Green Posse

LPGA
Annika Sorenstam and Se Ri Pak are tied with two others for the lead after round 1 at the U.S. Women’s Open in Rhode Island. Sorenstam awoke from season-long funk and played very solid all day. Se Ri Pak is slowly startging to resemble the Se Ri from the “old days” when she battled Annika and Karrie Webb for the majors.
It’s very early in the tournament but Michelle Wie is only 1 back with Paula Creamer and Lorena Ochoa two back. American teen phenom Morgan Pressel shot a 76 and finds herself 7 back already. Pressel has been struggling with …read more

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Overview
Tim Finchem, the PGA Tour commissioner finally announced the long-awaited details of the FedEx Cup for 2007. Here’s the gist of the upcoming season:
Next year’s PGA tour season will comprise three distinct parts:

Part 1
FedEx Regular Season
Runs from January through late August

Part 2
FedEx Playoffs
Runs from late August through mid-September

Part 3
Fall Series
Runs from mid-September through December

Regular Season
For each regular-season event, the Fedex Cup will award 25,000 points with the winner of each event earning 4500 points, 2nd place will earn 2700 points, and so on. The four majors and the WGC events will award 27,500 and 26,250 points respectively to each …read more

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The Women’s U.S. Open starts tomorrow at the Rhode Island Country Club. The course is going to play long and wet as the northeast has been pounded by rain the last week or so. Everyone is picking a Wie/Sorenstam showdown on Sunday, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Sorenstam is still out of sorts with her game, and Wie’s putting is going to be her achilles heal yet again. It’s hard not to pick Annika, but there are too many players now that can take it deep and none of them are intimidated by …read more

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Is it me or is there an incredibly large discrepancy between the LPGA and PGA tournament purses? Looking at the disbursement of money from this past weekend’s PGA and LPGA events respectively, it’s quite shocking to see that the women golfers are playing for less than a third of what the men are playing for. Granted, neither of these tournaments are top-tier events (or middle-tier for that matter), but I think the purses are indicative of the average tournaments on both tours.
So what’s causing the discrepancy? Many things, not the least of which is the TV money …read more

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LPGA
The Women’s U.S. Open starts this week and for the first time in a very long time, Annika Sorenstam is not the prohibitive favorite. Yes, she’s still number one in the world, but her dominance is fading quickly this year as the competition has stepped it up. Not only do you have the LPGA’s “young guns” making noise, but the Asian players are ready to completely dominate, and even veterans Se Ri Pak and Karrie Webb have won again.To keep it in perspective however, Sorenstam might be having just an off year, as many players before her …read more

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PGA
Ben Curtis will have to wait yet one more day to close the deal and win only his second PGA tournament. Play was suspended at the Booz Allen Classic because of weather and will resume on Monday. Curtis has an 8-shot lead with 7 holes remaining and is pretty much a lock on finally getting his 2nd tour win since 2003.
LPGA
Jeong Jang shot a final round 70 to win by one at the Wegmans LPGA tournament in New York. Julieta Granada shot a 5-under 67 and finished second with Brittany Lang and Marcy Hart yet two strokes …read more

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PGA
Suprising as it may seem, Ben Curtis is still leading the Booz Allen Classic after three rounds. Curtis shot a 4-under 67 and now leads by 5 over Brett Quigley. Curtis has struggled since he won the Open Championship three years ago in one of the most bizarre Open’s in many years. That same year, Shaun Micheel also caught lightning in a bottle and won the PGA Championship and like Curtis, has struggled to win again.
LPGA
Jeong Jang shot a 66 on Saturday at the Wegmans LPGA and leads Mi Hyun Kim heading into Sunday’s final round. …read more

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PGA
Ben Curtis shot a 9-under 62 at the Booz Allen Classic and leads Jeff Gove by 1 shot. Rumor has it that this tournament may disappear for a year or two while the PGA tries to secure a sponsor for next year. The Booz Allen Classic was left out of the “Chase for the Cup” and had its date moved to the fall, well after next year’s new Tour Championship kicks off.
LPGA
Shu Hyun Ahn shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday and is leading by one over Brittany Lang at the Wegmans. Ahn has been playing very consistent …read more

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Women’s Public Links Championship
The Women’s Public Links Championship is being played just 45 minutes south of where I live so I’ll be attending this weekend’s matches in Pueblo, Colorado. The tournament is being played at Walking Stick Golf Course, a layout my brother and I have played many times over the years. It’s a links-style par-72 golf course that is being played to 6,263 yards this week and the women shouldn’t have too much trouble with the course as it’s in excellent shape (we played it a week ago).
PGA
So how will the death of Tiger’s father, and his …read more

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One more column on the U.S. Open and I swear it’s the last! Actually I’d like to comment on the television coverage that was provided by NBC and The Golf Channel (pre/post game shows).
NBC
Is it me or did I detect that NBC reigned in Johnny Miller this year? He didn’t seem to offer his usual (and refreshing) candor during the tournament, especially on Sunday afternoon. I know Miller gets the ire up of some people because he calls it like he sees it, but he says things that most of us are thinking, and he’s right on …read more

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