The Mechanic, Miguel Angel Jimenez, tinkered his way to a 65 in Friday’s Dubai Desert Classic to take a two-stroke lead over first-round leader Ernie Els. Colin Montgomerie, looking to get into the top 50 in the world for an invitation to the Masters, is tied for fourth, five strokes back.
Els has played bogey-free golf all week, but added only four birdies to his first-round 66 (-6) and currently rests at -10, staring up at Jimenez, who rolled in eight birdie putts on Friday before bogeying the final hole. Said Jimenez, “I am like the good wines, you know. With the age, getting better.”
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 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, 
After making its debut in Hawaii, the LPGA will jetset down to Mexico for the first ever MasterCard Classic. This tournament goes hand-in-hand with the Open de Mexico Femenil, a golf event played in January 2005 in Mexico. The idea of the Open was to select up to six Amateur Mexican Female Golfers to participate and contend with the best players in the LPGA. 
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 
Doral isn’t the only must-watch tournament this week. The European Tour makes its yearly stop in the United Arab Emirates for the Dubai Desert Classic. This is the 16th year the tournament will be played at 
You can build your own outdoor putting green or you can have one built for you if you’ve got $5000 (or more) to spare. You can buy a typical roll-out indoor putting “carpet” for $20-$50. You can’t build your own 8′ x 8′ indoor putting green for less than $250. Or can you?
As many suspected, Ian Woosnam will be the next European Ryder Cup captain and Faldo will follow in 2008. The double appointment – yet to be done in Ryder Cup history – was reached by unanimous decision. Said European Tour Executive Director George O’Grady, “We have rewarded two great champions.”
Having just experienced the wonder that is pine straw in North Carolina’s Pinehurst area, I come to you with a tip for hitting off of the stuff should your drives wander wayward.