A golf grab bag of items
Recently there have been some unique items around the world of golf that are worth bringing to your attention, if you missed them.
The King and Queen meet:
Arnold Palmer and his wife Kit were guests at a state dinner at the White House recently to honor the visit of Queen Elizabeth II. Palmer also attended a dinner for the Queen in 1990, hosted by George H.W. Bush. Also in attendance this year was CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz and his wife.
Salute the coach:
Conrad Ray is the Stanford University golf coach and a former teammate of Tiger Woods when they both played at Stanford. Conrad just made it through the first stage of the U.S. Open qualifying in the same field as three of his Stanford players. Two made it at that site, Zack Miller and Joseph Bramlett and one missed. Jordon Cox from Stanford made it at another site. Follow the results at www.usga.org
It’s therefore not hard to see why Stanford is ranked #2 in the nation. To follow the NCAA Championship results check out www.golfstat.com
Happy Mothers Day:
Phil Mickelson switches golf instructors to Butch Harmon and wins the Players Championship. Phil has as much or more talent than any player on tour, but his choice of shots is often questionable. Harmon spoke about not only working on swing mechanics but knowing when to be aggressive and when to be passive. It’s a rare talent to have that control. How about the possible Mom and Dad Slam? Phil wins the Players Championship on Mother’s Day and surely is one of the favorites to win the U.S. Open on Father’s day. You heard it here first.
Tiger Time:
In garbage time on Sunday at the Players, Tiger storms from nearly last place, to finish 37th. This shows his amazing focus and determination about what he does for a living. At one point through about 36 holes, he made only two birdies. With the baby due in a few weeks maybe he lost his putting stroke at Lamaze class?
See ya:
Two more of the new drivers are being “looked at” as being non-conforming. One version of the new Callaway Big Bertha, and a version of the Cobra driver will be under scrutiny. This comes on top of the square Nike driver that was recently red-flagged. With all of the research and development that goes into this stuff, you’d think they’d get it right! I wonder if beer companies ever go over the allowed levels of alcohol.
Put out the trash:
How about the Tiger-Trash talk by Rory Sabbatini and the comeback by Tiger?
Rory: “…Tiger is more beatable than ever…”
Tiger: “If I remember correctly, he said he likes the new Tiger, I figure I’ve won nine of 12, and three times this year, and that’s the same amount he’s won in his career. So I like the new Tiger as well”
And lastly, “good ole Seve”:
Seve Ballesteros is joining the Champions Tour. I wonder if he’ll be as animated in that venue as he was in his years on the PGA and European Tours? I sure hope so.
