July 29th, 2008
Greg Norman’s having quite a month of July! He got married; led the British Open into the final round and finished a very respectable third; and finished fifth in the British Senior Open last week. So much is the interest surrounding the 53-year-old, two-time British Open champion that the PGA offered him an exemption to play in next month’s PGA Championship. This to a man that played no professional golf in the month of May and only a few tournaments before that.
However, Norman declined, citing previous personal and professional committments. (After all, he is on his honeymoon.) Said Norman on his Web site, Shark.com, “I wish the PGA and Oakland Hills all the very best for what I’m sure will be a great week for golf.”
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By Sandy Mitchell -- 0 comments
July 28th, 2008
Just a week after his spectacular fifth place finish in the British Open, 20-year-old amateur, Chris Wood is joining the ranks of the pro golfers. The 6′ 5″ native of Bristol, England announced his intentions his morning. Wood won the Welsh National Amateur Championship earlier this year. He has already been invited to play in the British Masters, which will be held at The Belfry September 24 -28. I’m sure we’ll see more from this talented young golfer.
(photo © Newscom)
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By Sandy Mitchell -- 1 comment
July 26th, 2008
This weekend’s golf events include the Canadian Open and the Senior British Open. Below is the entire schedule:(all times are ET).
Saturday, July 26
8am - 11am - European Tour - Inteo Russian Open Championship in Moscow - Golf Channel
1pm - 4pm - LPGA - Evian Masters in Evian-les-Bains, France - Golf Channel
1pm - 4pm - Nationwide Tour - Children’s Hospital Invitational in Columbus, Ohio - Golf Channel
130pm - 3pm - Champions Tour - Senior Open in Ayrshire, Scottland - ABC
3pm - 6pm - PGA Tour - RBC Canadian Open in Oakville, Ontario - CBS
Sunday, July 27
8am - 11am - European Tour - Inteo Russian Open Championship in Moscow - Golf Channel
1pm - 4pm - LPGA - Evian Masters in Evian-les-Bains, France - Golf Channel
1pm - 4pm - Nationwide Tour - Children’s Hospital Invitational in Columbus, Ohio - Golf Channel
130pm - 3pm - Champions Tour - Senior Open in Ayrshire, Scottland - ABC
3pm - 6pm - PGA Tour - RBC Canadian Open in Oakville, Ontario - CBS
(photo © Newscom)
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By Sandy Mitchell -- 0 comments
July 25th, 2008
The top 75 golfers in the world are heading to my part of the country next week, to Akron for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The four-day tournament will be held at Firestone Country Club from July 28 to August 3. Barring rain, I hope to bring you lots of photos from the practice rounds.
This is historically Tiger Woods’ tournament. He’s won seven times, including last year, so it’s anyone’s guess who’ll be taking home the trophy this year with Tiger sidelined after knee surgery.
The Bridgestone Invitational Tournament (previously the NEC Invitational) begins at 1130am on Thursday and Friday, July 31 and August 1 and at 730am on Saturday and Sunday, August 2 and 3. Practice rounds are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Single day tickets for the tournament start are $55.
Firestone Country Club is located on the outskirts of Akron at 452 E. Warner Road, about 45 minutes from Cleveland.
(photo credit: Newscom)
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By Sandy Mitchell -- 0 comments
July 25th, 2008
Infiniti is giving away a new 2009 Infiniti FX35 AWD vehicle, but it’s the two first prizes in this sweepstakes that are perhaps of more interest to golf fans. The company is drawing for two trips to attend a golf championship (you get a choice of locations), including airfare, hotel accommodations, tickets to the golf tournament, and $500 spending money.
To enter, visit the Infiniti Web site. The sweepstakes is open to those 18 and older who reside in the 48 contiguous United States (no Hawaii or Alaska).
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By Sandy Mitchell -- 0 comments
July 23rd, 2008
Blog Talk Radio and Golf Magazine have gotten together to create Golf.com Radio, an interactive twice-weekly Internet radio broadcast, each 11am (Eastern) Monday and Friday. The 60-minute show is hosted by Golf Magazine veterans, Tommy Dee and Jessica Marksbury. Listeners can also call in an join the discussion. Not available on Monday and Friday mornings? You can access past broadcasts anytime. To tune in, follow this link.
(logo courtesy of Blog Talk Radio)
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By Sandy Mitchell -- 1 comment
July 23rd, 2008
Michelle Wie may be having trouble over at the LPGA Tour. She was disqualified in last week’s State Farm Classic and without a top-three finish in August’s CN Canadian Women’s Open, she is likely heading back to qualifying school. However, none of that is stopping the 18-year-old from testing her skills against the gentlemen of the PGA Tour–again.
Wie has secured a sponsor’s exemption to for the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open in Reno, beginning July 31. That’s the same week as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, where most of the top players will be competing. This is the 8th time that Wie has competed against in a PGA event. She has yet to make the cut.
(photo © Newcom)
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By Sandy Mitchell -- 1 comment
July 21st, 2008
Irishman, Padraig Harrington (pictured above with his family) quietly won Britain’s Open Championship yesterday, his second Open victory in a row and his first win since he was awarded the Claret Cup in 2007. While the world was fascinated by 53-year-old (and two-time Open winner) Greg Norman’s place at the top of the leaderboard, Harrington played solid golf all week, despite an injured wrist and brutal weather conditions that included up to 40 mph winds.
Though Norman was leading by one stroke going into the back nine on the final round, Harrington rose to the occasion, sinking three straight birdie putts and scoring an eagle on the 17th hole. It was enough to win by 4 strokes over Ian Poulter and 5 strokes over Norman and Henrik Stenson of Sweden, who tied for third.
Another noteworthy performance that got lost in all of the excitement was the 5th place finish of 20-year-old British amateur golfer, Chris Wood. Said Wood, “It was the best week of my life.”
…and they said that golf without Tiger would be boring!
(photo © Newscom)
Tags: british-open, greg norman, padraig harrington, royal birkdaleShare This
By Sandy Mitchell -- 0 comments
July 18th, 2008
As exciting as Britain’s Open Championship is turning out to be, it’s not the only golf event on television this weekend. Below is the entire schedule:(all times are ET).
Saturday, July 19
7am - 9am - The Open Championship - Royal Birkdale, England - TNT
9am - end of play - The Open Championship - Royal Birkdale, England - ABC
1pm - 3pm - LPGA - State Farm Classic in Springfield, Illinois - ESPN2
5pm - 7pm - Champions Tour - 3M Championship in Blaine, Minnesota - Golf Channel
Sunday, July 13
6am - 8am - The Open Championship - Royal Birkdale, England - TNT
8am - end of play - The Open Championship - Royal Birkdale, England - ABC
3pm - 5pm - LPGA - State Farm Classic in Springfield, Illinois - ESPN2
5pm - 7pm - Champions Tour - 3M Championship in Blaine, Minnesota - Golf Channel
The Nationwide Tour is in Springfield, Missouri for the Price Cutter Charity Championship and there is a PGA event, the US Bank Championship in Milwaukee. Neither is being televised.
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By Sandy Mitchell -- 0 comments
July 18th, 2008
Day two at Britain’s Open Championship, being played at Royal Birkdale in North West England, was a day of surprises and fickle weather. The day started out rainy, cold, and damp, just as yesterday’s weather had been. Those with a morning tee time had a lot to contend with. Then about mid-day the sun came out, the temperature warmed, and the scores started improving.
At the end of round two, there were some familiar and some surprising names at the top of the leader board. K J Choi managed a 3-under par round today to lead the field, but it’s the number two man–53-year-old Greg Norman–that has all of the golf announcers buzzing. They dismissed the Australian newlywed’s par 70 round yesterday as a fluke, but are forced to notice Norman today as he carded another 70.
Following him is Camilo Villegas at +1 and seven golfers, including Rocco Mediate and defending champion, Padraig Harrington at +2.
Also surprising are the names that failed to make the cut. They include six former Open champions–Paul Lawrie, Tom Watson, and John Daly among them. Daly ended the day tied for last place at +29. Others on their way home are Vijay Singh, Boo Weekley, Stewart Cink, and JB Holmes.
We shall see what tomorrow brings.
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By Sandy Mitchell -- 0 comments
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