Click here to listen. Please don’t say that Tiger Woods is becoming an elitist! I always thought that Woods’ upbringing was middle-class Cablinasian , entering the sport at a bit of a disadvantage but now it appears to me as if Tiger Woods is becoming one of them…that is, corporate, blue-blooded American. Even his name, Tiger, seems much more of a terrific marketing ploy than Eldrick, a name in which his father tagged him after being saved by a South Vietnamese soldier during the war. Woods believes, before even building his new golf course in Punta Brava, that it will rival Pebble ...

Click here to listen. Since Anthony Kim is now being heralded as one of the rising young stars of the PGA Tour (and this weekend with a third place finish at the Korea Open), it seems befitting that we spend some time examining the reasons behind his choked down golf grip. The obvious intent is to improve upon basic contact but it’s also a way to establish better control over all of your shots. Kim’s grip even caught the eye of announcer Johnny Miller who made this assessment. “If you grip down, you don’t get the club stuck behind you. Your body ...

Click here to listen. Golf Analyst Johnny Miller maintains that Tiger Woods was not missed at either the Tour Championship or the Ryder Cup. He has even gone so far as to blame Woods for Team USA’s problematic history. I can understand Miller’s Ryder Cup theory as Tiger Woods has rarely been known to be a team player but, taking his idea a step further, would the PGA Tour be better off with, or without Woods? It’s true that some of Miller’s off-the-cuff commentary can be a bit absurd (Mediate “looks like the guy who cleans Tiger’s swimming pool, for example") but ...

Click here to listen. It was hard not to notice the dejected expression in the eyes of Anthony Kim on Saturday after his teammate, Phil Mickelson, blew his putt on the seventeenth hole to lose to Stenson and Wilson. Kim’s outstretched hand failed to find Mickelson’s even though earlier pairings found the team of Kim/Mickelson to be a solid one. Kim’s victory against Garcia on Sunday proved that it was Mickelson who was the taildragger for Team USA. I understand that Phil is interested in obtaining his European Tour card. I say, let’s trade Lefty to Team Europe in 2010 for Justin ...

Click here to listen. The drive up to Turning Stone Resort and Casino in upstate New York was definitely part of the adventure during our only weekend away this summer. There were farms and cows everywhere and both Barry and I felt the history of the area as we passed through the bucolic countryside. Who would have ever imagined such beauty existed outside of the confines of the City? But, once I heard that Turning Stone Resort is one of the top-five tourist destinations in the entire State, I could understand why! The Oneida Indian Nation opened Turning Stone in 1993 and ...

Left with no other options to secure their prodigy an LPGA Tour card, Team Wie has decided that Michelle is taking a crack at Q-School! At her last hurrah, the State Farm Classic, Michelle actually had a chance to strut her stuff and prove to the world that she could place high up on the leaderboard, possibly even win! However, Wie left the trailer without signing her scorecard, earning a DQ and forcing her into the position in which she now stands, that is having to play the first stage of LPGA Q-School next week in California. This may not be such ...

And baby makes FOUR including Tiger Woods, Elin and Sam! Elin is pregnant once again, proving to skeptics that life is great for the world’s number-one golfer sans golf. No pressures of the FedEx Cup (Vijay Singh seems to have this series of events wrapped up anyway), the Ryder Cup (Team USA is going to unify thanks to his respite) or any of the final tournaments of the season which might have commanded his attention. Nope! The knee injury was perfect timing to work on building the nest. Tiger Woods has considered himself an only child despite having a step-family and has ...

Click here to listen. I met up with Jim Furyk at a photo shoot for the launch of the golf clothing collection from New York clothier Hawke and Co., and received an education on the differences between cotton and moisture-wicking polyester. I also learned how this upscale company’s products distinguish themselves from typical “off the rack” golf apparel right down to the subleties of the hawk symbolically stitched into every shirt and the recurrent colors of brown and orange which help golfers distinguish this clothing from the average lineup. Furyk, who recently signed a long term sponsorship deal with the contemporary outerwear ...

Click here to listen. Imagine Tiger Woods’ instructor, Hank Haney, standing right in front of you, offering you advice on your golf game. That is exactly what happened to me at Chelsea Piers in New York in an event held in conjunction with The First Tee and FedEx. Okay, so Mr. Haney didn’t help only me that day, his main focus was on the hundred or so kids that belong to the New York Metropolitan Chapter where he mentioned, “What could be better than to help the best player in the world and to help kids?” The few minutes that I taped with ...

Click here to listen. “The problem is up ahead about two or three groups,” is the usual canned reply from the golf course ranger as our foursome is eagerly waiting to tee off. Patience is supposed to be a virtue but completing a round in over five hours is just ridiculous! We all know that the publinks are generally known for slow play and other etiquette faux pas so Barry and I, with help from the National Golf Foundation, have made it a point this week to assist both newer golfers and those duffers who have forgotten the basic niceties of the ...

Click here to listen. With a rousing finish at the 90th PGA Championship, Padraig Harrington confirmed that he can mix it up with the best golfers in the world, not solely on the European Tour. One may claim that a single major might have been a fluke but two in a row and three wins in the last six events prove that Harrington is really on to something! Perhaps Ben Hogan’s “secret” has something to do with it, mentioned Harrington’s instructor, Bob Torrance. Poor Sergio floundered once again. At the 2007 British Open, both Harrington and Garcia choked their way through the ...

Click here to listen. Golfers Lorena Ochoa and Juli Inkster are struggling to keep up with the influx of hard-hitting Asian women entering the LPGA Tour. Players from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea flooded the top of the Ricoh Women’s British Open leaderboard this weekend with only one American, Cristie Kerr, noticeable in a high-ranking position. There were always foreigners ensconced in the LPGA Tour. Many of the ladies play amateur golf here while attending school. So what’s all the fuss about Asians sharing the spotlight? Well, for one thing, a bogey-free round with six birdies is a tough act to follow. Even ...

Click here to listen. Michelle Wie didn’t make the cut and received no exemptions for the Ricoh Women’s British Open this week so what does she do? She shrugs it off and goes Tour-hopping, increasing the box-office revenue at the Reno-Tahoe Open instead! With a star-studded list of PGA Tour professionals attending the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, tournament directors at the B-List event realized that offering a precious exemption to a relative unknown was tantamount to television suicide, so why not offer the golden ticket to the princess of DQ’s and MC’s? Add to that the last minute entry of David Duval ...

Click here to listen. Padraig Harrington came out the victor this week at the British Open, the third major winner of the year with an injury to do so, hiding under the radar of many who thought he could not win back-to-back major tournaments. Harrington concentrated his efforts on course management and the short game to overtake an unlikely favorite of the over-fifty set, namely Greg Norman, whose “foot-on-the-pedal” mentality cost him yet another win. It’s a shame, though, that in 2007, Harrington thought so little of the Claret Jug he fought so hard to win he used it instead as a ...

Click here to listen. There are golf fans and then there are those who come out of the woodwork just to see Tiger Woods blast the ball. These “Tiger enthusiasts” would not think of missing an event with Woods in the field but what happens now that the world’s number-one player is out for the season? In relation to the British Open, sports agent Andrew “Chubby” Chandler claims that there will be, “zero economic impact” and that “he would have been the biggest show in town, but he would not have been the only show. Besides, most of the people there ...

Click here to listen. “Fearless", “cocky” and “arrogant” were descriptive terms used by fellow golfer Fred Funk after Anthony Kim’s decisive victory at the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods. Without Woods in the hunt the field is wide open with devotees waiting anxiously for a confident PGA Tour golfer to step up and take the reins. In sashayed 23-year-old Anthony Kim who, with a bogey-free Sunday (the only final round like it since Chopra took the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship), stepped up to meet the demands of fans who were growing restless without a hero in their midst. Anthony is no different ...

Click here to listen. Although an announcer during the U.S. Women’s Open mentioned Young Kim’s swing thought of “fairways and greens", it’s much easier to think it than it is to bring it to fruition. The simple practice of envisioning what you want to achieve is sometimes the key to a positive round. Basically, if you think happy thoughts, chances are you won’t throw your seven-iron in anger! On the flip side, the average weekend duffer tends to clutter his mind with either what he has learned or needs to practice instead of a simple meditation geared to a positive outlook. The result ...

Click here to listen. Michelle Wie has spent countless hours preparing for the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open with coach David Leadbetter in the hopes of reversing the downward spiral which has been her albatross since last year. Although Wie recently commented that she felt herself “re-emerging as a new player, a new person,” she also reluctantly mentioned what has gone before, asserting, “I’m not ever going to think about before I broke my wrist. That was then and this is now.” Perhaps Wie has been going through a metamorphosis of sorts since her dismissal from the columns of many a golf writer ...

Click here to listen. Poor Tiger Woods! Yes, he has won his third U.S. Open but was it at the expense of his knee? Is winning a trophy more important that your health? The answer? Season-ending knee surgery with the rest of the field clamoring for their opportunity to win a tournament. Tiger’s message to his adoring fans let on that his injury was more aggravated than he made it look this week. “I think I need to shut it down for a little bit. I pushed it pretty hard this week and I just want to enjoy it. And we’re going to ...

Tiger Woods is the hands-down favorite at online sportsbooks despite his recovering knee. Phil Mickelson is the only other golfer in single digits following Woods. BodogSports has the favorite, Woods, at 5/2 and Mickelson close behind at 7/2 odds. The remaining golfers are all listed at double and even triple-digit odds! Even though Torrey Pines is a favorite venue for both Tiger and Phil, Woods hasn’t had a win there since 2002 and Mickelson has never won a U.S. Open. For Phil, there must be a mental block because, on several occasions, he has had solid finishes but never grabbed the brass ...

Just when you thought the U.S. Open couldn’t get any more exciting other than the prospect of being the second major of the year, the powers that be placed Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott in the early pairings. That combination doubles or even triples an already huge fan base of Woods, adding local favorite Mickelson into the mix and further stirring in Adam Scott, the “ladies choice”. This quixotic trio is bound to create pandemonium not only at Torrey Pines but also jam the internet airwaves, where deliriously heady viewers will do anything to catch a glimpse! In a bold ...

Click here to listen. In March Callaway Golf, using Morgan Pressel and Ivanka Trump as their celebrity “faces", launched a GEMS golf club set designed specifically for women. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen Ivanka promoting Women’s Golf Month with the same enthusiasm, even though she is an avid golfer who is listed on Golf for Women’s Twenty-Five best female celebrities. The sport could certainly use an infusion of notables to increase interest in the game. Perhaps next year Donald Trump will also lend a hand by utilizing his golf courses for the good of the game. That being said, I had a great time this ...

Click here to listen. Whereas the internet may be all abuzz about Phil Mickelson’s lucky break at the Colonial, this week’s Golf for Beginners show focuses in on the amateur ladies of the sport. Play Golf America, in conjunction with American Express, has had over 68,000 women attend its prior yearly outings, bringing together the art of the sport with all of the “extras” that may enhance the ladies experience. This June, participating golf facilities will try once again to peak interest in both golf and the encounters surrounding it. My husband, Barry, believes that, aside from the golf instruction, men wouldn’t ...

Click here to listen. In the battle of the “most fit” men in America, Tiger Woods has squashed opponent Barack Obama. The Democratic contender may be a pretty good point guard who stays away from fatty foods (whenever possible) but these qualities just can’t compare to Woods’ rigorous training regimen and remarkable ability to successfully recover from two knee surgeries. The PGA Tour’s number one golfer will just not allow defeat: what are the chances though that Obama will come out on top in November? Men’s Fitness Magazine has chosen presidential hopeful Obama for it’s list of top twenty-five of America’s hale and ...

Click here to listen. Annika Sorenstam has officially begun to chip away at Lorena Ochoa’s top Rolex Ranking. A win at the season-opening SBS Open led a “Tiger-esque” charge that has remained strong through her latest victory at the Michelob Ultra Opening this past weekend. Sorenstam is back in the “feared-zone” once again! Challengers are falling by the wayside. Even Lorena Ochoa could not keep up on Saturday, pushing herself out of a chance for a Sunday duel with a disappointing 74. It was the first time Ochoa has been out of a visible top-ten spot on the leaderboard since 2007. Did Sorenstam’s ...

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 ...

Click here to listen. Where an eleven on a hole is a mishap which any golfer would prefer to forget, Phil Mickelson will be reminded of his m/c at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am for weeks, even months to come. He wasn’t even in the list of golfers on the cut line who got paid for their efforts and went home…nope, not Lefty. He made sure that this collapse would be one for the history books. Recall the 2006 U.S. Open? I’m sure talk of that previous loss will now be regurgitated along with this mishap throughout the golf season until Mickelson ...

Click here to listen. It’s easy to see why professional golfers become distracted when Tiger Woods is somewhere in the pack. If he’s only a few strokes back, chances are his resolve will carry him to victory. That is precisely what happened this weekend at the Dubai Desert Classic. On the flip side, no one seems to be afraid of Phil Mickelson. J.B. Holmes’ memories of a 2006 victory at the FBR Open was all he needed to maintain his purpose for this year’s event. And, the claim to fame that he beat Mickelson was also a good incentive. Phil’s putter let him down ...

Click here to listen. Records are set “in the books” with the express consequence of beating them. This weekend, Tiger Woods implanted his name firmly among the greatest golfers of all time, tying Arnold Palmer in number of career victories achieved. Next golf legend to overcome? Ben Hogan, whose record is at 64 wins. That too will be achieved as Tiger Woods is most certainly focused decisively on his hero, Jack Nicklaus, who stands at 73 victories. Nicklaus was five years older than Woods when he won his 62nd tournament, finishing his winning streak at 46 years of age. Woods should be on ...

Click here to listen. John Daly was recently one of the casualties who fell prey to a new PGA Tour edict which punishes golfers on the cut line if there are too many lurking there. His comment about his fate at the Sony Open? “It’s a stupid rule.” Whereas this new regulation is probably an effort to speed up play, keeping the event within television programming limits, I wonder if it will detract from the excitement of the game? Consider the following conjecture. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are both getting off to a rough start at the Buick Invitational this week ...

Click here to listen. When PGA Tour golfers mention their season ambitions it’s usually hypothetical, mixing dreams with unspoken fears, hedging their bets with terms like “goals", “desires” and the “significant improvements” made over the previous year. Not Tiger Woods. Simply put, a single exclamation on his website is all that is needed to jump on the Grand Slam bandwagon. “I think it’s easily within reason,” said the world’s number-one, confident of his abilities. Taking the lead from Woods is Ernie Els who isn’t as positive but remains hopeful. Although Els has been a non-event in the U.S. for several years (he claims ...

Click here to listen. While Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson quietly enjoy their respective breaks from the PGA Tour, Daniel Chopra and Steve Stricker shouted out to the golf world that they are contenders for this year’s FedEx Cup. Dangling a new Mercedes-Benz like a carrot on the end of a stick was one good reason that Stricker stroked only eight putts in the final eight holes of the Championship but I’ll bet that Stricker’s long-term goals include dueling it out with the big names and a major win. Chopra’s use of Playstation to get to know the Plantation Course might have helped ...