| Kim vs. Villegas in Kapalua sets stage for BCS battle??? | Wednesday 1/7, 9:35 PM CT |
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Two-time TOUR winners Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas will begin their seasons in Kapalua, a first for both players. The two will be paired together during the first round, a precursor to the 2008 BCS National Championship Game, which will kick off that night featuring their alma maters -- the University of Florida (Villegas) and the University of Oklahoma (Kim), according to PGATour.com.
Our View: Kim is coming off a fourth-place finish in the 2008 FedExCup, highlighted by victories at the Wachovia Championship and the AT&T National, and $4,656,265 in earnings. Villegas capped off a highly successful 2008 season ranked second in the FedExCup standings, including victories in the last two PGA TOUR Playoff events (BMW Championship and THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola). Winning the Mercedes-Benz Championship has traditionally sparked an outstanding season for the winner. Out of the last 17 winners at the season-opening event, last year's champ, Daniel Chopra, is the only one who failed to advance to THE TOUR Championship, the fourth and final event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. |
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| Vijay withdraws from Sony, knee surgery pending | Wednesday 1/7, 9:30 PM CT |
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Vijay Singh will have knee surgery following this week's Mercedes-Benz Championship and will miss up to five weeks of the PGA Tour season, according to ESPN.com. According to Golf Digest.com, Singh said he hurt the knee three weeks ago at the Chevron World Challenge, which he won. He didn't say when or how he hurt the knee. "More than anything, it's just wear and tear on the meniscus, and it just kind of gave out," Singh told Golf Digest.com. "It's something I needed to get done, and I didn't want to put it off."
Our View: Dr. Paul Shirley will perform the operation, Singh said. He told Golf Digest.com that he wants to be back for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he is scheduled to be paired with his son, Qass. That even begins Feb. 12. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported Wednesday that Singh withdrew from next week's Sony Open in Hawaii and that he would have the surgery. Singh, who won the Mercedes-Benz Championship in 2007, is the top money winner playing this week on the hilly Plantation Course at Kapalua. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, who finished Nos. 2, 3 and 4 on the PGA Tour last year, are all skipping the event. |
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| Seve vows to join Royal Trophy team next year | Wednesday 1/7, 9:28 PM CT |
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Severiano Ballesteros says he plans to return next year to his role as captain of Europe's Royal Trophy team, according to the Associated Press. A statement from the Spanish golfing great was read at a news conference Wednesday, two days before this year's competition begins between teams from Europe and Asia. "My heart and thoughts are with you," Ballesteros said in his message. "I will keep fighting to win my most difficult match. I hope to be with all of you next year."
Our View: Ballesteros was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year that required several operations. He was released from a hospital Dec. 9 and returned home to northern Spain, where he began chemotherapy treatment. Jose Maria Olazabal replaces Ballesteros as captain. Ballesteros' nephew, Ivan Ballesteros , said it was too soon to consider a resumption of his playing career, but that returning as Royal Trophy captain is among his goals. Ballesteros, 51, was instrumental in the creation of the Royal Trophy match play event and led Europe to victory over Asia in the first two editions in 2006 and 2007. The European team features Ireland's Paul McGinley; England's Oliver Wilson and Nick Dougherty; Sweden's Niclas Fasth and Johan Edfors; Scotland's Paul Lawrie; Spain's Pablo Larrazabal; and Denmark's Soren Hansen. The Asian team includes Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee and Prayad Marksaeng; South Korea's Charlie Wi and S.K. Ho; China's Liang Wenchong; and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa, Hideto Tanihara and Toru Taniguchi. |
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| Wanna bet? Tiger listed as early Masters fav | Tuesday 1/6, 9:47 PM CT |
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We have no idea when Tiger Woods is going to return to action, but the book isn't shy in giving him the lean as the favorite to win The Masters, according to the Associated Press. British-based William Hill already has installed him as the 9-to-4 favorite to win The Masters. The bookmaker lists Phil Mickelson at 10-to-1 winning the Masters, followed by Sergio Garcia at 12-to-1 and Padraig Harrington, going for his third straight major, at 14-to-1.
Our View: One other betting option on Woods is how many majors he will win in 2009. William Hill offers 2-to-1 odds that Woods will win at least one major, 11-to-4 that he will win two majors, 14-to-1 that he will win three and 33-to-1 odds that he will win them all. In other words, the odds of Woods winning the Grand Slam are equivalent to Adam Scott winning The Masters. William Hill also has 11-to-10 odds that Woods will not win any major this year. All of this is predicated on him playing the Masters. |
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| Ogilvy sticking with old Titleist Pro V rather than moving to new model | Tuesday 1/6, 9:43 PM CT |
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Geoff Ogilvy is one of the most articulate players on the PGA TOUR, but even he was verbally challenged when talking about changes to the Titleist golf ball, according to the Associated Press. Titleist is involved in an ongoing dispute with Callaway over patents applied to the popular Pro V1 ball. Two courts have ruled in favor of Callaway, and Titleist is appealing. Before the latest court ruling, Titleist converted the Pro V1 to be outside the patents in question. Some are using the modified ball. Others are using the new Pro V1, which carries two small dots in the side stamp. "The new-new one, I'm not going to use this week," Ogilvy said. "I'm going to play these two weeks with the new version of the old one, and then do a bit more testing. There are good reports about the new-new one. So I've got a whole month in Phoenix to test them all out. They never make a bad ball. They're always pretty good."
Our View: Ogilvy went on to explain the ball he uses also has two variations, according to his people at Titleist. Balls made in 2007 did not infringe on any patents and are the ball the Aussie will be striking this week. |
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| Tiger's past may offer insight towards '09 return | Tuesday 1/6, 9:37 PM CT |
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It is mere speculation, but it appears we may be able to estimate a date for return to the game of golf for Tiger Woods, according to Jason Sobel of ESPN. Sobel starts by assuming (a) there is an excellent chance Woods will not play 15 tourneys this season, (b) that Woods will continue, as he has for some time, to fit his PGA appearances to his own preferences and liking, (c) that Woods will not bow to pressure from commissioner Tim Finchem (openly pleading with the game's elite to add more starts to the schedule, and (d) Woods will be seeking additional time off for the arrival of his second child. With all of this in mind, it appears one of three consecutive tourneys, starting with the Buick Invitational followed by Pebble Beach and the Northern Trust seem to offer the best hope for the arrival of the best to ever hit the links.
Our View: The Buick has become a question mark by dropping their endorsement deal with Tiger, making the Northern Trust a realistic possibility. It's a Riviera course he has destroyed before but he skipped this tourney with the flu last season, and Sobel suggests that we have yet to learn if that means it is off the plate or he was really sick. If not then, the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship could be start #1. Only time will tell. |
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| Chopra's putter could be weapon of choice at Kapalua | Monday 1/5, 11:15 PM CT |
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There have only been two winners who earned a victory in their first appearance at the Mercedes - defending champ Daniel Chopra in 2008 and Sergio Garcia in 2002, according to Nathan Easler of ESPN. Chopra, one of the highest-ranked putters from the '08 season (28.06 putts per round last season, 3rd on Tour), gave credit to experience on those greens that are renown for their "varied" texture compared to typical PGA courses.
Our View: As anyone who has had the fortune of playing in Hawaii will tell you, the grain of the greens is an astonishing and confounding force. In 2008, the Plantation Course ranked the most difficult of all non-major events in the following statistical categories: overall putting average (1.733), putts per round (30.56), putting from 10 to 15 feet (24.44 percent) and putting from more than 25 feet (3.14 percent). This is no one-year anomaly, since the Plantation Course was also the most difficult in these same categories in 2007, as well as two additional putting categories. This season, five of the PGA's golfers ranked in the top 25 for putting last season will be on the links in Hawaii, including Brian Gay (#7), Ryuji Imada (#10), Andres Romero (#15), Greg Kraft (#20), and Mart Turnesa (#21). If they keep the putter pure again to start the '09 campaign, they could hold a distinct advantage. |
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| Allenby riding a hot streak | Sunday 1/4, 11:15 PM CT |
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When Tiger Woods returns from knee surgery in 2009, he may no longer have the longest active streak for most consecutive cuts made, according to Nathan Easler of ESPN. Woods' current streak of cuts made stands at 29 while Robert Allenby enters 2009 riding a wave of 27 consecutive cuts made. Woods holds the PGA Tour consecutive cut streak record with 142 (1998 Buick to 2005 Byron Nelson). Back then, Allenby was impressed by Woods' accomplishment, saying after the streak ended: "It was always going to come to an end, wasn't it? Obviously it was a hell of a feat. That record will never be broken."
Our View: Allenby himself has a strong streak going. After he missed the cut in his first tournament of 2008, the Sony Open in Hawaii, he proceeded to make 27 straight. He won't be on the links at Kapalua to keep the streak going this week, but as one of the more active golfers on the planet, you can bet Allenby will be found on the fairways shortly after. |
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| Tiger hoping to improve scheduling for charity event | Sunday 1/4, 11:07 PM CT |
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No one in the Tiger Woods' camp is particularly happy about the dates of his charity event. The Chevron World Challenge ended four days before Christmas, and it followed tournaments in South Africa and Australia that kept away top-ranked players, according to the Associated Press. While it was an elite field, it featured only two of the top 10 in the world ranking. "The first week in December would be great," Woods said. "The date after the Skins Games would be the ideal date. We've still got to work things out, see what kind of TV contracts they have," Woods said. "We'll see what happens."
Our View: That would make sense on the calendar - the Skins Game over Thanksgiving weekend, another California event, then head east to Florida for the Father-Son Challenge and the Merrill Lynch Shootout hosted by Greg Norman. For now, there appears to be too many moving parts. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem would only say he is looking into it. |
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| Furyk one of many top golfers without Maui invite | Saturday 1/3, 9:21 PM CT |
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The 2009 season begins with the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua on the Hawaiian island of Maui and serves is a poignant reminder of how the previous season ended, according to PGATour.com. To qualify for the first PGA tourney of the season, the first shot to start collecting '09 PGA dollars, and the first shot to collect FedEx Cup points, one must earn a victory on the Tour during the previous season. That gives many players without name recognition, guys liks Greg Kraft, Johnson Wagner, Marc Turnesa, and Richard S. Johnson, a shot to play in a limited field at one of the most prestigious events of the years. That also leaves a list of top-ranked golfers on the outside looking in, a list that includes the likes of Jim Furyk, Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker, Robert Allenby, and Luke Donald, just to name a few. "Well,'' Furyk conceded a few days ago, "I'm disappointed I didn't win. I don't really look as not heading back to Kapalua -- everyone wants to be there -- as much as I had the one glaring bad spot or bad mark on my record. I didn't win. And you know I'm ultimately going to judge my season on how many golf tournaments I won and how I played in major championships. Other than being hurt in '04, I think the last eight, nine,10 years I've been out in Kapalua all but one year. Then I followed with the Sony (Open in Hawaii). This coming year my schedule will be different."
Our View: This is only the second time since 1999, when the Mercedes-Benz Championship was moved to Kapalua and to the front of the TOUR schedule, Furyk didn't make it a painful reality considering he owns a home off the fourth fairway. He was close with a second-place finish in the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, behind Geoff Ogilivy. A couple of thirds had him contention as well, but the season ended without a win, something that, since 1997, had occurred only once -- in 2004. |
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