Here we are on Saturday night and it looks like Geoff Ogilvy and Paul Casey, two good friends, will meet on Sunday for the 36-hole final at the Accenture World Golf Championships Match Play event. Without Tiger Woods, there has still been plenty of drama in the semifinal matches also featuring Stewart Cink and Ross Fisher.
Ogilvy has been absoutely dominant around the greens in an event he's won once prior, making 69 of 73 consecutive putts at one point. That's pretty remarkable for the Aussie who captured the Mercedes Championship earlier this season.
Casey, meanwhile, currently leads Fisher 2 up thru 14 holes after halving the last with a double bogey.
Ogilvy and Casey are both members at Whisper Rock down the road in Arizona and actually visited the course about three weeks ago. Some good planning, if you ask me.
Be sure to check out the highlights later tonight, including a shot from Fisher on the 14th that sailed through a group of cactus bushes and soared over a television tower behind the green. The announcers have described the Englishman's last half hour on the course as "hacking and hoping," which seems pretty accuarte at the moment.
Ogilvy has been playing awesome golf all year and if I had to pick a favorite to win tomorrow, I'd give the nod to him over Casey if he can close out his match on top. Back Sunday with more after the final round of the event.
Tiger Woods was shocked by Tim Clark on Thursday in the second round of the Accenture WGC Match Play event in Marana, Ariz., leaving the golfing world without the thrill and anticipation that could've come with his weekend play. View highlights from today's match above.
Phil Mickelson snuck out of another close match, this time against Cedar Rapids native Zach Johnson, who fought his way back from 3 down to take Lefty to the 18th green before bowing out. With so many top seeds out of the tournament, including No. 1 seeds Vijay Singh, Woods, and Sergio Garcia, you'd have to say Mickelson is the favorite coming off a win at the Northern Trust Open.
Tiger is 2 up thru four holes at the Accenture Match Play Championships while Phil Mickelson is in the match of the day against Angel Cabrera, where the players were all square on the 18th fairway. Cabrera has made three straight birdies to even Mickelson, but just hit it in the front bunker, while Mickelson has left himself 70 feet for birdie on the green.
You do not want to be Jones right now in this match against Tiger. Going 2 down, in addition to your nerves, is obviously a terrible spot to be.
Also, Cedar Rapids native Zach Johnson has stuffed it to three feet at No. 17 and he's already leading 2 up in his match. Looks like it could be all over and a strong opening win for ZJ.
Here is the blow-by-blow of Tiger's morning on Tuesday.Here is another one.
In case you haven't turned on ESPN or your computer in the last four hours, the world's No. 1 golfer has returned to the PGA Tour and with it has come an absolutely insane about of coverage about Tiger Woods… and just for his Tuesdaypractice round. While I normally reserve Wednesday to get major coverage of the PGA Tour with a gathering of links, I thought it a worthwhile endeavor to make The Hunt the ultimate syndication of Woods-related news items for the lunch hour today.
About an hour ago, ESPN and ESPN News aired Tiger's opening press conference at the World Golf Championships live in which he discussed many subjects, including that he expects to be nervous on the first tee tomorrow when he faces the lowest-ranked player in the field, Australian Brendan Jones.
"The day I'm not nervous is the day I quit," Woods said.
On the other hand, Jones says he would bet on Woods if he absolutely had to wager on tomorrow's match in this Bloomberg article. Some pretty candid stuff in this piece, including Jones' admission that his friends have joked that he should take out Tiger's knee if he is losing.
Here you'll find a gallery of photos from Tiger's Tuesday practice round, in which he wore a his trademark "TW" hat in white with Nike's new "Victory Red" logo on the panel. Woods wore a gray sweater vest during the round at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana, Ariz.
ESPN.com's Bob Harig caught all the action this morning, noting that Woods only missed one fairway on the front nine during his practice round/media extravaganza. (Side note: Harig's bracket has Woods losing to Irish phenom Rory McEllroy in the third round, which I find to be very bold and very stupid)
SI's Gary Van Sickle says Tigermania was back in full force this morning, and points out that Woods looked especially in control despite eight months away from the Tour. Van Sickle also writes it was a smart move for Tiger to return now, in late February.
SI senior writer Damon Hack wrote this morning that the weight of the golfing world seem to rest on Tiger's shoulders this week, as he returns to a Tour in desperate need of his presence to generate energy and sponsor confidence on the PGA.
Two days after winning his second-straight Northern Trust Open, Phil Mickelson beat Tiger to the range on Tuesday morning. If you take only one thing from the coverage, watch the video taken at the practice tee in Marana showing Mickelson hitting balls when Tiger first arrives. Neither player acknowledges the other, not even saying hello, and Mickelson doesn't even turn around to see if indeed Woods is on the range. He just stands and hits ball after ball, stoic, working with Woods' old swing coach Butch Harmon to prepare for the WGC.
ESPN.com's Jason Sobel will live blog Tiger's first match against Jones tomorrow. Unlike Harig, Sobel went the safe route in his bracket predictions, taking Tiger to beat Andres Romero in the final. Here is his Weekly 18 outlining Tiger's potential path to the WGC championship.
The group over at PGATour.com has made their expert picks for this week, and its no surprise that the No.1 selection is none other than Tiger.
ESPN analyst Andy North thinks Tiger will need to control his emotions in order to be successful this week in the Match Play format. Here is a link to a podcast he shared with Sobel this week.
A UK Times Columnist thinks Woods will never match Muhammad Ali's influence in the world of sports. I personally disagree with his argument, especially now, when boxing is completely an irrelevant sport in the mainstream. They have, by all accounts, participated in remarkably different eras and Woods obiviously has not been faced with the realities of the Vietnam War and enlistment and Ali's great hardships in the public eye. A decent read today, nonetheless.
Has Michael Jordan given Tiger a model for returning from a long layoff? The Golf Channel's Mercer Baggs answers that question and others in this notebook.
As if you wanted more, here is a complete viewable bracket for the Match Play field this week.
That's all for now and back Wednesday with more Tiger and first-round analysis.
I was at the Iowa basketball game tonight so I really have no idea how Phil Mickelson nearly blew a four-shot lead on Sunday, but when I refreshed the scoreboard before tip-off I was even more shocked that he had won. From video and stories about Lefty's title defense at the Northern Trust Open, I gather that it was a pretty exciting finish that required him to get up-and-down for par on the 72nd hole to edge Steve Stricker.
For as many times as Lefty has melted down — they even created a top-10 show on the Golf Channel of his imaginative, occasionally costly playing style — he seems to have an improved understanding of what it takes to play a complete week and win. Fitting, was Mickelson's first win of 2009, coming just days before Tiger Woods' return at the World Golf Championships.
If, by some sort of cosmic miracle, they end up playing one another in Match Play this week, I cannot imagine the TV ratings/anticipation with Phil coming off a win. It would be insane.
Also, I cannot help but point out that I think Mickelson's shirt has been one size too small on purpose this week. If he was going to give a victory fist pump, why not show off the guns?
Back later this week to capture the madness of Tiger's return and other Tour topics.
We are about an hour and half from the final tee time at Riviera for the Northern Trust Open, one featuring Phil Mickelson and the silky-swinging Fred Couples.
Mickelson (-16), who credits his third-round 62 to some serious swing help from Butch Harmon on the rage Saturday morning, leads the field by four and would potentially need to break every club in his bag to blow it this afternoon. After all, he is the defending champion at the event and Harmon is sticking around for good measure. From PGATour.com:
"Swing doctor Butch Harmon said he saw trouble with too much movement in Phil's lower body during Friday's 72, so when Phil called from the scorer's tent and the two met for a Saturday morning tutorial, Harmon knew exactly what to work on. But 10 shots better? Just to be safe, Butch is hanging around for today's final round."
Let us not forget Andres Romero, sitting at -12, who has played poorly early this season but has been the most consistent this week. He carded rounds of 65, 70, and 66 to put himself in position to contend for today's final round.
For non-Tiger fans, enjoy a relaxing Sunday in front of the television with plenty of Phil, Fred, and Andres. Come Wednesday, the golfing world will become Tiger's personal Truman Show all over again.
Major news outlets (ESPN.com, PGATour.com, and Golf.com) are infatuated with Lefty's stellar first round at the Northern Trust Open.
And why wouldn't they be? Phil Mickelson is contending for the first time all season and soon arch nemesis, Tiger Woods, return will to the Tour. Check out these screenshots from early Thursday afternoon.
Special thanks to Jose Conseco's book, Juiced, for inspiring the Golf.com headline.
UPDATE: Mickelson is currently -8 after 16 holes. He leads Dean Wilson by two strokes.
New pictures of Tiger Woods family surfaced today on the World No. 1's home page and have made their way across the blogosphere with some steadiness this morning.
In other news, Tiger has until 5 p.m. on Friday to declare whether he will participate in the 64-man Accenture Match Play World Golf Championships. Qualifying for the event closed this week and the seeds will be determined on Sunday.
I plan to have my bracket/predictions up sometime on Sunday night for next week's Match Play madness, with or without Tiger.
Over at the Northern Trust Open today, Phil Mickelson has "broken out of his '09 slump," according to the current home page at PGATour.com. Apparently, leading a four-round event after 10 holes qualifies for hyperbole evidence when you're a top-five player in the world. Sure, he's -5 and tied when Dean Wilson at the moment, but let's at least wait until the weekend to declare Lefty a slump-buster.
After all, Mickelson's year hasn't been a total disaster yet… at least not like this.
Tiger Woods' son has been born. Now if he could just figure out that whole walking thing.
No, seriously. Per Tiger's caddie, Steve Williams, in the English Telegraph Wednesday:
"He's probably 95 per cent of the way there. He was waiting for the birth of his second child which just came last week so he's ready to go. He just needs a little bit more walking. He hasn't been able to walk too well."
Steve, no offense or anything, but Tiger won the U.S. Open walking like <------ THAT. You know, a major championship? Yeah, he played 91 holes with a knee grinding like sand paper.
Tiger's caddie had this to add:
"He's had to modify his swing a little bit to accommodate his knee, but the guy always finds a way. I'm a little nervous myself to see how he's going to come back."
I just hope Steve doesn't have to carry Tiger from shot to shot during the World Golf Championships Match Play if he returns. Maybe they will get him a cart until he remembers how to walk.
In all seriousness, Tiger is almost back. This, in all regards, is outstanding news for the PGA Tour.
Dustin Johnson was declared the winner at the rain-shortened 2009 AT&T National on Monday, two days after the 24-year-old finished his third round at -15 and appeared he would be fighting to maintain a four-shot lead in the final round. But thanks to Zeus — sorry, D.J. — the weather gods continued their strike on one of the U.S. most famous golf landscapes Monday, replacing fairways with streams of rushing water and divots with well, lots of H2O.
Johnson's second career Tour victory came at the expense of leaderboard chasers Mike Weir and Retief Goosen, among others, and may have cost the aforementioned Trahan a spot in the World Golf Championships Match Play event later this month. Ranked No. 66 in the World, Trahan needed to move up one spot from his tie for sixth place after the third round to garner enough points to crack the 64-man field.
Much like the book, the final round was really a good walk spoiled at Pebble Beach, as groundskeeping crews are left to pick up the pieces over the upcoming weeks.
The Tour next heads to the Northern Trust Open on Thursday, where the world's beloved No. 5, Phil Mickelson, is the defending champion. That's it for now; more on Lefty, Tiger, and the PGA later this week.
The final round of the PGA Tour's AT&T National Pro-Am has been postponed until Monday due to driving winds and a rain storm that gave Pebble Beach a makeover Sunday, even uprooting a rather large tree on the third hole.
TV towers also played victim to the storm's damaging path, and there is concern among the leaders that the forecast for Monday — rain, high winds, more ugliness from the sky — could mean a 54-hole championship for Dustin Johnson. Johnson, at -15 for the tournament, leads Mike Weir by four strokes heading into the final round and would play a threesome with he and Retief Goosen on Monday (-10) if the weather permits.
It would mark the first 54-hole finish for the event since the year 2000. One concern is that play could begin tomorrow for half the field before the weather strikes, leaving the Tour in a tough spot:
"Mark Russell, the PGA Tour tournament director at Pebble, said if half of the field completes the fourth round on Monday, the tour is required to complete all 72 holes no matter how long it takes."
Among those praying for clear skies will be Weir, whose last Tour victory came late in the 2007 season. Also, as a result of Sunday's disastrous weather, the amateurs final round has been waived in order to expedite the final round for the professionals.
Part of Johnson's success this week can be attributed to his driving average, 288 yards, which ranks first among all players for the event. He will need to keep booming it on Monday with the ground expected to only getting soggier in the next 24 hours.
With the birth of Tiger's second child in the rear view, much of the uncertainty surrounding his immediate future is finally clearing up, writes the AP.
PGA Tour reporter Helen Ross complimented Nick Watney on his determination during his time at Fresno State with his uncle for a head coach. Watney says he has had to earn everything he's gotten on Tour, including last weekend's Buick Invitational win.
Special contributor Ron Kroichick writes a fascinating feature about Stanford golfer Joseph Bramlett, following somewhat in Tiger's footsteps, on ESPN.com today.
Bob Harig wrote about Tiger again Tuesday, noting that his swing coach, Hank Haney, believes that Woods will only be stronger when he returns.
In one of the crazier stories you'll see, the PGA Tour is considering cracking down on player appearance, which includes facial hair. You might remember Mike Weir's serious beard during the FedEx cup playoffs as inspired by friend Wayne Gretzky, no?
SI's Gary Van Sickle says two-time major winner Padraig Harrington has his focus firmly on capturing a third-straight at Augusta National in a couple months.
Fellow SI'er Damon Hack says to watch for Vijay Singh on Thursday at the Pebble Beach AT&T National Pro-Am.
David Toms, currently No. 66 in the world golf rankings, is trying to qualify for the World Golf Championships Match Play event in late February. He will try and leverage himself two spots in the rankings to qualify for the 64-man field by playing Pebble Beach this week.
Many players are treating this year as a contract season for corporate sponsorships, writes the Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard.
Jim Moriarty has a legitimate plan for top-notch players to complete in struggling lower-caliber Tour events.
In case you were too busy searching for pictures of Tiger Woods new son, Charlie — cool name, huh? — all afternoon, let me serve reminder to Nick Watney's second career Tour victory at the Buick Invitational Sunday.
Chasing John Rollins and Lucas Glover, Watney birdied two of his last three holes and took the Buick with a clutch three-footer on No. 18.
Needless to say, the putt didn't have the drama of Woods' victory at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, but it was significant, nonetheless.
Watney became the fifth different winner in five events on Tour this season and took home a $954,000 paycheck — maybe one of the big ones, like in Happy Gilmore — and also outran Camilo "The Painter" Villegas down the stretch.
He is also making his name as one of the top American players under the age of 30 early in 2009, which is always refreshing with so many international players dominating on the PGA Tour.
Along with Woods' baby news, one of the bigger byproducts of the weekend is the mainstream media's interest in Phil Mickelson's struggles.
ESPN.com's Bob Harig says Mickelson hasn't taken advantage of Tiger's absence enough, missing fairways and even cuts early this season on the West Coast. PGA Tour columnist T.J. Auclair says Mickelson's struggles are glaring, and agrees that Mickelson is failing to meet expectations as the best player in the world not named Tiger.
Back with Hitting the Links, Part III, on Wednesday and some predictions for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this weekend.
I am watching the final round of the Buick Invitational and jotted down some random thoughts that may only interest me.
* Camilo Villegas' swing is hard to watch in high-definition. While it's obviously efficient and he is one of the top 30 players in the world, his position through impact and his finish appear terribly unorthodox. Also, his white spikes/white pants/white shirt/tan hat wardrobe makes him look very much like a painter.
*I think it is hilarious that Nike is using a marketing/product campaign — "Victory Red," as symbolized by the cool graphic V on their players headwear — that is entirely derived from something Tiger Woods does. Does Lucas Glover really enjoy wearing a symbol representative of Woods' trademark red shirts on Sunday? It is really amazing how they are able to make people think about Tiger when he hasn't played since the 2009 U.S. Open. People like me might even blog about it online and make people like you think of Tiger. The marketing is realy quite viral. If Glover wins, you can bet Nike won't release a commercial that starts "Victory Red… Play like Lucas Glover, win like Lucas Glover…"
*Rollins just followed a bogey on 12 with an eagle on No. 13, taking back a 3-shot lead. Earlier, Jim Nantz informs us that Rollins is attributing his strong play to a new set of shafts in his irons and the fact that he recently lost 30 pounds. That putt may have clinched the tournament with Glover and Villegas chasing…
*CBS showed Phil Mickelson, at 3-over-par for the tournament, nearly every shot on his back nine today. I realize that with Tiger out, Mickelson is the most polarizing figure on Tour, but I will never get over how the networks continue to show the top five players in the World no matter where they are on the leaderboard.
*My roommate just got home and informed me that the Pro Bowl is on today. He changes the channel. End around to Falcons receiver Roddy White… and raise your hand if you care. The Buick and Lakers-Cavaliers are on right now. Who is watching the Pro Bowl?
*Nantz follows the description of the PGA Tour's new "Kodak Challenge" by saying the scene at Torrey Pines is a bit of "Kodak Moment." Great stuff, Jim.
Back tomorrow with a reaction from Sunday's final round.
Camillo Villegas leads the Buick Invitational following an opening-round 63 complete with eight birdies, one eagle, and a really sweet argyle sweater (left) that even matched his belt.
In all seriousness, that is some scary-good golf and a stunning head start for Villegas, who tees off at 8:50 a.m. on the much tougher South Course at Torrey Pines today.
Aussie youngster Aaron Baddeley and Davis Love III each posted 66 on the North Course Thursday to fall three back and remain in the hunt for the Buick title.
Of the top 15 players on the leaderboard Friday morning, 14 will play the South Course today, meaning the Tour could be in for a pre-weekend shuffle with its traditional two-course, four-round event.
DL-Three has been playing as well as anyone in recent weeks and I think Villegas must be careful protecting a substantial lead before Saturday.
Remember when that regular guy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa won the 2007 Masters ranked 162nd in driving distance on the PGA Tour?
The statistic is undoubtedly less memorable than Zach Johnson's astounding victory at Augusta National, but his winning formula of short, accurate driving and striking iron play is equating to a scorching start in 2009.
Now the No. 27 player in the world, Johnson leads the FedEx Cup points (647) through three events and has already accumulated more than $1.2 million on the money list.
Not bad for a guy who currently ranks 123rd in driving distance (286.3) heading into this weekend's Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines. That's over four yards shorter than the PGA Tour average (290.5) this season.
A closer look at the stats — Johnson ranks 30th in driving accuracy (%70.3) and 18th in greens in regulation (%75.9) — reveals that Johnson is relying more on his approach game to move up the scoreboards. His unimpressive putts per round average (29.0, 108th on Tour) has been counteracted by four eagles in 216 holes, or more simply, an eagle every third round.
I was fortunate to watch his third round at the Mercedes Championship in person earlier this season, and it definitely seems like Johnson has regained whatever confidence was lost in 2008. When he's playing well, Johnson hits fairways, attacks pins, and rarely forfeits a bogey back to the course. As a short hitter, he became notorious during his Masters win for his conservative strategy on Augusta's longer Par-5s.
He made 14 birdies that week "playing safe," and the formula seems to be working just fine in 2009. Albeit a tad late, here is a article recapping his Sony Open victory and praising Johnson's grit.
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This week, the PGA Tour is back at Torrey Pines for the first time since Tiger Woods' remarkable 2008 U.S. Open victory. What a better way to kick off Round 2 of weekly links than with the latest on Mr. Woods, who said Wednesday morning that he's back to practicing full strength and speculated possible return dates. Also, mentioned in Tiger's blog entry for PGATour.com, Woods says he hopes to soon play golf with President Barack Obama.
In case you forgot how insane Tiger's last competitive week was, let's cue the video:
Using Brandt Snedeker as an example, PGA Tour correspondent Helen Ross' notebook today highlights the growing pains often experienced by rookies, many of whom who struggle with patience. Within the notebook, there is word that Phil Mickelson will be using a different, now-legalized Callaway FT-9 driver this week after missing the cut at the FBR Open. If you want a full transcript of Lefty's interview at the Buick Tuesday, click here. For 13 years in a row, a major champion has won the Buick Invitational, the longest streak among all PGA Tour events. This week's field includes a dozen such players, most notably Mickelson and 2008 poster boy Padraig Harrington. In an exclusive interview posted on Golf.com today, Harrington spoke about his aspirations for 2009 and the possibility of a "Paddy Slam" coming off his British Open and PGA Championship victories in 2008.
The feeling around Tour is that Torrey Pines will feel quite different without the defending champion Woods — who has won the Buick six times including in 2008.
TaylorMade continues to headline the new equipment buzz early in 2009, and J.B. Holmes crazy eight-legged putter — the new Spider Balero, an off-shoot of the company's Monza Spider and Itsy Bitsy spider models from 2008 — appeared at the FBR Open.
Woods' close friend and Tour veteran Mark O'Meara said last week that Irish phenom Rory Mcllroy, who won the Dubai Desert Classic, is actually better at 19 years old than Tiger ever was. Quite a statement.
Lastly, sad news out of 18-year-old phenom Tadd Fujikawa's camp, as his father plead guilty to second-degree drug trafficking on Tuesday. Hopefully Tadd can overcome such a devastating situation and continue his blossoming young career.
I apologize for my lack of posting lately, as I was in Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend. A few buddies scored $120 round-trip plane tickets last month and, judging from the scene at Caesar's Sportsbook Sunday, people will bet on just about anything related the game, economic crisis be damned. Upon returning tonight, I thought I'd share my favorite Super Bowl advertisement from E*TRADE, which features their signature baby talking about golf. Notice the subtle advertising by TaylorMade Golf, who managed to score a new visor complete with the "R9" logo on the side when the baby turns its head.
Back tomorrow with discussion on Zach Johnson, the current FedEx Cup points leader, and this week's PGA Tour stop, the Buick Invitational.
Here we are on Saturday night and it looks like Geoff Ogilvy and Paul Casey, two good friends, will meet on Sunday for the 36-hole final at the Accenture World Golf Championships Match Play event. Without Tiger Woods, there has still been plenty of drama in the semifinal matches also featuring Stewart Cink and Ross Fisher.
