Volume Eight

Wine tasting with the Shark, Big Ben playing with women, Danielle Amiee speaks after missing the cut, and more in this week’s edition of Hittin’ the Links.

Does anyone else have “that” guy in their office? The guy who has maybe played golf twice in the past five years, but knows so much more about the game than yourself, who probably plays at least twice a week. Well, my office has “that” guy and this past Friday, he was telling me about how he “needs a stiff shaft because he generates so much clubhead speed that he can’t hit the ball straight.” He added that “it doesn’t matter I still hit the ball well over 300 yards.”

Right. Me too. Now, on to the links.

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Forgotten Promise: Sergio ‘Singhing’ the Blues

Sergio Garcia ties the record for the worst final-round collapse in PGA Tour history by giving up six shots to Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh before losing in the playoff. Singh would go on to win his third PGA Tour event of the year.

SinghSergio Garcia promised he’d win. People have been talking about Garcia’s “promise” – and his raw talent – for years. He battled Tiger in 1999 at the PGA. Surely a wisened, seasoned Sergio could hold on to a six-shot third-round lead, couldn’t he?

In a word or three, no, he couldn’t. It only took 19 holes for Sergio Garcia to fail to keep his promise to the world of golf. A two-time winner last year in three-man playoffs, Sergio bowed out on the first hole of a three-man playoff late Sunday evening in Charlotte, NC to Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh. Three holes later, Vijay would one-putt par the difficult 18th – the same hole on which Sergio three-putted to lose the tournament that was seemingly his only a half hour before.

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Kerr Seizes First Victory of 2005 at Michelob Ultra

Cristie Kerr is triumphant after a gruelling 36-hole day at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill.

cristie_kerr_michelob_win.jpgAfter playing 36 holes on Sunday, Cristie Kerr finally broke through to win her first tournament of the year. The victory, the fifth of her career, provided her a beautiful crystal trophy as well as a whopping $330,000 check, the second largest payout on tour this year. Kerr’s third-round action mimicked her previous two rounds as the fan favorite shot a third consecutive 68. By the afternoon 18, however, Cristie stumbled just a bit and came home in one-over 72. When asked how she felt after her bogey at 18 which clinched her victory, Cristie replied, “I need a Michelob Ultra. We’re going to drink it out of the trophy!” At that moment, Natalie Gulbis grabbed a Michelob, shook it and let it erupt all over Kerr.

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Kerr Takes the Lead in Second Round at Kingsmill

Cristie Kerr moves into the lead with a 3-under 68 during a Saturday second round at the Michelob Ultra Open.

cristie_kerr_squattingSunshine shone gloriously through the clouds at the River Course after rainswept winds stopped play on Friday, allowing the ladies to play their second round today. Cristie Kerr led a charge going 3-under par and tying her first round of 68. Three bogeys were speckled among her six birdies.

And, good news for Annika Sorrenstam… she has made the cut! Whew, that was close! Actually, Annika rebounded beautifully from her less than perfect opening round, posting a 4-under 67 today and is currently tied for 26th place with 11 other golfers . Sorenstam made her charge from the 11th to the 15, with birdies on 4 out of 5 holes. “I just needed a few birdies to get me going,” said Sorenstam. “A few more would have been great to get on the leaderboard and tell them I’m still here.”

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Sergio Pulls Away From the Field in Charlotte

Sergio Garcia will take a six shot lead into the final round at the Wachovia Championship.

Quail Hollow Club is playing almost like a major championship venue this week, but that obviously isn’t affecting Sergio Garcia. He shot a third round 67 to take a commanding six shot lead going into the final round Sunday. Garcia used a stellar 32 on the back side to gain a huge lead in Charlotte. He started off the day with a birdie on the first hole. He had a double bogey on the fourth hole, and that dropped him back a little. But after that, he played one of the best ball-striking rounds of the year. He finished up by carding three solid pars on the last three holes at Quail Hollow, which have taken shots from just about every guy at the top of the leaderboard this week.

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Sergio Hangs on to Lead at Wachovia

Sergio wasn’t able to go very low today but still maintains his two shot lead going into the weekend.

Sergio Garcia at WachoviaSergio Garcia is enjoying the lead after two rounds at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C. He had a record-setting back nine yesterday and complemented that good round with a one-under 71 today. He was one over at the turn but was able to gain a couple back before his round was over. Garcia’s best finish this year was T8 at the Bay Hill Invitational. He has a total of three top-ten finishes this year and is hungry for a win.

Said Garcia:

I am swinging it well and shots like the one on 18 tell you how confident I am with my swing. I mean, that two iron from 226. To hit it that close, its good to see. I’ve been playing well and I’ve finally been able to make a couple of putts here and there and you know that gets you going a little bit. On a day like today when you know that you’re going to have some four or five footers for par if you manage to make most of those it just keeps you up.

Sergio’s 66 on the first day was remarkable as the Quail Hollow Club is not a golf course that historically gives up low scores.

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SkyCaddie Review

This GPS unit can tell you the exact distances to greens and trouble. Just don’t use it in competition or you may find yourself in trouble.

SkyCaddieWe all know the routine. It’s fairly well ingrained in every decent golfer, and it goes a little something like this:

  1. Arrive at your drive and set down your bag.
  2. Wander around looking for a sprinkler head.
  3. Pace forward or backward to get a better yardage.
  4. Estimate how much the angle of your approach affects the yardage.
  5. Estimate how deep the green is and where the pin is placed, and add those calculations to the mix.
  6. Perform complex math in your head, give up, and then just guess at the correct yardage.
  7. Choose a club and hit the ball.

Imagine cutting three steps from that ordeal:

  1. Arrive at your drive and set down your bag.
  2. Look at the location of the flag on the green.
  3. Unclip a device from your belt and read a number or two from it to get the precise yardage.
  4. Choose a club and hit the ball.

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A Big Break for Annika Sorenstam and Danielle Amiee

Torrential downpour stopped the ladies from playing their Friday round at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill.

Originally postponed at 10:37am and officially cancelled at noon, the second round of the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill will start over on Saturday morning. “The golf course is just not playable,” LPGA Rules Official, Jim Haley said. “We felt like, to be fair to everyone, we would scratch the round and start over.”

Although the newly renovated River Course greens were in good shape this morning as the first golfers took the field, the fairways and tee boxes quickly filled with water, which delivered over a half-inch of rain.

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Garcia Holds Two Stoke Lead at Wachovia

Sergio Garcia breaks the back nine scoring record at Quail Hollow to finish with a first round score of 66, holding the lead by two shots.

garcia_putt.jpgWhile most of you were busy tracking the Big Break III winner Danielle Amiee on the LPGA Tour today, you missed a very entertaining first round at the Wachovia Championship. Spain’s Sergio Garcia lit up the first nine holes by shooting 30. He finished his first round at Quail Hollow with a 66, of which he was disappointed. Garcia said, “I’m happy about the round, but at the same time, I look at it and say, ‘This could have been amazing.’ I didn’t make as many putts as I deserved. I could have easily shot 61 or 62 – easily could have shot that.” A “disappointing” 66 was still enough to hold the two-shot lead.

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