Weir Leads Bell Canadian Open

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.

Monty’s Divorce is Final

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!

Yardage Calculator

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.

Torrance: Europeans Have an Edge

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.

Mickelson Drops Titleist, Signs with Callaway

Over the Labor Day weekend, Phil Mickelson signed an endorsement deal with Callaway Golf, dumping Titleist early.

phil_mickelson_callaway.jpgOver the Labor Day weekend, Phil Mickelson, the #4 ranked golfer in the world, signed an endorsement deal with Callaway Golf to use a prototype Callaway HX ball and a prototype model of Callaway’s Fusion driver at this week’s Canadian Bell Open.

This move comes just a week after prematurely dumping a Titleist contract. Mickelson had been with Titleist the past four years.

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Tour Round-Up

Round-up from last week’s tour events.

It’s finally happened. Tiger Wood’s 334-week reign atop the World Rankings is over. Vijay Singh won the Deutsche Bank Championship to claim the top spot, making him only the twelfth golfer in 18 years to hold that position.

The only three European Ryder Cup members to enter the Omega Eurpoena Masters took the top three places (well, Sergio Garcia finished tied third), Luke Donald winning by five from Miguel Angel Jimenez. The only thing more impressive than Donald’s final round was Jimenez’s curly mullet (aka the Spafro).

Luis Carbonetti from Argentina won the European Senior Masters at the Duke’s Course in Woburn, England. In last place, however, was Nigel Mansell, the former Formula 1 and Indy Car world champion, finishing at 28 over. Apparently, despite trying to keep his game on track, his rounds were plagued by bad driving, leaving him well off the pace (ahem…).

Double-D David Duval: T13

David Duval makes a cut – and finishes tied for thirteenth.

Let’s not overlook David Duval this week. David not only made the cut – something he’s failed to do for 14 months or so – but he finished T13 with a 4-under 67 on the closing day of the Deutsche Bank Championship. This is his best finish since T6 in a 2002 event in Las Vegas.

David will win a tournament in the next two years. That’s my prediction and I’m sticking to it.

Singh Number One

Vijay has taken over the World #1 ranking. How long until Tiger gets it back?

Vijay Singh is now the number one golfer in the world, according to The Official World Golf Ranking, by a slim margin: 12.72 to 12.27.

Congrats to Vijay. Hard work does pay off.

Now, the question being asked is simply this: how long until Tiger gets it back? He played really well last week…

Moe Norman Dies

Moe Norman is dead at 75.

Moe Norman, the eccentric Canadian golfer with a “Natural Golf” swing, has died.

The two-time Canadian Amateur champion died of heart failure in a Kitchener hospital, Royal Canadian Golf Association spokesman Victor Cui said. Norman had battled heart problems since having a heart attack two years ago.

It’s tough to say whether Moe Norman’s swing or eccentricities will be missed more, but both will be missed quite a good deal.