Tiger Woods is a big draw at any tournament. Last year, while Tiger was taking time off to grieve the death of his father Earl, the media room at The Memorial was rather bare. Half the number of photographers were present. This year, with Tiger Woods in the field, photographers flooded the course.
We managed to get a few snaps of Tiger in action, and we present them here with a little commentary.
The Memorial attracts a wealth of good players, and a good many of them are American. However, their numbers are dwindling, as Jack Nicklaus himself is quick to point out. Nicklaus says golf is again becoming more of a "world game," and that the pendulum is swinging back towards foreign domination of golf. Witness, he says, the last several Ryder Cups and the number of international players in the field at his tournament.
The man has got a point.
Despite having a field of about 100 to 110 contestants, The Memorial Tournament attracts a wide variety of foreign players. Though they rarely experience success at Muirfield Village, the 2007 edition was won by a Korean - K.J. Choi - and featured several Aussies in contention, including Adam Scott, Rod Pampling, Geoff Ogilvy, and Aaron Baddeley.
Here are some shots of some of the more popular international players from the 32nd Memorial Tournament.
Last year, we looked at Muirfield Village's defenses and those pesky furrows. This year, we didn't do that quite as much as the bunkers were less of an issue and the course itself hasn't changed much.
So, filling out this year's "Others" picture-heavy post, we have David Leadbetter and his mystery bag, a shot of the new bunker rake, and a pair of shots with no people in them whatsoever.
A few years ago I gave Michelle Wie the benefit of the doubt. Last year I stood up for her. While people were screaming "she hasn't won anything!" (despite winning the 2003 Women's Public Links) and declaring that she should follow the same path Tiger took to success in the world of golf, I sat back. I suggested that the Michelle Wie story will be written by Michelle Wie, and that only years (or decades) later could we sit back and judge whether Wie had taken the best path.
I was both wrong and right. It appears the story is no longer being written by Michelle Wie - she's merely a bit player in the sad story of B.J. Wie's corruption of his daughter. She's the "talent" and he's the ruthless, money-hungry stage dad who's making all the wrong moves.
Golfing dads are notoriously difficult to buy for. If they're serious about their game they are probably already well equipped with clubs, shoes, and balls.
Shirts and sweaters are an easy way out, but are you really sure about his size? Plus who really needs a sweater in June? And you're not really thinking about giving him another exploding golf ball, are you?
Luckily, however, golf is rich in lore, accessories, and gadgets. Just a little digging over at our friends at Edwin Watts website produced a number of items that I, as a golfing dad, would love to get. So, as we did last year, here's our Father's Day gift suggestions…
Nike jumped into the golf ball arena a few years ago and has not looked back. The Nike Platinum has enjoyed some success on Tour, and not just by way of Tiger Woods, but other top players like Rory Sabbatini, Stewart Cink, Trevor Immelman, and Paul Casey as well. While Nike's balls may be lagging market leaders Titleist and the Pro V1 duo, the Portland, OR based sports equipment behemoth has fully established themselves in the ball market with no intention of leaving.
With Tiger at the helm they have designed two premium balls for better players: Nike ONE Platinum and the Nike ONE Black (the ONE Gold having been ditched for 2007). Both have gone through a recent makeover to improve upon an already popular ball. I've been a loyal Titleist ball player for years, so I was eager to see how the Nikes would stand up. Read on to see if I'll be playing balls with a swoosh instead of cursive this year.
The Memorial Tournament is in full swing again. Thirty-one years ago Jack Nicklaus played host for the first time to this great event. The Memorial was the long-time dream of Muirfield course designer Nicklaus. The course is one of the world's best and has been a demanding venue since the Tournament's inception in 1976.
Muirfield has become a venue that many of the greatest players of the world make an effort to play for the quality of the golf course, depth of field, and the accomplishments of host Jack Nicklaus.
Represented here are the Greatest Memorial Champions.
