- Blood In The Water:  Not a bad performance for a 53-year old who scarcely plays golf anymore.  With rounds of 71-73, Greg Norman currently sits tied for 20th more than halfway through the second round of the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai.  Norman opened on Thursday with a three-birdie, two-bogey 71 that had him tied for 14th, then again stood one under through 13 holes on Friday before a double-bogey, bogey run at the 5th and 6th (his 14th and 15th) set him back.  A late birdie at the eighth salvaged the 73, however, and with scoring generally remaining high, he doesn’t seem likely to fall to much further as afternoon groups complete play.

- The Human Sponsor Exemption…:  ...Is at it again – though despite being tied for 124th with a five-over-par 75, John Daly is not altogether out of it at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.  That’s because leaders Eric Axley, Mathew Goggin and Ryan Moore could only manage 67s on the D.A. Weibring-redesigned TPC Las Colinas, leaving Daly – theoretically, at least – within striking distance.  But the question remains: even at a light-field event such as this year’s Byron Nelson, why do tournament directors still use a valued spot on a player who is far more likely to withdraw after shooting 79 than ever contend on Sunday?  Helpful hint to said directors: with modern equipment, they all hit it out of sight.  It’s just that with Daly, you never know when he won’t show up at the other end to play the next one.

- The Return Of The PowerHouse:  PowerHouse McIntyre returned to action at the Vodacom Origins of Golf – Pretoria event on Tuesday, finishing round one in the middle of the field with a one-over-par 73.  But the PowerHouse being the PowerHouse, it was not without some excitement.  After a bogey at his fourth hole (the 13th), McIntyre reeled off birdies at the 15th, 17th and 18th to turn in 34, then proceeded to bogey four of his next seven holes to come home in 39.  The 21-year old South African native makes for an entertaining sidelight, but he may also be worth keeping an eye on; anyone capable of making as many birdies and eagles as he does might just iron out the bogeys (not to mention the “others”) with experience, and then look out.  Of course, there won’t be any keeping an eye on him for the rest of this week as he withdrew (with no reason reported on the Sunshine Tour website) prior to Wednesday’s second round.

- What Byron Would’ve Wanted:  Not that I blame either D.A. Weibring or the promoters of the Byron Nelson Championship for hyping the renovation of the TPC Las Colinas; to some extent, the future of the event is tied to this work being well-received.  But why, why, why must everybody insist on making fools of themselves by claiming that whatever design features they incorporated are exactly “what Byron would have wanted?”  I mean, seriously…

- What The Golf Channel Should Have Wanted:  With all of this pre-tournament hype regarding the “new” TPC Las Colinas, I sort of assumed that the Golf Channel would spend a bit of time showing us the changes, perhaps utilizing some aerials, before and after imagery, etc.  True, I only watched the first hour of Thursday’s broadcast, but all I gleaned of the alterations was that the greens have far more contour than before (stated simply by Nick Faldo, then mutilated in the usual vain attempts at humor by Gary McCord) and that there are better sight lines off the tees.  But of course, anyone who read any tournament previews pretty well knew all of that already...

- The Game’s Greatest Gentleman: The field at this week’s EDS Byron Nelson Classic may not rival a Major championship, but any event honoring the late Lord Byron is automatically worthy of note.  Nelson was certainly one of the game’s great players but he was also one of its finest gentleman, a humble, old-fashioned sort the likes of which is seldom seen anywhere in today’s world, let alone among professional athletes.  Rather then wax on lyrically in attempts at doing so special a man justice, I thought I’d simply reprint his entry from my Book of Golfers – which, of course, may also fail to adequately portray him, but at least has the advantage of having been well thought out.  First, however, a personal story: At the 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera, Nelson attended the early rounds as a guest of the PGA of America.  I was introduced to him briefly as PGA officials led him into a club dining room reserved for the organization's VIPs, joining several other people in watching a genuine living legend disappear into the private dining area.  Moments later, the door reopened and Nelson alone stepped out, quietly removed his cap and left it – entirely unguarded – on a piano just outside the room.  In Byron Nelson’s world, one didn’t wear a cap in the dining room – and I suppose it didn’t matter that 50 other people inside had kept theirs on.  A special, special man indeed.

Anyway, from The Book of Golfers: A Biographical History of the Royal & Ancient Game:

    A product of the same Glen Garden CC caddie yard that produced Ben Hogan, John Byron Nelson, Jr. (b.Ft Worth 2/4/1912) was the polar opposite of the dour young Hogan, his courtly manners and pleasing personality winning over outsiders from an early age.  Nelson’s golfing talents were similarly impressive and considerably more advanced than Hogan’s – and not simply because he beat his smaller rival, in a playoff, in Glen Garden’s 1927 caddie tournament.  Quitting school early, Nelson prepared himself for a career in golf, though his main reason for playing was decidedly different from the norm.  Where most young players wanted to build their fortunes by winning as many championships as possible, Nelson’s goal, never wavering, was simply to amass enough money to buy himself a ranch. 
    After winning the 1930 Southwestern Amateur and failing to qualify for match play at the 1931 U.S. Amateur (three-putting 13 times on unfamiliar bentgrass greens), Nelson turned professional in late 1932 but found little immediate success.  His first PGA Tour-recognized victory, in fact, wouldn’t come until the 1935 New Jersey Open, claimed while working as an assistant at Ridgewood CC.  The following year it was the far more prestigious Metropolitan Open (played at Quaker Ridge GC) and by 1937 Nelson was off and running, winning his first Masters that spring by riding an opening 66 to a two-shot victory over Ralph Guldahl.
    In 1939, as war was breaking out in Europe, Nelson ascended to the summit of American golf, winning first in Phoenix, then later at the North & South and the U.S. and Western Opens.  In the U.S. Open (played at Philadelphia CC) he closed with a fine 68 to finish tied with Craig Wood and Denny Shute.  Shute disappeared after an 18-hole playoff with 76 while Nelson and Wood both carded 68s, necessitating another 18 during which Nelson holed a full 1-iron to eagle the fourth and ultimately triumphed by three.  Also finishing runner-up in the PGA Championship at New York’s old Pomonok CC (when Henry Picard blocked an apparent tap-in victory with a stymie at the 36th, then holed a 20-footer to win at the 37th), Nelson completed his stellar season by claiming the Vardon Trophy.
    The following year, 1940, was relatively undistinguished save for coming back to win the PGA Championship in Hershey, PA, beating Guldahl in the semis and Sam Snead in the final, both 1 up.  Nelson also took the 1942 Masters when his 280 total tied with Hogan, and a six-under-par run over an 11-hole stretch allowed him to claim one of golf’s more dramatic playoffs 69-70.  Later that year Nelson was turned away by the military for a condition known as “free bleeding” (his blood failing to coagulate quickly enough) but his winning nevertheless ceased when professional golf essentially ground to a halt until early 1944.
    By this time, however, Nelson was reaching peak form, winning eight events in 1944, then roaring through golf’s greatest-ever statistical season in 1945, a peerless epic which saw him claim an incredible 18 victories in 31 starts, seven second-place finishes and, from early March through early August, a streak of 11 straight wins, perhaps the most unbreakable record in all of sports.  Detractors have long pointed out several factors that might mitigate these accomplishments, primarily that fields were undeniably shorter during wartime.  But a telling statistic is that in stroke play, Nelson’s average margin of victory was 6.3 shots, a remarkable number which might suggest dominance over any field. 
    In 1946, with everyone back in the lineup, Nelson won eight more times including the one top event that he’d been missing, the Los Angeles Open.  Thus at season’s end he made good on his longstanding promise and retired to his Roanoke, TX ranch, playing only in occasional events thereafter.  One of note was his final American victory at the 1951 Bing Crosby (by three over Cary Middlecoff).  A second came in 1955 when his good friend Eddie Lowery (of Francis Ouimet caddying fame) invited Nelson to join him in trying to qualify for the Open Championship at St Andrews.  Having only once entered the world’s oldest event (finishing fifth at Carnoustie when visiting with the Ryder Cup team in 1937), Nelson accepted, qualified, then finished 12th.  The next week, in his final competitive outing, he won the French Open at La Boulie, then retired for good.
    Byron Nelson won a total of 52 official PGA Tour events (fifth all-time) and five Major championships, the latter number unquestionably surpressed by the wartime cancellation of eight American events at the very peak of his career.  Similarly, he retired at the ripe old age of 34, still very much in form but tired of the touring life.  If travel conditions and higher purses had matched those of our modern era, how many more events might Nelson have won had he played until, say, age 40?  And how many more Majors might he have entered, a là Hogan, had there been a better awareness of their long-term historical importance?
    Nelson did continue competing at the Masters, and remained quite active both as a broadcaster and a teacher, playing a major role in the careers of both Ken Venturi and Tom Watson.  This is hardly surprising, however, given that Nelson’s own swing – built around a full shoulder turn, remarkable left-side extension and an aggressive driving of the lower body – was the model for much of what would be considered ideal in the modern era (not to mention the PGA Tour’s current logo).  Arguably the finest long iron player of all-time, Nelson also drove the ball with exceptional accuracy and plenty of length, with only his putting falling anywhere near “average” in description.
    Above all, Byron Nelson has long stood out as one of golf’s finest gentlemen, an extraordinarily modest and kind man who, when playing exhibitions, would always inquire as to what the course record was and who held it – for if the answer was the club’s resident professional, it was Lord Byron’s rule never, ever to break it.

-A Green Game...Sort Of:  Golf Digest (the original American version) offers an extensive series of articles in their May issue on golf and the environment, and it is fascinating to see the degree to which reader response is negative.  To be sure, this reaction might be different were these pieces running in a different golfing country – say, Australia or the United Kingdom – for among traditionally golf-strong nations, we Americans are probably better at ignoring the logic of the climate change argument than anyone.  My personal concerns here are twofold.  First, there is the obvious: We may not be absolutely certain what climate change is all about, or even if it meaningfully exists at all.  But as our surprisingly responsible Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger has observed, if your child feels ill and 98 of 100 doctors suggest they’re suffering from a particular disease, do you follow the advice of the 98 or roll the dice with the two who say the kid is fine?  Then, of course, there is the ever-popular perspective that suggests – irrefutably, I think – that if we address the issue needlessly (i.e. the present climate issues are only a fluke), the worst thing that happens is we leave a cleaner planet to future generations – and how bad is that?  But for golfers in particular, I sense a larger and more potent issue here, if not today then certainly in the near future: land usage.  As populations continue to grow and major cities expand, the notion of building golf courses in larger metropolitan areas becomes a fantasy.  First, suitably large pieces of land are virtually nonexistent – a problem exacerbated greatly by the failure of the game’s governing bodies to meaningfully regulate equipment (i.e. the 7,400 yards now required of a “championship” layout eats up a lot more real estate than the old 6,800-yard model).  Perhaps more importantly, at what point does an overcrowded society begin to question the utility of 200-acre tracts of valuable, well-located land serving the private recreational needs of a comparative handful of affluent people?  True, the land was fairly acquired and is privately held, but anyone believing that such legality guarantees the safe future of these courses must be completely unaware of the American concept of eminent domain, which allows governments to appropriate properties (generally with market value compensation) when the land is deemed necessary for public-good items like roads, schools, and the like.  The underlying point to all of this, then, is basic: Aside from simply doing the right thing environmentally, does it not behoove the game of golf to be as green friendly as possible simply in its own self-interest?  It seems to me that as the general public becomes more environmentally savvy (and usable metropolitan area land similarly scarce), America’s private clubs hardly need to provide even more ammunition to potential critics and/or appropriators.  In other words, if you’re not damaging an area’s wetlands, laying down pesticides that might potentially affect the water supply, etc., the surrounding community might be a bit more inclined to live and let live.  So regardless of one’s position on climate change, for golfers, being environmentally friendly might really be viewed more as a matter of pragmatism.  Or self-preservation.

-Quotable: “Standing on the first tee, crowd 20-deep, 500 cameras – obviously that's how he plays every round of golf his whole life.  He's become so comfortable with that and that's a huge advantage for him." – Justin Rose, on Tiger Woods’ potential advantage in big events.

Lorena Ochoa's vacation takes much of the luster out of the week, a fact little compensated for field-wise at either the Byron Nelson or the BMW Asian Open.  A quiet week then.  Perhaps...

PGA Tour:  EDS Byron Nelson Championship

Site: TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas  -  Irving, TX
Yards: 7,166     Par: 70
Defending: Scott Verplank 267  (beat Luke Donald by 1)
Field:   World Top 25: Adam Scott (10), Rory Sabbatini (12), Trevor Immelman (15), Sergio Garcia (17) & Luke Donald (18)   Other Notables: Paul Azinger, Steve Elkington, Justin Leonard, Corey Pavin.

Notes: Predictably, the Byron Nelson has suffered a marked drop in the quality of its field since the 2006 death of its Hall-of-Fame namesake.........The event, which has often been played over two adjoining courses, will now be contested over the recently re-designed  TPC course at Las Colinas, a much-altered layout this time fully renovated by D.A. Weibring.........Weibring states that “our goal was to honor the legacy of Byron Nelson,” and that “we created a cleaner, more defined course that incorporates traditional tee, bunker and green elements throughout. PGA TOUR players will be faced with more shot options from tee to green, creating additional drama for spectators and TV viewers. At the same time, for resort guests and Sports Club members, we created a very playable layout for all skill levels".........What, exactly, that has to do with Byron Nelson’s legacy remains a mystery, but in any event, the boys will certainly be playing a new golf course this year (which also renders the below aerial largely historical).

                         ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL
 
 
European & Asian Tours:  BMW Asian Open

Site: Tomson Shanghai Pudong Country Club  -  Shanghai, China
Yards: 7,326     Par: 72
Defending: Raphael Jacquelin 278  (beat Soren Kjeldsen by 2)
Field:   World Top 25: Henrik Stenson (13)   Other Notables: Thomas Bjorn, Michael Campbell, Retief Goosen, David Howell, Miguel Angel Jimenez & Martin Kaymer.

Notes: Raphael Jacquelin defends in this, the seventh playing of the Asian Open.........This is the final event jointly sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours during the spring and summer schedules, with the tours not teaming up again until late November's Hong Kong Open.........Previous champions here include Padraig Harrington (2002), Miguel Angel Jimenez (2004) and Ernie Els (2005).

                         ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL
 
 
Japan Tour:  Tsuruya Open

Site: Yamanohara Golf Club  -  Hyogo, Japan
Yards: 6,778     Par: 71
Defending: Brendan Jones 268  (beat Massy Kuramoto, Hirofumi Miyase & Takuya Taniguchi by 2)
Field:   World Top 25: None    Other Notables: Ryo Ishikawa, Toshi Izawa, Shingo Katayama, Tommy Nakajima, Jet Ozaki, & Jumbo Ozaki.

Notes: Week two of the J Tour season brings the 15th playing of the Tsuruya Open, where Australia's Brendan Jones is a two-time defending champion, and a three-time winner overall.........Also scheduled to compete are a pair of older J Tour legends, 53-year-old Tommy Nakajima and the inimitable Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki.

                         ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL
 
 
Sunshine Tour:  Vodacom Origins of Golf Gauteng

Site: Pretoria Country Club  -  Pretoria, South Africa
Yards:     Par:
Defending: Hennie Otto 210  (beat James Kamte by 4)
Field:   World Top 25: None    Other Notables: Desvonde Botes, Hennie Otto & James Kamte.

Notes: The second of the six-event off-season Vodacom series, this visit to Pretoria features two of the tournament's three past champions, Desvonde Botes (2005) and the defender, Hennie Otto.........The rest of the field, however, is typically off-season lean - though our favorite son, PowerHouse McIntyre is scheduled to appear.

                         ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL
 
 
LPGA Tour:  Stanford International Pro-Am

Site: Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club  -  Aventura, FL
Yards: 6,244     Par: 71
Defending:
Field:   Ranked: The entire Rolex top 20 except Lorena Ochoa (1), Ji-Yai Shin (7), Sakura Yokomine (17) & Yuri Fudoh (19)    Other Notables: Laura Davies, Nancy Lopez, Meg Mallon, Jan Stephenson & Yani Tseng.

Notes: The rest of the LPGA gets their first chance in more than a month to play for something other than 2nd, as Lorena Ochoa is taking the week off.........This is the inaugural playing of the Stanford International which, for the moment at least, will make its home at the expansive Turnberry development, situated just five miles north of Miami Beach.........The pro-am segment of the event will be played over the initial 54-holes, which will be contested over both of Turnberry's courses.........The pros will then finish up on their own on Sunday.........Despite Ochoa's absence, the field is a strong one, boasting 46 of the LPGA's top 50 players.

                         ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL
 
 
Champions Tour:  Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf

Site: Savannah Harbor Golf Resort  -  Savannah, GA
Yards: 7,087     Par:72     
Defending: Jay Haas 207  (beat Tom Kite in a playoff)
Field:   Ranked: The entire Charles Schwab Cup to 20 except Tim Simpson, Vicente Fernandez and Fulton Allem   Other Notables: Billy Casper, Bob Charles, Dow Finsterwald, Doug Ford, Gene Littler, Bobby Nichols & Lee Trevino (among others).

Notes: On the positive side, this is the event which, after beginning as a 54-hole best-ball tournament in 1978, sparked the formation of the Champions Tour.........On the negative side, its present format - with multiple age divisions, some playing before the pro-am, others after - is ridiculously hard to keep track of.........Two certainties: 1) The primary or "Legends" division returns to team play, after being contended in an individual format since 2001, and 2) The Legends remains special as the rare place that largely retired stars like Billy Casper, Doug Ford, Gene Littler, etc. can still be seen.

                         ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL  

Elsewhere...
The JLPGA visits the legendary Fuji course at the Kawana Hotel Golf Club for the 16th playing of the prestigious Fujisankei Classic, while the KLPGA plays their fourth event, the unendingly named MBC Tour MC Square Cup Crown CC Ladies Open.  The Futures, meanwhile, ventures south to McAllen, Texas for an event with an even better name, the Jalapeno Classic.  On the male side, the Nationwide Tour returns to one of its more established stops, the Henrico County Open, and the Europeran Challenge Tour returns from South America for the Open Cotes d’Amour Bretagnes.  The Canadian Tour, on the other hand, continues to play everywhere but Canada, moving from California to the Corona Mazatlan Mexican PGA Championship.

Despite CBS's concerted attempts at making Boo Weekley look like an amiable idiot, it was their earlier telecast - the LPGA event from Orlando - that made for the most compelling television.  Of course, there's not much surprise in that; with Tiger temporarily on the shelf, Lorena Ochoa must easily be the most exciting thing in golf...

PGA Tour:  Verizon Heritage – Hilton Head, SC

Six years ago, one Thomas Brent “Boo” Weekley arrived  on the PGA Tour as a green rookie out of Milton, Florida and proceeded to miss 18 of 23 cuts, failed to log even a single top 10, and was gone as quickly as he arrived.  But Weekley persisted, spending the next four seasons on the Nationwide Tour before returning to the big leagues in 2007.  He putted his way out of a victory at the Honda Classic, then chipped his way to a breakthrough triumph (holing from off of the final two greens) at the Verizon Heritage – and now, a year later, Weekley has cemented his status as a bonafide star by easily defending his Heritage crown with a three-shot triumph at Harbour Town.  The margin of victory was somewhat deceiving; after opening Sunday’s final round with a three-shot lead, Weekley remained safely out in front, actually extending the lead to five with a chip-in (inevitably) at the 10th.  Perhaps the key moment came when he holed a nine-footer for bogey at the tricky 13th, allowing Weekley to come back with birdies at the 14th and 15th.  Only late bogeys at the 16th and 18th allowed joint runners-up Anthony Kim and Aaron Baddeley to creep back within three.  Weekley’s resounding title defense lifts him all the way to 7th on the PGA Tour money list, and from 46th to 23rd in the Official World Ranking.  Baddeley, a fixture in the top 50, climbs to 16th while the up-and-coming Kim rises from 69th to 39th.

      FINAL RESULTS          MONEY LIST          PGA TOUR STATS          INTERVIEWS

European & Asian Tours:  Volvo China Open – Beijing, China

From the beginning, 2008 looked to be the year of Damien McGrane.  Though the 37-year-old Irishman entered the season with little fanfare, he initially served notice in Dubai, where opening rounds of 68-69 had him paired with world number one Tiger Woods on the weekend, then finished 2nd a week later at the EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters.  Four rounds in the 60s stood him 6th two weeks ago in Portugal, setting the stage for his first E Tour victory this week at the Volvo China Open.  In Beijing, McGrane strung together rounds of 68-69-68 to take a three-shot lead before closing with a 73 in rainy conditions so difficult that this on-over-par round actually allowed him to runaway and win by nine strokes over Simon Griffiths (who “charged” home with a 74), Michael Lorenzo-Vera and Oliver Wilson.  McGrane climbs to 6th in the Order of Merit with the victory, though the limited field present for this post-Masters event limited his rise in the Official World Ranking to 73 spots, from 221st to 148th.

                     FINAL RESULTS          ORDER OF MERIT          E TOUR STATS

Japan Tour:  Token Homemate Cup – Nagoya, Japan

For three days, it looked as though the 2008 Token Homemate Cup might represent something of a coronation for Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa, as the 16-year-old phenom (a J Tour winner as a 15-year-old amateur in 2007) was a 54-hole co-leader with rounds of 68-67-72 at Nagoya’s Token Tado Country Club.  But looking to claim victory in his first J Tour event entered as a professional, Ishikawa stumbled on Sunday, making three bogeys and two doubles over his first 11 holes to blow himself out of contention before adding three late birdies to tie for 5th.  When Ishikawa’s co-54-hole leader Taichi Teshima could only manage a closing 70 of his own, the door was left slightly ajar for veteran Katsumasa Miyamoto, who promptly stepped through it with a final-round 66 to claim his seventh career J Tour title, edging Teshima by one.

                      FINAL RESULTS          ORDER OF MERIT          J TOUR STATS

LPGA Tour:  Ginn Open – Reunion, FL

Here we ago again – again.  A seemingly unstoppable Lorena Ochoa won for the fourth consecutive time at the LPGA’s Ginn Open, her 19-under-par 269 total defeating Taiwanese rookie Yani Tseng by three.  It was not all fun and games this week, however; Ochoa actually trailed Tseng by three at the halfway mark before uncorking an eight-birdie, one-bogey 65 on Saturday to creep ahead by one.  On Sunday, the runaway world number one held a two-shot lead going into the homestretch and, with a bit of help from a fading Tseng, held on, hitting the ball with distinction but missing a handful of putts which might well have extended her victory margin to five or six.  In a particularly telling statistic, it was the sixth consecutive time that Ochoa has won after holding a 54-hole lead, making comparisons with Tiger Woods’ style of dominance all the more legitimate.  It was also Ochoa’s 10th victory in her last 15 starts and her 19th LPGA Tour triumph in a 24-month span.  And finally, the win made Ochoa only the fifth player ever to claim four straight LPGA starts, following Mickey Wright (who did it twice), Kathy Whitworth, Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam.  When she next tees it up (likely in two weeks, at the SemGroup Championship) Ochoa will be attempting to Lopez and Sorenstam, the only ones able to win five.

           FINAL RESULTS          MONEY LIST          LPGA STATS          INTERVIEWS

Champions Tour:  Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am – Lutz, FL

Hall-of-Famer Tom Watson, a Midwestern boy from Kansas City, was well-known during his under-50 days as a man who struggled on Bermuda greens; indeed, Watson, a 39-time PGA Tour winner, never claimed a victory in the state of Florida in 77 tries, then further compounded the frustration by going 0-for-his-first-16 in the Sunshine State on the Champions Tour.  A year ago, he finally ended this epic drought at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, and this week he made Florida victories seem like old hat as he successfully defended that title.  Watson bolted out early, shooting an inward 28 during a first-round 63 that set the pace, but in the end his victory was more about good luck than anything else.  After hitting it in the water at the last to surrender a one-shot lead with a bogey, he then looked on as two-time 2008 winner Scott Hoch missed a two-footer to force a playoff, this after Mark Wiebe finished double-bogey, bogey to remove himself from a chance at a tie.

    FINAL RESULTS          MONEY LIST          CHAMPIONS STATS          INTERVIEWS

Elsewhere...
Sweden’s Emma Zackrisson fired a 281 to claim her first Ladies European Tour victory at the Women’s Spanish Open, defeating Australia’s Nikki Garrett and Italy’s Diana Luna by four at the Panoramica Golf & Country Club in San Jordi.........In Japan, Yukari Baba won her second career JLPGA title at the Life Card Ladies, her 207 54-hole total defeating Shinobu Moromizato and Midori Yoneyama by three at the Kumamoto Airport Country Club.........In Korea, 19-year-old Ji-Yai Shin, the world’s 7th-ranked player, closed with a 67 to defeat Il Hee Lee by one at the Woori Investment & Securities Championship.  The victory was Shin’s 13th career KLPGA title and her 17th international win overall.........Robert Damron defeated Greg Owen in a sudden death battle between two PGA Tour veterans to win the Nationwide Tour’s Athens Regional Foundation Classic at the Jennings Mill Country Club in Athens, Georgia.  The two players initially deadlocked at 11-under-par 277.........Already a 2008 winner on the European Tour (at the Indonesia Open), Chile’s Felipe Aguilar scored an epic victory in his homeland’s Chile Open, his 23-under-par 265 total finishing an impressive 11 shots ahead of Sebastian Saavedra of Argentina at the Hacienda de Chicureo Golf Club  It was Aguilar’s second triumph in his national open.........American John Ellis won the Canadian Tour’s second California event, Stockton Sports Commission Classic, in a sudden death playoff with  Tommy Barber after the pair deadlocked at 272 through 72 holes.........M.J. Hur of Korea captured the Louisiana Pelican Classic on the Futures Tour in sudden death, defeating Vicky Hurst after the pair posted 206s in regulation play.

- A Win Would Mean...: That this is getting borderline ridiculous. After firing what seemed an almost methodical seven-under-par 65 on Saturday, Lorena Ochoa now holds a one-shot lead over Taiwanese rookie Yani Tseng, a five-shot cushion over Teresa Lu and a massive six-shot advantage over Carin Koch and Suzann Pettersen at the Ginn Open in Reunion, Florida. On the assumption that Ochoa won’t go much higher than 72 or 73 tomorrow (and even that seems a worst case scenario), this virtually guarantees a two-woman battle between the world number one and the upstart Tseng, who, with a pair of top 10s in her maiden LPGA season (including a 2nd at the MasterCard Classic), is not necessarily going to fold. And if Ochoa wins? Well, that would be four straight victories (the first time anyone’s done that since Annika Sorenstam in early 2001) and five victories in her first six 2008 starts. This hot streak cannot last forever, of course, and before the season is over, both Sorenstam and Pettersen likely will pull a bit closer in the Rolex Rankings than they stand at present. But all of that said, it would, I’d imagine, be hard to find much confident money betting against Ochoa today...

- A Recurring Problem?: Another by-product of an Ochoa victory would be a further cementing of her status as the most dominant golfer in the world – at least for the next four to six weeks while Tiger Woods recovers from post-Masters arthroscopic surgery to his left knee. At age 32, and in picture-perfect shape, Woods would not altogether seem the most likely candidate for such youthful knee problems, but this is hardly his first bout with the surgeon’s knife. That same knee had a benign cyst removed from it in 1994, then had fluid drained and another cyst removed some eight years later. Are we looking, then, at the sort of recurring injury that might substantially affect the remainder of Woods’ career? Probably not, from the sound of most orthopedic opinions presently being bounced around. But what if it does? What if, for example, a hilly course like Augusta becomes enough of a problem for the knee that Woods’ ability to compete is legitimately affected? I can already envision the network executives lobbying the USGA and PGA of America to hold all of their Majors on the flattest, easiest-to-walk courses imaginable. And if Augusta’s hills really become a problem? Perhaps suggestions to replace it with the Florida-based Players Championship as the fourth Major will become deafening. Or – gulp! – perhaps the PGA Tour will rely on court-mandated precedent and allow Tiger to play with a cart, just like his fellow Stanford Cardinal Casey Martin. The possibilities, in many directions, seem endless…

- If He Hadn’t Won Already...:  …We might be wondering if Ryo Ishikawa was ready for all of this.  Japan’s talented 16-year-old professional was the halfway leader at the season-opening Token Homemate Cup with rounds of 68-67, then was tied for the 54-hole lead after adding  a third-round 72.  But Sunday saw Ishikawa back off quickly, as he double-bogeyed the first hole en route to an outward 38, then doubled the 10th and bogeyed the 11th before salvaging a 74 by with late birdies at the 15th, 16th and 17th.  In the end, his 281 total tied for 5th, five behind winner Katsumasa Miyamoto, whose closing 66 proved enough to edge Taichi Teshima by one.  Still, a solid professional debut for Ishikawa, whose J Tour victory at the 2007 Munsingwear Open as a 15-year-old amateur certainly gives him something to build on.

- It’s Early Yet…:  …In both his career and this week’s season-opening Token Homemate Cup, but 16-year-old Ryo Ishikawa is certainly making a splash on the Japan Golf Tour.  Ishikawa first came to worldwide attention last year when he won the J Tour’s Munsingwear Open as a 15-year-old amateur.  He then turned professional later in the year but did not compete again on his homeland tour until this week.  Now, with rounds of 68-67, he holds the partial 36-hole lead in the rain-delayed Token Homemate opener – though this lead could be fleeting with 64 players unable to complete their Friday rounds before darkness.  Still, all in all, it’s shaping up into a nice debut…

- A Course Which Changed The World:  It is no coincidence that despite being scheduled in the week following the Masters, the Verizon Heritage manages to draw a strong enough field that nine of the world top 25 are in attendance.  The reason for so many of the elite electing not to take an immediate vacation?  The site of the Heritage, Pete Dye’s seminal Harbour Town Golf Links.  Opened in 1969, Harbour Town was built by Dye with a bit of help from Jack Nicklaus, and though not the famed designer’s first modern-traditionalist design (it was preceded by both Crooked Stick and The Golf Club), Harbour Town’s immediate hosting of the PGA Tour’s Heritage Classic gave it overnight fame worldwide.  Originally a builder of more “standard” courses, Dye (along with wife Alice) was hugely influenced by a 1963 visit to Scotland, which ultimately led him to incorporate such Old World touches as pot bunkers, blind shots and, of course, those much-copied railroad ties into his bag of tricks.  At Harbour Town, he further bucked period design trends by creating a layout which measured only 6,655 yards from the back tees, an unconventional move in an era when Robert Trent Jones had hoodwinked the world into believing that anything under 7,000 yards was a pitch and putt.  Nearly 40 years later, Harbour Town’s architectural significance may be at least somewhat forgotten; its then-groundbreaking stylings have been copied hundreds of times since (often by Dye himself) and with the game’s governing bodies failing to meaningfully regulate modern equipment, we are once again back to building courses of absurd length.  But even at its current, expanded length of 6,973 yards, Harbour Town remains a wonderfully idiosyncratic test, particularly in its four unique par 3s and, of course, its famous 452-yard waterside finisher.  It was, once upon a time, the golf course which single-handedly reversed the tide of oversized, uninteresting, loutish architecture, and it is well worth observing still.

- Overnight Update: None of the late second-round finishers in Japan were able to overtake Ryo Ishikawa, nor has anyone done so mid-way through the third round, as he continues to lead by two through 47 holes. 

Okay, so the Masters has a problem on its hands.

Their golf course, once the most thrilling tournament venue ever created, and home to an encyclopedia’s worth of memorable moments, has become a poor man’s U.S. Open track.  The Masters, forever the unquestioned highlight of any golf fan’s TV viewing calendar, has evolved into a relentlessly plodding affair…and for the first time the apologists are being outweighed (actually overwhelmed) by those who pine for the good old drama-filled days.

There’s little point in attempting, for the thousandth time, to fathom the club’s reasoning in creating the present mess.  Suffice to say that egos bruised by having too many of the world’s best post too many red numbers seems the only logical answer – though I’m just naïve enough, even now, to doubt that such cluelessness really drives so learned and successful a body of men.  At any rate, I’ve been bashing them since declaring the original Bobby Jones/Alister MacKenzie design deceased in my 2003 book Lost Links, so it seems only right to make a constructive suggestion or two as to what the Green Jackets can do to restore some semblance of the old Augusta National.

So lets start with the one fundamental, non-negotiable point in any reclamation process:

The rough needs to go.

There can’t be any arguing about this.  Jones and MacKenzie despised long grass and specifically designed Augusta not to need it.  It slows down play and, far more importantly, diminishes strategic considerations on a number of holes.  There are some who decry this, saying that today’s pros don’t think in strategic terms anyway.  The longer I watch, however, the more I tend to agree with Pete Dye, who believes that the more you make these guys think, the faster their wheels come off.  And besides, if even one player elects to lay up at the 13th or 15th because they’re a yard into the long grass, its presence is materially damaging the tournament.

Length, on the other hand, strikes me as being much less of a problem.  A handful of holes have been adversely affected by too much of it (as noted below) but in general, it’s not Augusta’s fault that the governing bodies have buried their heads in the sand with regard to equipment regulation.  Bottom line: when players were reaching the aforementioned 13th and 15th with mid to short irons, it was time for a change.

So, leaving out holes that can survive more or less the way they are…

Number One – A strong opener, but a hole that might be improved...  (Continue)

- Who Are These Guys?:  I’m referring not to any players on the Omega China Tour but rather to some of the people writing post-tournament assessments of the Masters – because some of their observations are simply mind-boggling.  No, not the chorus of columns decrying the event’s current dullness; those are 100% correct and lamentable only in the fact that it took several Augusta sleepfests before they started to widely appear.  What I’m referring to primarily are the suggestions that Tiger Woods’ “failing” at Augusta (he finished second!) was due to “overconfidence” – which would actually be hysterical were it not so wildly – wildly – off the mark.  Make no mistake: there are many (myself occasionally among them) who consider Tiger’s act to occasionally border on arrogant, usually when he’s winning and coming up with wonderfully gracious comments like “ten and eight.”  But so far as I’m aware, Tiger only once discussed his 2008 Grand Slam prospects, answering, when specifically asked, that the concept was “easily within reason.”  He never suggested he would do it, indicated that he’d consider his season a failure if he didn’t, or anything of that ilk.  He simply responded that the idea struck him as “easily within reason” – which, considering he has won four consecutive Majors previously in his career, can hardly be called an “overconfident” response.  His preparation and work ethic prior to the Masters have not been reported as anything less than his normal high standard so how, in one million years, was he “overconfident?”  Of course, the propagators of such drivel can at least feel good about one thing: They are not the Midwestern writer whose Monday column actually suggested that now Trevor Immelman might be on track to win the Grand Slam.  Who are these guys???

- Who Was That Gal?:  At the 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera, Ernie Els held a three-shot 54-hole advantage over Mark O’Meara, Jeff Maggert and one of the strongest fields of professional golfers ever assembled.  In the press tent following his round, Els was queried about the golf course, other contenders and the like, before an unknown female reporter stood up and asked him if his three-shot lead was “insurmountable.”  Visibly amused, Els shook his head quizzically and replied simply, “Lady, have you been around?”  Thirteen years and one Tiger Woods revolution later, the regular beat writers still know their stuff, while the others…

- Quotable:  “Whenever we start complaining about something, they throw more money at us, and everybody goes back to hitting balls on the practice range.” – An anonymous PGA Tour member on why the players have consistently failed to organize against the perceived autocratic governance of Tim Finchem & Co.

- There Will Be No Grand Slam...:  ...In men’s golf, but who’s to say that Lorena Ochoa won’t accomplish the feat on the women’s side?  Her present dominance is at least as great as Tiger Woods’ – greater, really, if we consider her 8.5-shot average margin of victory in four 2008 triumphs – and the number of players realistically likely to challenge her on a Major Sunday would seem to be fewer.  I would also suggest that having played 12 full seasons on the PGA Tour, climbed every mountain and, in many eyes, peaked during an epic 2000-01 run, Tiger’s sense of his own parameters of greatness is fairly well-established.  In other words, he knows better than anyone just how difficult his claiming all four Majors in a single season would be.  Ochoa, on the other hand, is still on an ascending career plane with no upside parameters yet established; said more simply, she’s blown the field away in four out of five starts at a young enough age that her game is still improving – so what would make her think that after claiming the Kraft Nabisco two weeks ago, she can’t win the remaining three?  One major bookmaker lists Ochoa at 5-1 to complete the Slam, and while only Mickey Wright (1961) and Pat Bradley (1986) have ever claimed as many as three women’s Majors in a single season, those odds do not strike me as being entirely ridiculous...

Things return to normal following the U.S. Open Masters at Augusta, with the primary draws being a wonderful golf course at Harbour Town, a full field of stars for Lorena Ochoa to batter in Florida, and the opening of the 2008 season in Japan.  Post-Major weeks are always quiet(er), but this one is hardly without interest...

PGA Tour:  Verizon Heritage

Site: Harbour Town Golf Links  -  Hilton Head, SC
Yards: 6,973     Par: 71
Defending: Boo Weekley 270  (beat Ernie Els by 1)
Field:   World Top 25: Ernie Els (3), Justin Rose (7), Jim Furyk (9), Stewart Cink (14), Zach Johnson (20), Aaron Baddeley (21), Niclas Fasth (23), Sean O’Hair (24) & Scott Verplank (25)   Other Notables: Paul Azinger, Mark Calcavecchia, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III & Corey Pavin.

Notes: This is the 40th playing of this event, which debuted with Arnold Palmer’s victory in 1969......It has been played the week after the Masters since 1983, a time slot which would be considered undesirable by many events, but which has worked here because 1) Pete Dye’s seminal Harbour Town layout remains a great draw, and 2) Many players consider Hilton Head an ideal spot to decompress following the pressures of Augusta.........No less than 10 Hall-of-Famers have won here, though the king of Harbor Town has surely been Davis Love III, who has claimed the title a remarkable five times (1987, ’91, ’92, ’98 and ’03).........Only Bernhard Langer (1985) has ever followed a Masters win with a victory here – and that distinction will remain his alone as Trevor Immelman is not playing this week.........Though modestly renovated over the years, Harbor Town remains an icon in the history of American golf course design, having largely reversed the trend towards longer, duller tracks of the 1950s and ‘60s by itself at the time of its 1969 opening.........It’s closers, the 185-yard 17th and 452-yard 18th, are among the most distinctive in golf.

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European & Asian Tours:  Volvo China Open

Site: Beijing CBD International Golf Club  -  Beijing, China
Yards: 7,321     Par: 72
Defending: Markus Brier 274  (beat Scott Hend by 5)
Field:   World Top 25: None   Other Notables: S.S.P. Chowrasia, David Howell, Soren Kjeldsen,, Wen-Chong Liang, Graeme McDowell & Louis Oosthuizen

Notes: The European Tour co-sponsors this post-Masters event with the Asian Tour, but given the massive travel distance from Augusta, its chances of drawing a strong field are, at present, minimal.........This is the event’s fifth playing, with past champions including Stephen Dodd, Paul Casey and Jeev Milkha Singh, of whom only Dodd (who did not play at Augusta) will be present this year.........The Beijing CBD International Golf Club is a four-year-old course wedged onto a tight property east of downtown, and is hosting the event for the first time as the event makes its debut in China's capital.

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Japan Tour:  Token Homemate Cup

Site: Token Tado Country Club  -  Nagoya, Japan
Yards: 7,083     Par: 71
Defending: Yui Ueda 276  (beat Dong-Hwan Lee by 1)
Field:   World Top 25: None    Other Notables: Ryo Ishikawa, Toshi Izawa, Shingo Katayama, Jet Ozaki, Jumbo Ozaki, Craig Parry, Toru Taniguchi

Notes: The Japan Tour begins its 24th official season (though it existed in a less-organized state well before 1985) with the Token Homemate Cup in Nagoya.........The field includes a full compliment of Japan’s best players, but few foreigners beyond the handful that regularly compete on the J Tour.........This is the event’s 19th playing, during which it has seen six foreign winners, the sole American champion being Todd Hamilton in 1995.........Japan’s all-time greatest player, 61-year-old Jumbo Ozaki, is scheduled to play, having won the event (by one over Carlos Franco) in 1997.

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LPGA Tour:  Ginn Open

Site: Ginn Reunion Resort (Independence course)  -  Reunion, FL
Yards: 6,505     Par: 72
Defending: Brittany Lincicome 278  (beat Lorena Ochoa by 1)
Field:   Ranked: The entire Rolex top 20 except Ji-Yai Shin (7), Sakura Yokomine (16) & Yuri Fudoh (18)    Other Notables: Laura Davies, Meg Mallon, Liselotte Neumann, Grace Park, Jan Stephenson.

Notes: World number one Lorena Ochoa will attempt to win her fourth LPGA event in a row against a near-elite field just south of Orlando.........Ochoa is coming an 11-shot victory at the Corona Championship (in her native Mexico), a light-field event.........The rout (her second 11-shot triumph of 2008) raised her average margin of victory in four 2008 triumphs to an astonishing 8.5 strokes.........Annika Sorenstam and Suzann Pettersen, joint runners-up two weeks ago at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, are ranked 2nd and 3rd worldwide and will attempt to slow the Ochoa juggernaut.........This is only the event’s third playing, with past champions being Lincicome and, in the 2006 debut, Mi Hyun Kim.

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Champions Tour:  Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am

Site: TPC Tampa Bay  -  Lutz, FL
Yards: 6,873     Par: 71
Defending: Tom Watson 209  (beat Andy Bean & Jay Haas by 1)
Field:   Ranked: The entire Charles Schwab Cup to 20 except Fred Funk (4) & Scott Simpson (19)   Other Notables: Bob Charles, Hubert Green, Hale Irwin, Gil Morgan, Larry Nelson & Mark O’Meara.

Notes: The Champions Tour returns to Florida’s west coast for the 21st playing of an event which has existed, under multiple sponsors, since 1988.........Both of the Tour’s two-time winners, Bernhard Langer and Scott Hoch are in the field, though Langer might be feeling a bit winded after two days Augusta National’s trying conditions last week.

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Elsewhere...
The Ladies European Tour plays their first full-field Continental event of 2008, the Women’s Spanish Open, at the Panoramica Golf & Country Club in San Jordi.  The JLPGA (the Life Card Ladies) and the KLPGA (the Woori Investment & Securities Championship) are also in action, making this the first week of the year that all four major Ladies tours are in action simultaneously.  The developmental Futures Tour will also tee it up, visiting Louisiana for the Pelican Classic.  On the male side, the Nationwide Tour visits Georgia for the Athens Regional Foundation Classic, the Canadian Tour remains in California for the Stockton Sports Commission Classic, while the Tour de Las Americas offers up the Chile Open.