Green Posse

Lorena Ochoa had a mini-meltdown today on the 17th hole of the Nabiso Championship and ended up with a quadruple bogey on the hole, and she’s now 5 shots back of the leader, Se Ri Pak. Ochoa hit a loose tee shot on the 17th tee and ended up in some very tall grass and she tried to hit a flop shot, the club slid underneath the ball, never touching it. Ouch. That’s not that hard to do actually, but I am surprised she tried the flop shot and not the explosion shot that probably would have …read more

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Only the first-round is complete, but the Korean’s have started strong for the first women’s major of the year. Shi Hyun Ahn leads Lorean Ochoa by one stroke anad 4 others by two heading into tomorrow’s second round. Defending champion Karrie Webb is part of that pack that’s two back so look for her to be around come Sunday.
And what about Annika? She shot 75 and is 7 back, and while she’s not out of the tournament, she’ll have to shoot 64 or 65 tomorrow to have any chance at all of making a run over the …read more

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I know I’ve said that Annika Sorenstam still has the drive, motivation, and game to be the best in the world for another couple of years for sure. But from reading Annika’s comments lately about her excitement about life after golf (and specifically about her golf academy), I’m becoming less convinced. And that’s not a bad thing at all. Annika needs to do what’s best for her and if her post-golf life is calling, then she should pursue it.
And it would be easy to say that the influx of younger players might be pushing her harder towards …read more

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I think there’s too much being made about Sergio Garcia spitting in the cup after his retrieving his ball in last week’s CA Championship at Doral. Yes, it was “conduct unbecoming” for sure, but everyone once in a while it’s good see a professional golfer lose his cool, and I don’t think it’s going to create a problem for golf clubs around the country with guys spitting in cups.

The hype has already started for the women’s first major of the year, the Nabisco Championship, and Karrie Webb is the media darling this week and has been picked by …read more

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Oddly, there were plenty of “experts” who weren’t convinced Lorena Ochoa would be a factor in last week’s Safeway International in Arizona. Well, look again because Ochoa continues to prove her naysayers wrong, and this time she did it in fashion when she birdied 4 of the last 5 holes to win by two over Suzann Pettersen.
Petterson played extremely well on Sunday and put pressure on Ochoa early in the round, but Lorena answered when it really mattered, and that was coming down the stretch. I still think Ochoa doesn’t get the credit she …read more

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It wasn’t the most convincing win of Tiger’s career, that’s for sure, but he was the last man standing at the WGC – CA Championship at Doral. And you have to give a lot of credit to Brett Wetterich for hanging tough with Woods the entire back nine. Woods reminded me today of football teams that play just well enough to win when they don’t have their best stuff, but manage to just hang in long enough to pull it together.
And how does this win bode for Tiger’s confidence going into Augusta? I’d say that he’s got …read more

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Watching Tiger play has always been exciting because you never really know how he’s going to perform. When he’s on like he was at the Open Championship last year, then it’s like watching a surgeon perform; very calculating and awesome. Other times, he’s one bad swing away from a train wreck (last week’s 43 is a good example). And other times, he’s just slightly off, but seems further away than he really is, like today. His driving was average, but his approach shots were mostly stellar, and his putter was hot and cold most of the …read more

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Was watching the CA Championship on the Golf Channel this evening and I was just wondering if the famed “Blue Monster” is actually a tough enough course for these guys. Yes, 18 can be a tough hole, especially on Sunday coming in, but in general it’s a flat course and though it has lots of bunkers, they are manicured quite nicely and the players are not having too many problems getting out of them.
If the World Golf Championships is associated with a tournament and golf course, it should be near the cream of the crop in toughness. Yeah, …read more

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The LPGA released its list of banned substances today that it will begin testing for in 2008. The list includes beta-blockers, anabolic steroids, stimulants, and other items not yet identified. I’m still not convinced (though I could be wrong) that even if golfers (male or female) were taking any type of performance-enhancing drugs, it would hurt them more than it would help them.
Golf requires far more control of your subtle reflexes than any other sport I can think of, and while a performance-enhancing drug may give that extra edge when it comes to clubhead speed and more distance, …read more

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Okay, I’m just kidding about the title of this musing. Or am I? Okay, I am. But, is it me, or am I the only one on this planet that doesn’t understand the love fest between Woods and Federer? I think it’s great that Tiger respects Federer for his accomplishments on the tennis circuit, but I don’t understand the media comparing their accomplishments as if they were on the same plane. Not even close in my book.
When Woods wins a golf tournament, he has to be the entire field over four days. And while …read more

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