Click here to listen. “Spider-Man", “Trendsetter” and even “Rock-Star” are some the monikers which come to mind when branding 26-year-old Camilo Villegas. Magazines are targeting him, with People voting Villegas one of its hottest bachelors and Golf Digest naming him one of the most ripped golfers on tour. His flexible signature maneuver on the green is memorable. And ladies are attracted to his retro look from international clothier J. Lindeberg, who has been hailed as the most influential fashion designer in Sweden, claiming to have “reinvented the wheel” when creating golf fashion. Villegas seems a bit overwhelmed by the attention thrust upon him ...

Click here to listen. It may be quite presumptive of me to claim that Phil Mickelson’s chances have vastly improved (as has the rest of the field at the upcoming Wachovia Championship) now that Tiger Woods has withdrawn due to arthroscopic knee surgery. Woods is the defending champion and for him to be rehabilitating puts the players on the PGA Tour at ease. But seeing Phil’s face smattered across the television screen as the big draw makes you really wonder if the Golf Channel and CBS Sports are doing enough to create excitement. Perhaps the secret ingredient might be more face-time for ...

Click here to listen. Yesterday the Pope pre-empted golf, proving that religion trumps sport, at least on network television. Whether or not you were interested in Sunday Sermon, broadcasters forced you to watch Pope Benedict XVI at Yankee Stadium, bringing about the PGA Tour’s decision to stream live coverage on the internet. For those without an internet connection, flipping the remote yesterday provided little in the way of diversity. If Tiger Woods was heavily in the mix, would CBS-TV interpose both Pope Benedict and golf? Or, would Tiger be relegated to a spot in the sports section of Monday’s newspaper? I wonder ...

Click here to listen. The hype surrounding the possibility of two drivers in his bag didn’t help Phil Mickelson’s bid to win a third Masters Tournament. Both Els and Mickelson fumbled around to get “the perfect fit” this week, combining Callaway I-Mix heads and shafts depending on their particular “game plan". Mickelson claimed that the course length urged him to carry two drivers but my belief is that Callaway needed Phil to promote these clubs which seem to work more for a professional than the average “Joe". It didn’t work. Mickelson should have toyed with an extra wedge in his golf bag ...

Click here to listen. Lorena Ochoa’s impressive victory at the Kraft Nabisco Championship have golf bloggers scurrying to find comparisons between her elevated game and that of the incomparable Tiger Woods. After all, both Woods and Ochoa won their respective last major event of 2007 and both are rolling through a green light towards achieving the exalted Grand Slam. Even Lorena feels that 2008 might be the one where she tops Tiger, jokingly(?) stating just before her 26th birthday, “Maybe next year (2008) I improve (on) his year, but this year has been pretty similar, and I enjoy the that they ...

Click here to listen. After the sheer devastation Lorena Ochoa inflicted upon her LPGA cohorts as well as upon Superstition Mountain, it’s unlikely that she will need much more of a tune-up for the upcoming Kraft Nabisco Championship. I’m betting along with the odds that Ochoa wins a major trophy this week. I’ll even up the ante to say that Lorena Ochoa will sweep the majors this year, saddling alongside of Tiger Woods for an LPGA/PGA Tour tandem Grand Slam! Michelle Wie’s wrist forced her to pull out of the Safeway, opting instead for a May exemption at the Michelob Ultra Open. Wasn’t it ...

Click here to listen. PGA of America President Brian Whitcomb joins forces with Golf for Beginners this week to spread the word about an exciting tournament designed especially for us, the amateur golfer! The McGladrey Team Championship is the opportunity for golfers with a verifiable USGA handicap to compete on a national level promoting teamwork and cameraderie as two of its goals. Teams of three golfers each will first qualify locally through August. Then, a PGA Professional golfer will join the group for the Sectional Qualifiers which begin in September culminating in a National Championship to be played October 20-22 at the ...

Click here to listen. The new ruling handed down by the USGA allowing golfers to interchange shafts and clubheads prior to a game depending on course (and human) conditions have clubmakers Callaway and TaylorMade quickly putting out new technology. Callaway’s I-MIX adjustable FT-5 driver and TaylorMade’s Tour Van in a Box interchange shafts and clubheads with the golfer optimizing the driver to his or her own comfort level. For example, as Jeff Colton, Sr. VP of Research and Design for Callaway states, “if they’re feeling a little weak that morning, play a lighter shaft, or if it’s been raining that week, drop ...

Butch Harmon finally booted John Daly out of his stable of high-profile professional golfers after Daly “made a circus” out of the PODS Championship. The last straw for Harmon was pulled as Daly was seen carousing behind a Hooters tent during a rain delay. John started his round 3 over-par and ended with a 77. Drinking beer and autographing the derrieres of women obviously fare better during corporate events than when big money and position are on the line. This isn’t the first time that Daly has made a spectacle of himself. Previous escapades that made headlines included throwing thousands of dollars ...

Click here to listen. When Tiger Woods first tied, then surpassed, Arnold “the King” Palmer’s PGA Tour win record, the press was quick to gobble it all up and regurgitate it incessantly. Buzz regarding when Woods will gain ground on Jack Nicklaus’ record and finally achieve top-dog status by pushing past Sam Snead’s long held eighty-two win feat are now mentioned in almost every golf fanatics conversation. As Tiger and company head over to Bay Hill this week to try to conquer this tough course once again (Woods is seeking his fifth victory), another record is in fear of being trounced, but ...

Click here to listen. It was kind of comical (in a purely charming and farfetched way) watching Lorena Ochoa handily defeat her closest opponents wire-to-wire by eleven strokes at the HSBC. Annika Sorenstam could not muscle up the cojones to take her on. Paula Creamer hadn’t enough reserves in her tank. And according to Ochoa, “on the weekend I wasn’t as good with the putter but I managed to shoot under par every day.” Could Lorena Ochoa be the next “Tiger Woods” of the LPGA Tour? Woods/Ochoa being groomed for greatness Perhaps Annika’s record prior to 2007 is strong like Tiger’s but, if Lorena ...

When I heard that the Ryder Cup was being ferried from across the pond to the financial capital of the world (and my hometown) I had to get a closer look. This trophy is won for the honor of the game and not for the amount of money on the line. There’s history etched into this 1927 award and the few spaces remaining around its base herald in hushed possibilities of a new cup, leaving this one in a trophy case sometime in the next ten years. It was with great pride that I held the Ryder Cup at the ...

Click here to listen. During last year’s Honda Classic one caddie remarked to another, entirely off-the-cuff, that his player used a certain golf club off of the tee. PGA Tour golfer Mark Wilson wound up calling a two-stroke penalty on himself after finding out about this infraction, thus proving to viewers the importance of playing by the rules. In spite of losing the two strokes he still won the tournament (in a sudden-death playoff), and with his integrity intact! Wilson continued, “The rules should be held in high regard by every player.” With the honor of the game at stake, some people may ...

So, Michelle Wie fans are believing that she’s ready to tear up the golf scene! Here are seven reasons why the Big Wiesy doesn’t stand a chance: 1. Her injured wrists will never heal properly. Wie was recently quoted as saying, “I just accepted the fact that it’s never going to be 100% ever again.” 2. If Michelle doesn’t believe her wrists will ever be 100%, her confidence will never be 100% and she will always have a handy excuse for not playing well. 3. MW doesn’t learn from her mistakes. Taking a hip-hop class at Stanford after fracturing both of her ...

Click here to listen. Jeff Quinney patiently stalked Phil Mickelson during the final round of the Northern Trust Open, waiting perhaps for Lefty’s golf club to become entangled in the kikuya grass or for Mickelson to erupt as with his eleven last week. Four birdies over a six-hole stretch for Quinney placed Lefty in a precarious position leaving the possibility of another playoff and yet another close call. Mickelson is known for hanging tough, but rarely for making a charge and instilling fear into his opponents. Instead, Mickelson watched as the tables turned and Quinney fell to pieces, bogeying ...