The Ford Championship at Doral has golf’s very best strutting their stuff for a $5.5 million purse, and golf’s best is at the top of the leaderboard.
When the dust settled after the first round at Doral four players were tied for the lead at 64: José Maria Olazabal, Phil Mickelson, Brian Davis, and Marco Dawson. Tiger Woods was tied for fifth, one shot back with Harrison Frazar at 65.
The big guns showed up to play, and play they did. Eleven of the top twelve players in the world are at Doral. The missing man is Ernie Els, and he was busy racing into the lead at the Dubai Desert Classic half a world away.
Is the PGA Tour’s season too long? Tiger Woods thinks a shorter season would lead to stronger and more competitive tournaments.
The tournament at Doral this week is attracting a lot of hype, mostly because 11 of the top 12 players are playing in the Ford Championship. It makes sense since talented fields and big prize money help bring drama and attention to regular tournaments. So why can’t the PGA Tour get the best players to show up every week? It seems like for every tournament with a strong field and a tough course we have to sit through three or four tournaments like the Southern Farm Bureau Classic and Reno Tahoe Open with no-name players battling on a municipal-like golf course. Tiger Woods has an answer to the problem, shorten the PGA Tour season.
An all-star lineup, big prize money, and the Blue Monster. They can only mean one thing: The Ford Championships at Doral.
Now that the West Coast Swing has finished up, the PGA Tour turns its attention to the Sunshine State. The first tournament in Florida: The Ford Championships held at the famous Blue Monster Course at Doral Resort. The big news for the 2005 tournament is big names. This year boasts one of the strongest fields in the event’s history. Tiger Woods passed on big time appearance money from the Dubai Desert Classic to tee it up at Doral. However, winning will not be easy. Woods will be competing in a field with names like Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, and Vijay Singh. A total of 11 of the top 12 players in the world will compete at Doral including David Toms, fresh off his domination at the Match Play Championships.
So many people wonder what it’s like to be “inside the ropes” at a PGA Tour event. We’re about to take you behind the scenes at the Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club.
“Ben,” a long-time member of our golf forum, recently volunteered at the wet and wild Nissan Open. Fortunately for Ben, he volunteered on Thursday. Here is one man’s experience.
Volunteers are supposed to be at the course by 6:00 am. I live 15 minutes from the course, so I’m there in plenty of time. I’m to be a standard bearer – the FootJoy sign boy without the annoying attitude or multi-million-dollar advertising contract. The standard bearers meet at the driving range and line up to get our groupings. As we are doing so, players start coming to the range. I saw Hank Kuehne and Colin Montgomerie. I eventually make my way to the font of the line and get the 8:30 time off the 10th tee. My group will include Charles Howell III, Frederik Jacobson, and Bo Van Pelt.
Continue reading “A Day in the Life of a PGA Tour Volunteer”
David Toms continued his hot ball striking to capture the Accenture WGC Match Play Finals.
Sixty-four players, 108 holes of golf, just one winner. David Toms continued his golf clinic throughout the finals of the Accenture WGC Match Play Finals today. Toms posted a 6 and 5 victory over Chris DiMarco, and may have displayed some of the best ball striking the PGA Tour has ever seen. In the consolation match, Retief Goosen and Ian Poulter exchanged birdies back and forth until Goosen finally won on the second playoff hole.
The field was finally trimmed to two players. Although it wasn’t the matchup many wanted, there was no shortage of great golf to be seen today. A total of 36 holes would decide the winner, which should provide more than enough time to sort out the true champion. Just how did Toms manage to severely trounce a player of DiMarco’s caliber?
Geoff Ogilvy became the 14th first time winner at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson winning a playoff against Kevin Na.
The Chrysler Classic of Tucson has become the premier event for first time winners on the PGA Tour. Today, Australian Geoff Ogilvy joined the winners club thanks to his clutch performance on the second playoff hole. Ogilvy began the day tied for the lead along with Kevin Na, the youngest player on Tour. When regulation was over, three players were tied for the lead at -19. Ogilvy, Na, and veteran Mark Calcavecchia who battled for a round of 69 to get into the playoff.
On the first playoff hole, Calcavecchia found a fairway bunker and took two shots to finally escape netting a double bogey which took him out of the running for the title. This was Calcavecchia’s 26th time to place 2nd in a tournament. Ogilvy made par easily while Na scrambled to get up and down from the rough to save par and extend the playoff. The next hole was the par-5 10th. Both Na and Ogilvy missed the fairway and ended up in a grove of trees.
Continue reading “Chrysler Classic: New Faces and Old Places”
And then there were two. Chris DiMarco gutted out a victory against Retief Goosen while David Toms dominated Ian Poulter to set the finals for the WGC Match Play.
No bracket could have predicted this outcome. How could just one top-seed make it through to the semi-finals? Although the dream match of Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson didn’t materialize, the semi-finals of the Accenture WGC World Match Play provided some memorable golf. The matches were set. The first match of the day would pit uber-conservative David Toms against bleach-blond, spiky-haired Ian Poulter. In the second match, Chris DiMarco a fiery competitor would take on Retief Goosen the stoic South African. Could there be any greater contrast in styles? So how did these fire and ice matches play out?
Leaders change by the day at this year’s Chrysler Classic. There are eight players within 4 strokes of the lead, it’s anyone’s tournament.
You better keep your eye on Kevin Na. He is the youngest player on the PGA tour but is getting used to feeling the weekend heat, finishing ahead of second round leader Calcavecchia. He finished tied for second at the FBR Open behind Phil Mickelson earlier this month and is showing maturity and poise against some great golfers this season. Na’s 7 under 65 was good enough to tie Geoff Ogilvy for today’s lead.
The PGA Tour is going to benefit greatly from young guns like Na breaking onto the scene and racking up wins early in their career. Look no further than the early years of Tiger’s career to prove what a boost young talent can be to the game of golf.
Calcavecchia’s touch on the putting green puts him one stroke ahead of first round leader Mayfair.
The Chrysler Classic in some people’s minds (perhaps mine) plays second fiddle to the Accenture WGC World Match Play. While that may or may not be true the Classic allows some less prominent figures on the PGA tour to strut their stuff as is proved by the occupants of the winner’s circle for the last five years: Carter, Willis, Leggatt, Lickliter and Slocum.
Today’s leader, Mark Calcavecchia, proved today that he can get the job done on the putting green. He two-putted from 65 feet for birdie on the par-5 10th, two-putted again from 30 feet at the second hole (having started on the back nine), drained a 23-footer for birdie at the fifth, and sunk a 37-footer for eagle at the par-5 eighth. With his solid performance on the putting green and lack of bogies Calcavecchia went to 15 under and moved into the lead.
