Warm up and score better. It’s that simple.
Arrive at the course early. Stretch. Hit some putts, and then some chips. Move to the driving range and hit some soft pitch shots, progressing into full swings. Finish with your driver and/or the club you plan to use on the first tee. Move back to the putting green, stretch, and practice your putting a little more. It’ll relax you for your first tee shot anyway.
But warm up properly. It’ll save you five strokes a round… probably on the first three holes.
Vijay Singh beats Mike Weir in a playoff to win the Bell Canadian Open and practically locks up the race for Player of the Year.
In an exciting finish, Vijay Singh takes the Bell Canadian Open right out of Mike Weir‘s grasp on the third playoff hole. Leading after 54 holes by 3 strokes, Weir shot a final round 72 (+1) and Singh a 69 (-2). After a pair of birdies on the first playoff hole (#18) and an anemic pair of bogeys on the second playoff hole (#17), they went back to #18. Weir’s troubles on this hole started when he drove into the thick right rough. Chopping it out another 100 yards down the fairway, Weir then plays a slight draw with an iron, skips it off the back of the putting surface, and splashes into the water. This opened the door for Vijay who, after another beautiful drive, hit a 6I to just off the green and chipped it to within 6 feet. Vijay missed the birdie putt but left only a comeback tap-in for the par and win. All in all, Weir and Singh played sloppily (Vijay played the 11th hole in 7-over par), but Singh managed to best the Canadian in his own championship.
The win puts Vijay Singh to within about $500,000 of Tiger Woods’ single-season money earnings record. Moreover, if Vijay’s victory last week didn’t cement his bid for Player of the Year, this win – Vijay’s seventh and his fourth in his last five starts – should do it. Singh’s seven victories accompany 14 top-10, 20 top-25 finishes, and well over $8 million in winnings. There’s absolutely no chance that Tiger will steal this one away from him.
Mike Weir leads his native Canadian championship going into Sunday. Can he bring home the bacon?
Canadian native Mike Weir leads his country’s championship by three strokes over Cliff Kresage and the world’s number-one golfer, Vijay Singh. There are eleven golfers within six strokes of Weir going into Sunday’s final round, including Jesper Parnevik (-7), Stewart Cink (-4), and Bill Haas (-4).
Today 1 2 3 4 Total To Par Mike Weir 1:40ET 68 65 70 - 203 -10 Cliff Kresge 1:40ET 69 70 67 - 206 - 7 Vijay Singh 1:30ET 68 66 72 - 206 - 7
This week also marks the second consecutive week in which David Duval has made the cut, finishing at 6-over par 290 with rounds of 71, 72, 76, and 71.
Only one question remains this week about Weir’s attempt to capture his native championship: can the Canadian bring home the bacon? Sorry, couldn’t resist. 🙂
Don’t look for the ball to fall into the cup, listen for it!
When putting, listen for the putt to drop. This will help you keep steady and prevent you from looking up too quickly, which often results in a push. Listen for the putt to drop instead of looking for it, and you’ll probably hear the sound more frequently!
The AJ Golf series promises to reveal the truth about golf for only $89.95. Does it?
If you watch The Golf Channel for any amount of time, you’ve seen either the 30-second, 60-second, or 30-minute commercials for AJ Reveals the Truth about Golf. You’ve no doubt seen Da Bat and wondered just what point it might offer. You’ve seen AJ’s “reduce your handicap by 30% and increase your drives by 30 yards in 90 days” guarantee.
I’m a 6-9 handicapper who has a slightly open stance, a strong grip, and a slight high draw. I average about 275 off the tee when I’m playing well and have a relatively solid short game. I was skeptical that AJ Bonar could do much to help my game.
This is the part of the review in which – if it were an infomercial – I’d say “boy, was I wrong!” Unfortunately, I was not. AJ did very little, if anything, to help my game. This doesn’t mean the videos are worthless: just that they didn’t help me a whole lot.
Mike Weir leads by one stroke in the Canadian Bell Open.
I was slightly caught off-guard when I just checked the PGA leaderboard. Mike Weir carries a one stroke lead into the weekend at the Bell Canadian Open with World #1 Vijay Singh hot on his tail. It’s interesting to look at Weir’s results from this year. I hadn’t heard his name in quite some time and I quickly see why. After a pretty hot start this year (T5 at the FBR Open, T4 at Pebble Beach, then winning the Nissan Open), he had a string of missed cuts and poor finishes. The only two saving graces since that start was a T4 at the U.S. Open and a T9 at the British Open. Ok, so he turns it on for the majors. Who doesn’t? Here’s to hoping he can hang on. I’m tired of hearing about Vijay.
Colin Montgomerie is officially divorced.
Larry says it as well as we could, so just go read his story. Colin Montgomerie will be a force to reckon with in the Ryder Cup now, mark my words!
An online yardage calculator… that’s useless.
This is just about the lamest thing I’ve ever seen: a yardage calculator.
Today’s tip of the day is a simple one: take enough club. Most trouble is at the front of a great. Very rarely are there bunkers and water behind the green. 90% of the time, amateurs come up short. Often, perfect ball-club contact would result in the proper shot, but 90% of the time perfect club-ball contact is not made. Choose the club that’s most likely to get you to the hole, imperfect contact and all. If that’s a 7I from 150 instead of a 9I, hit it. The confidence you’ll have in the club will do more for you than swinging harder at a weaker club.
Of course, this is an affront to our masculinity, is it not? We all want to hit 9Is from 150, right? It’s great to say to our partner “I’ll just hit an easy 9I” from 150 yards. But unless your playing partners are watching you very carefully, saying you hit an easy 9I is completely independent of the soft 7I you just hit. Besides, there’s a rule against giving advice. 🙂
To summarize today’s tip: you’re a bigger man 10 feet from the hole with a stronger club than the guy who hits it into the front bunker with a weaker club.
Sam Torrance says that the Europeans have an advantage playing the Ryder Cup abroad.
Sam Torrance, former captain of the European Ryder Cup team, said Wednesday:
There’s a little bit less pressure playing away from home than playing at home. In front of your home crowd, everyone’s cheering you on and you feel like you have to play well.
A bit of gamesmanship? A bit of truth? Americans play well in the British Open, yet the reverse is not true.
You know the crowd’s going to be on the Americans’ side. You just have to use it and not let it get you down. When the USA chant starts, just let it annoy you. Let it build you up, let it make you mad and play better golf.
Good advice indeed. The US side, of course, can just as easily use the chant to boost them. But this is why we adore the Ryder Cup so much: because it is a battle. Because the underdog has a real chance every time. Because it shows a man’s will – a team’s will – more than any other tournament or competition. Raw competitiveness, raw humanity on display. That’s the Ryder Cup.
