Golf Talk

Lefty wins in Shanghai.

After a fantastic round three performance by Phil Mickelson where he shot a 4-under 68 to take a 2-shot lead over Ross Fisher of England, Phil struggled to force a playoff in the final round and survived to claim the win in the end. Still, Phil picks up and gets back on track after finishing 16 shots back in the Singapore Open a week ago.

Believe it or not, the win is only Phil’s second win outside of the US, the other 14 years ago in France. This is a new fresh Phil that we are seeing, after years of refusing to play outside of the US, we’ve seen Phil play in Scotland earlier in the year and now in Asia. The $5 million dollar purse probably has something to do with it, but Phil was described to be extremely polite, courteous and jovial all week with fans in Shanghai. Phil filled a big void after having Tiger here for a couple of years in a row. And while Phil isn’t asian like Tiger, he has a certain aura around him that fans anywhere can appreciate.

As for the competition, Nick Fisher and Lee Westwood, both from England, forced the three-way tie with Phil Mickelson in the final round. Nick actually led for most of the final round before dropping a bogey on 18 and allowing Phil to tie. Meanwhile, Lee was 9 shots back of Phil to start the day but 5 straight and a total of 6 birdies on the front nine allowed him to get into contention and tie by the 18th. Nick was 141st in the world ranking coming in and will most likely move up into the top 100, Lee Westwood will probably move a up a couple of spots as well.

Asian Tour, Shanghai, Phil Mickelson

Lefty enjoying himself in China.

After two rounds at the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, Kevin Stadler continues to lead but has Phil Mickelson hot on his trails. Lefty finished his second round with a 66 to get to 10-under overall and just 1-shot behind second round leader Kevin Stadler. Stadler led after the first round by shooting the low round of the tournament with a 64 and had a solid 69 in the second round to maintain his lead through two rounds.

Other big names like Vijay Singh are lurking in fifth at 7-under and 4-shots behind Stadler. US Open champion Angel Cabrera British Open winner Padraig Harrington are in a log jam at 4-under after shooting even-par rounds of 72.

Reports say Phil Mickelson has been out on the town checking out the sights in between rounds. As for his play so far today, Phil has this to say, “It was a good day today. I made a few putts coming in and that feels good heading into the weekend.”

With the weekend action left, I’m predicting a duel between Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh. Phil has been consistently good in the first couple of rounds and Vijay usually plays well in Asia.

If you’re still wondering why all these top players, 10 out of the top 20 are in Shanghai to play what appears to be a meaningless tournament, the $5 million purse is the sole reason. It is officially an Asian Tour event sanctioned by the European Tour among others. Lets face it, money talks and when you follow the money, usually you’ll find the action.

Asian Tour, Shanghai, Phil Mickelson

Scottie in the driver seat after two.

In a busy weekend of golf, there are 3 separate tournaments taking place around the world. And you thought they didn’t play golf in the winter…

Disney Classic:

We’ll start on the continental USA where the PGA’s final stop in the fall series is the Disney Classic in Lake Buena Vista (FL) just outside of Orlando. Scott Verplank is your clubhouse leader after 2 rounds at 12-under. Canadian Stephen Ames shot the low round of the day a 63 to get into a three-way tie with Tag Ridings (66) and Ryan Armour (64) for second just 1-shot behind Verplank at 11-under.

Singapore Open:

US Open champion Angel Cabrera is your clubhouse leader at the Singapore Open, part of the Asian Tour. After all the hoopla over Ernie Els decision to skip the ET for the Singapore Open, Els shot a 5-over today and missed the cut. Hey, maybe now he can fly to Spain and watch Justin Rose pick up his Order of Merit. Back to the results, Phil Mickelson was the other big name, but had an off-round shooting 1-over par and is currently ninth and six shots behind Cabrera.

Volvo Masters:

Justin Rose and British Open champion Padraig Harrington are duking it out for the Order of Merit that should be going to Ernie Els. Rose is at 4-under par for the tournament after shooting 5 birdies in the back nine of his round today and is the only player under par after two rounds. Rival Padraig Harrington is at even-par after two rounds.

PGA Tour, Disney Classic, Singapore Open, Volvo Masters

Phil can’t seem to keep his eyes open for this one.

The former US Amateur champion, Ryan Moore, shot a blistering 63 yesterday to take the lead heading into today’s round at the Frys.com open. Meanwhile, the biggest name in the field this week, Phil Mickelson struggled to find any consistency and wound up with a 71 for a 1-over total and missed the cut.

Ryan Moore is from the Seattle-area, so he’s a familiar name around my parts. After having surgery to repair his left hand last year, he has struggled with his shot making. But Moore made a slight swing change a week ago and it appears that he has it going on again. Despite the hand problems, Moore had a decent year going. Three runner up finishes and a possible win this week would go a long way to establishing himself as a possible major championship contender come April.

Other contenders include Mark Hensby, Ben Crane, and Daisuke Maruyama all at 8-under. Mike Weir is at 7-under. With a full 3-shot lead, I think Ryan holds them off and takes this by Sunday, though stranger things have happened.

As for Phil Mickelson, what else can you expect? Phil hadn’t played in almost a month (who knows what he was doing during his time off) and just really hasn’t been in any competition since. In fact, at the President’s Cup, Phil’s last competitive golf activity, Phil appeared to be more interested in Ping Pong than actually playing to win.

Joining Phil for early exists include John Daly, Aaron Baddeley and David Duval.

PGA Tour, Frys.com, Ryan Moore, Phil Mickelson

Who knew Phil was such a ping-pong guy.

Final Score
United States 19.5
Internationals 14.5

Well, it never turned out to be the barn-burner we all hoped it would be. The Internationals never really showed up for this one, other than Mike Weir who scored the most points for the Internationals. Big ups to Mike as there were plenty of questions regarding his selection by Gary Player for the last roster spot. Mike stepped up in front of the hometown crowd and gave them something to cheer about, faced the pressure and delivered. As for his win over Tiger on Sunday, as inconsequential as it was for the overall President’s Cup score, it was huge for Mike. It ends his season on a high note and hopefully he can continue the momentum into next season. In the grander scheme of things for Tiger Woods, the loss was insignificant. Tiger is terrible in these team events and some have wondered whether he even adds value to Team USA.

Quote of the day goes to Phil Mickelson. After destroying Vijay Singh 5-4 on Sunday, Phil said that the best part of the whole week was playing ping-pong with his Team USA teammates in between rounds. Phil went on to say that there are some good ping-pong players on the team and that they went at it pretty good. Now it all makes sense, Team USA are horsing around with ping-pong led by their fearless ping-pong leader Phil Mickelson, meanwhile Team World was busy practicing trying to win. And guess who wins, the team that plays ping-pong. That’s classic.

Day 4 - Singles

Match 23
Team US Scott Verplank
2 and 1
Team Int’l Rory Sabbatini

Match 24
Team US Lucas Glover
2 up
Team Int’l Ernie Els

Match 25
Team US Phil Mickelson
5 and 4
Team Int’l Vijay Singh

Match 26
Team US Tiger Woods
1 up
Team Int’l Mike Weir

Match 27
Team US Woody Austin
2 and 1
Team Int’l Angel Cabrera

Match 28
Team US Zach Johnson
2 and 1
Team Int’l Adam Scott

Match 29
Team US David Toms
2 up
Team Int’l Trevor Immelman

Match 30
Team US Stewart Cink
6 and 4
Team Int’l Nick O’Hern

Match 31
Team US Steve Stricker
1 up
Team Int’l Geoff Ogilvy

Match 32
Team US Hunter Mahan
3 and 2
Team Int’l K.J. Choi

PGA Tour, President’s Cup

Phil doesn’t appear to have a worry in the world

Final Score after Day 2 four-ball:
United States 7
Internationals 5

Match 7
Team US Mickelson/ Mahan
1 up
Team Int’l Cabrera/ Goosen

Match 8
Team US Woods/ Furyk
5 and 4
Team Int’l Singh/ Appleby

Match 9
Team US Johnson/ Howell III
3 and 1
Team Int’l Els/ Weir

Match 10
Team US Stricker/ Verplank
2 and 1
Team Int’l Scott/ Choi

Match 11
Team US Cink/ Glover
1 up
Team Int’l Ogilvy/ O’Hern

Match 12
Team US Austin/ Toms
Halved
Team Int’l Immelman/ Sabbatini

So it would appear that I spoke too soon yesterday when I said that the Americans were running away with this thing. As Mike Pedersen commented, Tiger Woods had his worst match play loss ever (which says alot considering his record in team match play is not all that impressive to begin with). The Americans just looked out of sync all day. Despite getting walloped, I saw Tiger laughing most of the day, Phil frolicking with his wife, and Jack still had a smile from ear to ear. Maybe they know something that we don’t.

Biggest gaffe of the day goes to Stewart Cink who missed a short 3-footer on the 17th and would end up losing the match by one. I bet Jack is re-thinking about that 4 and a half footer he conceded yesterday to Singh/Weir, or maybe not, again they seem to know something we don’t based on their demeanor.

The biggest story of the entire tournament so far has been Woody Austin. They should make him the captain, he’s playing like a man possessed. Call him Roy McAvoy, he’s lighting it up.

Tomorrow we can look forward to a mixture of foursomes and four-ball play. As usual, Saturday sets up for the big finish so it’s the critical day for either the Americans to re-establish a big lead or for Team World to take the lead themselves. We’ll see soon how this thing finishes out.

PGA Tour, President’s Cup

Photo by Ryan Remiorz, The Canadian Press

These greens are funky, watch me slide, says Tiger

The final leg of Tim Finchem’s “playoffs” experiment, the Fedex Cup, concludes this week with the TOUR Championship in Atlanta. What could’ve been a disaster turned out to be a non-issue as players arrived this week to find the greens in pretty decent shape, we’ll see if that pans out with tournament play on Thursday. The field, as many of you should know by now, has been reduced to just 30. Supposedly the top 30 in the world, but there would be more than a few players who would argue against that. In any case, I’ll give you my Yahoo!fantasy picks as always, just read on.

A List

I believe half of the field is in the A list this week so you’ll have your pick of the litter to choose from.

Tiger Woods - Hard not to pick TW given that he’s been so good recently. He’s pretty much assured himself of the $10 million prize but Tiger plays to impress rather than cash in so we’re thinking he plans to avenge his loss to Phil a couple of weeks ago.

Phil Mickelson - Another Tiger vs. Phil matchup would be nice to see. I actually don’t think that this will be the case come Sunday but should Phil win, not only would he claim the $10 million prize, he could say he made Tiger his biatch twice in a row (ya, wishful thinking, I know).

B List

Justin Rose, Steve Stricker, Sergio Garcia and Camilo Villegas

Justin Rose is probably the best player in the world this year to not win a single event, sucks to be him, good for us fantasy dorks though. Steve Stricker is hotter than Natalie Gulbis in a bikini right now, the cup is more like a basketball hoop for him right now. Sergio Garcia continues to be, the best player to never have won a major. Camilo, I just like the way he lines up his putts, he won’t win.

C List

Brandt Snedeker and Hunter Mahan

The odds are stacked against either of these guys to win, but you have to pick someone so I went with these two young guns. Brandt, Mr. no practice swing guy, and Hunter, the 1 round wonder.

TV coverage will be the Golf Channel on Thu/Fri and NBC on Sat/Sun. Maybe Johnny Miller will drop another F-bomb on air, that was freakin’ hilarious.

Oh, in case you are wondering, yes, the Solheim Cup is this week as well. Talk about buzz-kill, the Fedex Cup wraps up the same time, then NCAAF, then NFL, even Women’s Soccer World Cup is getting more play. Poor ladies, oh well, they’ll get over it, they’re used to getting shafted. At least they get dope gear according to Natalie Gulbis.

PGA Tour, Fedex Cup, TOUR Championship, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

It’s Phil Mickelson’s turn to take shots at Tim Finchem and his “playoffs”. Phil officially confirmed that he is skipping the BMW next week but said he will be back for the TOUR Championship the following week.

The thing I have a problem with is Phil taking shots at Finchem, then making up excuses for himself for not going next week. First, Phil said this on Monday in his interview with NBC after winning,

“My frustration from this past year came from asking for a couple of things in the FedEx Cup that weren’t done and not really feeling all that bad now if I happen to miss (an event),”

Then Phil follows that up by releasing the following statement today (Tuesday),

“This decision was not an easy one to make, and in no way is meant as disrespectful to the tour or ’sending a message’ to anyone. I’ve talked for weeks about needing to find a balance between my game, my business affairs and my family, and now is the time for me to take some time off.”

Well, which one is it Phil?? Are you taking the week off to show up Finchem? Or do you really need to be with your family? You can’t have it both ways, sounds like a sour puss to me…

Phil Mickelson, Fedex Cup, BMW Championship, Tim Finchem

As predicted, Phil took down the champ (ie. Tiger) on Monday displaying his nice touch with his iron and money putts from within 10 feet. Tiger charged hard late with a few birdies, but Phil was equal to the challenge holing some birdies of his own. Aaron Oberholser and Brett Wetterich were a couple of putts from making it interesting but just couldn’t make the charge. So Phil got the best of Tiger today, but somehow the result doesn’t seem as significant as it should be. Part of the reason is because for all intense and purposes, the season is over. We were waiting for this matchup back in April thru Aug, the heart of the golf season, not in September when football is gearing up.

The other big story, of course, is whether or not Phil will be playing next week. In his post-win interview on NBC, Phil hinted at some conflict with PGA Commisioner Tim Finchem. I don’t blame Phil if he doesn’t play next week. This whole damn format is odd. It’s September, players want to be with their families, take their kids to school. They’ve just beaten themselves up for 6, some for 8 months, and now we have to play 4 more events?

PGA Tour, Fedex Cup, Deutsche Bank Championship, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

The stars have aligned to give us the much anticipated Tiger/Phil pairing on a rare Monday final round at the Deutsche Bank Championship. But the leader going in is Brett Wetterich and if he has anything to say, Tiger nor Phil will be the story on Monday. Wetterich shot a steady 5-under 66 round to get to a 13-under total. Phil is at 11-under and Tiger at 10-under. Mike Weir had the fall of the day on Sunday, going from leader to a T35, poor Mike.

I really like Phil on Monday. I just think he’s putting really well and he’s sticking his irons within 10 feet. Tiger will always threaten but I haven’t seen that real killer instinct all week, he’s been too laid-back. But that could change on Monday, you never know with Tiger.

Aaron Baddeley is just a weird anomaly. One minute he looks like he could runaway with this thing, then another he’s floundering. He’s got to keep his emotions in check.

Watch out, Angel Cabrera made a major move shooting a 65 and is just 4-shots back, we all know what he can do.

Should be a fantastic final round, see you at the finish line…

PGA Tour, Fedex Cup, Deutsche Bank Championship, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Brett Wetterich

A day after the big three, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh laid eggs, they fired back with the low rounds of the day on day 2. But, they’re still behind, Mike Weir, Aaron Baddeley and Rich Beem lead at 9-under. Phil is at 8-under and Tiger is at 6-under.

Watch out for Ryan Moore and Sean O’Hair who are at 8-under. I think Ryan Moore is due to break out.

As for my fantasy pool, I had a big boost today as Aaron Baddeley jumped to number one, Phil had the low round, so I’m sitting pretty.

Early tee time tomorrow here on the west coast, see you all tomorrow…

PGA Tour, Fedex Cup, Deutsche Bank Championship, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, Rich Beem, Aaron Baddeley

The first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Boston (MA) was a forgettable one for the Tour’s top three players, namely Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh. Tiger shot 1-over, Phil is at 1-under and Vijay shot 3-over. Your first round leader is Camilo Villegas, the Columbian sensation. He shot a blistering 8-under. My hometown homie Mike Weir is tied for second along with former US Amateur champ and Seattle-native Ryan Moore at 6-under.

The big news of the day was a spat between Phil and Vijay. Phil hit a shot into the trees on nine and wanted to hit a provisional (quite common when your ball goes into the void). Well, Vijay had a fit and was sayin’ all this jazz about how that was against the rules to hit a provisional and b*tched about getting an official to intervene. Long story short, the provisional was not needed as Phil found his ball, hit it into the fairway, hit it into some other trees and carded a double. Thanks a lot Vij… prick…

PGA Tour, Fedex Cup, Deutsche Bank Championship, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas, Mike Weir, Ryan Moore

Most if not all will show up for this year’s Deutsche Bank in Boston (MA) starting on Friday for the second round. The most notable absentee is Ernie Els who flew home to see his kids off to school instead. Tiger Woods, aka the PGA Tour, will be there and yes, he is the overwhelming favorite so that he can slap his name on the winner’s trophy like everything else he owns. So who will be there to challenge world supremacy? Phil Mickelson for one. Jump on the link to see my picks.

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KJ Choi aka “The Tank” surged ahead on Friday with a 3-under round to get to 11-under overall. Talk of the day, however, was the re-emergence of “The Beemer”, Rich Beem. Ever since his memorable dance to win the PGA Championship a few years ago, Richie boy has done squat. He’s 2-shots back to start and looking to come out of the darkness and back into the light.

Couple of my boys, Steve Stricker and Ernie Els are still pretty close. Vijay Singh missed the cut and Phil Mickelson is struggling with his putter.

Should be a nice finish, though I don’t expect many “playoff” moments. Enjoy the tee times folks, I’m out…

PGA Tour, Fedex Cup, Barclay’s, KJ Choi, Rich Beem

Rory “I’m Tiger’s B*tch” Sabbatini took the first round lead at the Barclay’s on Thursday carding a 63, good for 8-under. Ernie Els is lurking at 2-back and Phil Mickelson is at 4-under.

The talk of the day though is the over-promotion of the Fedex Cup, like a Monday Night Football game, the Fedex logo was plastered everywhere. It was all over the course, on the cups, the umbrellas, in the parking lot, on the street. Damn, Tim Finchem is one insecure dude. Frank Nobilo of the Golf Channel said that the mood was rather subdued all week. Not exactly the kind of atmosphere a “playoff” should be IMO.

Anyways, back to golf, my pick Vijay Singh went into the dumpster, shot a 4-over round. Thankfully, I still have Ernie and will play him out. Should be a good finish, I don’t think Rory will hang on to the end.

PGA Tour, Fedex Cup, Barclay’s, Rory Sabbatini