Park Leads Samsung

Grace Park holds a three-stroke lead going into the final day of play at the Samsung World Championship.

grace_park.jpgGrace Park, despite a bogey on the last hole Saturday, leads the 20-player field at the Samsung World Championship by three strokes over fan favorite Cristie Kerr and the best female player in the world Annika Sorenstam. Mexican heroine Lorena Ochoa is one further back. One behind her: defending champion Sophie Gustafson, Hall-of-Famer Juli Inkster, and Catriona Matthew, who shot a first-round 64.

Grace Park grabbed the lead in the first round at Bighorn Golf Club and set a new 18-hole tournament record at 10-under 62. She shot a 5-under 67 on the second day to set a new 36-hole record and open a four-shot gap. Her 71 (-1) in round three slimmed the gap to three but again established a new tournament record at 200, previously established at 201 by her two closest trailers, Annika Sorenstam and Cristie Kerr, in 2002.

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Putt with One Hand

Putting with one hand can improve the two aspects of putting.

Practice putting with one hand – your right or your left. You’ll find that each hand is typically responsible for part of the putt. Your right hand typically controls distance and your left controls the swing path. If your distance control is suffering, putt with just your right hand. If your stroke is suffering, putt with just your left.

Putt off the Toe

Sometimes putting off the toe is helpful as well.

You’ve got a five-foot, downhill, right to left putt. You’ve got any number of lines depending on the speed. Do you nudge it out there, or power it through a little of the break? Sometimes, choosing the middle line and making a slightly more aggressive stroke while striking the ball slightly towards the toe of the putter (½” at the most) frees you to make a confident stroke. Hitting the ball towards the toe takes some speed off, letting the ball die into the hole, while at the same time pushing the ball just a tad higher to compensate for the lost speed.

Different putters react differently to mishit balls, so try this on the practice green before using it on the course.

Tiger To Skip Disney

Tiger Woods will skip the Funai Classic at Disney.

Tiger WoodsFor the first time since turning pro, Tiger Woods will miss the Funai Classic at Disney. According to Disney officials, Tiger missed the 5pm deadline for entering the tournament. It appears that life cruising around the Caribbean on a multi-million dollar yacht is much more important than his streak at the Funai Classic. But, can you blame him? I don’t.

Visualize Early

Use the time driving to the course effectively by visualizing your round.

Visualization is one of the keys to playing successful golf. Every good golfer visualizes the shot at one point, and most good golfers have a solid game plan before entering a round. When you’re driving to the course, what are you doing? Listening to music? Chatting on your cell phone?

Consider using the time to “play” a round of golf in your mind. Be realistic – if you hit a 230 yard slice off the tee, don’t imagine 290 yard draws. Imagine playing in the current weather conditions. Hit solid shots in your mind’s eye and make the putts. You can “play” eighteen holes in about five minutes this way, and you’ll be more prepared.

Work

What became of the greatest workers of the early 20th century?

This relates to golf, I promise. 🙂 But here’s a little quiz for you…

In 1923, who was…

  1. President of the largest steel company?
  2. President of the largest gas company?
  3. President of the New York Stock Exchange?
  4. Greatest wheat speculator?
  5. President of the Bank of International Settlement?
  6. Great Bear of Wall Street?

These men were considered some of the worlds most successful of their days.

Now, 80 years later, the history book asks us, if we know what ultimately became of them.

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HSBC World Matchplay, Round 2

Bernhard Langer pulled off an impressive win over World No. 1 Vijay Singh at the HSBC World Match Play.

Well, yesterday’s predictions didn’t go too badly; 5 out the seven remaining matches called correctly, with one of mis-calls going to the 37th hole. That match was won by Bernhard Langer, pulling off an impressive victory over world number one Vijay Singh.

Today’s matches are being played to an excellent standard. Jimenez played the first 18 holes of his match with Bernhard Langer in 63 shots (an approximate score, since all putts aren’t necessarily holed in match play), and finished the eighteenth 3 up. Padraig Harrington also went round in 63, and although he was 6 up on Thomas Levet after 18, he was pegged back to 2 up after losing four holes in a row. Whatever the Frenchman had for lunch, I want some of it.

Read the extended entry for my predictions for the rest of the second round. Post yours in the comments.

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US Coast Guard Boards Tiger’s Yacht

The US Coast Guard boards Tiger’s yacht “Privacy.”

CNN reports that armed officers of the Coast Guard boarded the couple’s new mega-yacht Privacy in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The crew apparently was not aware they had to file advance notice of arrival. Doh!

HSBC World Matchplay, Round 1

The first round of the HSBC World Matchplay remains unfinished due to rain delays. Retief Goosen was the day’s only winner, thrashing Jeff Maggert 12&11.

goosen_hsbc.jpgWho says it never rains in England? Well, no-one, frankly, and with good reason. The first round of the HSBC World Match Play Championship was heavily disrupted by rain, which meant that only one match out of the eight 36-hole first round matches was settled before the close of play, with US Open champion Retief Goosen crushing Jeff Maggert 12&11. Goosen was 8 up after the first 18 holes, and only required a further 7 holes to complete the rout and set a new record for the largest margin of victory in the event.

The delay has given me the opportunity to make some predictions for what’s left of the first round, and I’ll do the same for the remaining rounds. Post your predictions on here too, and we’ll see who comes out tops!

Read the extended entry for my predictions.

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