Where Did You Go DL3?

Will Davis Love III ever regain his status as one of the PGA Tour’s best players?

Thrash TalkDavis Love III walked up to the 72nd hole of the 1997 PGA Championship with his first elusive major championship in his grasp. He then made one of the most memorable putts I have ever witnessed. With a rainbow in the background, he rolled his ball into the hole and captured his first ever major championship. Winged Foot Country Club was the course he won it on, and at the time, DL3 was known as the best player in golf without a major. Since that victory, he has won six more tournaments on the PGA Tour, including a dominant win at The Players Championship in 2003. He won a total of five events in 2003, including the Target World Challenge in December of that year.

But what has happened to Davis Love III since his great year in 2003? He actually started 2004 off with a bang, the same way he did the previous year. But after placing in the top-10 in four out of the first five events in 2004, he really went in a “consistency” slump that still continues to this day. Since 1996, Davis has been in the top ten in the world rankings at the end of every year, including his inconsistent year last year.

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LPGA Sex Scandal

Caddie of LPGA Tour player claims he’s the father of her child and threatens legal action.

jackie_gallagher_smith.jpgI’m a little late to the game on the news of LPGA Tour player Jackie Gallagher-Smith seducing her former caddie, but I figure it’s time I show up to the party (fashionably late and to make an entrance, of course) to sound off on this scandal. To be honest, I’m not sure what I really think of this story.

So, for those of you not in the know, here’s the four sentence overview. LPGA Tour player hires a caddie who is 11 years younger to loop. She flirts with him and talks to him about the difficulties she (and her husband) are having trying to conceive a child. The caddie and Tour Player end up having relations and she thus becomes pregnant, and it’s a strong likelyhood the Caddie is the father of the child. The Caddie is emotionally distraught and is now taking legal action against Tour Player.

Now, I’ll dive into a few questions I have about this case.

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Will Danielle Amiee Get Her Big Break at the Michelob Ultra?

Big Break III winner, Danielle Amiee, is scheduled to compete against top LPGA superstars at the Michelob Ultra. Will she be eliminated?

Danielle_Amiee.jpgTrash-talking Danielle Amiee, probably the most outspoken and condescending of the Big Break III contestants, will be up against 49 of the top 50 players on the LPGA tour this week at what is called “the fifth major.” Currently playing golf on the Futures Tour, the 28-year old resident of Newport Beach, California, is no stranger to challenges. Amiee has already competed in both the Australian Open and LPGA Qualifying Finals. Is battling through a grueling nine week reality stint similar to a week-long tournament?

Some folks don’t even think she’ll break 80! The conensus is that there is no consensus: the pundits are split 50/50 on both her ability and her overall demeanor. “Glad she won. What a grinder, although I must say, she’d better get her head on straight before next week!”, and “I can’t stand the witch, but she won the match fair and square. It will now be interesting to see how she does in the LPGA tournaments. Maybe they can pair her with Michelle Wie during one of her invites? One thing for sure, the LPGA players will scratch her eyes out if she tries to pull this gamesmanship stuff on them. She’ll be playing with the big girls now.”

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Easy Peasy for the Big Easy

Ernie Els lambastes the field to win the BMW Asian Open by 13 strokes.

els_bmw_open.jpgErnie Els claimed his third European Tour victory of 2005 and his 21st career European title Monday morning as he shot a final-round 65 to win by 13 strokes over Simon Wakefield and the rest of the field.

Els went wire-to-wire to claim the BMW Asian Open and set the Asian Tour record for largest margin of victory. He also stands in second for the largest margin of victory in a European Tour-sanctioned event, trailing Tiger Woods and his 15-stroke victory at the 2000 U.S. Open. This was Els’ tenth wire-to-wire victory on the European Tour.

Wakefied shot a final-round 73 and didn’t offer much competition to Els, finishing at -13. Thomas Bjorn shot a 72 to stand alone in third place. Wakefield’s second-place finish has all but secured the Englishman his European Tour Card the 2006 season.

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Volume Seven

Bunches of links this week as they include sex appeal on the LPGA tour, golf video art, Kip Henley’s diary and camera etiquette in China.

I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority here, but Chris DiMarco is driving me nucking futs. I used to like him, but since his run at the Masters, I almost can’t watch coverage of him. He reminds me of Phil Mickelson prior to his first major. I think he tries a little too hard, but will tell you that he’s happy with the way he’s playing and that he’s contending. Plus, the media is all over him about possibly being “the best player without a major” – and I hate that.

I don’t know maybe it’s that flippin’ claw grip or Ping commercials he does that drive me crazy?! But, I’m pretty sure it’s just me.

Anyway, here’s this week’s version of Hittin’ the Links.

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Initial Impressions of Adidas Tour Metal

The Adidas Tour Metal – a sexy shoe that causes some rather un-sexy side effects? Our first look…

Adidas Tour MetalI’ve been waiting for some time for the Adidas Tour Metals to arrive. When the UPS guy finally dropped them by on Friday, I headed straight for the course.

The shoes are sexy, and I’m not one to throw that word around lightly. They’re stylish, they’re modern, and they’re dressy all at the same time. The rich mahogany tone (also available in black or white) coordinates well with darker browns.

The shoe, unfortunately, is a bit more style over substance than I care for in a golf shoe. The Tour Metal no padding on the tongue, typical short and thin laces, and blistered my heel by about the tenth hole. The leather is supple, flexible, and waterproof, so I’m going to give the shoes a little more time before passing judgment, but a bit more padding and bigger laces wouldn’t have hurt. Instead, the blisters did.

Expect a full review in the next two weeks.

Chris Off DiMarc as Petrovic Takes PGA Tour’s Zurich

Tim Petrovic captured his first PGA Tour victory in a playoff over James Driscoll. Chris DiMarco, third-round leader, fell to an even-par 72 in the final round to finish T3.

Tim PetrovicChris DiMarco, leader after two and one-half and three rounds at the Zurich Classic and playing in his first event since losing The Masters to Tiger Woods in a playoff, fell to an even par 72 with an incoming 39 – including a three putt from 20 feet at the last hole, to fall one shot short of a three-way playoff and two shots short of an outright victory.

Tim Petrovic didn’t exactly finish strong either. His outward 32 put him in a good position, but he barely held on while coming home in even-par 36. Two birdies – on 10 and 18 – were offset by two bogeys on 15 and 17. His birdie on 18 to get to -13 came with James Driscoll and Chris DiMarco standing in the fairway at the finishing par 5, both at -13.

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Stacy P. Collects First Win on the LPGA Tour!

Armed with a guitar-shaped trophy and $150,000, Vince Gill handed Stacy Prammanasudh her first LPGA victory check at the Franklin American Mortgage Tournament.

stacy_prammanasudh.jpgWith wind and rain attacking the Ironhorse course all weekend, Sunday’s sunshine was a welcome surprise. Leading by two strokes in the morning, Stacy Prammanasudh took control of the Franklin American Mortgage Championship and never gave it back.

Challenging Stacy throughout the final round was Lorena Ochoa, who received her first LPGA victory at this event last year. The Mexican sensation could not compete with Stacy, who hit all but four fairways this entire week, also hitting over 90% of greens in regulation. Returning to Tennessee after a 3rd place finish at last year’s event, Stacy managed back-to-back birdies on six and seven and again at the 16th and 17th holes with only one early bogey to finish with a 3-under 69.

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Darkness Postpones Inevitable for Els at BMW Asian Open

Ernie Els is forced to complete his final round on Monday morning as darkness halts his final round.

ernie_els_par3.jpgErnie Els must wait until Monday morning to claim (most likely) his third victory of the year at the BMW Asian Open. A three and a half hour delay on Sunday morning due to the threat of thunderstorms left 24 players on the course and in Shanghai for another day.

At the end of play on Saturday, Els had a five-stroke lead over Simon Wakefield and was able to open up his lead in his limited play on Sunday. The Big Easy is eight strokes in front of Wakefield and his lead is likely to go to nine first thing Monday, as he has a five foot birdie putt waiting for him on hole seven.

Els has carded two birdies on the six holes he’s completed while Wakefield has carded one bogey to fall eight strokes back.

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