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Sunday,
October 16, 2022– Sunday, October 16 – 63-year-old
PGA star Freddie Couples, now on  the
senior tour, shoots a final round 60 to win the 2022 SAS
Championship.
Couples, who hasn’t won the past five years on the Senior Tour,
made 11 consecutive birdies on the last 11 holes to beat Steven Alker by 6
shots.
An incredible feat by anyone’s standards.
The Hall of Famer Couples not only bested his age by three
shots, but it was the lowest round in SAS history and the lowest of Couples’
career on the Champions Tour. He finished at 20-under par to beat Steven
Alker, the Charles Schwab Cup standings leader, by six shots and 2019 SAS
Championship winner Jerry Kelly by seven.
Sunday,
April 14, 2019 – Woods win the Masters after an 11 year major
tournament drought.
In one of the greatest
comebacks in golfing history, Tiger Woods won the 82nd playing of the
Masters, his fifth Masters title.
“It’s going to take a little time to settle in!” –
Tiger
Woods on winning The Masters.
Spectator roars followed
Woods around the legendary golf course Bobby Jones built as the 43-year-old
climbed the leader board, finally taking the lead on the 16th hole
Woods now needs only three
major tournaments to tie the majors record held by golfing great Jack
Nicklaus.
Francesco Molinari played
brilliantly all week, making only one bogey throughout the first 60 holes
until the 7th hole in the final round, coupled with a double bogey on the
16th where his approach shot hit a branch, ending up in the water.
With his fifth Masters
victory on Sunday, Tiger Woods tied the longest gap between major wins.
Woods’ fourth win at Augusta National was in 2005.
Woods had never won a
major coming from behind. And now the 2019 Masters champion has won his
first major chewing gum from beginning to end.
Curbs my appetite, Woods
said.
Thursday,
February 21, 2019 – The six inch putt! Click on
the link below for the best putt ever seen on the planet! Thanks to a
reader for sending this in.
Click here to view video!
Above: This dramatic photo shows Mickelson playing his
approach shot to the 14th green on Sunday. Notice the Goodyear blimp just
below the sun.
Monday,
February 11, 2019 – Lefty wins his fifth ATT Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
48-year-old
Phil Mickelson won the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a three-shot
win over Paul Casey, notching his fifth victory at the classic Pro-Am.
Mickelson
is the tournament’s oldest winner.
Mickelson
and Casey came back on Monday morning to finish the last two holes because
of approaching nightfall and Casey’s wish to not play the remaining hole in
the dark.
He
now has 44 PGA titles and has won five majors, only missing out on a US
Open for his Grand Slam.
This
year in June the US Open will be held at Pebble Beach. When asked about his
chances to complete his grand slam, Mickelson said he “plays well here, but
the Open championship course layout will be much different than the course
we played today.”
Tighter
fairways, heavier rough, and slick greens may be a deterrent, but the
golfer they call Lefty is not counting out a US Open victory at Pebble
Beach.
 Thursday, October 11, 2018 -
Golfers won't be hitting the links at the Firefly Golf Course in Seekonk
next season (2019) and maybe next season as well.
The
golf course off Fall River Avenue has been closed temporarily to make room
for big changes coming to the property.
"Right
now we're beginning construction on utility installation for the future
project," Eric Brainsky, attorney for the
property owner, said. "There is going to be a lot of equipment in and
out of here front loaders and excavators things of that nature. Safety is
paramount."
Brainsky said the property owner
decided to close for this season for safety reasons because a lot of
construction will be happening on the site.
"The
project has been previously approved at town meeting, as far as the overall
concept, which is called a CCRC, its a continuing
care residency campus, which will be assisted living and independent care
facilities," Brainsky said.
Brainsky said the exact amount of
rooms has not yet been determined, but he estimates there will be 300 beds
for assisted living and roughly 160 for the independent care.
Read more >>
Sunday,
September 23, 2018 – Tiger Woods completes
comeback by winning Tour  Championship.
Tiger
Woods took command of golf’s 2018 Tour Championship to win his first event
in 5 years.
It
was exactly 1,876 days since his last PGA tour win.
Followed
by a crowd of thousands Woods parred the 18th hole on the final day to cap
one of the greatest comebacks in professional sports.
“I
found my swing,” Woods said, “and put a few things together.”
Justin
Rose by one stroke edged out Woods for the $10 million FedEx Cup prize.
Woods
victory almost brought the iconic golfer to tears, showing a humbler side
to the usual stoic persona he brings to the golf course
Bogeying
three of the last 9 holes Woods almost allowed the tournament to slip from
his grasp; he parred the last three holes, just barely escaping the water
on the 15th 226 yard par 3 water hole, to beat out 2nd place finisher Billy
Horschel by two strokes.
Paired
with Woods in the final group, Rory McIlroy fell back to 5 under for the
tournament, unable to keep pace with Woods withering tees hots and spot-on
putting.
Sunday,
March 11, 2018 – Updated 8:00 p.m. Tiger
Woods falls one stroke short of comeback bid.
 PALM HARBOR - Tiger Woods shot four under-par
rounds at the Valspar Championship at Copperhead Course at Innisbrook
Resort and Golf Club but fell one shot short of forcing a playoff with
front runner England’s Paul Casey who closed with a 6-under 65 and won the
Valspar Championship.
Woods blew a golden
opportunity when he missed a birdie putt at the par 5 14th hole.
With chants of USA! USA!,
Woods’ famous fist clenches accented the 20-something footers that repeatedly
hit the bottom of the cup, firing up the huge crowd that followed the big
cat as he prowled the Copperhead Course looking for his first win since the
2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Woods said earlier this
week that he thought Mickelson's WGC-Mexico Championship victory last week
was "great." On Thursday, Mickelson said he could see Woods
winning in his first ever appearance at the Valspar Championship.
Woods’ driver was erratic
but second shot recoveries, approach shots and spot-on putting were pure
vintage Woods.
But he fell one stroke
short, disappointing hundreds of thousands of diehard fans who were rooting
for the 42-year-old from Jupiter, Florida.
But all that being said,
yah, I’m thinking Tiger is back.
April
6, 2017 - Speaking
of golf, Oceans 18 - Black lite mini golf located on 500 King’s Highway,
New Bedford will shut its doors May 15th, 2017 after 12 years of operation,
according to their website.
Their golf simulator was a
popular attraction for winter golfers for over a decade.
Another fatality of a
weakening golf market that has dramatically affected local outdoor golf
courses. http://www.oceans-18.com
Thursday,
April 6 – UPDATED 6:45 p.m. Hoffman holes 7 birdies to lead opening day at the Masters. The
wind was howling at August National but Charlie Hoffman was one happy man
as he holed 7 birdies to take a first-round 4-stroke lead over the field.
 Left: Charlie Hoffman leads the Masters on opening day.
Dustin Johnson has withdrawn
from the Masters. After
winning his last three starts, the No. 1 player in the world, heavily
favored to win at Augusta, slowly went to the first tee paired with
two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and PGA Championship winner Jimmy
Walker in the final group of the opening round. He left the tee box never
taking a shot in the first major of the year and walked back to the
clubhouse.
The 2017 Masters
Tournament kicks off today from Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.
The season's first major has produced four
different winners over the past four years and hasn't yielded a
back-to-back champion since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002.
That's a troublesome trend for reigning champion
Danny Willett (pictured left), who edged Jordan Spieth and Lee Westwood by
three strokes to win the 2016 Masters.
This year’s favorite, Dustin Johnson, the world’s No. 1 golfer
who is seeking his first green jacket, injured his lower back in a fall on
Wednesday at his rental home in Augusta, putting his playing status into
question.
The
King, Arnold Palmer will miss this morning’s ceremonial tee off that includes
Jack Nicholas and Gary Player as he passed away at the age of 87 on
September 25, 2016
Look
this year for some surprising finishes at the tournament Bobby Jones built.
January
26, 2017 – Double bogey golf news! Yes, it’s a
little early to bring up golf, but the other shoe has finally dropped.
The 9-hole Hawthorne
Country Club closed last year, bringing an end to a financially-troubled
Dartmouth venue that served up better banquet food than birdies and bogey.
Now Allendale Country Club
just down the street from Hawthorne is looking for assistance in handling
its highly leveraged debt service that accumulated due to out-of-control
management salaries and extensive course improvements over the years that
failed to produce the increased membership necessary to pay for them.
 Inset: The 5th, 6th and 7th
holes at Allendale Country Club.
Dartmouth Select Board
member Shawn D. McDonald wants to buy the property and said recently, “The
town could acquire and lease the golf course for up to 15 years, and use it
in the future for town educational, recreational and park facilities, and
potential home development. It’s the
largest undeveloped
property (over 150 acres with a well that produces 275 gallons per minute)
in the heart of Dartmouth.
Assessed value of the
property is $5.8 million and Dartmouth is looking to buy it for $3.2
million.
The Allendale Board of Directors is also moving in
tandem with an effort to remove
recreational land preservation restrictions on part of its property, and
then sell the proposed lots to help reduce its debt load.
In a letter to members,
Allendale Board President Mike Goulart said, “What all this means is that we are now going down parallel
paths - we will be continuing our plan to remove land from MGL c 61B, and
at the same time we will be working with the Town to see what its ownership
of Allendale might look like in the future.”
“For at least the duration of the 2017 golf season
and probably much longer, it is and will be business as usual for
Allendale.” - Mike Goulart
The question now is
whether the town officials and residents would want to authorize a purchase
right now for a long term benefit.
They better make a
decision soon; Allendale’s variable-rate commercial loans may get
considerably more costly if interest rate hikes promised recently by Fed
chair Janet Yellen go into effect.
October
3, 2016 – Birdies
and eagles and hole-outs, oh my! In a record-setting, final day epic
match between the United States’ Phil Michelson and Europe’s Sergio Garcia
(19 birdies between them!) the pair fought to a draw.
“I
would have liked the W,” Michelson said, “but this is an experience and
memory forever. It was the right way for the match to end.”
Nonetheless,
the Americans ran away with the win in the 41st playing of the vaunted
Ryder Cup.
 Insert: U.S. player Ryan Moore is surrounded by teammates
after his Ryder Cup clincher win.
And
in a denouement to the mastery of
U.S. Captain Davis Love III, his last-minute captain’s pick, Ryan Moore,
put the Americans over the top with a Ryder Cup clincher singles-match win
on the 18th hole over Europe’s Lee Westwood.
In
the minds of many Americans was what happened just four years ago at Medinah. With Love at the helm, the Americans
squandered a 10-6 lead on the final day, only adding to the Americans’ woes
in this event since 1999.
Add
it all up, and it was the Americans’ largest margin of victory since 1981.
“The
American Ryder Cup team deserved to win this Ryder Cup,” Europe’s Captain
Darren Clarke said.
A
record-setting crowd of over 50,000 spectators watched the battle at
Hazeltine.
Read
more from
the Golf Channel.
August
8, 1016 - Hawthorn Country Club, closed since
last January, will soon have a new life if plans for its purchase go
through this month.
Known for its banquet facilities more
than its nine-hole golf course, Hawthorn is scheduled to change hands this
month according to Derek Masky, owner of the
Lakeville Country Club.
Masky and his wife, Madelyn, are purchasing the property from
Dartmouth businessman Kevin Santos, and said he could close on the
Dartmouth golf course by the middle of August for an undisclosed purchase
price.
The sale includes the banquet
facilities, golf course, restaurant and all the kitchen equipment at the
Hawthorne Country Club, Masky said
If all goes as planned the financially
troubled nine-hole Dartmouth golf course known for its “mountain goat”
layout and rock hard greens will avoid the fate of hundreds of golf course
across the country - plowed under for home development.
It’s no secret that Hawthorn has
struggled through its 50 year history, better known for its banquet
facilities than golf, and being forced in the past to sell off nine holes
of the original 18-hole layout.
With permission from the current
owner, Masky has been working on the tees and
greens which he described as "Burnt up because the water has been shut
off all summer."
He said the grass is being mowed and
he has crews working on the greens and the tee boxes.
Plans are to have the course open by
late October or early November and most likely would remain open all year
long.
Banquet facilities will open later, Masky said, with 2017 function reservations for by the
first week of September, 2016.
Maksy said he hopes to open the restaurant by October.
February
14, 2016 – 6-alarm fire destroys two major outbuildings at the Lakeville
Country Club on Friday, February 12th.
Golf cart storage building and equipment maintenance and
storage shop completely destroyed. Lack of hydrants hindered firefighters
in initially containing the blaze.
Photo | courtesy Lakeville Country Club
Capital equipment including golf carts ruined; no injuries
reported by club owner Derek Maksy.
Maksy said the golf
cart building housed 74 battery-powered golf carts, while the maintenance
shed had seven or eight mowers, weed whackers, other power tools, fuel and
more.
The loss of the golf carts is particularly devastating as a
new membership program involves their use for every round played at the
18-hole golf course.
Fire departments from Lakeville, Middleboro, Raynham, Berkley,
Rochester and Acushnet responded to the fire.
The fire is now thought to be caused by an electrical
malfunction.
The 35-year plus golf course started out as a nine-hole layout
known as Reservoir Heights Golf Course before expanding to 18 holes and
changing its name to the
Lakeville Country Club.
The
course’s management stated the course is still open for play, walking only,
and the function hall is open. The
club's pro shop manager, Lou Mincone said they expect golf cart
availability in a month or so when the new pavilion
building (previously a tent) is erected that will provide temporary shelter
for the carts.
Members can call 508.947.6630 for more information on
availability and cost for play.
More...
January
30, 2016 – Hawthorn Country club
closed, again! The
financially troubled nine-hole Dartmouth golf course known for its
“mountain goat” layout and rock hard greens may finally meet the fate of
hundreds of golf course across the country; plowed under for home
development.
It’s
no secret that Hawthorn has struggled through its 50 year history, better
known for its banquet facilities than golf, and being forced in the past to
sell off nine holes of the 18-hole layout to survive.
More courses, fewer golfers.
Golf
course development has steadily increased over the last few decades.
However, the number of active golfers has remained stubbornly the same. And
a troubled economy has reduced membership and play at all courses in the
area.
Sold
several times in its history, Hawthorne was last purchased by Kevin Santos
for $2.5 million at a bank auction in December 2011, caused by the death of
the former owner and the lack of funds to continue operation.
Allendale
Country Club is now the one remaining course left in the Fall River/New
Bedford area that is open to the public.
September
3, 2015 – Golfing enthusiasts from
Eastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the  Islands now have a new, local golf
magazine just for them. Golf Forum Magazine Free has produced its first
edition in June of this year.
Their
first magazine was published in the spring of 1995 for Brevard County, FL.
From 1995-2008 the magazine established itself as a localized and highly
respected monthly publication. In 2008, their local publication was
converted to a franchise model and their franchisee group enabled the
publication to be considered an industry leader. The cornerstone of our publishing model
is to bring to the public a well-designed, thoughtful publication that
provides newsworthy and entertaining information pertinent to the golf
industry and to do so within the format of a free monthly magazine. Each
issue of Free Golf Forum Magazine is designed and formatted to be
informative and enjoyable reading geared toward the golf enthusiast. Visit
their website.
August
16, 2015 – Australian golfer Jason Day
wins the 2015 PGA Championship, professional golf’s fourth and final
Major of the year, with a record-setting performance of 20 under par, a
feat never before done in the playing of this tournament or any of the
three other majors.
 With his second place finish
and Rory McIlroy finishing 17th, Jordan Spieth became the world’s number
one ranked golfer.
In an
emotional statement in front of family, friends and onlookers, Day said,
"It's a fantastic record to hold. There's been such amazing golfers,
especially throughout the history of golf, our sport, and to have that
record just goes to show the work I've put in is paying off."
Click here for the full story.
July
20, 2015 3:00 p.m. Champion
Golfer of the Year. America’s Zach Johnson defeated Australians Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen
in a four-hole aggregate playoff when Oosthuizen missed his par putt on the
playoff’s fourth hole. Leishman bogeyed the first two holes while Johnson
birdied them.
 “I'm grateful. I'm humbled.
I'm honored," a teary Johnson said. "This is the birthplace of
the game, and that jug means so much in sports. I felt great. I'm just in
awe right now."
Johnson’s
birdie on the 18th hole of regulation play that tied him for the lead and
propelled him into a three-way playoff was a magical moment for the Iowa
City native who dropped to his knee in shock and celebration as if he had
just won The Open.
“Dreams have been realized.”
Zack Johnson, winner of the 144th playing of the British Open.
Blustery
and rainy weather challenged competitors on the final day, typical of the
erratic weather at St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland.
Jordan
Spieth’s dream of winning the first three majors was dashed when he missed
his birdie putt on the last hole of regulation play that would have allowed
him to join the playoff with Johnson, Leishman and Oosthuizen.
There
was magic at this major as improbably, impossible, and even incomparably
putts were made time and time again.
But
it was Johnson’s wedge game that won him The Open, consistently putting him
position for birdie.
American
amateur Jordan Niebrugge, a senior-to-be at Oklahoma State, won the Silver
Medal as Low Amateur.
Because
of the playoff The Open starter, Ivor Robson (pictured below with Johnson)
had to announce three more golfers “On the tee...” before he could
officially retire.
 July 20, 2015 4:00 a.m. – The Open’s final round starts this
morning at 4:00 a.m. after Saturday play was delayed due to high winds. The 144th playing of The Open
will be memorable for many moments; the announced retirement of The Open’s
iconic starter
Ivor Robson who
has announced “on the tee...” for every competitor since 1975, never
leaving his post; the final playing of The Open by three Champion Golfers
of the Year (Nick Price, Bernhard Langer, and Tom Watson); and three
amateurs at the top of the leader board (amateur Irishman Paul Dunne is
tied for the lead after three rounds;) and the possible first amateur to
win The Open since Bobby Jones in 1926.
But the
most unforgettable moment could be Jordan Spieth winning the first three
majors of the year since Ben Hogan did it in 1953. Just one stroke back of
the leaders in the final round can the 21-year-old pull off what few
players before him were able to do.
Check
out all the local golf news in our Golf Section.
 July
16, 2015 – Good
weather conditions for early groups produce low scores at 144th playing of
The Open. Dustin Johnson struck quickly in the early opening rounds of
the British Open, shooting a 7 under round that put the long-hitting 2015
U.S. runner-up in the lead in his pursuit of Champion Golfer of the Year.
Phil Mickelson,
playing in less desirable afternoon conditions, shot a respectable 2 under
and is in contention. The affable Mickelson won both the Scottish Open and
British Open in 2013.
Tiger Woods
shot a 76, 4 over par, and will need a good round tomorrow to make the cut.
The British
Open is the oldest of the four major
championships in professional golf.
Phil Mickelson sinks this
short birdie putt on the 18th hole to go 2 under in his opening round.
June 21, 2015 – Dustin
Johnson’s three-putt wins the 2015 U.S Open Golf Championship for Jorden
Spieth.
 Heroic play by South African Louis Oosthuizen
who birdied 6 of his last seven holes, shooting a 29 on the back nine,
ended up the in a tie for second with Dustin Johnson who three-putted the
18th hole from just eight feet to lose the championship to Spieth.
A birdie by Johnson would have forced an 18-hole playoff with Spieth
on Monday.
With Spieth’s win Sunday, the 21-year-old becomes the youngest player
to win 2 career majors since Gene Sarazen in
1922; the youngest U.S Open Champion since Bobby Jones in 1923, and the 6th
player to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year with Tiger Woods
being the last in 2002.
Above. South African Jason Day (E) comforts second place finisher Dustin
Johnson (-4) as Johnson (right) exits the 18th green after his
soon-to-be-infamous three-putt loss to Jordan Spieth (-5). Day suffered his
own setback, playing through the vertigo symptoms that caused him to
collapse on the course on Friday.
06/18/2015 – Better watch out for
the fescue! “Windage and
elevation, Mr. Woods; windage and elevation.”
Not quite what John
Wayne said in 1969 Duke movie, ‘The Undefeated,” but it certainly holds
true for the world’s best golfers as they take on the links-style Chambers
Bay Golf Course on the shores of Puget Sound in University, Washington for
the 115th playing of the U.S. Open Golf Championship.
Extreme
elevations, wind, monstrous moonscape bunkers, ubiquitous wiry and tough
fescue rough, and fast, undulating greens with a broccoli complexion are
only a few of the challenges that the boys of the “we swing harder” genre
will face.
Then, add to
this witches’ brew narrow fairways as dry as grandpa’s breath after a night
of heavy drinking and you’ll get an idea of what a golf course built out of
a sand and gravel pit is like, just as raw a course as you’ll ever find.
Tiger Woods tees off on the
14th hole, the highest elevation point on Chambers Bay Golf Course.
Photo courtesy of Fox Sports.
But hey,
there’s not a tree or water hazard in sight!
Some might even
find Chambers Bay stunning. Some, but not Tiger Woods. After a triple bogey
on the 14th hole in the first round, the only competitor out of 156 Tiger
Woods was beating was an obscure golf club pro out of Windham, NH.
Today,
back in 2000, Tiger Woods won golf's US Open by 15 shots, a record for all
majors, with a US Open to-par record score of -12.
Spaniard Serio
Garcia may have gotten it right when he tweeted out to 345,000 followers
that “the greens at Chambers Bay are a bit patchy, a bit bumpy.”
After finishing
off an even-par 70 in the opening round Garcia took to Twitter again to
call the greens "as bad as they look on TV."
"I think a
championship the caliber of US Open golf deserves better quality green
surfaces than we have this week but maybe I'm wrong!"
But barren can
be beautiful as the test of golf is not in the esthetics but in the
competitive challenge of beating the field.
After all, golf
is a mind game, according to the great amateur golfer, Bobby Jones who
said, “Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch
course...the space between your ears.”
Tuesday, May 26, 2015 – Holes–in-one
will now come easy at Missouri’s Top of the Rock golf course!
A massive foursome of sinkholes combined to swallow up a good-sized
chunk of the Jack Nicklaus–designed Top of the Rock golf course last Friday
in Branson, Mo.
The largest hole, which is 80 feet wide and 35 feet deep in some
places, was created by two separate sinkholes that formed near the entrance
to Top of the Rock golf course, Martin MacDonald, conservation director for
Bass Pro Shops, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Golfers in Branson, Missouri, will now have some extra hazards to
cope with on their next round after four sinkholes swallowed part of the
Par 3 hilltop venue.
 
Photos/Nate Papes/Springfield News-Leader
via AP
The largest of the sinkholes abuts a pond on the course.
According to KOLR10 News, a second hole measures 18 feet deep, while
the other two are (comparatively) smaller, about four feet deep.
According to AP, “The Jack Nicklaus-designed par-3 course is part of
the Bass Pro Shops-owned Big Cedar Lodge complex which hosted a Champions
Tour event last month.
This most-challenging new hazard, the largest sinkhole, isn’t near
the main course and won’t affect play (unless you duck-hook your tee shot
of the first hole!),” MacDonald said.
Geologists say such sinkholes are fairly common in the Ozarks because
of its karst topography, a feature in which water is constantly
circulating through bedrock below the ground.
No one was injured except the course designer’s pride.
Click
here for the interesting video.
Saturday,
April 18, 2015 – It’s National Golf Day! WE ARE GOLF
hosted the eighth annual National Golf Day on Capitol Hill Wednesday, April
15th.
A coalition of the game's leading associations
and industry partners visited Capitol Hill for the eighth annual National Golf
Day to discuss golf's nearly $70 billion economy, $4 billion annual
charitable impact, and environmental value to local communities and fitness
benefits.
Golf's leaders met with Members of
Congress throughout the day to share stories about the game's 15,350
diverse, small businesses, which employ more than two million Americans and
provide $55.6 billion in annual wage income. In addition, industry
executives discussed golf courses' positive influences on ecology, local
tax revenues and tourism. They even explained how walking 18 holes can burn
2,000 calories.
This year's event also featured
participation from The Presidents Cup 2015 Captains Nick Price
(International) and Jay Haas (U.S.). South Korea will play host to The
Presidents Cup later this year in October, the first time the tournament
will be played in Asia.
Thursday, April 9, 2015 – The
playing of the 2015 Masters golf tournament begins today with Charlie
Hoffman teeing off 7:45 a.m. Will  last year’s winner Bubba Watson give a repeat
performance?  Will Tiger Woods make a comeback from a
miserable 2014 season (tees off at 1:48 p.m.?) Or will Rory McIlroy
complete his career Grand Slam this week at Augusta.
Lead-off golfer Charley
Hoffman is the late morning leader, posting a 5 under 67 at 10:52 a.m.
Established in 1934 the
Masters is the first of the four majors to be played each year.
The first "Augusta
National Invitational" Tournament, as the Masters was originally
known, began on March 22, 1934, and was won by Horton Smith. The present
name was adopted in 1939. The first tournament  was played with current holes 10 through 18
played as the first nine, and 1 through 9 as the second nine, and then
reversed permanently to its present layout for the 1935 tournament.
The total prize money for
the 2014  tournament was $9,000,000, with $1,620,000 going
to the winner Bubba Watson In the inaugural year, the winner Horton Smith
received $1,500 out of a $5,000 purse.
Or will Phil Mickelson,
three-time Masters champion, make it a 4-peat.
Program note: Two-time Master’s Champion and longtime PGA winner Ben Crenshaw will play his last
Masters Tournament this week.
Gentle Ben will finally put away his clubs at age 63, after playing
the tournament one last time with long-time caddie Carl Jackson by his
side.
Crenshaw is going out in
style as the golf course is flawless and conditions today absolutely
perfect.
Click
here to watch the Masters streaming live at CBS.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014 - Battle of the Jeffs. Alabamian
Jeff Flagg captures the 2014 RE/MAX long drive title with a whopper of a
hit into the wind at 365 yards 20 inches.
The win netted Flagg a cool quarter million dollars
in the winner-take-all competition.
Speaking of cool, it was a clear but chilly night;
the low 50s in the no-humidity desert feels like the low 40s.
Flagg, a 29-year-old former minor league baseball player
defeated the 43-years-young Jeff “Critter” Crittenden by a mere 13 inches
to capture his first RE/MAX World
Long Drive Championship in the nippy Nevada desert night.
Flagg spent the past 2 1/2 years honing his power in
long-drive competitions.
“Thirteen inches,” Critter said. He held up one of
his size-12 ½ Foot-Joys. “I lost by my shoe.”
Crittenden of Greensboro, N.C. had decided earlier
this year that this would be his final season of long drive.
The Critter waited anxiously for
an exact measurement to the inch that would break the tie and determine who
would be the ultimate winner.
In a sport where these guys hit the golf ball further
than anyone else in the universe, it came down to just 13 inches to
determine this year’s winner.
And crosswinds and crisp temperatures created a
challenging environment, making it difficult for all players to hit the
grid.
“I’m
speechless,” second-time competitor Jeff Flag said, accepting his check and
the World Drive Championship belt.
Critter became the Cinderella story of
this year’s World Long Drive event. He won his quarterfinal match against
Matt Hanger by one yard. Then the Critter upset former world champ Joe
Miller, a high-ball hitter who struggled with the wind, by one yard.
Then Crittenden lost to the athletic
former baseball player from Pelham, Alabama in the final, incredibly,
unbelievably, by 13 inches.
They say golf is a game of inches.
This year’s long drive championship gives
credence to that belief.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
- Is golf about to get a “hole” lot easier?
Take heed all you golf purists. There’s
unrest underfoot.
It has been reported that nearly 100
courses in America are using a  new, enlarged hole, one
that’s been reported to be up to 15 inches.
Ben Hogan always said that putting isn’t
golf.
He may be more right than he thought.
The idea of changing a 4 1/4 inch cup to
a larger diameter (bowl?) would make Bobby Jones turn in his grave.
Come on people, give it a rest. Don’t
commercialize the greatest game ever played by enlarging the hole. Golf is
meant to be difficult - you never master the game.
Golf is based on hard work, strict rules,
and player etiquette and integrity.
But the game is too hard, especially for
young people, they say.
There are fewer golfers today than ten
years ago; has anyone thought the crummy economy is to blame.
Or how about the kids who sit in the
house all day playing video games and watching TV.
If attendance is off because the game is
too hard, then go play pitch ‘n putt or mini golf.
Are
we getting too soft as a nation?
Ben Hogan practiced hitting golf balls
until his hands bled.
Today, we can’t even get our kids to do
homework without holding their hands.
So what’s next – hitting a soccer ball
with a baseball bat?
Want to make golf easier? Hit from the
ladies tees; let’s see how many men strut up to the forwards tees with
their buddies smirking and thinking how wimpy they are.
We love to drive for show, but we putt
for dough.
But anyone can make a putt into a 15-inch
hole.
60 percent of professional golf telecasts
focus on putting. How about Phil Mickelson lipping in an 18
footer for his first Masters win.
Look at the number of seniors who still
play from the whites, not wanting to lessen the game of golf.
Even Ted Bishop, the president of the
Professional Golfers Association of America is backing the new holes, which
will be about the size of a large pizza.
He said 'We’ve got to stop scaring people
away from golf by telling them that there is only one way to play the
game.'
It’s all
about the money.
Interest in activities like golf,
bowling, billiards and ping pong has always ebbed and flowed, but they
didn’t make the balls or holes larger to attract more players.
Golfers take pride in their game, brag
about their handicaps, and dream of making that putt to win the club
championship.
Wise up TaylorMade and the PGA; make more
money through programs like the First Tee, and promote more amateur
contests and long drive championships. Design more executive golf courses
with 15-inch holes if you feel the need.
But don’t cheapen up the game of kings to
chase the almighty buck. -
EverythingWestport.com.
Visit our Golf Page for information about local courses and
interesting stories of the greatest game ever played.
No Tiger, no tree and no practice
Monday as dangerous storms shut down Augusta National.
Monday,
April 7, 2014 – Masters
update. One of the most famous landmarks at Augusta National Golf Club
had to be removed this spring due to severe damage suffered in a recent ice
storm.
The Eisenhower Tree, named in honor of President Dwight Eisenhower,
was located on the 17th hole and has played a protuberant role in many
Masters Tournaments.
It was particularly annoying to the former president, who famously
asked to have it removed, and was rebuffed by the club leadership.
Tiger Woods injured his knee beneath it in 2011.
"The loss of the Eisenhower Tree is difficult news to
accept," club chairman Billy Payne said in a statement. "We
obtained opinions from the best arborists available and, unfortunately,
were advised that no recovery was possible.”
And speaking of difficult news, world number one, Tiger Woods, will
be another loss this week as he has withdrawn after recently undergoing
back surgery for a pinched nerve that has been hurting him for several
months.
And to add insult to injury, the first day of the Masters’ week was a
short one, as dangerous weather and storms forced the closing of the course
Bobby Jones built, first to spectators then to players
Sidebar: Phil Mickelson's first
major championship win came at the 2004  Masters in one of the
greatest back-nine, shot-making exhibitions by the last round leaders in
the history of this tournament.
K. J.
Choi, Ernie Els, and Phil Mickelson traded eagles, birdies and
‘all-the-way-from-downtown’ par saves that had the gallery’s roar echoing
through the famous loblolly pines down to the thousands of spectators at
Augusta.
In a
tournament that saw the departure of Golf’s most beloved champion (Arnold
Palmer), it also saw the emergence of a new one.
On the
18th hole, Lefty lipped in a 20-footer, besting Els by one shot for his
first major win and his moment in history.
Model teed off at Playboy golfing stunt.
Model Liz Dickson agreed to have a photo taken of her lying on her
stomach while a co-host of Playboy's radio show stood poised to hit a golf
ball  atop a tee that was inserted
between her butt checks, only she was allegedly struck with the club.
The model who appeared at the Playboy Golf Finals at the Industry
Hills Golf Club in Los Angles in March 2012 has filed a lawsuit against
Playboy Enterprises after she was allegedly struck in the buttocks by a
golfer who was trying to drive a ball off a tee that was wedged between her
cheeks.
The highly-handicapped golfer who missed the shot was Playboy Morning
Show radio host Kevin Klein, and is also named in Liz Dickson’s lawsuit.
She is suing for battery and negligence and is seeking $500,000 plus
punitive damages, according to TMZ.
The suit states Dickson agreed to lie “with her buttocks partially
exposed” so Klein could hit off the tee in her butt. When he swung, Klein
missed the tee and “struck plaintiff on the buttocks, causing her injuries
and damages.”
Klein, using a SuperFast TaylorMade driver,
hit “behind” the ball and gave Dickson a hHuge welt.
Click
here to see video and photos!
Remember the good ol’ days when golf was the game of kings!
Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson wins Tour Championship,
FedEx Cup.
Sunday,
September 22, 2013 - Stenson birdied the 15th
hole in the final round, beating back a late charge by 20-year-old Jordan Spieth.
Followed by three pars from the sand, Stenson wound up with a three-shot
victory over Spieth and Steve Stricker in the Tour Championship, locking up
the biggest payoff in professional golf- the Fedex
Cup’s $10 million.
FORE!!!
Wednesday,
September 4, 2013 -  It seems President Obama isn’t the only one
teeing off people with his golfing.
Christopher
Kaszyk of Somerset, MA told police that he was struck in the chest by
a wayward golf ball while operating his motorcycle on Route 24 northbound
near the Montaup Country Club (Portsmouth, RI)
sometime before 2:30 p.m., according to an article in EastBayRI.
Mr. Kaszyk’s father was operating another motorcycle
alongside him, and the two drove to the first hole in an attempt to speak
with golfers they believed were responsible, police said.
When the
golfers denied hitting the ball onto Route 24, a verbal argument ensued,
police said. Mr. Kaszyk showed police a small,
red and purple mark on the right side of his chest. Two golfers admitted to
losing a ball somewhere off the course, but denied they had intentionally
hit one onto Route 24, according to police.
Dufner
no duffer as the 2012 runner-up wins PGA Championship.
Sunday,
August 11, 2013 - After suffering a meltdown in the 2012 PGA Championship, losing in a playoff to Keegan
Bradley, the laid-back Jason Dufner took home the Wanamaker Trophy and his
first major win after Jim Furyk, leading by one stroke after three rounds,
faded in the final holes.
Furyk, the
2003 U.S. Open Champion, bogeyed 9, 17 and 18 to fall two shots behind
Dufner in the final round.
Dufner set the
course record at Oak Hill Country Club and became the 24th player to shoot
a 63 in a major championship.
The Cleveland
native said “My name will always be on this trophy, and nobody can take
that away from me.”
2013 British
Open Champion Phil Mickelson tied for 72nd, and world number one Tiger
Woods finished tied for 40th.
Mickelson
wins fifth major!
The southpaw is now number 2 in the world; Woods is
still number 1.
Sunday,
July 21, 2013 – Phil Mickelson wins 142nd Open
Championship. Shooting “the
best final round of my life” the southpaw came from five back to win by
three, the only golfer under par for the tournament.
Last minute heroics was pure
vintage Mickelson.
Lefty pulled
off an improbably up and down on the par 3 13th, and then went on to hit
the “best 3-wood shot in the history of golf” according to news
commentators, on his way to birdieing four of his last six holes.
A six-time
runner up in the U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson captured his first Claret Jug
and fifth major title with a stunning final round at Muirfield, Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland.
The World
Champion Golfer put his tournament at risk with a courageous 302 yard
3-wood on the par 5 17th, putting his ball on the green leading to
birdie.
Mickelson in
the past has said, “The only difference between a great shot and a smart
shot is a golfer without the guts to try for the great shot.”
 
Left: Mickelson shares a tearful moment with his family. Right:
longtime caddy Jim "Bones" Mackay breaks down when his golfer
birdies the 18th, putting Lefty 3 under for the tournament. "He played
the best round of golf I've ever seen him play," Mackay said.
Lightning struck twice in Scotland. The 43-year-old Mickelson, winning
the Scottish Open last week, is now the first golfer in history winning
both the Scottish and Open Championships in the same year.
Poulter made a charge but his momentum was
undone when his 400+ yard drive on the 15th ended up in a bunker, and
tournament leaders Johnson and Westwood faltered, accompanied by the
distant crowd’s roar from each of Michelson’s birdies.
Woods couldn’t quite find his putting rhythm,
and saw his winless streak in majors stretch to 17 with a tie for sixth.
Mickelson started the final round five strokes
off the pace of leader Westwood, but ground it out and then stormed down
the back nine in a fantastic 32 at a time when all of his rivals were
stumbling in the tough, windy, and dry conditions when Muirfield showed its
teeth.
Mickelson faced his defining moment on the par
3 13th when is iron tee shot landed 15 feet from the pin, and proceeded to
roll of the green, down the false front and out onto the fairway,40 yards
from where his tee shot landed.
He pitched up, made the eight-foot putt, and
never looked back.
Above: Phil Mickelson stands alone in celebration on the 18th green after
making birdie.
Tiger
back on top!
Monday,
March 25, 2013 - Tiger
is back on top! Tiger Woods held off a hard-charging Ricky Fowler to
win his eighth Arnold Palmer Invitational, tying the all-time record of
eight same-tournament wins held by Sam Snead.
 Inset: Champion
golfer Tiger Woods is congratulated by golfing legend Arnold palmer on his
eighth win at Bay Hill.
His third win this year, Woods finally reclaimed his number one
ranking in the world, the first time since October 2010, and now leads the
race for the FedEx Cup.
After a tornado warning postponed the fourth round, Woods on Monday
continued his winning ways, taking his eighth “Arnold’s place” victory, his
77th tour win, and became the favorite to win his 15th major at the
upcoming Masters.
Clearly, and fortunately, the only tornado to show up in Orlando was
Woods, blowing away the field to win by two strokes over Justin Rose after
Fowler faltered with a triple bogey at the 16th hole in the final round.
Above: Although he left a 60-foot plus putt on the lip for birdie on the
18th and final hole, Woods took a bite out of a few more records, tying
Phil Michelson’s three eagles in one tournament, and tying Snead’s most
same-tournament wins at eight, all of which came in the same venue, unlike
Snead who won the same tournament (Greater Greensboro Open) but on
different golf courses.
A New First
Couple in Sports: Woods and Vonn.
Photo
credit/Tiger Woods facebook page
Tuesday,
March 19, 2013 - It
appears champion golfer Tiger Woods is getting his game back together (wins
at Torrey Pines and Doral) along with his personal life as reports are
confirmed on facebook that the winner of
14 majors and 76 PGA tournament events is dating alpine skiing sensation
and four-time overall World Cup champion, Lindsey Vonn. The “less than
ordinary couple” wants to lead just ordinary lives, but you know that ain’t goin’ to happen! More.
Tiger takes a bite of Doral.
Sunday,
March 10, 2013 - Tiger Woods shot seven
birdies in the third round of the WGC Cadillac Championship to extend his
lead over Graeme McDowell to four strokes.
Like in days of old, Woods was stuffing pins and fist-pumping
15-footers for par, taming Miami’s infamous Blue Monster.
In true Tiger fashion, Woods came off a disaster on the 17th hole to
birdie the 18th, beating his personal best with 24 birdies and 74 putts in
three rounds.
An impressive leader board will have to play for second place as
Woods and McDowell show no sign of letting up.
Sunday morning
leader board: Woods (-18); 2. McDowell (-14); T-3. Mickelson (-13); T-3. Stricker
(-13); T-5. Thompson (-11); T-5. Garcia (-11); T-5. Schwartzel (-11); T-5.
Bradley (-11).
Above: Woods sinks a seven-footer on the 10th hole for his 22nd birdie of
the tournament.
Update: 03/11/2013
- Tiger wins Doral, his 17th career
WGC win, four of them at the Cadillac sponsored championship.
This is Tiger’s 76th win, 12th from wire to wire. Woods is now just a
six-pack short of record holder Sam Snead’s 84 wins.
A career-second best 27 birdies with 50 of 72 greens in regulation
are certainly remarkable, but it was his putting proficiency from 10 feet
and in (61 of 64) that raised competitors’ eyebrows.
With just two weeks to the Masters, Woods will be a favorite to win
his 15th major.
A
tale of two Phils.
 Sunday,
February 3, 2013 - Phil Mickelson held off a hard-charging Brandt Snedeker (left) to capture his 41st PGA tour
win Sunday at the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open, but fell two shots shy of tying
the long-standing record of lowest 72-hole tournament record ever recorded
in the game of golf (254 set by Tommy Armour III in the 2003 Valero Texas Open.)
It was
culmination of luckless misses for the 42-year-old PGA professional; he
just missed a hole-in-one at the famously-rowdy 16th par 3 “coliseum” hole,
missed a best-ever scoring round when a 25-foot putt on his last hole
Thursday lipped out for a tournament-record-tying 11-under
60, and missed by one stroke tying the lowest score for the first two
rounds.
Mickelson’s 28-under total tied Mark Calcavecchia for the
event's all-time scoring record; Calcavecchia set
the original mark in 2001.
Lefty also set
the largest first round lead (four strokes), and tied with Calcavecchia, Gene Littler and Arnold Palmer for the
most wins in Phoenix (three).
It was a wire-to-wire victory for the Arizona State University alumnus
in the $6.2 million Waste Management Phoenix Open, netting the
visor-festooned Californian $1.098 million.
Saturday,
February 2, 2013 - A tale of two Phils. Winter weary golfers got some welcome news
Saturday when that Pennsylvania groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, predicted spring is right around the corner.
 But another Phil stole the hour with a brilliant display of how the
greatest game ever played should be played as he built a commanding lead in
the PGA’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, breaking or tying several records
along the way, most notably lipping out a 25-foot putt on the last hole
that would have given him a first round 59.
Only three professional male players have shot 59’s in the history of
PGA tournament golf.
His Saturday round was highlighted by almost holing out his tee shot on
the famous 16th 162-yard par 3 in what is known as "The
Coliseum." Dubbed the loudest hole in golf, Mickelson left his ball
just one foot from the cup, leaving 18,000 plus spectators in hysterics.
Phil Mickelson, a former Phoenix resident for 11 years and Arizona State alumnus, is
one of the most popular and well-liked players on the tour. The lefty is on par to shooting the lowest
72-hole tournament total in the history of golf, and he needs to match the
64 he shot Saturday to do it.
Mickelson has a history of putts
challenging the cup’s lip.
On the 18th hole
in the final round of the 2004 Masters, Mickelson’s 25-foot putt caught the
cup’s lip and spun in; giving the best golfer to never have won a major his
first major win.
Above: Mickelson almost aced the famed 16th “Coliseum” hole
on Saturday, leaving his on-line, nine-iron drive one foot short of the
cup.
Titleist
gets relief from a man-made obstruction!
PRO V1 golf ball turns 10.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - In golfing news, Titleist got a $150 million free lift when in
March, 2010 it announced that it won a jury verdict in the U.S. District
Court for the District of Delaware in its golf ball patent dispute with
Callaway Golf Co. Callaway asserted that previous generation Titleist
Pro V1 golf balls had infringed on four patents originally owned by
Spalding and subsequently purchased by Callaway Golf. The jury agreed with Acushnet’s position that the patents
in question are invalid.
Previously, a federal judge in Delaware declared that the four
patents of Spalding-now-Callaway were infringed upon by Acushnet.
Lucky for Titleist because the #1 ball in golf is truly the #1 ball
in golf.
Acushnet reported that over the last 10 years
since its introduction, the Titleist Pro V1 ball has built a 21.53 percent
market share (Golf Datatech), has won 18 men's
majors, has been golf's top selling ball for 118 consecutive months, and
has sold over 75 million dozen. What makes the ball's lineage so amazing is
that the Pro V1 is also the most expensive ball in golf!
Now you know the rest of the story.
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