Author: Guest Author

Vijay Still Hot at Mercedes

Vijay Singh leads by one after the first round of the Mercedes Championships.

Some things never change. Or at least it doesn’t look like things are changing yet. After Vijay Singh’s record setting year in 2004, he continues his hot play by firing a bogey-free 7-under 66 in the first round at the season-opening Mercedes Championships. After birdies at holes 3 and 5, Vijay shot up the leaderboard thanks to short birdie putts on 10, 11 and 12, then added two more at 15 and 16 to take a one-shot lead over Craig Parry.

Just behind those two standouts lurks groups of people at -5 (Stewart Cink, Tiger Woods, Jonathan Kaye) and an even larger group at -4 (Bart Bryant, Vaughn Taylor, Woody Austin, Steve Flesch, Chad Campbell, Adam Scott, Health Slocum and Ernie Els).

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What Will Phil Do Next? Write a Book!

Phil Mickelson has authored a book called One Magical Sunday: But Winning Isn’t Everything which will be released April, 2005.

Phil MickelsonDetails are still pretty sketchy right now, but a quick search on Amazon.com for Phil Mickelson turns up a book titled One Magical Sunday: But Winning Isn’t Everything. Golf fans shouldn’t have to scratch their heads for too long before realizing that the book has something to do with Mickelson’s dramatic win at Augusta National. Phil fans will have to wait a few months though, the book is slated to be released on April 4, 2005. The authors are listed as Phil Mickelson and Donald T. Phillips who is famous for his On Leadership series of books which discuss prominent historical figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln. Phil already has so many titles under his belt: golfer, Ford pitch-man, wanna-be pitcher. Will he be able to add legitimate author to his resume? We shall see.

Big Break III – Women in Williamsburg

BBIII is almost upon us; go over to about.com and learn a bit about the contestants for the Ladies Only installment of our favorite reality game show.

Big Break III's Danielle AimeeWith Big Break II wrapped and finished, The Golf Channel is preparing to air the next round of challenges and episodes of the Big Break series: Big Break III. After watching the season premier of Alias (mmm… Jennifer Garner…) last night, this is the perfect time to catch my attention with a photo montage of the BBIII contestants over at about.com.

And, best of all BBIII was filmed in Williamsburg at Kingsmill Resort; as much as I can, I’ll try to provide some local insight into the course and the area. Kingsmill also hosts the Michelob Ultra Open, where the winner of BBIII will earn an exemption.

The Big Break III: Ladies Only premiers on February 8 on The Golf Channel.

Justin Leonard Signs with Nike

Nike announced today that they have signed Justin Leonard to their tour staff.

Justin LeonardNike Golf announced today that they have signed Justin Leonard to their tour staff. Although specific numbers were not in the press release, Nike quantified it as an, “exclusive multi-year relationship.” Leonard adds another big name to the Nike camp which has worked hard to sign new stars such as Paul Casey to complement their headliners like Tiger Woods, Grace Park, and David Duval.

Leonard’s first start on the PGA tour season is scheduled to be the Buick Invitational on January 20, 2005. Leonard will be playing with Nike’s 410CC Ignite driver, Forged Blade irons, Forged Pro Combo wedges, and One Black ball. He will also sport Nike Dri-Fit apparel and should be working with Nike to help design eye-wear in the future.

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Ian Baker-Finch Contemplates Return

After eight years away from competition, Ian Baker Finch is considering a return to competitive golf.

Ian Baker-FinchAsk golf fans which professional has had the greatest fall from greatness and immediately names such as Duval, Beem, or Micheel come to mind. However, few people remember the name Ian Baker-Finch. Although it was only fourteen years ago that Baker-Finch hoisted the Claret Jug high over his head, it might has well been a century ago. After Baker-Finch won the Open title at Royal Birkdale in 1991, he attempted to re-tool his swing which lead to him losing confidence. In an interview in the January 2005 issue of Golf Digest, Baker-Finch described the frustration of playing well in practice rounds, but during competition simply hitting snap hooks off the tee and duffing chips on the green. These problems forced Baker-Finch to leave competitive golf and take up a career as a commentator on the ABC sports team.

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Mercedes Championships Preview

The PGA Tour kicks off the 2005 season at the Mercedes Championships.

It’s been a long few weeks since the Target World Challenge when the big dogs last teed it up. The Mercedes Championships should soothe the nervous twitches some of us have after this break as the event kicks off the PGA Tour season in Hawaii at the Plantation Course at Kapalua, Maui.

Qualification for the event can only come by winning an official PGA Tour event the previous year. With Vijay Singh dominating the tour win column last year, the Mercedes field is limited to just 32 players out of a possible 48 tournament winners; however, only 31 will be in attendance as Phil Mickelson has once again decided to skip the season-opener.

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Annika Named AP Female Athlete of the Year

For the second straight year, Annika Sorenstam is elected female athlete of the year by the Associated Press.

AnnikaFresh off a year in which she won ten of the twenty events she entered, Annika Sorenstam was named the Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. Sorenstam won the award easily, earning 40 first place votes while her closest competition garnered only 15 votes. Few athletes in any sport have been as dominating as Sorenstam has. Since 2001, she has logged 38 victories including four majors, topped the money list every year, and entered The World Golf Hall of Fame.

Sorenstam’s first win of the year began at the ANZ Ladies Master’s in Australia. Sorenstam would go on to win nine more times in four different continents. Although Sorenstam did not play enough rounds to qualify for the scoring title, she did tie her record scoring average of 68.7. Yet, Sorenstam refuses to be satisfied saying, “I’m still so far away from it but I’ve come so far ahead of what I ever thought I would.” With so many accomplishments under her belt and a career that is far from over, few can argue with the AP’s choice for the female athlete of the year.

Clean Up Your Chipping With a Towel

Use a towel to learn how to properly control the trajectory and speed of your chips.

Today’s tip of the day comes from well known golf instructor Chuck Cook and is designed to help improve both trajectory and speed control of chips around the green.

Begin with a fairly long chip, forty to fifty feet. Take a regular hand towel and place it some where between the target and ball. The goal is to land the shot on the towel while still having it end up no more than a club length from the hole.

Experiment by positioning the towel closer and farther away from the target to learn how to control the trajectory of your chips. When the towel is closer to the ball, a bump and run with a seven iron or less lofted club is the likely shot. Closer to the hole, a higher chip with a more lofted club such as a wedge is a better choice. Enough practice and you will be hitting bump-and-runs and flops with the best of them.

Who Will Rule in 2005?

Golf World has dubbed Ernie Els as the man to beat in 2005, but with so much talent on the PGA tour, it’s anyone’s year.

Tiger and ErnieThe days of Palmer, Nicklaus, and Player going shot for shot against each other are likely to be remembered as some of the greatest in the history of golf. Now, with the PGA tour set to kick off next week at the Mercedes Championship, it looks as though golf is about to enter another memorable era. The names Player, Nicklaus, and Palmer may very easily be replaced by Woods, Singh, and Mickelson. With all the strong performances in 2004, it is very difficult to point to one player and identify them as the definite favorite. The editors at GolfWorld have dubbed Ernie Els as the man to beat in 2005. The editors point to Els’ great performances but disappointing finishes in last year’s majors as motivation to break through in 2005. His only question mark: whether his globe trotting travel schedule will manage to catch up to him.