Y.E. Yang at the 2009 Honda Classic. Photo Credit: WorldGolf.com

Y.E. Yang shot a five under par 65 on the Champion course at PGA National to take the lead at the midpoint of the 2009 Honda Classic. Along with Thursday’s 68 he is at 133 and seven strokes under par.

One shot behind Yang is Robert Allenby, the first round leader who shot 68 after opening with a 66, outdoor adventure sportsman turned professional golfer Will MacKenzie with a pair of 67s, and Jeff Overton, a gutsy 25-year-old upstart who also played to a pair of 67s over the first two days of the 10th tournament of the 2009 edition of the PGA Tour.

Yang dared to think about what it would be like if he held the same position at the conclusion of play on Sunday afternoon.

“It would be a dream come true,” he said.

He continues to develop his game and elevate himself on the world golf scene. In the beginning, all he wanted to be was a golf teaching professional.

“But as I got more deeper into golf, I started getting better. That naturally led me to taking membership on the Korean Tour, and as I improved on the Korean Tour, I moved on to the Japan Tour and started winning in Korea and I won on the Asian Tour and I started winning on the Japan Tour and then I won on the European Tour.”

Now he has a chance to win on the PGA TOUR.

Yang is best known for beating the best golfer in the world, Tiger Woods, at the HSBC Champions in Nov. 2006 at the Sheshan International GC in Shanghai, China to earn the crown “champion of champions.”

The HSBC Champions event is the first tournament on the European Tour schedule. Sergio Garcia, World No. 2 got off to a fast start in the race for Dubai by winning the same championship four months ago. The 2009 European Tour concludes with the $10 million Dubai World Championship in November.

The 37-year-old golfer, who earned his tour card by finishing tied for 18th at Q-School, is frank in his explanation as to why Korean men have not done as well on the PGA Tour as Korean women have on the LPGA.

“I would just summarize in three key aspects. In my opinion, I think, first of all, Korean men have to serve military for two years. So when you’re in your 20s at the prime of your golfing career, not to be able to—to be taken away to military and not playing golf for two years, I think it takes you out of the routine, the feel that you had about the game out.  And then when you come back after your military service and try to pick it up again, it takes a while to do that. Definitely that’s the biggest issue.”

“Secondly, when you’re playing—there’s a lot of driving ranges in Korea, but when you’re playing golf tournaments, some of the courses don’t even have driving ranges. So you’re finding before you go out to the golf course to play your round, people have to stop by an outdoor range somewhere else and then drive to the golf course. So that it’s not the ideal environment to play competitive golf. Even a lot of touring pros still practice on artificial mattresses.”

“I think, lastly, I don’t think there’s as much of a physical or talent differentiation on the women’s tour as there is on the men’s tour. I think on the women’s tour, they have realized the successes of Se Ri Pak, and they believe that if someone like her can be as successful, who is physically about the same size as me, then they are motivated. That’s why you’ve seen a lot of the women players come over to the USA and challenge on the LPGA Tour.”

“On the men’s tour, I think the Korean men know that the competition is a lot—the depth of the players is a lot deeper. The physical aspect, I think they just get too scared and they don’t even give themselves a chance to even come and try the Q-School. So, even before the challenge starts, you find the young men just giving up. So, I think once they overcome that, once they realize that they can compete out here, then it will change.”

Change is already coming in Noh Seung-yul, a 17-year-old rising star from South Korea. He won the China Classic as a rookie on the Asian Tour last year and fired a 10-under 62 in the first round of the Malaysian Open earlier this year.

Rory McIlroy, a 19-year-old Irish toddler himself, referred to this young Korean phenomenon as possibly joining himself and 19-year-old Japanese-American Tadd Fujikawa as the next new era of golfers.

“It’s good for worldwide golf that you have so many players from so many different countries becoming so much better,” McIlroy said.

Seasoned veteran Robert Allenby played well in the second round, knowing consistency could lead to his first PGA Tour title in eight years.

“So I just played smart golf. I knew I didn’t have to be aggressive, and I know that if I shoot under par every day, it’s going to be pretty close at the end of the week,” Allenby said.

The Aussie chipped in for birdie on No. 16 and is starting to feel very confident about his game and chance of success this week.

“It’s just a matter of believing in yourself and having the confidence to just stand up there and hit the shots, one after the other, under the gun,” he said.

Is it fun or stressful for Allenby to be in this position?

“It’s just a matter of just staying patient and just enjoying what I do. Right now, that’s what I’m doing. I enjoy what I’m doing.”

Allenby, playing for only the third time this year, was in a horrific car accident in 1996, which broke his sternum and smashed up his whole face. With his mother’s recent passing, these life experiences are putting things into the proper perspective for him; he is focusing on consistency, longevity, and future successes.

“I still consider myself young. I’m only 37. But I see myself being able to play the same golf when I’m 54 years of age, because I actually feel like I’m in great shape. I feel like I’m stronger now than I was when I was in my 20s.”

Jeff Overton, a 25-year-old who overcame appendicitis last fall to secure his tour card, is thinking about his chances of winning his first tournament and how difficult it will be to do that.

“Tiger has raised the bar. It’s unbelievable how good these guys are, it really is. It’s unbelievable how many players have not won yet, but only one guy wins each week. You only have 35, 40 weeks, whatever it is, and you get Tiger winning half of them; there’s not a lot of room for other players,” said Overton.

Will MacKenzie, a 34-year-old two-time winner on tour likes to copy other people’s swings, like Ted Purdy and Steve Elkington. He even invented one of his own called the Wille-Mac swing, but knows enough not to copy Tiger’s swing.

“I watch Tiger swing and I go ‘I’m going to start trying to swing like Tiger.’ You can’t swing like Tiger. He’s Tiger,” MacKenzie said.

MacKenzie has held various jobs such as dish dog, cook, kayak guide, ski patrol, wilderness EMT, roofer, Taco Bell, and security guard before turning pro in 2000. As an adventure sportsman, he fancied rock climbing, kayaking, and heliboarding, and even lived out of his van for five years along the way to settling down with a wife and son.

”Everybody can’t be a heliboarder forever, or a Class V kayaker forever. You can, but you can’t be a professional golfer at the same time. It is tough.”

Eight other golfers are within four strokes of the lead: tour rookie David Mathias, birthday boy Ben Crane (celebrated 33rd birthday on Friday), Greg Chalmers, who shot the tournament best 64 on Friday, Czech Alex Cejka, 2008 Q-School champion Harrison Frazar, John Rollins, who finished second alone at Riviera, another shoemaker’s course, rookie Jeff Klauk of TPC Sawgrass pedigree, and Aussie James Nitties.

PGA National is a tough golf course. Cut day is over, and now Saturday is moving day, so let’s see what happens when the 79 golfers who survived the cut at plus-three put a peg in the ground in the third round of the Honda Classic.

Robert Allenby of Australia and his caddie line up a birdie putt. Photo Credit: Getty Images

Robert Allenby is leading the Honda Classic shooting a 4-under par 66 in windy conditions at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Back in December down under at the Australian Masters, Allenby sized up the situation for what it was.

“I knew that it would be the last tournament and last shot that really she would ever see me hit.”

His mom passed about a month ago, and there is that sense of emptiness we all feel when our mother leaves us alone in this world. She was an inspiration to him and left him with some departing words that December day in Australia.

“There are more important things in life than winning tournaments.”

We all know that, but we all know we have to do what it is we do, even after our mom has gone on to a better place.

Allenby, a winner of four PGA Tour tournaments, the last one coming way back in 2001, is trying hard to win this one in his mother’s memory.

Playing in the sun with a heavy heart under adverse conditions such as wind, a dried out course due to southern Florida’s drought conditions, and slow play due to those adverse conditions, his low round of the day was fairly miraculous.

On the difficult par-4 sixth hole, he took off his shoes and rolled up his pants to blast one out of the muck. “I was going to take my pants off, but I thought about Ian Baker-Finch, that scene has been shown so many times, and I know I’ve got better legs than him.”

That incident was back in 1993 at Colonial. It’s funny how humor gets us through the tough times both on and off the course.

This 37-year-old professional golfer with 16 international victories on his resume possesses a brilliant mind with some solid common sense about the game of golf. When queried if his ability to go into the muck hazard was because of the dry conditions he replied:

“Well, if it was wet, then the ball probably wouldn’t have bounced in there. Because it’s dry, it bounced into the hazard. So it works both ways, really, when you look at it like that.”

Incidentally his last three international victories all came in 2005 at the Australian Masters, Open, and PGA. It would be nice, yet difficult to win one for mom.

In a six-way tie for second place one stroke back with 67s are Angel Cabrera (Argentina), Stewart Cink, Charlie Wi, Jeff Overton, Will MacKenzie, and Sergio Garcia (Spain).

Garcia and MacKenzie played in the afternoon where the wind was slightly stronger and the temperatures dropped considerable as the sun lowered in the sky.

Garcia’s 4-under front nine and 1-over back nine were indicative of the deteriorating playing conditions. But some of that was attributed to deteriorating patience on his part.

After birding Nos. 8 and 9 with putts of 12 and 32 feet respectively Sergio missed birdie putts of 7, 20, 30, 14, and 22 on the first five holes of the back nine.

His 5-iron on the par-3 15th hole, the start of course designer Jack Nicklaus’ “Bear Trap” was perfect in distance though 14 yards left of the hole in the bunker.

After hitting a reasonable sand shot to 7 feet the Spaniard stared it down as though it should have released and gone into the hole for a deuce.

With the frustration building from the greens to his sand game Garcia missed the 7-footer for his only bogey of the day.

On the next hole his approach shot from 171 yards into the wind and directly on line to the flagstick was short, caught the slope and rolled back leaving him a 38-foot lag putt versus a makeable birdie putt.

Frustrated with the playing conditions and the lack of birdies, Sergio did a twisting right knee kick into the wind and uttered the helpless “God” that we all do in times of distress. He finished off the back nine with two-putt pars from 21 and 39 feet.

In his brief post-round interview, he summed it all up and put the right media spin on it by saying: “I still felt like I played great on the back nine, and I shot 1-over. That tells you everything about this course, and the last four or five holes are quite tough. I was happy to finish 3-under, and it’s a good start.”

What does that comment tell us about Sergio Garcia? After seeing him win the playoff in last year’s Players Championship in a dramatic fashion on the TPC Sawgrass famous island green par-3 17th hole, he is destined to win his first Major perhaps this year.

Without a more refined sense of patience on the golf course, that looming Major victory is in doubt.

Angel Cabrera, winner of the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont CC by one stroke over Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk, had a bogeyless 3-birdie 67.

Stewart Cink, a five-time winner on the PGA TOUR, is coming off a strong third-place finish at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship last week had five birdies and two bogeys.

Charlie Wi, winner of nine international events yet winless on the PGA Tour in 84 career starts, had six birdies, one bogey and one double-bogey in his opening round.

Jeff Overton, who turned pro in 2005 and finished 99th on the money list last year, had four birdies and one bogey in this his 85th PGA Tour start.

Will MacKenzie won last year’s Viking Classic and finished tied for twelfth at the season opening Mercedes-Benz Championship. Since then he missed four cuts in a row before taking last week off. The 34-year-old, who lives nearby in Jupiter, Fla., had five birdies and two bogeys.

Four players are within two shots of Allenby’s lead: Kent Jones from New Mexico, who tied for 18th at last year’s Q-School; Y.E. Yang from South Korea, who also tied for 18th at last year’s Q-School; David Mathias from North Carolina, who finished 14th on the Nationwide Tour last year; and Chris Riley from Las Vegas, winner of the 2002 Renoe-Tahoe Open who also finished tied for 18th at last year’s Q-School.

Defending champion Ernie Els shot a 3-over par 73.

Looking ahead to Friday’s second round, it will be interesting to see how Robert Allenby controls his emotions and if Sergio Garcia can stay patient enough to perform at top of his game.

Ogilvy Beats the World in Match Play

Geoff Ogilvy wins his second WGC- Accenture Match Play Championship (2009 & 2006) at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona. Photo Credit: UK Golf Monthly

It’s March now and Geoff Ogilvy’s march to the top echelons of the world of golf is progressing quite nicely.

On Sunday, the master of match play continued his hot play and quietly disposed of Englishman Paul Casey 4-3 in the 36-hole finale to the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. After being tested to 19 holes in his first two matches with Kevin Sutherland and Shingo Katayama, Ogilvy disposed of up-and-coming stars Camillo Villegas and Rory McIlroy before dusting off Casey in the Arizona desert.

There is a case to be made for Geoff to join Tiger, Padraig, and Phil in the top foursome of golf.

Tiger Woods with 65 PGA Tour victories and 14 Major Championships is the undisputed world No. 1. Padraig Harrington winning three of the last six Majors including the last two in a row has a chance to do this year with victories at the Masters and U.S. Open what only Tiger has been able to do—possess all four Major Championship trophies at one time.

Phil Mickelson has 35 PGA Tour victories and three Majors though the last of those came at the 2006 Masters almost three years ago.

It was Phil who allowed Geoff to come out and shine brightly onto the world golf scene at the 2006 U.S. Open. by double-bogeying the last hole at Winged Foot.

Though earlier in that year Ogilvy defeated Davis Love III in 36-hole finale of this WGC match play championship held at La Costa in California.

The 31-year old Aussie validated his place in golf history by winning last year’s WGC- CA Championship a stroke-play event at famed Blue Monster at Doral thereby ending Tiger Woods win streak at five victories in a row. He has won two of the last four WGC Accenture Match Play Championships with a loss in the final match to Henrik Stenson in the 2007 version.

Now with his defense of the WGC-CA Championship only one week away and the Masters only five weeks away Ogilvy’s posed to make even a bigger name for himself during this 2009 golf season.

When first asked in the post-round interview about his ranking Ogilvy was humble.  “That’s not really for me to decide it’s for you guys (golf writers) to decide where I sit in the pecking order.”

Though when asked to “go Poulter” in the interview room as in Ian Poulter’s boast around this time last year “I haven’t played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger,” Ogilvy remained Ogilvy and let his clubs and record do the talking. “Well there’s a few guys in the world who are obviously well in front of me: Tiger, Phil, Sergio, Harrington. So there’s four. So I’m at least fifth. Sergio hasn’t got a Major, but Sergio’s won a lot of big tournaments.”

Segio did win last year’s Players Championship, but has no Major or WGC wins on his resume. Ogilvy is the fourth in the top foursome, no doubt and his humbleness and quiet effectiveness may very well someday take him to the top.

A match play format with the world’s best 64 golfers makes this event a true delight on the PGA Tour. There were many stories this week none less meaningful then the return of Tiger Woods to competitive golf. He came out in style, his style of playing phenomenal golf birding the first hole and eagling the second. Tiger’s back and that is good for the world of golf and entertaining as all heck for the rest of us. What magic will he bring to the Masters this spring? Maybe a fifth green jacket this year along with one more Major? If so he halves the Major deficit of four to Nicklaus’ golden number of 18.

However, Woods was knocked out early in the second round by a red-hot Tim Clark, who then was knocked off by the emerging 19-year old rising star name Rory McIlroy, who himself then ran into eventual champion Ogilvy.

The story this week is easily that of the format- match-play. Playing this format is something these guys do a lot of as amateur college golfers and little of as professional golfers. With its ties to the very inception of the game on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland match play is well suited to be on the schedule of competitive golf.

The essence of match play is well “It’s very fickle and you never know what can happen,” as Rory McIlroy put it. Ross Fisher, Another Englishman who lost in the consolation match to a Stewart Cink holed bunker shot on the last hole put it another way: “Every game’s a tough game. It’s match play and it’s the top 64 players playing, so every game’s going to be difficult. If you turn up and you’re slightly off your game, you’re going to go home. And even you can turn up and be on your game and shoot 5-, 6-under and you can still go home.” Mono-a-Mono competition and all bets are off.

Casey paid Ogilvy a huge compliment when asked about Ogilvy’s competitiveness in match play. “What is tough about playing Geoff is that he doesn’t change. His demeanor doesn’t waiver, which is a huge attribute, especially in match play. He walks the same pace, whether he’s playing well or poorly. He manages himself very, very well, and that’s what I felt today. Even when I felt like I made birdies he just sort of laughs at you and he just carries on with what he’s doing. It’s Geoff being Geoff.”

With an international field assembled there are natural tendencies to join forces with your fellow countrymen and look ahead to the competition at this year’s President’s Cup and even next year’s Ryder Cup.  Ogilvy spoke as to how he chose ASU and settled in Arizona: “You tend to, when you’re foreigners, you tend to go where some of your country people are. Whether you should or not, you do. Everyone does, really.”

There’s family and country first within the international golfing community.  Casey looked at it in another way “I think it was maybe the second round it seemed like that a huge number of the Americans had won their matches, and then all of a sudden the following day we have got five Englishmen, for example, through to the next round, equal number of Americans and it’s like, wow, look the British are coming.”

It’s well known that Davis Love III wants to compete in the President’s Cup in October with his friend Freddie Couples captaining the American team against the Internationals. He wants it as badly as Kenny Perry wanted to play for the Stars and Stripes in his home state of Kentucky at last year’s Ryder Cup at Valhalla. Camillo Villegas wants to play for Captain Greg Norman on the other side “I do love playing match play and I would love to be on Greg’s team and I’ll work hard to be a part of it.”

The recent Ryder Cup experience factored into one match for sure.  Oliver Wilson after defeating Anthony Kim in the second round commented that “obviously the Ryder Cup I think maybe helped me a little bit, knowing that I’ve already beat him before.” Casey was talking about it but not thinking about it:  “Ryder Cup is a long way away. It’s not certainly not in my mind.” If you are talking about something isn’t it in your mind?

Then there is always the story line about the introspection all golfers whether professional or amateur do to themselves—how can I be a better golfer, how can I be a better match play competitor? Oliver Wilson is trying to develop a Tiger demeanor.  “I always seem to get somebody who’s playing great, and I don’t know if that’s because I’m friendly out on the course and make people relaxed. I’ve tried to change a little bit, I haven’t really spoke to anyone yet this week. I’m keeping myself to myself, grinding it out, and it’s working so far.”  Nobody wants to be a patsy.

Ogilvy has proven he is no patsy. He is without a doubt one of the finest golfers in the world at this moment in time. He is the lead Australian to fill the void of departing Greg Norman’s legacy of 20 PGA Tour victories and two British Open victories. He’s surpassed the other 23 Aussies competing on the PGA Tour with five PGA Tour victories of his own including that 2006 U.S. Open and now three World Golf Championships.

Wouldn’t it be something to see Greg and Geoff in the final twosome at Augusta on Sunday afternoon?

(Originally published by Andy Reistetter on the Bleacher Report circa 3-1-09)

Major Victory for Mark Wilson: 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya

Mark Wilson celebrates with the winner’s trophy after the final round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Photo Credit: Getty Images

Winning a Major is the pinnacle of success in the world of professional golf. So much so that sometimes we forget about the journey to reach that lofty peak and the importance of each major step along the way.

Mark Wilson took one of those major steps by winning the third edition of the PGA Tour in Mexico: the 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya.

How important is it to win a sanctioned PGA Tour event? Majorly important, as it comes with a two-year exemption.

Interestingly enough, the All-Exempt Tour Priority Rankings are listed before any player biographies in the official 2009 guidebook. Bottom line is it does not matter who you are: Unless you have high enough priority to make it into the field for any given tournament you don’t play.

And if you don’t play, you can’t win official money, and sooner or later, your exemption will cease to exist on the PGA Tour.

Wilson’s last PGA Tour victory (and only until last week) came at the 2007 Honda Classic. Therefore, his two-year exemption was scheduled to expire at the end of the 2009 season. So Mark’s timing is perfect—two wins has equated to four years of being exempt into PGA Tour tournaments.

Of course, a tournament win doesn’t guarantee entry into all tournaments, as the four Majors, Players, WGC events, and invitation-only events (like the Mercedes Benz) have other, more exclusive selection criteria.

The Mayakoba win does not come with an automatic invitation to the 2009 Masters since there is not a full FedEx Cup point allocated to the event. Still, it is a huge win for Mark Wilson and sets the stage for bigger things to come in the future.

The win in Mexico is a boost of confidence for the 34-year-old golfer born in Menomonee Falls outside of Madison, Wisconsin. He currently lives in Elmhurst, Illinois (a Chicago suburb)

So, like other northern neighbors Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly, sometimes it takes him a few starts to “defrost” the winter swing. Out of five previous 2009 starts Wilson, who cites Ben Hogan as his hero, missed the cut at the Sony Open, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer, and the Northern Trust Open. And in the other two, the FBR Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he tied for 48th and 39th, respectively.

Wilson, who came out of the University of North Carolina in 1997 with a mathematics degree, turned pro immediately and climbed the ranks, winning three times on the Hooters Tour. In 2002, he played the Nationwide Tour and gained his tour card, finishing tied for 17th in the Qualifying Tournament. He finished No. 128 on the money list.

He split his time in 2004 between the PGA and Nationwide Tours. He narrowly secured his tour card again (at Q-School), finishing tied for 26th. But once again, he finished outside the magical top 125 on the money list (at No. 156)

Then he earned his tour card for the third time at the 2006 Q-School, finishing tied for 29th. Finally, he got his first victory in the 2007 Honda Classic in his 111th PGA Tour start, and he has not looked back.

Now, only 55 starts later (in his 166th), he has his second win.

To put this in perspective, there are eight veteran members of the tour still out there competing with well over 300 career starts and zero victories: Jay Delsing (555), Skip Kendall (387), Marco Dawson (371), Brett Quigley (338), Scott Gump (329), Michael Allen (328), Omar Uresti (305), and Harrison Frazar (305). Earlier this year, at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer, Pat Perez won his first PGA Tour event in his 198th start.

Congratulations, Mark Wilson, for taking another major step in your professional golfing career. May your next victory be a Major!

Phil Mickelson Back on Track with Roller Coaster Win at Riviera

Phil Mickelson repeats as Champion of the 2009 Northern Trust Open at Riviera CC. Photo Credit: WorldGolf.com

Earlier in the week Phil was asked if playing Riviera CC and defending his 2008 Northern Trust victory will help him get his game back on track.

He replied, “I certainly hope so. I’ve played well here the last couple of years. I think that it’s starting to come around.

“The first three weeks obviously were not what I wanted. This is a great place to get it turned around.”

Those first three weeks of the season included a missed cut at the FBR Open in his collegiate home state of Arizona, a tie for 42nd at the Buick Invitational in his childhood backyard at Torrey Pines and a tie for 55th in last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The roller coaster we know and love, as Phil seemed to be shutdown, off-track, with the engine still in the barn. The energy level, the smile, and the sheepish confidence reemerged this week and provided us with an exciting Sunday finish in a grand old tournament that dates back to 1926.

How did Phil get back on track? His billionaire amateur-playing partner Charles Schwab last week up north at Pebble Beach may have had something to do with it. Maybe they had a conversation about the current economic situation we all face and the message to Phil was to get back out there and win some cash because investments are down and money is tight. On the first tee at Pebble Beach on Saturday morning Chuck was carrying their pro-am team. Phil was only one-under and the team was 14-under. Chuck was not sandbagging either, as he played with an eight handicap.

While comic actors came to the first tee and asked the crowd what the difference between a pizza and an actor was, it appeared Phil was all business. Others like Parker McLachlin were chitchatting and pointing out to Chuck that he was playing with an older generation golf ball.

Ten minutes before Mickelson teed off he was eyeing the fairway and asking his caddie Bones if it was “250 to the bunker?” The answer was a pizza can feed a family of four. But Phil is no actor or comic. He knows he needs to win and that is what he is focused on doing.

It was a roller-coaster week for Phil at Riviera starting off low on Thursday with a 63, then ramping it up to a 72 on Friday so we could all feel the rush of the roller coaster going down even lower to a 62 on Saturday. Sunday we were back up to 72 but with many twists and turns.

The start of the ride was exciting as Phil drained a 38-footer to match Freddie Couples’ gimmie eagle on the par-five first hole.  Freddie was close throughout the day but needed a few more putts to drop.

The third member of the final group, Andres Romero, hung in there too with a chance for a playoff spot if he made a 15-foot putt on the 18th green and Phil missed a six-foot par putt. Phil didn’t miss and won the tournament outright in the regulation up-and-down, in-and-out 72 holes.

Steve Stricker hopeless four weeks ago in the California desert with a disastrous Sunday 77 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer. “That one stuck with me, you know, it just felt like I threw a tournament away with a real good opportunity to win.” This Sunday he trusted his swing, his instincts and came from seven strokes back after the first hole, had the lead and almost won the 2009 Northern Trust Open.

Stricker finished alone in second place. “It’s kind of bittersweet. I’m happy that I’m putting myself in those positions to try to win golf tournaments, but I’m also disappointed I haven’t won one of them or maybe both of them. So it’s good and bad.” We all know golf is a roller coaster ride, don’t we?

“I’ll take a lot out of this to be able to heart it out on 16 and 17 with those on two birdies. Then to make that par on 18 when two years ago I didn’t, that meant a lot to me.”

Phil has heart and focus and now back-to-back victories in one of the premier tournaments on the PGA TOUR. It could have been three in a row if not for that bogey on 18 and the resultant playoff loss to Charles Howell III.

K.J. Choi finished strong with three birdies on the back nine. A fourth birdie, namely making an 11-footer on No. 18 would also have given him a chance for a playoff if Phil hadn’t finished all contenders off by paring the tough 18th hole. K. J. wound up joint third with Couples and Romero.

On Saturday the 2006 champion Rory Sabbatini commented that “this golf course has been known to make people do some silly things out there, and we’ll just see what happens.” On Sunday he went out there and proved himself correct with a double bogey five on the relatively short and simple par-three 16th hole.

His errant tee shot resulted in a horrendous “fried-egg” lie in the deep left bunker. That collapse and a bogey on No. 18 negated his four birdie Sunday back nine charge. Sabbatini finished tied for 6thplace with Mark Calcavecchia, Luke Donald, and J.B. Holmes.

Quite coincidentally, CBS aired a Northern Trust roller coaster commercial during Sunday’s broadcast. A couple is discussing their financial security on the boardwalk—or the pier, as they say in southern California—while their kids are riding a roller coaster in the background.

The man assures his wife that Northern Trust “gets it” and reveals that “roller coasters are for kids” and not for their financial investments. Maybe the PGA TOUR should remake that commercial with Amy and Phil.

Gosh darn that was fun! The up-and-down exciting competition on the PGA TOUR is fun to watch whether in person or on television. We are all kids so come on out and enjoy the thrilling ride to the end of competition each and every week.

Phil has Augusta on his mind noting in his post victory interview that he wanted to “see if I can continue to build on this and carry some momentum into Augusta.”

However, there are a few more ups-and-downs in the seven weeks preceding the playing of the 2009 Masters. Namely, two World Golf championship events with the strongest fields ever competing in match play format this week and then again in medal format at Doral in another two weeks.

And, oh, by the way—that fellow with the name of Tiger Woods is back in the field this week.

Let’s all enjoy the ride this week as Phil and Tiger compete in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Maybe we’ll see two roller coasters collide and see which one stays on track to Augusta.

(First published by Andy Reistetter on Bleacher Report circa 2-22-09.)

2009 PGA TOUR Qualifying School- First Stage, Second Round

St. Johns Golf and Country Club in St. Augustine, FL.

Wednesday, October 22^nd, 2008

It was a beautiful day and I always wanted to go so I hopped on my Suzuki Volusia motorcycle and drove the 25 miles or so down to St. Johns Golf and Country Club in St. Augustine, FL. I found the course easily enough and sort of coasted onto the property so as to not disturb the golfers with an unexpected roar of my 805-cc engine. I knew I was in the right place as I casually watched three golfers on the fairway to the right. I observed three full swing shots and one thrown club even before I parked my bike.

This is it! The qualifying school of the PGA TOUR. Some of these guys aren’t so good and will not make it to the big show in 2009. Most of these guys will not make it for sure. The odds are against it. Eighty players today at this first stage site and the 23 best and ties will make it to the second stage. At that next stage the competition naturally increases but also dramatically increases with really good accomplished players exempt from the first stage. Ditto for the final stage- more really good competition. What’s that saying… the grindstone depending on what you are made of will either make you shine or completely consume you.

If you are one of the lucky 25 players to successfully emerge from Q-School with full exempt status then there is some more competition on the PGA TOUR. The top 125 on the 2008 money list- the world’s best players will be there waiting for you. So too will the other new guys- the top 25 GOLD graduates of the Nationwide tour. The PGA TOUR- to be one of the fortunate 175 golfers to make it there would be an incredible lifetime and professional achievement.

As I strolled through the parking lot up to the clubhouse I knew this was no ordinary amateur event. I passed the reserved parking spot with the sign Men’s 2008 Club Champion David French. The parking spot was vacant. Usually the club champion with reasonably good skills and intimate knowledge of the golf course would compete in any tournament held at his club. Why not take a gamble and see what would happen? But here in Q-School the ante up fee is $4500. Evidently he chose not to go for it and his friends elected not to ante up and sponsor him either. Likely a good day job. I have been told many times by many whom have witnessed my Jim Furyk-John Daly like swing to “keep my day job.” I understand completely but am never one for taking good advice. How about you?

This is technically a PGA TOUR event even though there are no spectator shuttles from East Timbuktu. Thank you very much. There is no welcoming corporate sponsor’s tent or merchandise tent the size of Macy’s department store that you have to walk through. There is not one picture of Tiger Woods and sadly there are no concession stands. This is a dry tournament. But this is the PGA TOUR. There I said it again. I will see guys today that make it. Then I can say I saw them at the very start of their PGA TOUR career!

As I walked though the manicured hedges I noticed the large clock at the apex of the clubhouse. It looked like the one on the Hill Valley courthouse in Back to the Future. The clock read a quarter to twelve as I approached the front doors of the clubhouse. Almost High Noon- it is time for these players to realize their dreams and their future or head back to their past.

The pairings for rounds 1 & 2 are posted on the glass door. This reminds me of college way back when they posted exam results outside the professor’s door. I cross-reference the posting with what I printed out from the PGATOUR.com web site. All 80 players are present and accounted for- 26 threesomes and 1 twosome. Guess where they placed the twosome. You guessed it right in the middle of the pack. Those two are hoping for a fast pace of play!

Walking through the modest clubhouse to the pro shop area I was in search of a scorecard with a hole routing map. I am in luck as the man behind the counter produces a scorecard. But out of luck as it has no map on it. Those little maps are especially important to make your way around a course that you have never seen before. I go out the backside of the clubhouse and find the scoring area. There will be no results posted on the front door at the conclusion of play. This is an impressive professional looking scoring area. The calligrapher did a nice job posting the first round results from yesterday.

I see a guy by the name of Phil Eich from Maitland, FL shot a red hot 9-under 63 in the first round. Three guys with their last name starting with ‘D’ were next at 65- Jesse Daley, Chip Deason, and David Denham. There are 29 at 70 or better. Doug Dvorak of Windermere, FL had the highest score of the first round, a 78. Not only is it only the second round but it’s the first stage. Long road. Only the players that play consistently well over a long period of time will advance to the PGA TOUR.

There’s a notice posted to Qualifying Tournament Participants informing them that the Next Number Nearest 50 eligibility category on the Nationwide Tour may be subject to a reshuffle in 2009. I have no idea what this is about or what it means. There is a name and the phone number of a guy at the PGA TOUR to call if you have any questions. There is legalese everywhere isn’t there?

Seeing a handful of people standing on a knoll between two greens I suspect them to be Nos. 9 and 18. I ask someone because I can’t figure it out from the scorecard without the routing. They confirm that it is indeed the 9^th and 18^th greens. The earlier club throwing I witnessed occurred on the 18^th fairway. With water now visible to me short left of the green that was likely the impetus for the observed behavior. Not a great way to finish the round. Luckily or unluckily there is no cut at Q-School during the 72-hole tournament. Everyone plays all 72 holes. The cut at the end of the tournament however is final and irreversible at least for the coming year.

I walk out to the knoll to observe a little of the action. It is a convenient place to watch with clear views of the approach shots and the putting greens on both par-4 holes. One guy chips up to the 9^th green and 3-putts from 10 feet. He has a nice green shirt on though and looks like a professional golfer. Boy those 3-jacks can really kill the mojo especially if you have a good round going.

They are shuttling players from No. 9 to No. 10 and from No. 18 to No. 1 having started off both tees. The shuttle driver comments that the greens were running 13 on the Stimpmeter earlier this morning. With the 20-MPH wind and sunshine they are likely drier and much faster by now.

I meet a guy that looks like Lee Trevino. His son is competing in the tournament. I learn that his son chose a friend to caddie for him instead of his father. Dad was on his bag for the last two tournaments on the Tarheel Tour.  He won one and finished second at the Tour Championship. Hey they didn’t name the television show “Son Knows Best.”

Maybe this guy is Lee Trevino I began to think. He can talk fast and has something to say. In reality his name is Rod Curl. A name I am only vaguely familiar with but should know. He beat Jack Nicklaus by one stroke and won the 1974 Colonial National Invitation in Fort Worth, TX. He is the first full-blooded Native American to win a PGA TOUR event. I asked him if people ask him if he is Lee Trevino. His reply was “yeah about 65,000 times a year.”

His son Jeff comes up No. 18 fairway. Rod calls his son’s second shot short and right to the right side hole location. “He’ll go for the hole for sure.” He is half-wrong, as the ball is long and right. It comes to rest in the proverbial jail on a knoll with all downhill to the hole and not much green to work with.  Luckily the lie is decent.

The son bumps the ball down the hill and it nearly escapes the rough releases a bit and leaves a downhill 15-footer for par.  The father comments that he would have flopped the ball to the hole taking six out of the equation if the ball gets caught up in the rough. The son drains the 15 footer for par. The father goes over to the son and congratulates him on the par-save and likely the round as he flashes back a handful extended downward indicating the son shot 5-under 67 today. He’s grinning wider and smiling more than I ever saw Lee Trevino do as well he should!

How good is that? What an experience to visit Q-School at a golf course close to you. You might even meet or see a former PGA TOUR winner play. Either way you will see the golfing stars of tomorrow!

By the way- Phil Eich followed his first round 63 with a 72, 74, 71 finished 1-under tied for 8^th and made it to the second stage! All three of the first round ‘D’ 65s- Jesse Daley, Chip Deason, and David Denham made the grade too. Doug Dvorak followed his first round 79 with a 69 but then had rounds of 80 and 78 finishing plus-18 tied for 75^th. He did beat 2 other guys and a DQ and WD.

Jeff Curl followed his 72-67 start with a 69 and 70 finishing 2-under and tied for 5^th.

Matt Borchert from Windermere, FL beat the pack by 4 strokes winning the Qualifier with a 16-under par performance! Four guys tied for 21^st so technically one extra golfer made it through this qualifying site. I wonder if he will be the new Tiger Woods of the 2009 PGA TOUR?

Andy Reistetter is a freelance writer. For three years he followed the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time as a spotter for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Ponte Vedra Beach where he is hoping to land a position in the golf business that allows him to pursue his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. Check out his website Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary and feel free to e-mail him at AndyReistetter@gmail.com.         

Fond memories of my first year out on tour and being there spotting for NBC Sports at the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky with my good friend Sir Walter Eckhart! Incredible week of golf resulting in a USA Win! Great honor to meet President Bush No. 14 and Michael Jordan on the secluded par-3 14th tee. I thanked the President for his service to our country and that of his son President Bush No. 43 too! I jokingly thanked Michael Jordan for putting my son through college as he was a caddie at the Merit Club in Chicago where Jordan was a regular playing member and a big tipper. He joked back that he (Jordan) must have made a lot of birdies. I responded that he should have since he played 54 holes a day! We both laughed.

Watching Miguel Angel Jimenez miss a putt on the 17th green and Jim Furyk winning the decisive point for a USA victory was an amazing lifetime experience. Now you know why, nine seasons later, I love every minute of being out on the PGA TOUR!

CLICK here for Video of Jim Furyk Winning the 2008 Ryder Cup for the USA!

Jimenez misses, Furyk wins decisive point for USA victory in the 2008 Ryder Cup at Vahalla. That my buddy Sir Walter & “Sticks” Bill Price on the right, Dottie Pepper in the middle and sorry but I don’t know the girl’s name on the left! (Facebook Post, Andy Reistetter, 9/21/08 with video and link to this article).

[Show slideshow]

World Golf Championship, the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone CC.

I arrived at Firestone CC around 6 PM on Monday. My weekly travel schedule has seemed to evolve over the past 6 months and this week’s experience confirms that it is near perfection. Having Yahoo Maps the course location I seek at first to find the Will Call. Once there I get directions to the CBS compound. I check in, make my way on to the course, taking pictures and getting my bearings for the week. This week is a treat in that the compound is near the 15^th tee. Following the par 3 15^th leads me to the signature hole of this “monster” golf course- the par-5 16^th.

The 16th at Firestone CC- she is long and she is a beauty!

As I walk back the 70 or so yards to the modern tee my senses tell me that I am 8 years old, it’s Christmas morning, and I know there will be a special surprise. I walk to the back of the tee not glancing to see the hole yet as I want the full effect when I open my eyes from the back of the tee. I do look up to see the hole sign: Par 5, 667 Yards, 610 Meters. I do the math- definitely a three shot par 5 for me with each shot averaging over 220 yards! Truly a “monster beast” for me! I also smile in that I see the United States of America has finally gone metric, only 30 years or so after those engineering college debates I participated in. Okay Andy sarcasm will get you nowhere and 200 meters per shot sounds better!

From the back of the tips!

I open my eyes and there she is… after a long stretch of narrow tee grass the view is framed by two bunkers on the right, trees everywhere and a hint that the hole turns slightly left and goes downhill from there. Like many masterpieces this one must be experienced one section at a time before you get the full impact of the whole work of art. It is inspiring and beautiful. So naturally appealing I dismiss the thought of wishing I had a tee in the ground with a ball atop it and my driver in my hand. At this first encounter I want to focus completely on her majesty and not be distracted by my amateurish seemingly random at times golfing behaviors.

Two bunkers and a tree guard the landing area and the corner of the 16th.

The fairway landing area appears to be slightly uphill from the teeing area. As I walk down the extended tee to the fairway I reach into my back pocket for my yardage book. I want to dissect the hole with respect to yardages so I will be prepared to play it hopefully at our next encounter. Walking through a depression then more than anticipated uphill slope I arrive at the targeted area for the first shot, at least for amateurs. The knoll is 283 yards from the back of the professional tee. For them it is conceivable to carry this area to get to the downslope and points beyond. For us too from the front of the tee is more manageable at 213 yards. Interestingly enough the first sprinkler head one encounters on the fairway is labeled “Just Hit It.”

Love it! Other sprinkles have yardages but not this one! Just hit it Baby!

I realize that the Monster hole at Firestone CC is a topographical cape hole. I think the term “cape” refers to a piece of land jutting out into some body of water. Possibly named visually after Cape Cod of the New England variety. Is there a cape in Manhattan? No that is soup, not geography. Let’s get back to golf. A cape hole in golf rewards the riskier longer shot that carries the water with a shorter distance on the next shot. Risk-reward plain and simple.

The Monster’s topographical risk-reward is really a benefit to the longer more powerful drivers of the ball. After all who is going to lay up on the tee shot of a 667-yard hole? If you carry the 283 yards and the grassy knoll of the fairway then it is downhill from there. Even steeper downhill slopes and further driving distance reward a longer carry over the knoll. Much like the slot in the 10^th fairway at Augusta National. Of course it is needless to say that you have to hit it straight where you are aiming to claim success here.

Second shot! Lay up for us mere mortals, reachable for Tiger & John Daly!

The turn to the left is an illusion off the tee. The two right bunkers grace the hillside that peaks in the roots of a large oak tree. Hit it in either of these two bunkers and you are in a hazard extraordinary. The first one further from the fairway is the worse of the two in that it is as deep as the other but its location offers nothing but that large tree and others between you and advancing the ball down the fairway. You would likely be playing out mostly sideways to the top of the knoll. The lip on the second bunker would mandate no more than an 8 or 9-iron club to be utilized in the recovery attempt.

The view at the top of the knoll reveals what only one can image when back at the tee. Here she is quickly laid out for all to see her inherent beauty. The downward slope to the fairway immediately gives one confidence that this hole can be conquered even for us mere mortals. To achieve the position at the top of the fairway knoll is to feel one has arrived, that one can be successful, that one can indeed master the subtleties of this elongated beauty.

Bunker, pond, green… Go Play!

Then reality sets in quickly! The hole is tree lined on both sides its complete length. There is one remaining fairway bunker situated exactly in the center between the tree lines. It is right in the way of the second shot! With a hillside and rough to its left there is a constricting feeling in the pit of one’s stomach. At a carry of 220 plus yards one is forced to contend with this a side hill, steeply banked fairway bunker. As it should be in the presence of greatness, even though standing at the top of a hill, one feels compelled to bow their head in reverence to something truly magnificent. This truly is the essence of golf course design.

Approach shot, 3rd shot, if you are lucky and a good golfer!

Realizing the fairway bunker is not the end of the hole one gently raises their eyes to the distant green. The fairway goes right around the bunker then left around the placid water hazard in front of the green. It is at once pleasing to the eye yet challenging to the psyche. How will I play this hole? Slopes, rough, trees, sand, water- this hole has all the meaningful hazards except the contrived out-of-bounds stakes. They are likely there to the left but the ample real estate crowning this jewel dictate they are out-of-play rightly so.

Wanting to sense fully the beauty of this place I find myself almost jogging down the slope to the left fairway bunker. As a welcoming sign, the hole becomes fairly level for the remainder of the journey. Somehow I know that doesn’t mean it will be any easier yet somehow it will showcase another darling feature of this memorable golf hole. If you are in this bunker on any afternoon, let alone this Sunday afternoon, carrying the pond in front of the green is no foregone conclusion to even the best professional golfer.

A look back up the fairway, almost as beautiful!

I look back up the fairway with no sight of the first two bunkers or the tee. I feel enveloped by the gentle roller coaster like ride of this experience. From the start I could not see the end and from the end I will not see the start yet I know of its entirety all the time. Am I in love with this golf hole? But what of her relatives, the other 17 holes? I am definitely smitten, as you would be too. Surely this is one of the greatest holes in golf on the planet Earth.

If you manage to avoid the bunker and are in its vicinity then all you have left is about a 150-yard shot. To a sliver of a green encroached tightly to the guarding water hazard. A back left bunker for the power pull hitters and deep rough all around confronts the golfer as they make their final approach shot on this golf hole.

Gosh, what a beautiful golf hole!

The green is not of the “buried elephant” variety of the 14^th at Augusta National yet it does have pronounced variants on its general countenance of back-to-front slope. The most tragic being the swale front left guarding the traditional Sunday hole location, which leads a ball with too much spin to a watery death. There is certainly tragedy amidst the beauty of this hole. Maybe that is why she is so memorable.

Somehow I emerge from the captivity of the 16^th hole and walk over to the tee of the 400-yard par-4 17^th hole. This hole is decidedly uphill especially in the narrowing fairway area between the fairway bunkers. Will the professional golfers lay up short or try to power the ball onto the flatter fairway above the bunkers and be rewarded with a short pitch into the green? The cross-bunker guarding the 17^th green is familiar to me yet I have never seen it before. I viewed it many times on television growing up. The nostalgia and history of Firestone CC is beginning to overwhelm me.

The 18^th is a wonderful finishing hole- 464 yards downhill with trees right and left to a tight landing area. The tightness of the landing area is further constricted by two large pin oaks in front of the green. Like centurions, they guard the left and right insuring only the most perfect approach shots pass by without interference. With bunkers short left and long right this green angled to the fairway is well protected. This hole is memorable to me from the great Tiger Woods-Jim Furyk finishes here.

There is nobody around on this beautiful summer evening. Feeling the urge of nature I head to the portable toilets only to find them all with locks in place preventing my entry. Luckily the handicap version does not have a lock. There must be a law in Ohio that one can not lock a handicap bathroom?

I swing by the clubhouse. This is a classically laid out golf course with Nos. 1 & 10 tees coming from and Nos. 9 & 18 greens coming to the clubhouse. At Firestone this layout is enhanced with No. 16 green and No. 17 tee being located just beyond the 18^th green. Like the 16^th tee there are several (well most- Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14) where the tees are extended back from the previous green to lengthen the Monster. After holing out, the players walk back to the next tee and the caddies head across and up to the landing areas of the next fairway. At par 70 and 7,400 yards Firestone CC is a formidable modern test of golf. I bet the original yardage in 1920 when Bert Way designed the course was somewhere around 6,200 yards.

I head out No. 1 to see some of the front nine. I don’t think there is a weak hole on this golf course. No. 1 is a 399-yard par-4 similar to No. 17 in that it is short, tight and has a well bunkered difficult to putt green. No. 2 is brilliant in that the fairway landing area is sloped drastically from right to left. No. 3, a 442 yard dog leg right par-4, lures you in with a downhill drive to a flat landing area, only to be confronted with a carry the water hazard second shot. I have seen photographs of this hole somewhere before. The tee shot on the 469-yard par-4 6^th hole is blind. Firestone CC seemingly has all the design features a golfer would want to be tested by in a golf course. My camera runs out of batteries and storage space on the 7^th hole.

Freshly recharged and with renewed capacity, I came back on Wednesday afternoon for one more look at Firestone CC before the tournament commences and to take a few more pictures. I have taken over 300 pictures of Firestone CC this week. Hopefully I can share them with you one day soon!

A WGC (World Golf Championship) is right up there with the four Majors and THE PLAYERS Championship. A great and renown golf course. A top field including many international players. In fact a WGC may be the place to go to see the best representation of golfers from around the world. Along with the PGA TOUR, a WGC is a product of 5 other tours- the Asian Tour, the PGA TOUR of Australia, the European Tour, the Japan Golf Tour, and the Sunshine Tour (South Africa).

Pic with Boo Weekley.

I decide to go over and walk holes 8 and 9 into the clubhouse area. Steve Stricker is practicing teeing off No. 8. I see Brandt Snedeker and Boo Weekley on No. 9 tee. I play spectator, get Boo’s autograph and a picture with him. I wish him well this week. I check out the Professional Caddies tent just past the pro shop on the driving range side of the clubhouse. This event has a major feel and the caddie tent is really an air-conditioned temporary but rigid structure- very nice indeed. I am surprised when I open the door and see Colin Montgomerie sitting there at a table chatting with two other guys. One is his caddy (must have paid his admission?) and the other guy looks like Mark James but is not.

I read a posted memo from Rick George (from the PGA TOUR?) to PGA TOUR Caddies regarding Caddies Blocking Camera Shots… cooperation greatly appreciated… yadda yadda. I use to write some memos like that when I was in corporate America. Never read, never effective. “Get your big A—out of the way” would be more eye catching. Or why not a highlight film showing the best shots blocked by caddies never to be seen by you and me? Players understand the entertainment and business perspectives of the game of golf. So too should professional caddies. What makes a caddie a professional caddie? Like golfers, acceptance of money? Is your caddie at your club therefore a professional caddie? Get your butt out of the line of my play…

Pic with Colin Montgomerie.

I am trying to pass time as I am hoping there will be an “awkward moment” (no not the Seinfeld type) when Colin gets up to leave and I can ask him for a picture. I pick up the newspaper to read the front page headline “Between HOF and GOLF no Rooms to be Found.” You can’t always believe what you read in the paper, as I had no problem finding a room. In fact I lucked out and got a suite for what they are paying for one night. Maybe I got the last room available?

I chat with the volunteer tent watcher. I realize I am “inside the ropes,” hence Colin’s presence here and wonder why he did not give me the boot. Must be I am looking all too familiar on tour as I know it is looking all-familiar (but not too) to me. He’s a really nice guy as all volunteers are at least the ones I have met. He’s interested in my story and I tell it while also giving him a few tips on how to operate my camera. Colin rises, the moment is here and he agrees. The picture is taken, well not really as the volunteer thought he had it but did not. There is a reason he is not a volunteer for the media. I chase Colin outside and quite surprisingly he agrees to a second staging and the volunteer gets this one right. Maybe Colin’s reputation at least to us Americans is all-wrong?

I go by the SHOTLink trailer and pander for the open SHOTLink position. They all know me by now maybe too well to hire me? Really good guys and gals. I could do a great job especially working with and training the volunteers. Please hire me is my departing good karma thought shared with only myself.

I head up to the practice chipping area. A nuclear engineer from Pennsylvania and I get chatting. He mentions that Colin Montgomerie was out here chipping and he can’t believe how badly he was chipping. I told him sometimes they play games and work on different things. He did not believe me. He said he had a job interview trying to get on a project to build a state-of-the-art nuclear plant. Gas is $4 a gallon but coming down since the elections are near. I think America is finally going to go nuclear. Hopefully it will help my friends in the plastics business too!

Pic with Stewart Cink.

I watch Stewart Cink chipping and see he has a good touch around the greens. He won the Travelers and won previously here (2004 WGC- NEC Invitational). I head up to the putting green and see Lee Westwood and Kenny Perry stroking it around. I watch to see if anyone touches Kenny for good luck but no one does. He’s as hot as a pistol so maybe he will win this week? Pistol Pete Maravich. Kicking Butt Kenny Perry? Wait until September at Valhalla in the Ryder Cup. Kenny leaves and I get a picture with him too! Spectator day for Andy Reistetter, once a fan always a fan!

Pic with Kenny Perry.

I meet the most interesting people on golf courses, especially at PGA TOUR events. This rather attractive lady has about 5 kids around her. They all have bags with plenty of signed golf balls. One of the kids follows Perry all the way to the clubhouse yet comes back hollering that she got it! The mom shows me her golf ball with a phone number written on it. Evidently a golfer provided a special souvenir for her. Quite a classy lady she would not reveal whom the golfer was nor would her well-behaved children. I remarked that she looked like a trophy wife without the wedding ring and her response was ”trophies are replaced by younger trophies.”  Very interesting life out here on the PGA TOUR at times…

Report time for CBS Sports on Thursday morning is 11AM. There are 27 groups of 3 in the field. I am assigned Group No. 27- the last group off No. 10 in the afternoon: Niclas Fasth from Sweden; American Charles Howell III; and David Howell from England. With a 1:21 PM tee time I have plenty of time to meet my new friends Dan & Denny, enjoy a pasta lunch and meander down to the 10^th tee.

I start my daily tradition of walking down the famed 16^th hole. As I emerge from the CBS compound I see the last group of the morning off No. 1 on the 14^th green: Vijay Singh from Fiji- the BIG Fijian; lefty Richard Green from Australia; and lefty American Steve Flesch. I wonder what the odds of three lefties playing together would be? I check out the scoreboard at the 15^th green and see that Retief Goosen has posted a 4-under 66 and that Vijay is at 4-under through 14 too. I watch him leave a 20 footer for deuce short on 15 green and then walk over to the knoll on 16 fairway to watch their tee shots. Vijay carries the 300 yard knoll but the ball bounces up with no roll. The course has not yet dried out from yesterday afternoon heavy downpour. I hear on the radio Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson birdies his first three holes and Paul Casey almost double eagles (a.k.a. an albatross) the par 5 second hole. I enjoy my stroll down the 16^th hole and make my way across in front of the clubhouse to the 10^th tee.

Niclas Fasth is 36 years old, turned pro in 1993 and regularly competes on the European Tour. He has won six times on the European Tour, most recently in 2007. He was 5^th on the Order of Merit in 2007, currently No. 83 after 16 events. He qualified for the WGC-Bridgestone by being 50^th in the Official World Golf Ranking as of July 21, 2008.

Niclas got off to a shaky start driving it into the right rough on No. 10. He muscled it out of the rough well short of the green where he pitched up brilliantly to save par. On No. 12 he was in the left rough and so this day on the course would proceed in a military fashion. He bogeyed No. 14 after missing the green long into a sand bunker and missing a 5-foot par putt. On his second nine the front nine he followed 3 bogeys at 1,4, and 8 with 3 birdies at 2,5, and 9. Shooting a 1-over par 71 he hit 8 fairways, 12 greens, got it up and down 5 out of 8 attempts with 30 putts.

Charles Howell III is well known to American golf fans growing up in Augusta, Georgia and playing golf for Oklahoma State University.  He will be 30 next June and turned pro in 2000. He has won twice on the PGA TOUR most recently the 2007 Nissan Open at Riviera CC.  He qualified as a member of the victorious 2007 Presidents Cup team.

Charles got off to a solid start hitting the first 5 greens but missing 3 birdie putts in the 10-12 foot range. He bogeyed No. 17 failing to get it up and down from the rough greenside rough. He turned it around on his backside (the front 9) recording 3 birdies and shooting a 32. Overall he shot 68 (-2) for the day hitting only 6 fairways, 12 greens, getting it up and down 6 out of 7 times with 28 putts.

David Howell is 33 and turned pro in 1995. He is best known for outplaying and beating Tiger Woods on the final day in the inaugural HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in 2005. He has five European Tour victories beginning with the 1999 Australian PGA Championship but none on the US PGA Tour.  He qualified as a member of the 2006 European Ryder Cup team.

David had the best showing of the threesome on the first 9 (Nos. 10-18) shooting a 1-under par 34. His 3 birdies on 12,15, and 17 were offset by a double bogey on the famed 16^th hole. Seemingly in control his lay-up on the 16^th was in the fairway. His approach shot nicked a tree along the right side and splashed in the water.

On the front 9 his birdie at No. 3 was weighted down by bogeys at hole Nos. 4 and 6. Carding an even par round of 70 he hit 8 fairways, 9 greens, got it up and down 7 out of 10 times with only 25 putts. David Howell- an exciting golfer to watch!

Other Thursday Round 1 Notes:  Vijay Singh out in the morning had it to 5-under but settles for a 3-under 67 after double bogeying the 18^th hole.  Retief Goosen (66) leads by 1 over 4 others- Vijay, Tim Clark, Daniel Chopra, and Zach Johnson.

I like how they keep the groups the same and change the tee times the first two days of the tournament. The group I had on Thursday the very last in the afternoon becomes the very last of the morning tee times. So the very last is at least not the very first the next day. You can sleep in a little but not much.

My assignment for Friday Round 2 is Group No. 26 going off the 10^th tee at 1:10 PM: American Vaughn Taylor, Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal, and Australian Geoff Ogilvy. Vijay Singh is in the final group of the day right behind us.

Vaughn Taylor is 32 and turned pro in 1999. He has won twice on the PGA TOUR both being the Reno-Tahoe Open back-to-back in 2004 and 2005. He qualified for this WGC as a member of the 2006 Ryder Cup team.

Pablo Larrazabal is 25 and was born in Barcelona, Spain. He turned pro in  2004, played the European Challenge Tour last year and won a tour card at Q School. He qualified by winning the 2008 Open de France ALSTOM.

Geoff Ogilvy needs no introduction. Winner of the WGC-CA at Doral CC in Miami earlier this year and the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot. Geoff also won the 2006 WGC- Accenture Match Play making him eligible this week with a win to match Tiger as the only winner of all three WGC events.

Vaughn Taylor started off with a bogey on the 10^th hitting his iron approach long. He also bogeyed 15 and 16 failing to get it up and down from around the green. I am not sure what he did at the turn but he dialed in his iron play for the second nine (Nos. 1-9). He birdied 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 and had a twelve-foot putt for 28 on No. 9. Missing that he settled for a 6-under 29 netting a 67 for the day. He hit 12 fairways, 13 greens, got it up-and-down 2 out of 5 times, with 28 putts. Certainly the lowest 9-hole score I have witnessed to date- it was spectacular!

Pablo Larrazabal (no middle name Marie?) was all over the course and like Seve had a masterful recovery on his first hole getting it up and down from a long way down the fairway after hitting it in the left rough. On No. 14 he wasn’t so lucky hitting a tree and chipping out a second time ending up with a double bogey. On No. 6 it was even uglier taking three shots to recover, then 3-jacking for a triple bogey. He did eagle No. 2 from 15 feet and holed a greenside sand shot for birdie on No.8. Exciting golfer to watch- the next Sergio for sure!

Pablo shot a 5-over 75 with 30 putts. He hit only 5 of 14 fairways but managed to hit 9 greens. He got it up and down 6 out of 8 attempts including the holed out sand bunker shot on No. 8. Definitely a talent to watch as his golf game matures.

Geoff Olgivy shot a 3-under 67 but missed so many 10-15 foot putts that I lost count and I keep notes as you can tell. He was even on his first nine bogeying No. 15 by fluffing a flop shot and then played No. 16 masterfully securing the birdie with a 10-foot putt. He shot 3-under on the front nine birdieing Nos. 1, 2, and 6. He hit 12 fairways, 13 greens, and got it up and down 5 out of 6 times. Truly a round where you feel the difference between 67 and 63 is putting!

Vijay Singh leads Phil Mickelson by one stroke after two rounds of the WGC- Bridgestone. At a WGC Friday is not cut day as there is no cut. Saturday is still moving day- players wanting to position themselves to win in Sunday afternoon. The field is realigned from worse to best scores and paired in twosomes for the weekend. For Round 3 of the tournament my assignment was Group No. 11 off the first tee at 12:30 PM: Ian Poulter and Tim Clark. I am excited to see the course from the first hole on and see if the Thursday/Friday pattern of easier front nine, more difficult back nine holds true.

Ian Poulter, that colorful character from England is likely familiar to all. He had a strong finish 2 weeks ago at The Open at Royal Birkdale finishing second alone to Padraig Harrington. I remember him from the US Open at Torrey Pines when on Friday he came to the 16^th tee and promptly withdrew from the tournament with only three holes left to play. Evidently he injured his wrist swatting the ball around and 4-putting the 15^th hole. Quite a different performance than say a Tiger Wood playing with a sore knee.

Ian is 31 and turned pro in 1994. He has won seven times on the European Tour but has not won yet on the US PGA Tour. He started the round well with a two-putt birdie at No. 2. On the third hole the hole was located front right with the water before and the right sand bunker behind. He courageously went for the hole but wound up in  the bunker with a very difficult lie and shot, which resulted in bogey. He then went on to birdie Nos. 4 and 5 but lost the momentum with a bogey on No. 9 failing to get it up and down from short of the green.

On the back nine he birdied 10 with a 10-foot putt then added a bogey at the difficult par-3 15^th hole using the putter three times from the back fringe. Over all he shot a 1-under par 69 hitting 12 fairways, 11 greens, getting it up-and-down 4 out of 7 times with 29 putts. No movement on moving day.

A lot of people call Tim Clark from South Africa “wee” or “little” Timmy Clark because of his size.  He is 32 and stands at 5’7”. He is remembered for finishing second to Phil Mickelson at the 2006 Masters. He splits his time between the US (18 starts this year) and the European (7 starts this year) Tours. He has a solid record this being the fifth consecutive year on the PGA TOUR- surely one of those guys that will break through with a big win sometime soon.

Tim did not have a good day starting off with a bunkered tee shot on No. 1 that led to a bogey. He came back with a birdie on No. 2 and had all pars the rest of the way with the exception of a bogey at No. 8 after bunkering his approach shot. Shooting a respectable 1-over par 71 without his A-game indicates he can play with the best of the pros minimizing the bad days and capitalizing on the good days. He hit only 8 fairways, 9 greens, and got it up-and-down 9 out of 12 times with 26 putts. Scrambling man! He had only 11 putts on the front nine successfully chip-putting it four times to pad the statistics.

After my group finished I went over to N. 16 to watch the action. Phil Mickelson in the last group with Vijay Singh hit his drive 363 yards and then from 260 yards out hit it onto the green but ended up in the back bunker. Phil got it up and down for birdie while Vijay used all the hole to sink his birdie putt. They were leading at 9-under. Vijay then bogeyed 17 while Phil bogeyed 18 after carelessly nipping one of those guardian trees. Lee Westwood birdied 17. The day ended with Phil, Vijay, and Lee tied at 8-under with Stuart Appleby one stroke behind at 7-under.

Sunday at the WGC Bridgestone was another perfect day for golf. In fact all four days of tournament competition have been outstanding weather and competition wise. My assignment today is Group No. 13, which consists of Paul Casey from England and Nick O’Hern from Australia. A WGC means an international field. Of the ten players I have spotted for this week only two have been Americans. I walk down No. 16 marveling in its creative design and beauty just as I have the previous three days. When oh when will I get a chance to play Firestone CC? It is an awesome course one which I would put at the same level of Augusta National, TPC Sawgrass, Pebble Beach, the Old Course at St. Andrews, and Carnoustie to mention a few.

Paul Casey is a world golfer. He is 31, turned pro in 2000, and has won eight times on the European PGA Tour. He seemed to have the look in his eye and to be in “the zone” from the get-go. He shot a bogey-free 5-under par round of 65 in a seemingly effortless manner. If some putts could have fallen it could easily have been a 60 or maybe even 59.  He missed putts of 25, 25, 30, 15, 12, 16, 15, 40, 26, 26, and 15 for birdie while making ones of 30, 26, 15, 4, and 7 feet. He hit 12 fairways, 15 greens, got it up-and-down three times with 29 putts. No other golfer matched his round of 65 on Sunday

Interestingly enough I was asked “to sell him” after his birdie on No. 12 got him to 6-under a few strokes behind the leader. I promptly did sharing that he had hit every green and every fairway up to that point. Of course I jinxed him as he missed the green on No. 13 and then the fairway on No. 14. It was an exciting round to watch!

Nick O’Hern- a product of the PGA Tour of Australia is 37 and turned pro in 1991. Only person to beat Tiger Woods in two professional matches (WGC-Accenture 2005 & 2007). He has won five times on the Australia tour but not yet on the European or US tours. Nick played like Tim Clark did yesterday- a scrappy, professional, post a score while not playing your best. He shot 1-over 71 with all pars except a birdie on No. 2 and two bogeys on Nos. 6 and 16. He hit 10 fairways, 10 greens, and got it up-and-down 6 out of 8 times with 30 putts.

It was an exciting Sunday finish at the WGC-Bridgestone at Firestone CC in Akron, Ohio. Moseying on over to my place in the shade at the 16^th green I was able to witness most of the drama. A 3-way tie at 10-under for Vijay, Phil, and Lee Westwood. Lee bogeys No. 14. Phil’s birdie putt at 16 hangs on the right lip- no birdie, no lead. Lee Westwood and Vijay Singh in the final group. Vijay lands approach at hole, one big bounce and zippers it back to three feet. Lee just misses his birdie attempt and it seems like he will be one stroke short just like at the US Open at Torrey Pines. But then Vijay lips his putt out. Mickelson bogeys 17 after bogeying 15 and not birdieing 16. Vijay stripes his drive up No. 17 fairway. Phil in left rough jail on No. 18 and finishes bogey-bogey to lose the tournament. Vijay hits a great drive in the fairway on No. 18. Lee Westwood guts it out with a solid iron shot into 18 green but misses the 15 footer to tie. Vijay finishes par-par and wins the tournament. Vijay first. Lee Westwood and Stuart Appleby tie for second. Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen, the first round leader tie for fourth.

One final walk up the famed 16^th hole at Firestone CC and I am out of here heading to the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills CC outside of Detroit, Michigan.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance writer. In 2008 he followed the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time as a spotter for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Ponte Vedra Beach where he is hoping to land a position in the golf business that allows him to pursue his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing to Andy@MrHickoryGolf.net.

The Travelers Championship has a storied history dating back to 1952 as the Insurance City Open. The modern era of the Travelers began in 2007 when the Travelers Companies took over title sponsorship. After Hunter Mahan won in 2007 and the Travelers purchased back the rights to the famous red umbrella in April 2008 I showed up to see a great tournament won by Stewart Cink. Since then Bubba Watson has won twice in 2010 and 2015 and in between won six other times including two Masters. Amazing holed bunker shot by Jordan Spieth to win a one-hole playoff over Daniel Berger in 2017.

After watching Tiger Woods beat Rocco Mediate in that Monday playoff at Torrey Pines I headed east to the Travelers. Always a fun and interesting tournament, 2008 was special in that Fred Funk and his wife Sharon along with Joe Theismann participated in a Men’s Health Clinic. I also met a guy after the pro-am who invited me along to the Mohegan Sun to see the Stevie Wonder concert. Quite amazing, especially when he performed with his daughter Aisha.

My memories of the 2008 Travelers in pictures:

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The par-5 13th hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines!

The historic 2008 United States Open was my first one as part of a golf broadcast team. Actually my golf career was less than six months in duration at the time. A quick synopsis of how I came to golf would be that it was time to embark on a second career in life, I had written two books, loved golf so I put the two together thinking I should become a golf writer! My destination in golf was Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Why? Because that is where I knew the PGA TOUR was headquartered and where THE PLAYERS Championship was played every year on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. I also knew there was a YMCA there and a nice lady, who I now consider my adopted Mom, offered me to stay as a guest in her home for two weeks so I could get the lay of the land. Looking back over the last eight years, I could not have made a better choice of a destination in golf. Today with The Golf Channel nearby in Orlando and the World Golf Hall of Fame nearby in St. Augustine, I consider Ponte Vedra Beach to be the modern capital of the Golf World.

Sitting in the bleachers watching golf and gazing out at the Pacific Ocean is the joy of Torrey Pines!

How did I come to be assisting in the golf broadcast of the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines? Very simply, my strategy of learning the golf business from the bottom up paid off and paid off quite quickly. From my corporate days I knew the best way to learn was to learn by doing so I volunteered to work the four tournaments of the 2008 Florida Swing as a marshal, Shotlink person, a car parker and even a corporate hospitality attendant. The most amazing thing was that even before I left Ponte Vedra Beach to work the Honda Classic, Erin from NBC Sports called and asked me to be a spotter. I didn’t know what that was so I asked her what is a spotter? Her reply was basically we assign you to a group, give you a radio so that you can report “player-shot” when asked, get to walk inside the ropes and get paid. Well I thought that was something really good, even something I would pay them to let me do so I signed up for all four of the Florida Swing tournaments and worked both for NBC Sports and as a volunteer for the tournaments.

The 2008 US Open was the first time I met 1955 US Open Champion Jack Fleck. The last visiting him in Fort Smith, AK on the “Journey to Olympic Golf.”

Fast forward a few months and there I was out in Southern California spotting for NBC Sports and witnessing up close and personable a memorable Major golf tournament. My two California golfing buddies Rich and Glenn also spotted for NBC that week. Lots of good times and two especially funny incidents with Glenn. In the early days I paid for my own travel and being freelance (which is basically unemployed) on a limited budget, Glenn and I shared a cheap hotel room not far from Torrey Pines. Funny thing is though when I went to take my shower I realized Glenn had mistaken the identity of my bath towel and used it as a floor mat after taking his shower. Good times staying with an old friend.

So the key to being a good spotter is being decisive and sharing only information known to be true with the person on the other end of the radio transmission. That person is in the hot seat feeding the player-shot information onto the producer and the on-air talent. Nobody wants to have to make a correction on air to re-inform viewers of having previously misinformed them. So Glenn is stationed on the tee at a par-3 to report the club used so that it can be passed along to the on-air talent and used in an onscreen graphic. After all, we all want to know what club a professional golfer uses and how much farther they hit it than us mere mortal golfers! Glenn gets the first call of the day and responds with “not really sure, it might have been a 7-iron.” Luckily, that was his worse call of the week and everyone after it was spot on which is a good thing for a spotter!

The memorable 2008 US Open…

Everyone knows the story of the 2008 US Open. Tiger Woods, playing on a broken leg drains a 25-footer on the last to get into a Monday playoff with Rocco Mediate. They tie after the 18 holes and Tiger wins the sudden death with a par to Rocco’s bogey on the second, actually 20th playoff hole. My brother Dave and I watched the playoff round inside the ropes which was quite the experience. My funniest memory was overhearing a conversation behind me which seemed to indicate he was hiding a bit not wanted to be caught on camera. So as I turned around I said “who are you hiding from, your boss or your wife?” I was surprised to see that the guy was my New York Yankees idol, none other than Reggie Jackson.

But who would have thought it would be Tiger’s last major for the next eight years?

Here are my memories of the 2008 US Open won by Tiger Woods in 96 pictures:

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