Category: PGA

It’s time again for the stars to shine this week at the 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in beautiful Monterrey, California. The event dates back to 1937 with Bing Crosby hosting the “Crosby Clambake” and brings top pros from the PGA Tour and A-list celebrities together. Over the years the tournament has become wildly popular with fans as the tournament is a much of a show as it is a tournament with stars like George Lopez, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Romano, Bill Murray and even The Donald. The tournament also allows the long ball hitters to shine and history tells us so since six of the last eight winners have been big hitters. After J.B. Holmes earned his first win at the FBR Open last week, fellow big hitters Bubba Watson and Camilo Villegas are chomping at this bit for their big break.

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So the 2006 FBR Open is starting in my town this week and I am glad that I’m out of town for it too. I love my home town and I love this event since it’s start as the Phoenix Open however I’m not one for crowds and boy oh boy does this event draw a crowd. Dubbed “The Greatest Show on Grass” people come to the event to have a good time and the PGA Tour players know this well.

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The 2006 Buick Invitational starts today with defending champion, Tiger Woods making his 2006 season debut and hopefully with as good a start as last year. Tiger won the event after taking the lead from Tom Lehman in the third round in a weather delayed event. Tiger has finished in the top ten in all eight of his Buick Invitational starts, including seven top five finishes and three wins. He will face Phil Mickelson, who will be the only other player in the top five to make the event. Phil knows the course and event well winning back to back in 2000 and 2001 and coming off a T-5 finish at last week’s Bob Hope he looks to be in good form to defend his West Coast Swing title. That’s all great but what we really want to see is a repeat duel between Tiger and Phil like the 2005 Ford Championship at Doral.

This year players will face the North and South course at Torrey Pines Golf Course where the South Course recently underwent a 3.2 million dollar renovation and lengthened to 7,607 yards in anticipation to host the 2008 U.S. Open.

What else will players face in this year’s Buick Invitational?

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The 2006 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic started today with the first of five rounds. In last year’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic we watched as Justin Leonard, using his new Nike equipment, shot five rounds in the 60s to secure his win over Tim Clark and Joe Ogilvie by three shots. Winners like Stuart Appleby and David Toms (a victor last week) already know the great feeling it is to have secured a win in 2006 and with In and Out Burgers right around the corner we are sure to see Phil Mickelson make his 2006 season debut. This is also the third or nine events in the 2006 West Coast Swing presented by Allianz where currently Stuart Appleby has a 20-point lead over Vijay Singh and David Toms.

The event is also known for attracting top celebrities which gives the tournament an added bonus by watching celebrities and pro mix it up but let’s take a look at the rest of the field and see who Justin Leonard is up against this year.

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On Wednesday PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour announced the new television terms for the 2007-2012 seasons. The new PGA Tour schedule is a part of those changes, and many of the events will be seen on different networks than we’ve become accustomed to. Two new six-year deals were reached with CBS and NBC to provide weekend coverage of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup for the 2007-2012 seasons. What’s even bigger is an unprecedented 15 year agreement with The Golf Channel to be the exclusive cable partner for the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tours. The new agreements will also allow The Players Championship to move to a May date and air without commercial interruptions.

We are also delighted with the financial benefits of these agreements. We achieved our primary objective of securing continued solid growth in financial benefits to players. Under the new agreements, total prize money and other financial benefits to players will increase approximately $600 million over the term as compared to the previous six years, a 35-percent increase.

So let’s see how the event coverage will break down.

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Michelle Wie is undoubtedly the most popular female golfer in Hawaii. She has been given her third sponsor’s exemption into the Sony Open and has created an atmosphere which resembles more of a circus than a traditional golf tournament.

PGA Tour Vice President Ric Clarson isn’t complaining. “We’re in the entertainment business, it’s more than just a golf tournament, so when a player like Michelle plays in the Sony Open, it creates national and international attention.”

So what’s next Ric? Maybe we should rename the Sony Open to the “Michelle Wie Open”?

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Not much has changed from last years Sony Open in Hawaii Last year the big question was “Will Michelle Wie make the cut?” this year it’s the same question but with a twist, “Will Michelle Wie make the cut and is she worth the 10 million?” After making a disappointing professional debut by being DQ’ed at the Samsung World Championship, she is looking to make a statement especially in front of her home town crowd.

Vijay Singh is also looking to make a statement of his own by successfully defending his title at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Last year he won the event while ranked the #1 player in the world and it was the first win of his four win season. Now we’ll have to see if last week’s playoff loss at the Mercedes Championship has shaken his confidence.

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Wow did I get my money’s worth this past weekend at the 2006 Mercedes Championship. This was my first PGA Tour event that I attended and luck have it, I had front-row seats to two fantastic finishes at the 18th hole on the Plantation Course at Kapalua. Vijay finished the first time with a tap-in birdie to go eight under and force Appleby to also birdie the 18th hole to go eight under and force a playoff. The players were promptly shuttled back to the 18th for the first playoff hole where both players matched drives in the center of the fairway but their second and third shots are what really created the drama. Alas the playoff was won by Appleby when Vijay missed his crucial putt (again) and left Appleby with a two-footer for his third consecutive win.

Continue reading “2006 Mercedes Championship Recap”