Green Posse

Wow. It’s great to see Hale Irwin leading a Champions Tour event once again. Seems like it’s been ages since Irwin has been a factor on the senior circuit. Granted, there’s one round left to play, but I liken it to someone getting their sea legs all over again. He might not win this weekend but he’ll have been in the hunt and you can’t win unless you’re in the hunt.
Another suprise on the leaderboard is Ben Crenshaw. He had a fine PGA career but I’m not sure his health or his heart has been …read more

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Following the PGA Tour’s debut a couple of weeks ago in Hawaii, the Champions Tour kicks off this week at the 2007 MasterCard Championship at Hualalai. Upstarts Jay Haas and Loren Roberts will more than likely continue their dominance over the rest of the not-so-flat-bellies on the Tour that lives on forever.
I know I’m asking a lot, but please Hale, can you turn up the intensity just one last time this year? And then call it quits to retire for good. The one guy that comes closest to Irwin’s intensity is Brad (or is it Bart?) Bryant, …read more

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I read an article that said David Toms is now eligible for the World Golf Hall of Fame. What? I have no doubt David Toms is a great guy (though a little whiny at times), but is he really Hall of Fame material? According to this, all you need is 10 wins OR 2 major championships, OR 2 Players championship wins, and be at least 40 years old.
In other professional sports, the Hall of Fame really means something (okay, baseball needs fixing if they let Bonds in), and when you think football (American), visions of Walter …read more

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I was reading a few articles about Vijay Singh’s putting resurgence this year, and how it stems almost completely from using a belly putter. And it got me thinking about those that want to ban the use of it, and those that think it really isn’t making all that much difference in how someone putts.
If *I* were President, I’d ban belly putters, or any kind of putting instrument that can be anchored to your body. The golf swing (from the driver to the putter) is supposed to occur without any kind of outside influence or interference. The …read more

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Phil Mickelson kicks off his 2007 debut this week at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in Palm Desert, California and everyone is wondering what the 2007 version of Phil will bring to the tour. I personally think he’s over the 2006 U.S. Open meltdown (though the media probably won’t let him forget) and he actually win at least once before the Masters.
Phil’s too good of a player to let what happened last year affect him for very long. He’s a professional golfer and like most professional athletes, they have the ability to compartmentalize (and/or block them completely) …read more

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Tadd Fujikawa was a breath of fresh air at the Sony Open this past weekend, and for more than one reason. First and foremost, he generated excitement because he played excellent golf all four days and a with a good break here or there, he might have been in the mix late on Sunday. Granted, he doesn’t have the experience to really go toe-to-toe with the best in the world PGA Tour’s top players, but it would have been a good show.
The other positive that comes out of this is that Fujikawa’s performance relegates Michelle Wie to the …read more

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Paul Goydos, a journeyman professional on the PGA Tour, came from nowhere to win the Sony Open in Hawaii. Let’s be clear and understand that Goydos didn’t back into this win. He made the pressure putts when he needed to, unlike Charles Howell III. I was pulling hard for Howell III, but his lack of experience in the final group really showed today as he missed some critical shots.
This started as a shootout between Howell III and Luke Donald and they put on a show of how not to win a golf tournament. Both had numerous …read more

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Stranger things have happened, but an under-30 American player is leading the Sony Open in Hawaii after three rounds. Charles Howell III shot a brilliant round 65 and leads Luke Donald by one heading into the final round. I’ve watched Howell since he came out on tour a few years ago and this is probably the most consistent round he’s played in quite a while.
However, the tournament is far from over and he’s got Luke (what, me humble) Donald nipping at his heels, and if I were a betting man, I’d have to put money on Donald. …read more

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Luke Donald holds the lead at the Sony Open, half-way through the 2nd round and to a lot of people, it’s where he should be, they say, given all his talent. There’s no doubt Donald is one of a dozen or so young (under 30) international players that are the real deal. Does that mean he’s ordained to be the next great white hope? Hardly. Donald has plenty of stiff competition in his age bracket that will keep anyone from dominating golf (that comes from their generation).
I thought it was a little cocky on Donald’s part …read more

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Will McKenzie burst onto the scene at the Mercedes Benz Championship last week with a breath of fresh air that the tour needed, and he’s continued that magical ride this week at the Sony Open in Honolulu. He definitely relates more to the surfer-dude types than the straight-laced PGA Tour types, but his play has been oustanding again this week, and nothing like his surfer-dude friends.
At his press-conference yesterday, he talked about staying over on Maui because he thought he needed a root canal because of some tooth pain. A initial dental visit confirmed his fears, but the …read more

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