Golf Swing articles golfswing001.blogspot.com: January 2013

Monday, January 28, 2013

Singh calls out Mickelson for long spikes

Updated: April 8, 2005, 10:13 PM ET

By Jason Sobel | ESPN.com

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- As the plot thickens, the soap opera known as "The Big Four" just keeps getting edgier.

APMickelson was asked to have his spikes checked twice on the 13th hole.

On a day when much of The Masters' second round was washed out due to rain, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelsonprovided the most excitement at Augusta National.

It wasn't their golf games -- though both top players were on the leaderboard come Friday evening -- but rather a tiff during the completion of their first round that offered the day's juiciest story.

Singh, playing in the group behind Mickelson, complained to rules officials that the defending Masters champion was leaving large spike marks in the greens.

"On the 13th hole, two officials approached me at two different times," Mickelson said in a statement after his round. "They were sent by Vijay to check my spikes because he felt they were unduly damaging the greens. If that is the case, I am very apologetic and will make every effort to tap down what spike marks I may make in the future.

"However, I was extremely distracted and would have appreciated if it would have been handled differently or after the round."

Mickelson proceeded to make par on the 13th hole, then bogeyed 14 and made par on his final four holes.

While his momentum was stopped on the course, the feud certainly wasn't.

"After sitting in the locker for a while, I heard Vijay talking to other players about it and I confronted him," Mickelson said. "He expressed his concerns. I expressed my disappointment with the way it was handled. I believe everything is fine now."

Perhaps fine wouldn't best describe the relationship between Mickelson and Singh, but there are no issues as far as the tournament officials are concerned.

"There was some spike that apparently tore up some grass, and Phil was the one that got blamed," said Will Nicholson, chair of Augusta National's competition committee. "One of our officials talked to Phil to see if there was a burr on the side of one of his spikes. He very generously, as you know he would, said he would change them when he got in if there was a problem. There wasn't."

AP"I was extremely distracted," said Mickelson, who played the final six holes in 1 over.

Singh was unavailable for comment after his round.

According to the Associated Press, Callaway Golf spokesman Larry Dorman said Mickelson changed to eight-millimeter spikes sometime before The Players Championship, which was held two weeks ago. He had been using six-millimeter spikes.

Professional golfers often use metal spikes and there is no USGA rule about how long those spikes can be.

All this could set up a fascinating weekend, where it's conceivable these two players could be paired together in the final round. Currently, Singh owns sole possession of fourth place at 4 under, while Mickelson is tied for seventh two strokes back.

This episode comes just three weeks after tour player Tom Pernice, a friend of Singh, reportedly asked that Bay Hill Invitational officials check the coefficient of restitution -- or spring-like effect -- of Woods' driver. The club was found to be well within the legal limits on tour.

Mickelson and Woods have had their public exchanges as well. Two years ago, Mickelson was quoted in Golf Magazine as saying Tiger plays with "inferior equipment," a comment Woods didn't take lightly.

"He hates that I can fly it past him now," Mickelson said. "Tiger is the only player who is good enough to overcome the equipment he's stuck with."

"I really don't worry about other players or what they think," Woods countered. "The real measuring stick on the PGA Tour is how much you win, and that is what drives me to compete at such a high level."

The two Americans were paired together at last year's Ryder Cup and lost both matches they played.

Singh is currently ranked No. 1 in the world, with Woods a close second and Mickelson in fourth.

And what of the other member of the Big Four, the one keeping his name out of the gossip pages?

That's Ernie Els, the only one to never publicly feud with his fellow elite players. After all, they don't call him the Big Easy for nothing.

Jason Sobel is ESPN.com's golf editor. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com

Alternate Shot: Masters on Monday?

Updated: April 8, 2005, 10:02 PM ET

ESPN.com/Golf Digest

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- If Sunday at Augusta National is like a sacred holiday, then the following statement could very well be sacrilegious: The Masters could end on Monday.

For the second straight day, heavy rain and lightning forced suspension of play well before the round was over. With a smaller field than most PGA Tour events, tournament officials will have a better chance of completing everything by Sunday evening ... but that doesn't mean it will actually happen.

ESPN.com's Jason Sobel and Golf World's Ron Sirak debate whether we'll still be watching golf from Augusta this Monday.

Will The Masters end on Monday?
YES Well, since a Monday finish at The Masters would essentially kill the television viewing pleasures of golf fans around the world, we should treat this topic as if it's on trial. That said, the prosecution would like to present Exhibit A to the court: the 2005 PGA Tour schedule. In case you haven't seen it, the list of cities the tour has visited reads like a Who's Who of storm warnings, flash floods and other climatic aberrations. The Nissan Open was shortened to 36 holes, the Players Championship was finished late on a Monday and the BellSouth Classic ... wait a minute, did they ever finish that thing? The point is, a precedent has been set. Mother Nature doesn't like her golf to end on Sundays. Which brings us to Exhibit B: Hootie and the greencoats who run Augusta National. Now, don't get us wrong, we love the course and they serve up a mean pimento cheese sandwich, but at least a few hours were wasted on Friday morning. Players continued their first rounds at 9:45 a.m., rather late considering there were nearly three hours of sunlight earlier in the day. Same thing will happen Saturday, when the second round doesn't continue until 8:30 a.m. If the tournament can't end on Sunday, officials can point to these lost morning hours as reason why. And, finally, Exhibit C: the players. There are too many good golfers near the top of the leaderboard. That makes us nervous about the dreaded "P" word; dreaded, that is, if you can't sit around watching a playoff on Monday, because that's just when this Masters may end. Ladies and gentlemen, the prosecution rests. – Jason Sobel ESPN.com	NO If you are planning on playing hooky on Monday, make a tee time. You don't have to worry about being in front of the tube to watch the conclusion of The Masters. That will happen Sunday evening, when it always does. There are two reasons why the green-jacket ceremony won't be pushed back to the first day of the work week. Primary among those reasons is the fact that among the many quaint traditions of The Masters is the fact that it has such a small field. With only 92 competitors here, now that Billy Casper has taken his 105 and gone home, tournament officials have every opportunity to bring this rain and lightning-delayed mess to an on-time conclusion. After the cut, there will be fewer than 50 survivors compared to the more than 70 at a regular PGA Tour event. Here's the way I'm thinking things will play out. By the end of daylight on Saturday, 45 holes will be in the record book. That means they will need to play 27 holes on Sunday. The traditional tee time for the final group on the final day is shortly before 3 p.m. If the leaders finish the third round by 1:30, there will be no problem. As long as we don't have a sudden-death playoff (and I can't even believe I've raised that possibility), Phil Mickelson will be slipping the green jacket on the new champion in the fading light of Sunday evening. Now the other reason I think play will definitely end on time here is that I'm guessing the members of Augusta National Golf Club have a card up their sleeve we don't know about. Nothing -- neither rain nor snow nor Martha Burk -- stops this tournament. I'm thinking they have something like some giant fans hidden away they will bring out to blow the clouds away. Or maybe they've installed a dome and just haven't opted to use it yet. There still are no females in this club and Mother Nature is not going to become an honorary member this week. We're ending on Sunday because that's the way Augusta National wants it. – Ron Sirak Golf World

Will The Masters end on Monday?

YES

Well, since a Monday finish at The Masters would essentially kill the television viewing pleasures of golf fans around the world, we should treat this topic as if it's on trial.

That said, the prosecution would like to present Exhibit A to the court: the 2005 PGA Tour schedule. In case you haven't seen it, the list of cities the tour has visited reads like a Who's Who of storm warnings, flash floods and other climatic aberrations. The Nissan Open was shortened to 36 holes, the Players Championship was finished late on a Monday and the BellSouth Classic ... wait a minute, did they ever finish that thing? The point is, a precedent has been set. Mother Nature doesn't like her golf to end on Sundays.

Which brings us to Exhibit B: Hootie and the greencoats who run Augusta National. Now, don't get us wrong, we love the course and they serve up a mean pimento cheese sandwich, but at least a few hours were wasted on Friday morning. Players continued their first rounds at 9:45 a.m., rather late considering there were nearly three hours of sunlight earlier in the day. Same thing will happen Saturday, when the second round doesn't continue until 8:30 a.m. If the tournament can't end on Sunday, officials can point to these lost morning hours as reason why.

And, finally, Exhibit C: the players. There are too many good golfers near the top of the leaderboard. That makes us nervous about the dreaded "P" word; dreaded, that is, if you can't sit around watching a playoff on Monday, because that's just when this Masters may end.

Ladies and gentlemen, the prosecution rests.

– Jason Sobel
ESPN.com

If you are planning on playing hooky on Monday, make a tee time. You don't have to worry about being in front of the tube to watch the conclusion of The Masters. That will happen Sunday evening, when it always does.

There are two reasons why the green-jacket ceremony won't be pushed back to the first day of the work week. Primary among those reasons is the fact that among the many quaint traditions of The Masters is the fact that it has such a small field. With only 92 competitors here, now that Billy Casper has taken his 105 and gone home, tournament officials have every opportunity to bring this rain and lightning-delayed mess to an on-time conclusion. After the cut, there will be fewer than 50 survivors compared to the more than 70 at a regular PGA Tour event.

Here's the way I'm thinking things will play out. By the end of daylight on Saturday, 45 holes will be in the record book. That means they will need to play 27 holes on Sunday. The traditional tee time for the final group on the final day is shortly before 3 p.m. If the leaders finish the third round by 1:30, there will be no problem. As long as we don't have a sudden-death playoff (and I can't even believe I've raised that possibility), Phil Mickelson will be slipping the green jacket on the new champion in the fading light of Sunday evening.

Now the other reason I think play will definitely end on time here is that I'm guessing the members of Augusta National Golf Club have a card up their sleeve we don't know about. Nothing -- neither rain nor snow nor Martha Burk -- stops this tournament. I'm thinking they have something like some giant fans hidden away they will bring out to blow the clouds away. Or maybe they've installed a dome and just haven't opted to use it yet. There still are no females in this club and Mother Nature is not going to become an honorary member this week.

We're ending on Sunday because that's the way Augusta National wants it.

– Ron Sirak
Golf World

78 players did not finish second round

Updated: April 8, 2005, 4:18 PM ET

Associated Press

SANTO DA SERRA, Madeira Islands -- Kyron Sullivan shot a 2-under 70 Friday to take the clubhouse lead in the rain-interrupted second round of the Madeira Island Open.

Sullivan, from Wales, had a 10-under 134 that left him atop the leaderboard, one stroke ahead of David Higgins of Ireland and Englishman Matthew Morris.

Morris, who usually plays on the second-tier Challenge Tour, was one of 78 players who failed to complete the second round Friday due to rain.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Third round still not completed

Updated: March 26, 2005, 9:00 PM ET

Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Frankie Minoza was 8 under through 14 holes Saturday in the rain-suspended third round of the Indonesia Open, leaving the 45-year-old Filipino star just a stroke out of the lead and in position to take a run at a 59.

Minoza, the 1986 and 1990 winner, needs to play the final four holes in 3 under Sunday morning to become the first player to break 60 on the PGA European Tour and Asian Tour. However, a sub-60 round would not count in the record books because players were allowed to lift, clean and place their balls in the fairways.

Minoza chipped in from 30 yards for an eagle on the par-5 ninth and also had eight birdies and a bogey to reach 14 under. Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant was the leader at 15 under with nine holes remaining in his third round.

Minoza will resume play Sunday with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 15th green.

"This place seems to like me. I'm surprised," Minoza said. "My putter was good. One more day to go and anything can happen. The delays are making all of us very tired though. I was up before 5am today to complete six holes of round two. Then there the long delays but I just kept busy by practicing my short game when possible."

Thaworn waited nearly six hours before teeing off Saturday.

"The weather delays are not good at all," he said. "Now, I'll have to prepare myself for a 27-hole session, but it's good to still be leading."

Thailand's Jaidee Thongchai, Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts and Singapore's Mardan Mamat joined Minoza at 14 under. Jaidee finished 11 holes, and Colsaerts and Mamat played nine. Scotland's Colin Montgomerie was nine strokes out of the lead at 6 under with four holes left in the round.

Second-round Indonesia Open scores

Updated: March 26, 2005, 3:05 PM ET

Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Scores Saturday from the second round of the $1 million Indonesia Open at the par-6,851, par-70 Cengkareng Golf Club (rain has play suspended in the third round):

Thaworn Wiratchant, Thailand        63-63--126  14-under


Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium          65-62--127  13-under

Mardan Mamat, Singapore             65-65--130  10-under
Michael Hoey, Ireland               62-68--130

Adam Fraser, Australia              66-65--131  9-under
Terry Pilkadaris, Australia         67-64--131
Rapha Jel Jacquelin, France           64-67--131
Chris Williams, South Africa        63-68--131
Arjun Atwal, India                  62-69--131
Shiv Kapur, India                   65-66--131

Satoshi Tomiyama, Japan             69-63--132  8-under
Darren Griff, Canada                70-62--132
Terry Price, Australia              66-66--132
Daniel Vancsik, Argentina           66-66--132
Thingchai Jaidee, Thailand          66-66--132

Mahal Darren Pearce, New Zealand    66-67--133  7-under
Unho Park, Australia                67-66--133
Hennie Otto, South Africa           67-66--133
Stephen Browne, Ireland             67-66--133
Andrew Buckle, Australia            64-69--133
Anthony Kang, United States         66-67--133
Scott Barr, Australia               64-69--133
Eiji Mizoguchi, Japan               64-69--133
David Griffiths, England            67-66--133

Thammanoon Srirot, Thailand         68-66--134  6-under
Zhang Lianwei, China                67-67--134
Clay Devers, United States          67-67--134
Gaurav Ghei, India                  64-70--134
Peter Fowler, Australia             66-68--134
Peter Gustafsson, Sweden            68-66--134
Frankie Minoza, Philippines         67-67--134
Gary Simpson, Australia             67-67--134

Kao Bo-song, Taiwan                 70-65--135  5-under
Ted Oh, South Korea                 67-68--135
Paul Marantz, Australia             66-69--135
Ron Won, United States              64-71--135
Miguel Angel Martin, Spain          68-67--135
Johan Skold, Sweden                 65-70--135
Boonchu Ruangki, Thailand           65-70--135
Brad Kennedy, Australia             66-69--135

Three players at 10 under

Updated: March 26, 2005, 10:40 PM ET

Associated Press

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Lee Westwood and Joe Durant would have gladly taken this situation at the start of the week -- tied for the lead in The Players Championship after three days of golf's richest tournament.

The Players incurred a weather delay for the second straight day on Saturday.

What they want now is to be there at the start of next week.

When darkness fell over the TPC at Sawgrass late Saturday, Westwood and Durant were in the clubhouse and atop the leaderboard with two rounds in the books, not sure what Sunday would bring them other than a chance to sleep in.

The only other certainty: The Players Championship was going overtime for the third time in six years.

Another rain delay kept the second round from being completed, and the best hope was to finish Monday.

"The weather is better in England at the moment," Westwood said.

Even by PGA Tour standards -- seven of 13 tournaments delayed by weather this year -- this day was bizarre.

Thirty players who thought they were going to resume the second round Saturday morning instead had to erase their scores and start over so everyone could lift, clean and place their balls in the soggy fairways.

It was so sloppy and slippery that two golf carts slid down a hill and into a pond, although both drivers jumped out before their buggies took a plunge. Then came another three-hour rain delay.

Steve Jones opened with a 64, then waited 50 hours to hit his next shot.

"You hit a couple of shots and then sit for six hours," U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen said. "You spend your time finding which is the most comfortable seat in the clubhouse."

Right now, it belongs to Durant and Westwood -- but only because they finished.

Durant tied the back-nine record with a 30 for a 7-under 65, while Westwood overcame a double bogey early in his round for a 69 that left them atop the leaderboard when darkness suspended the second round.

Seventy-one players, including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, were expected to return at 7:30 a.m. Sunday to finish the second round. That all but assured a Monday finish, but with rain still in the forecast, there was still a chance for the first Tuesday finish on tour in 25 years.

"You just have to put up with it and just be patient and accept it," said Westwood, who joined Durant at 10-under 134. "You're going to be doing a lot of sitting around."

Jones birdied his last hole and also was 10 under par with nine holes to play. Luke Donald was 9 under through 13.

Zach Johnson made two double bogeys, including a tee shot into the water on the 18th hole, for a 2-under 70 that left him one shot behind.

Others who finished were defending champion Adam Scott (68) and Fred Funk(72), who were at 7-under 137.

The conditions and rain delays dampened the enthusiasm at one of golf's most electric tournaments, although the downsized gallery still caught a glimpse of the good and evil that Sawgrass produces.

Vijay Singh was working his way up the leaderboard when he pumped two tee shots into the water on the 18th hole and made a quadruple-bogey 8, sending him to a 74 and leaving him at least seven shots behind at 3-under 141.

Ernie Els failed to take advantage of his good fortune. He left Friday facing a 12-foot bogey putt on No. 1, and when the round started over, had a 12-foot birdie on the same hole. He missed that, didn't make much of anything and wound up with a 71 that left him at 2-under 142.

Durant had the best round of the day, making seven birdies and an eagle with a 245-yard approach over water and sand to 10 feet on the par-5 11th.

"I'm going through a time warp," Durant said. "It's very easy to get impatient with the delays and a couple of squirrelly shots. I felt very relaxed and hope it carries over the next couple of days."

Some players lost their cool with the restart.

It was the first time since the 2001 BellSouth Classic that part of a round was thrown out. Every player must compete under the same set of rules, and tournament officials had no choice but to let players lift, clean and place. Because the second round began Friday playing the ball down, the round had to start over.

Jesper Parnevik had a birdie on No. 2 early Friday. On Saturday, he made a double bogey. The Swede recovered to shoot 71 and was at 4-under 140.

Skip Kendall had an eagle on the second hole, and the second time around made par. He shot 73 and will miss the cut.

"Obviously, it didn't go in my favor," Kendall said.

Woods continued to miss birdie putts from inside 10 feet. Mickelson continued to deliver the thrills.

Lefty stuck his tee shot into 5 feet on the island-green 17th to get to 4 under for the tournament, then hit into the water for the second straight day on No. 18. But he was able to drop much closer, and from 193 yards he hit his third shot to 4 feet to save par.

Sawgrass has never been tamer, and there was a chance the cut would match a record low of 2 under. But there was still trouble at every turn, as Johnson, Westwood and Singh could attest.

"The penalties are still there," Westwood said. "Once you're out of position on this golf course, it can kill you."

Johnson had a one-shot lead at 11 under until hitting into the water on the 18th, then reloading and going into the rough. Johnson had to get up-and-down from 90 yards to limit the damage to a double bogey.

"That was a little frustrating, but all in all in all, I'm very pleased with where I'm at," Johnson said. "There's significantly more positives and than negatives."

And there's still a lot of golf to be played.