, let alone a major. Of course, the Scottish Open is NOT a PGA Tour event, but still. Just feel like pointin' that out.
9: David Toms's withdrawal at the John Deere. This surprised a lot of people because Toms appeared to be playing decently, with a T17 at the Travellers Championship, and showed no sign of injury until this week, when he withdrew after 9 holes because of a hip injury. Other players who withdrew were George McNeill, Scott Verplank, and Robert Garrigus. This was particularly disappointing for me because I placed a bet for Toms as a contender and McNeill as a dark horse.
8: Louis Oosthuizen's participation of the John Deere Classic. Seriously, Oosthuizen is the defending champion for the 2010 British Open. Add that to the fact that he is an Euro Tour player, one would expect him to play the Scottish Open as a good links course for the tune-up, right? WRONG!!! Oostdsgsdgdsgffen did the exact opposite of what others were doing. While many PGA Tour players played in the Scottish Open instead, Oostdgsdggewgten, despite being an European Tour member, played in the PGA Tour event instead. This is one of the most surprising entries yet, especialyl because of the fact that the John Deere course has nothing in common with a British Open links-style course. And it turns out his decision might have not been a good one, for he missed the cut by 1 stroke at the John Deere.
7: Luke Donald's another dominant win. Luke Donald continues to show why he is ranked #1 in the world, with a commanding 4-stroke victory at the rain-shortened 54-hole Scottish Open. Including a final round 63 which tied for his best round ever on the European Tour. He made just about every putt and had a brilliant short game putt as usual. Interestingly, it seems that Donald finally found a way to close the deal, with the win here and the win at Wentworth earlier the year. Before his win at Wentworth, he squandered a lead at Harbour Town to Brandt Snedeker, and then at the Volvo Match Play he lost to Ian Poulter because of his some shaky iron shots down the stretch and Poulter's brilliant short game.
6: Yet another meltdown by Graeme McDowell. McDowell was the player well-known for his clutch performances he made in 2010. His US Open win. His Ryder Cup performance. And his Chevron Challenge win. But instead, in 2011, after his multitude of third- and final-round collapses we can officially say that he was developed a reputation of throwing in the towel when things don't go his way. This was evident in the Heritage tournament at Hilton Head where at one point he was just 1 back of the leader and was very much in the hunt. But after a succession of mistakes he wound up with a T60. Then at the Players he had a 3 stroke lead at one point but a final round 79 led to him finishing T33. Then at the Wales Open after tying for the lead thru 36 holes he shot a 81 which included a 3-chip and 3-putt on the 12th hole, resulting in a T27 finish. And now at the Scottish Open, he was in contention once again, sharing the 36-hole lead but made a 9 on the Par 5 12th hole in the final round en route to a 74 and a T41 finish.
5: The bad weather effect. This week was supposed to be a very, VERY interesting and compelling week, but it seems like the weather delays are what hampered the week and it made a perfectly good week go wrong. This happened in both the Scottish Open AND the US Women's Open. At the Scottish Open play was called off early on Friday because of thunderstorms (are there really thunderstorms in Scotland?) and the storm did so much damage, including a landslide on the 1st fairway, that they couldn't get any play on Saturday because they worked all day repairing the course, and it had to be shortened to 54 holes to avoid a Monday finish which disturbs the players' preparation for the British Open. And then, on the LPGA's US Women's Open, there were weather delays on each of the four rounds, including delays for the majority of the first and third rounds, forcing a Monday finish. What makes the LPGA weather delay so weird is that it's very rare to have thunderstorms 4 days in a row. And certainly weird for the European Tour to have a storm doing so much damage to a golf course.
4: John Daly making a 13 on the 4th hole, second round. ANOTHER big score on one hole for Daly. If this were a different golfer this might be #1 or #2 in the countdown, but since it's John Daly it isn't TOO surprising or significant. Daly was flirting with the cut line in the second round, and he was 1 under par, slightly below the cut line, when he sliced a drive into the trees right. He didn't take a drop, he just tried hacking it away, and after 8 hacks, finally got out of the trees on his 9th shot. Hit his next one into a greenside bunker, hit the next one 25 feet past the hole, and two-putted for a 13. Dropped from 3 under to 6 over in one hole. He bogeyed 3 of his next 5 holes to finish with a 81, 11 over par for the tournament after a first round 72. Had he not made the 13 he would still be well below the cutline though.
3: Kyle Stanley's finish. Really, who is this guy? This guy was in contention at the Honda Classic and the AT&T National and that was just about the only other two times we've heard things about him. What was really surprising about him was the huge charge he made on the back nine Sunday. Trailing Stricker by 4 shots, he made 4 birdies in a row, from 3, 25, 18, and 36 feet, respectively. It's rare to have a rookie like Stanley make so many long putts in a row but that's what he did. However, his charge was cut short with a missed 8 foot birdie on 16. And he bogeyed 18 after his 8 footer lipped out, and he finished 1 shot behind Stricker.
2: Steve Stricker's finish. There are many things surprising about Stricker's finish. First of all, his bad luck from the bunkers. On the 6th hole, first round, he had a buried lie in the fairway bunker with the ball sitting right underneath a big lip, resulting in his only bogey of the day (he actually had to make a 8 footer just to avoid double bogey!) And then he again had a buried lie in the greenside bunker of the 5th and it took him two shots to get out of the bunker and he made double bogey. The same thing happened at the 16th and he made bogey there. Interestingly enough, Stricker actually had a 5 shot lead after 9 holes, and it looked like it was going to be a walk-away win for him, but for the next 7 holes, there was a 7 shot swing and Stricker ended up being 2 back of Kyle Stanley with 2 to play. Stricker made a 14-footer for birdie on 17. Then after driving it in the fairway bunker on 18 with another tough lie, Stricker hooked a 6-iron to 24 feet on the back fringe, and then sank the super-birdie putt to win by a stroke over Stanley who made bogey. As clutch as it gets for him.
1: And the most surprising headline of the week was the LPGA's US Women's Open crazy finish. First off, Hee Kyung Seo and So Yeon Ryu were in a 3-hole playoff after being tied for 72 holes. Wait, WHAT?!?!? WHO AND WHO?!?! That's right. Two players who were almost completely unknown on the LPGA Tour albeit being very well-known in Korea. (And many people forgot Seo's win at the 2010 Kia Classic.) Surprisingly those two played so well in the final round despite all the other competitors unable to mount any charge. Seo at one point had a three-shot lead, but when she got to the 17th hole, her group was warned about falling behind the previous group, so they had to jog between shots. That was probably the mistake Seo made, because since she was jogging, her adrenaline level increased, and as a result, with 20 feet left for birdie on 17, Seo hammered her putt 4 feet past the hole, and then missed the par putt, making bogey and her only 3-putt of the tournament. Meanwhile Ryu made an ultra-clutch birdie on the 18th hole, the toughest hole of the week, by flagging her approach shot to 6 feet and making the putt to force a playoff with Seo. In the playoff, Ryu won when Seo bogeyed the 17th hole again while Ryu birdied the same hole.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)