Golf Talk

John Daly at this year’s US Open, a troubled soul.

John Daly continues to make news despite not being in the top 100 on the world ranking. First off, AOL Fanhouse has a great post about Daly’s latest money-making scheme, a golf instructional book. In it, Daly attempts to give tips that have helped him win the British Open Championship and PGA Championship major tournaments. Such interesting tidbits that include preparing for his British Open Championship-winning final round at St Andrews in 1995 by eating ten chocolate croissants, or claiming he can go through twenty packets of M&Ms in a round and was once disqualified from a junior tournament for having a bottle of Jack Daniels in his bag.

As for his actual golf game, Golf Digest is reporting that John Daly is seeking swing instruction from swing guru Butch Harmon. You’ll remember that Butch Harmon was the one that people have credited with helping Phil Mickelson earlier in the year capturing the Players Championship shortly after. Butch Harmon is also the man who used to coach Tiger Woods when he had his Tiger slam and is the long-time coach to Natalie Gulbis helping her win her first LPGA event this year at the Evian Masters.

So what exactly can Butch Harmon do for John Daly?? Well, not really anything at all I’m afraid. You see, there’s nothing wrong with John Daly’s swing. In fact, Tiger Woods has even said that John Daly has more god-given golf talent than anyone else. He just has to practice and become more disciplined. I don’t see how Butch Harmon is going to do that for John. What John really needs is a shrink and a marriage counselor. He needs someone that can peel the layers of a fragile psyche and build up his confidence in himself as a person. Once John has faced his fears face on, he can return to the game which he was born for.

John Daly, Butch Harmon

Nobody hotter in golf than Suzann Pettersen.

In a who is hot and who is not segment, Suzann Pettersen of Norway is red hot with a dominating seven shot lead heading into the final round at the LPGA Honda Thailand Open played at both the Siam Country Club and the Pattaya Old Course. Pettersen is at 20-under and seven shots ahead of England’s Laura Davies and two shots ahead of Paula Creamer. Pettersen is coming off back to back wins at the LPGA Longs Drugs Challenge then the LPGA Korean Open last week. Pettersen has erased all doubts of her early season struggles and has firmly established herself as the second best female golfer in the world behind Lorena Ochoa.

Meanwhile, John Daly, big JD is as far from hot as you could get. After an up but mostly down year, Daly got news that he has been denied a sponsor’s exempt for the final leg of the fall series taking place next week, the Children’s Miracle Network Classic at the Disney courses near Orlando. Instead the exemptions went to Lee Janzen, Duffy Waldorf, Jay Williamson and Tadd Fujikawa. This is a bit of a shock given that Daly remains one of the golf’s biggest draws with his incredible ball-striking ability and likable character. Daly was especially surprised given that Wal-Mart is a big sponsor of the event and both Daly and Wal-Mart call Arkansas their native home.

Daly is currently competing at the Ginn sur Mer Classic and made a birdie on the final hole of the second round to make the cut, something that hasn’t happened with regularity for Daly this season.

PGA Tour, Suzann Pettersen, John Daly

The blond bombshell looking to clean up this week

The PGA Tour season is unofficially over with the conclusion of the Fedex Cup. So why the heck are they still playing?? It’s called a cash grab folks. Anyways, the site of this week’s Turning Stone Resort Championship is the Atunyote Golf Club in Verona, NY. Only 2 of the top 30 players bothered to show up, still there are some good names on the board.

Now since Yahoo!Fantasy has completed it’s 2007 season, we’ll simply pick the best foursome and give you some sleepers for the week. Jump on the link to see the picks.

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This is how the leaderboard looks like with the leaders through the 12th hole,

POS / Name / SCORING TO PAR ROUNDS TOTAL
====================================
1 12 Scott Verplank -4 F -4 70 66 - - 136
T2 1 Stephen Ames -3 F -1 68 69 - - 137
T2 4 Camilo Villegas -3 8 -2 69 - - - 69
T4 1 Woody Austin -2 F E 68 70 - - 138
T4 2 Geoff Ogilvy -2 6 -1 69 - - - 69
T6 — John Senden -1 F E 69 70 - - 139
T6 17 Niclas Fasth -1 7* -2 71 - - - 71
T6 7 Sergio Garcia -1 6 -1 70 - - - 70
T6 17 Tiger Woods -1 4 -2 71 - - - 71
T6 — Lee Westwood -1 3 E 69 - - - 69
T6 4 John Daly -1 3* +2 67 - - - 67
T12 24 Adam Scott E F -2 72 68 - - 140
T12 58 Paul McGinley E F -4 74 66 - - 140
T12 9 Arron Oberholser E 6* +2 68 - - - 68
T12 1 Frank Lickliter, II E 2:45 p CT* - 70 - - - 70
T16 37 Stuart Appleby +1 F -2 73 68 - - 141
T16 20 Troy Matteson +1 F -1 72 69 - - 141
T16 15 Graeme Storm +1 F +6 65 76 - - 141
T16 3 Sean O’Hair +1 7* +1 70 - - - 70
T16 3 Rod Pampling +1 5* +1 70 - - - 70
T16 20 Stewart Cink +1 5 -1 72 - - - 72
T16 20 Ernie Els +1 5 -1 72 - - - 72
T16 7 K.J. Choi +1 3 E 71 - - - 71
T16 3 Brad LardonPGA +1 2* +1 70 - - - 70
T16 3 Pat Perez +1 2* +1 70 - - - 70

Scott Verplank, the Oklahoma St alum made the biggest charge in the morning to get to 4-under and the lead. Canadian Stephen Ames is grinded his way to a 1-under round and 3-under total for sole possession of second. Graeme Storm, first round leader disappeared and John Daly appears to be falling back.

Watch for Tiger, he’s at 1-under and making a charge now, 2-under through his first 2 holes.

Catch the Official PGA Championship leaderboard here.

PGA Tour, PGA Championship, Southern Hills, John Daly, Tiger Woods

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

There some interesting rounds posted today at the conclusion of round one of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa (OK). Tiger finished in the black with a 1-over round, played well early but struggled on the back nine. John Daly didn’t play a practice round and basically hung out for two weeks prior, and shot a 3-under for sole possession of second. Your clubhouse leader is Graeme Storm of England, shooting a hot 5-under round.

Phil Mickelson stumbled to a 3-over round after a quick start. Angel Cabrera looked to be in contention but his 10 at the par 3 sixth hole took him out of the championship.

There’s plenty of golf left to be played, but if John Daly can hang on, it would be the feel good story of the year…

PGA Tour, PGA Championship, Graeme Storm, John Daly, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

This is how the leaderboard looks like with the leaders through the 12th hole,

POS / Name / SCORING TO PAR ROUNDS TOTAL
====================================
1 - John Daly -3 16 -3 - - - - -
T2 - Arron Oberholser -2 F -2 68 - - - 68
T2 - Lee Westwood -2 15* -2 - - - - -
T2 - Graeme Storm -2 2* -2 - - - - -
T5 - Mark Wilson -1 F -1 69 - - - 69
T5 - Markus Brier -1 F -1 69 - - - 69
T5 - Camilo Villegas -1 F -1 69 - - - 69
T5 - Geoff Ogilvy -1 F -1 69 - - - 69
T5 - Pat Perez -1 15 -1 - - - - -
T5 - Ken Duke -1 14 -1 - - - - -
T5 - Brad LardonPGA -1 14 -1 - - - - -
T5 - Frank Lickliter, II -1 14 -1 - - - - -
T5 - Bubba Watson -1 1 -1 - - - - -
T5 - Woody Austin -1 1* -1 - - - - -
T15 - Sean O’Hair E F E 70 - - - 70
T15 - Retief Goosen E F E 70 - - - 70
T15 - Sergio Garcia E F E 70 - - - 70
T15 - Rod Pampling E F E 70 - - - 70
T15 - Joe Durant E 2* E - - - - -
T15 - Jose Coceres E 2* E - - - - -
T15 - D.J. Trahan E 2* E - - - - -
T15 - Richard Green E 1 E - - - - -
T15 - Joe Ogilvie E 1 E - - - - -
T15 - Angel Cabrera E 1 E - - - - -
T15 - Padraig Harrington E 1 E - - - - -
T15 - Nathan Green E 1* E - - - - -
T15 - Wen Chong Liang E 1* E - - - - -

Wow, what a turn of events. Tiger was in the lead through the first 9 and has dropped several shots since, sitting at +1. JD, my man John Daly is hammering the ball today. Though he’s always 1 hole, 1 shot away from throwing away the thing, lets hope the big guy can hang on.

The heat, man the heat, it’s a killer out there. Keep those water bottles handy.

Mickelson getting set to tee off, Furyk is off to rocky start with the back injury.

Lots of guys still need to play through their rounds, afternoon update to follow.

Catch the Official PGA Championship leaderboard here.

PGA Tour, PGA Championship, Southern Hills, John Daly, Tiger Woods

(Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Shooting a Canadian Open record 62 on the first day of action, Hunter Mahan got the best of Angus Glen with a 9-under par round to lead all scores. Meanwhile at the Evian Masters, it’s a three way tie between Patty Hurst, Brittany Lincicome and Eun-hee Ji. Jump on the link for more details.

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With round two in the books and players in the clubhouse, here is how the leaderboard shakes up,

Pos / Player Name / hole / Ctry / r1 / r2 / total / par
====================================
1 GARCIA, Sergio 18 ESP 65 71 136 -6
2 CHOI, KJ 18 KOR 69 69 138 -4
T3 JIMÉNEZ, Miguel Angel 18 ESP 69 70 139 -3
T3 WEIR, Mike 18 CAN 71 68 139 -3
T5 FURYK, Jim 18 USA 70 70 140 -2
T5 WEEKLEY, Boo 18 USA 68 72 140 -2
T7 ROMERO, Andres 18 ARG 71 70 141 -1
T7 CABRERA, Angel 18 ARG 68 73 141 -1
T7 WESTWOOD, Lee 18 ENG 71 70 141 -1
T7 FORSYTH, Alastair 18 SCO 70 71 141 -1
T7 GOOSEN, Retief 18 RSA 70 71 141 -1
T7 HENRY, J J 18 USA 70 71 141 -1
T13 BROADHURST, Paul 18 ENG 71 71 142 Par
T13 ELS, Ernie 18 RSA 72 70 142 Par
T13 HARRINGTON, Padraig 18 IRL 69 73 142 Par
T13 BOURDY, Gregory 18 FRA 70 72 142 Par
T13 PAMPLING, Rod 18 AUS 70 72 142 Par
T13 CINK, Stewart 18 USA 69 73 142 Par
T13 McGINLEY, Paul 18 IRL 67 75 142 Par

Sergio had a decent up and down day, but remains in the lead. KJ Choi was the biggest mover today. Tiger moved in the wrong direction finishing at 1-over, 7 shots from the lead.

What about Mike Weir, the Canadian, making moves himself.

Watch out for Miguel Angel Cabrera, he’s a solid euro player that could give Sergio a run for his money.

Jim Furyk and Boo Weekley are the best americans out there. Jim is doing his thing, grinding away. Phil Mickelson and John Daly both missed the cut.

As always, my full day two analysis later tonight…

Catch the Official Open Championship leaderboard here.

PGA Tour, British Open, Carnoustie, Sergio Garcia, Tiger Woods

(AFP/Getty Images)

It was cold, a little wet, and mostly overcast, typical weather for Open Championship golf at the links of Carnoustie. There weren’t too many surprises on day one, the leader through round one is Sergio Garcia who shot a 6-under 65 to lead by two. Paul McGinley led for quite a while before Sergio surged. Tiger Woods was one of the early starters finishing at 2-under. Jump on the link to read the rest…

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Heading into the weekend, one could mistaken the John Deere Classic as a Nationwide Tour event. Zach Johnson was the only big name on the board and he missed the cut today. What about John Daly or John Senden?? Send them home too. Australian Nathan Green is your clubhouse leader at 12-under par.

Carl Pettersson and Jason Dufner are T-2nd at one back. Neal Lancaster is 2 back. Man, Neal sure is a great interview, talking like a true southerner.

I have no idea who will take this come Sunday, but safe to say it won’t be a household name. I think at this point, people are looking forward to the British Open. Hell, Phil Mickelson is in second-place heading into the final rounds at the Scottish Open over there.

Enjoy your tee times this weekend folks, I know I will…

PGA Tour, John Deere Classic, Nathan Green, John Daly, Zach Johnson

As we gear up for the next major with the British Open next week, the AT&T National at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda (MD) this week is the last tune up tournament. And most of the big names are here this week, Tiger, Mickelson, Furyk, Singh, Scott, and many more. Let’s take a look at my Yahoo! fantasy picks.

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One of the stories at the Buick this week was that John Daly stayed over at Kid Rock’s place all week while playing the Buick Open near Detroit Michigan.

Kid was one of the throng that followed JD throughout the week. And JD played very well, his best finish of the week.

After golf, JD and Kid were kickin’ it at Kid’s favorite meatloaf joint and rocked the night away at Kid’s pad.

John Daly, Kid Rock, Buick Open

The leaders at the Buick keep playing musical chairs. They’ve had more leaders than you can count on two hands so far. At the end of round three, Tom Pernice Jr. leads at 13-under. Jesper Parnevik had the low round of the day, a blistering 64.

Jim Furyk had an up and down day, finished 1-under for his round and is two back. Scott Verplank is at 12-under and one back. Good to see John Daly back near the top of the leaderboard again.

Women’s US Open. There’s so much going on there, I can’t even keep up with the start and stops. All I really know is that Lorena Ochoa is close to the leaders.

Anyways, it’s late, good luck tomorrow folks…

PGA Tour, Buick Open, Tom Pernice Jr., John Daly, Women’s US Open

As reported by the Detroit Free Press, Carl’s Golfland in Plymouth (MI) is offering a promotion for six people to play three holes with John Daly who will running a clinic at the golf store next week.

The sideshow that is John Daly’s life is really getting ridiculous. I’m just waiting for him to show up on VH1’s Surreal Life. If Jose Conseco and Vanilla Ice can make the show, I’m sure they can fit John Daly in there. You never know, he might find another wife there or something.

John Daly, Carl’s Golfland

The PGA Tour Commisioner, the guy we love to hate, Tim Finchem says he is in favor of a drug testing policy for PGA players. On the one hand, I’d have to agree. Watching Robocop Tiger Woods play, there certainly will be some players out there that are looking to bulk up to be more Tiger-like and add more distance.

Then again, filling up an extra plate at the buffet line could be just as effective and fulfilling, just ask John Daly or Angel Cabrera.

While we are on the topic of performance-enhancers, one thing the PGA should look at is smoking cigarettes during rounds. I don’t care about the asthetics or stigma of smoking, but the advantage for players who can smoke to calm their nerves is completely unfair if you ask me. Don’t tell me that Angel would’ve won had he not been allowed to smoke in between holes. The guy was a nervous wreck and the cigarettes clearly gave him an unfair advantage to calm his nerves.

I wouldn’t be opposed if they had set cigarette breaks, like maybe after the front-nine. But puffing away during each hole heading down the stretch should not be acceptable.

Angel Cabrera, Tiger Woods, John Daly, Tim Finchem