We hope those of you in the U.S. enjoyed the long Memorial Day weekend and took a moment to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. And for those of you in parts of the world that don’t observe the holiday this weekend, we hope you enjoyed it and got out to play a little golf.
There was a lot of great golf on TV this weekend, too. While many of us were outside grilling or enjoying the (finally) warm weather, the tours were putting on a show. The Euro Tour’s best event featured a hard Sunday charge from an unlikely (of late) player. The Crowne Plaza Championship gave us two of the game’s top players catching the leaders from deep in the field and then dueling it out in a playoff. There was even a David Toms sighting in Dallas, as the former PGA Championship winner put up a top 5 performance.
And what can we say about the Sr. PGA Championship? Well, let’s see as we hit the links…
Hole#1: Be Nice to Monty
Colin Montgomerie finally won a major and scored a first victory on U.S. soil this weekend, the Senior PGA Championship, despite some heckling from presumably inebriated and out-of-fashion tournament goers (heckling Monty is so 2004). The rabbit-eared and long suffering Monty, who throughout his career could not seem to win the big tournament despite being in contention many times, put at least some of his demons to rest. [Link]
Hole #2: Scott Takes Crowne Plaza by Storm
Adam Scott was not in the field for the Crowne Plaza Invitational until a week before the tournament’s start. Learning that we would narrowly become #1 in the World Golf Rankings, Scott entered the field at Colonial to ensure that he’d get to play as #1, before Stenson or someone else took it away. But it looks like Adam will get a few more starts at #1 now, as he went out and beat Jason Dufner on the third playoff hole to claim the title and solidify his hold on the ranking. [Link]
Hole #3: 11 Year Old Qualifies for U.S. Women’s Open
A little over a month ago, Lucy Li was celebrating her victory in the 10-11 Girls category of the inaugural Drive, Putt, and Chip Championship at Augusta National. Today, she’s prepping for the U.S. Womens Open. Not only did her 36-hole, par 142 performance earn her medalist honors at Half Moon Bay. She beat the next lowest competitor by 7-strokes. She is the youngest ever to compete in the USGA’s top championship for women. In case you missed it, she’s 11. [Link]
Hole #4: Rory and Woz Call It Off
Just days after sending out their wedding invitations, Rory McIlroy “mutually” broke off his engagement with Caroline Wozniacki. At least, he announced the “mutual parting” (a day before Wozniacki did). Maybe he’ll start playing better now (note: we wrote this quip on Thursday). [Link]
Hole #5: And Just Like That, Rory Wins!
Rory McIlroy wasted no time in celebrating his unattached status. Against a strong field and coming from seven shots back on Sunday, McIlroy notched a one stroke victory at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in Surrey, England. [Link]
Hole #6: Korda Takes Airbus
Jessica Korda shot a seven-under 65 to claim the Airbus LPGA Classic in Mobile, Alabama. Her 20-under total was one better than Anna Nordqvist’s. Michelle Wie, Charley Hull, and Catriona Matthew were 18-under. [Link]
Hole #7: Put Us Down for $10 on Elin
Not that we think it will happen but wouldn’t it be an interesting story? Yes, you can place a bet on who Rory will date next. Elin is 275/1 (a nice payoff for us if it happened). Michelle Wie has much shorter odds at 9/1. And your clubhouse favorite is Rory’s pre-Woz girlfriend Holly Sweeney at 3/1. [Link]
Hole #8: Rain, Rain, Go Away
The NCAA has had to rewrite the schedule for the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Championship underway at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kansas. Storms have played havoc with plans so far. Among the changes the NCAA is using: a shotgun start for part of the field and elimination of the individual-only round. [Link]
Hole #9: These Guys Are, ahem, Good
Here’s Bubba Watson playing a putt-putt course backwards. That’s one tough read! [Link]
“Heckling Monty is so 2004” urm…. think it started long before that. Payne Stewart was so embarrassed by it at Brookline he conceded a hole in face of America’s sporting galleries. Mind you, this was the same Payne Stewart who suggested that the European players weren’t good enough to be his caddie? or was that Jeff Maggert?
Leaving that aside, the remarkable thing for me was who came second in the Seniors PGA. Yep, at the venerable age of 97, Tom Watson proves yet again what a great player he is still. It set me wondering actually as to whether we ought to define a sense of greatness by how long you can play the game to a very high standard for
FairawayFairways, you are correct, the heckling of Monty started much earlier (like 1991, even), however the expression is sarcastic in nature and indicates that something is no longer in style and hasn’t been since X. That said, a better year to cite would have been 2002 when Golf Digest issued the infamous “Be Nice to Monty” buttons. Honestly, I just pulled 2004 off the top of my head.
You make a very good point about Tom Watson’s continued success. He’s only 64, by the way. 🙂