Annika Sorenstam will defend her title this week at the 2005 Safeway International from Superstition Mountain, Arizona. This will be one of eight title defenses for Sorenstam who won her first tournament of 2005 at the Mastercard Classic Tournament. Sorenstam plays exceptionally well at this event. Last year, Annika boasted a four-shot win over Cristie Kerr. And, in 2001, Annika became the first woman to card a 59 during the second round of the tournament. Perhaps being a graduate of the University of Arizona makes her feel comfortable when she is playing at this event.
Cristie Kerr is among the players looking to dethrone Annika. Last week, Cristie tied for third place after leading through to the final round of the tournament. With a second place finish at the LPGA opener, the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, Kerr is only $18,000 short of first place on the 2005 ADT Official Money List.
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The Champions Tour heads to the Newport Beach Country Club in Newport Beach, California for the Toshiba Classic. The field boasts some of the Tour’s hottest and most consistent players. Last year’s winner, Tom Purtzer, heads a field that includes Fuzzy Zoeller, Ben Crenshaw, Gary McCord, Curtis Strange and a slew of others.
I’ve always had the philosophy that even if you play badly on the course, you still need to look good. Many famous golfers can be identified by the way they “dress the part.” There was Payne Stewart and his knickers, Gary Player’s black shirts, Jasper Parnevik’s hat and, of course, Tiger Woods and his Sunday red shirt. The cost of dressing the part can be expensive. Seeing as I’m not a wealthy man (yet! I’m banking on The Sand Trap becoming an international success!), I began to look for ways to stretch my money further. I headed to thrift stores to see what I could find.
It’s often suggested that a great drill to improve one’s putting is to roll in as many consecutive putts from several “stations” in a circle around a hole as possible. There are variations, but the theme is the same, miss one and you start over from the beginning. Not only are you improving your stroke (hopefully) but you are also simulating pressure as you get closer and closer to the end of the drill. It’s a good drill, but I’d like to suggest a slightly different one.
Rewriting history is a big step. It appears that golf is trying to adjust to modern times, although still steeped in its old traditions. Gone are the days of plaid pants, wooden drivers and hushed galleries. Today, cheering fans, fist pumps and the interest for women to compete in men’s tournaments have thrown golf into turmoil.
The windy conditions made it difficult for players to go low in the third round of the Honda Classic. However, Geoff Ogilvy overcame an eight-stroke deficit to join Brent Wetterich at –12 to sit atop a crowded leaderboard. Lee Janzen, who bogeyed the last hole to shoot 72, is in a tie for third with Pat Perez at -11. Ogilvy fired a third round 64, while Wetterich followed his opening 66s with a 72. Ogilvy is looking to win his second tournament of the year, after 
As the Accenture WGC World Match Play comes to an end, it is natural to ponder the concept of a matchplay format for one of golf’s four major championships. It is an issue that often comes up with the PGA Championship usually labelled as the most likely candidate to make the format switch for several reasons.
Heavy rains Wednesday forced the cancellation of the Honda Classic Pro-Am. However, the rains were a blessing in disguise for most players since the typically hard, fast greens at the Sunrise Course became far more receptive. Tournament officials also put lift, clean, and place (dubbed “lift, clean, and cheat” by tour pros) into effect due to the water-logged fairways. First-round scoring reflected this, with 59 players at even par or better. However, it was Chad Campbell who stood above the crowd with an impressive first-round score of 64. Although course conditions were softer, wind gusts of 15 mph combined with a long 7,468-yard course presented some difficulty for the players.
There will be no repeat of a Phil vs. Tiger final round of the 33rd