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27

Aug
Mon

How She Did That: Lydia Ko's Light-hearted Approach

By Roger SchiffmanManaging EditorGolf DigestTwitter @RogerSchiffmanWhat is most striking about Lydia Ko's victory Sunday--she's the youngest champion on the LPGA Tour (sorry, Lexi Thompson) and the first amateur to win since JoAnn Carner in 1969--is...

27

Aug
Mon

Finally, some vindication for the hole-in-one-less

By Derek Evers You know how many holes-in-one I've had? The same amount as my one-year-old nephew. None. Nada. Zero. And for a long time I was OK with this. Despite my ineptitude, I could always take solace in knowing I was only one of the millions of golfers who have yet to know the feeling of putting a "1" on the scorecard. I mean, the odds are about as good as winning the lottery, right? Apparently not. Apparently, it's so easy a 12-year-old girl can do it TWICE IN ONE ROUND. Which is not nearly as rare as you'd think, even among teenagers. This Texas teen did it. A pair of sisters playing for the Central Oklahoma golf team both aced a hole during the same round. Even a guy from New Jersey dropped two in a day. And just when I thought I couldn't feel any worse about myself, came this story about four guys who each recorded a hole-in-one during the same tournament. Only at a tournament as prestigious as "The Great Googly-Ball" held at the McCormick Woods Golf Club in Port Orchard, Wash. could this against-all-odds event take place. Except it didn't. And Jeff Graham, the local Kitsap Sun reporter who wrote about it, was none too pleased to find out.Related: The Hole-In-One Lady As explained in the foreward that now accompanies the article, the story was a hoax. The work of a local comedian who called in the four aces as part of a 64-man scramble. Turns out the "tournament" was actually a golf outing with his friends, and the "holes-in-one" were "instances where golfers hit their tee shots with golf clubs, then rolled balls in the hole using their hands." To his credit, Graham did his due diligence, confirming the story with all parties involved. After all, how was he to know the COMEDIAN who called it in might be playing a joke on him? Still, I do feel slightly bad for Graham, but I feel a lot better about myself today. I might not have a hole-in-one to my name, but at least I'm not a local comedian in Kitsap, Washington.Now I can go back to thinking holes-in-one are the work of professionals like these. Follow @derekevers !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

27

Aug
Mon

Annika Academy App: Golf lessons on your smart phone

By John Strege Annika might not qualify as an empire yet, but she is a brand and a continously growing one at that. There is Annika wine, the Annika Collection at Cutter & Buck,...

27

Aug
Mon

The Barclays: Mood Swings

A unique look at a golf tournament's ever-shifting dynamic

26

Aug
Sun

Watney makes up for lackluster season with Barclays win

By Stephen Hennessey FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Last year, Nick Watney entered the Barclays as the leader in FedEx Cup points -- a result of putting together the best season of his career.This year he was 48 spots lower, and not happy with his season. That's why Watney didn't necessarily see a win in his future at the first playoff event of 2012.   "I don't know if anyone would have expected this this week," Watney said. "To be No. 1 now is amazing. I think Tiger has three wins, so is this just? Is it right? I don't know."   Photo by Getty ImagesWhether it's fair or not, Watney is atop the FedEx Cup standings once again, and might even be back in the conversation for a Ryder Cup pick -- all thanks to a final-round 69 at Bethpage Black in which he hit 17 of 18 greens.Related: A closer look at Watney's powerful swing A fifth career PGA Tour title may have seemed far off this year. With just two top 10s in 2012 heading into this week, Watney struggled with his confidence as well as his swing. His caddie, Chad Reynolds, told him that he was losing strokes to the top players in the world because of his attitude. Often been too hard on himself, he was often compounding his mistakes into more of them. "If this isn't proof enough to myself that staying positive is a good thing, then I don't know what could be," he said. Third-round leader Sergio Garcia struggled to a four-over-par 75, opening the door for Watney. A birdie on No. 6 by Garcia made up for a bogey he had made on the first hole, but a par on the birdieable par-5 seventh, followed by three bogeys on holes 8-11, put Watney in the lead for good.   A birdie at 14, followed by a mini fist-pump and stare into the cheering, adoring New York crowd put Watney up three, enough wiggle room for a bogey at the 16th hole to not be too costly. New putting advice this week from former local club professional Darrell Kestner of nearby Deepdale Golf Club helped Watney with his setup on the greens. But it was his ball-striking work with Butch and Claude Harmon that helped Watney return to the form he showcased last year.   Related: The best moments in FedEx Cup history Now, maybe Watney will believe in the talent he's shown the rest of the world the last two years.   "I feel like this is sort of validation as far as the direction I'm going," Watney said. "Any time you win, you know, it's great for your confidence, but I haven't been in this situation a lot recently.   "I'm just so thrilled and very proud of this week." Follow @s_hennesseyGD !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

26

Aug
Sun

Playoff fever? The antidote was a 15-year-old girl

By John Strege Playoff fever was not particularly gripping on Sunday, unable as it was to deliver -- even with a delivery company footing the bill -- the more compelling golf story. This is not to suggest that television viewers of the FedEx Cup playoff opener moved en masse from CBS and the Barclays to the Golf Channel and the CN Canadian Women's Open, only that they should have. A 15-year-old girl, an amateur from New Zealand, was making a historical pass through women's golf with a performance that is best summed up in the texting vernacular of her age group: OMG. Lydia Ko, 15 years, four months and three days old, to be exact, won the LPGA's Canadian Women's Open by three strokes at the Vancouver Golf Club to become the youngest winner in the history of the tour. Ko also was the first amateur to win on the LPGA since JoAnne Carner in 1969, and Carner was 30 at the time. Photo by Getty Images"This is making me feel old," Jiyai Shin, one of those in pursuit at the outset of the final round, told the Golf Channel in the midst of Ko's back-nine assault that included four consecutive birdies and five in a six-hole stretch. Shin, it should be noted, is 24. Related: Ko one of golf's all-time biggest phenoms Two days earlier, Suzann Pettersen, 31, took note and said, "It feels like you're being beaten by a kid." She along with the rest of the field indeed were beaten by a kid, who already had conquered the amateur world, winning the U.S. Women's Amateur two weeks earlier. Kids making headlines is not a novelty on the LPGA. Another precocious teen, Michelle Wie, was doing likewise when she was 15, but as good as she was -- and a case could be made that Wie was better then than she is now -- she was not winning an LPGA event. And in 2000, Aree Wongluekiet (now Aree Song) was 13 when she tied for 10th in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, a reflection of the lack of depth in women's golf at the time. Ko's victory had nothing to do with a lack of depth. She was playing head to head with Stacy Lewis, the LPGA's leading money winner and the second-ranked player in women's golf, and outplayed her by five shots, closing with a five-under par 67 that was borderline flawless. "I can't see anything she does not do well," Judy Rankin said on the Golf Channel. Pettersen made the argument that Ko's age allowed her to play carefree, providing an advantage against those for whom this is a livelihood. "She's too young to understand where she's at," Pettersen had said. Moreover, Ko had nothing to lose, notably money. The $300,000 first-prize money went to runner-up Inbee Park. Ko received only a trophy for her effort. The counter argument suggests that this was less a fluke than North America's introduction to the future of women's golf. Ko, in fact, has won on the professional level before -- in January, while still 14, she won the Women's NSW Open on the Australian Ladies Professional Golf tour. Barton: Augusta National makes long overdue change Ko, meanwhile, said that she wants to attend college, an admirable goal that is likely to be tested in the heady aftermath of her historical victory on Sunday that earned her the admiration of the women left in her wake. A few of them ran onto the 18th green and showered her with water, cognizant of the fact that dumping champagne or beer on her would be inappropriate for one who is still six years away from reaching the legal drinking age. Shin was right, as it were, and could have been speaking on behalf of all of us. Anyone watching Ko on Sunday should be feeling just a little bit older. Follow @JohnStrege !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");

26

Aug
Sun

Golf's Biggest Phenoms

We take a look at some of the most talented youngsters to ever burst onto the scene.

25

Aug
Sat

'Crispy' greens the story of Day Three at Bethpage

By Bill Fields FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- The first round of the third U.S. Open at Bethpage Black broke out Saturday afternoon on the Black course at Bethpage State Park.Tiger Woods reacts to a missed putt on the ninth green during the third round of The Barclays. Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images Not really, but as baked as the greens and as fried mentally as some of the players felt during a challenging third round of the Barclays, it sure seemed that way. The difference in the putting surfaces between Friday and Saturday at the site of the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Opens was like that between a peaceful sunrise at Montauk and a traffic snarl on the Long Island Expressway. "I've never seen greens change like this, from what they were yesterday to today," said Tiger Woods, whose one-over 72 included four three-putts for the first time in his PGA Tour career. "The grass even seems slippery." Related: How Tiger's swing has changed The lead was tenuous for Nick Watney, the 36-hole co-leader with Garcia. Watney was 11 under and three ahead of Garcia after 10 holes. But he finished the third round at eight-under 205, two shots behind Garcia. Kevin Stadler, who teed off 3 hours and 20 minutes before the final grouping, shot a 65 to charge into contention and is alone in third place at seven under. As the breezy day developed, the greens got increasingly firm and fast. "The course definitely got away from them today -- I think maybe more than they anticipated," said Ryan Moore, who shot 70 and is T-6 at 208. He noticed the greens getting some spice late Friday afternoon. "They were, you know, getting crusty in spots," he said. "Hopefully they put a little water on tonight and make it play more reasonable." To Moore -- and others -- it wasn't reasonable that there was only one birdie made on the par-3 17th, a one-shotter to which golfers were hitting 6- and 7-irons Saturday. "Seventeen is unplayable right now, unfortunately," said Brandt Snedeker, who scrambled his way to a 68 and T-4. "It's a great hole, but you can't possibly hit one close there, so you have to play to edges of the greens, backs of the greens, and get up-and-down from there." Related: Top FedEx Cup moments "Was it unfair? I wouldn't say it was unfair," said Garcia. "It was borderline." The Spaniard likened the greens to the infamously dried-out surfaces at Shinnecock Hills during the final round of the 2004 U.S. Open. "You could have a 10-footer and hit what you thought was a good putt and hit it six feet by." Woods had one of the worst days when he got to the greens, unable to get the speed down. "I felt like I hit good putts, but my speed was awful," he said. "I don't remember blowing putts by eight to 10 feet. So that was a bit of a shocker." As Garcia put it, "It was easy to make bogeys with good shots." But Phil Mickelson, a Bethpage fan who had one of the days best rounds, a 67, said the set-up agreed with him. "This is setting up to be a perfect test where the best players are going to come to the top," he said. "If you hit some great shots, you'll make birdies. Anything less than that, you won't." Still, it's probably not a great thing when an adjective better suited for bacon is used to describe the greens. "Crispy," said Garcia. Follow @BillFields1 !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs")

25

Aug
Sat

Weekend Tip: Jack's Advice in Wet Weather

Think of rhythm and tempoOn Friday I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Jack Nicklaus, the greatest player in the history of the game, for an upcoming instruction series for Golf Digest. In his office...

24

Aug
Fri

Woods battles stiff back to keep himself in contention on Day Two at Bethpage

By Bill Fields FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - It wasn't a full-bore drive or gouging a heroic shot out of thick rough that caused Tiger Woods to grimace and gingerly walk around Bethpage State Park's Black Course Friday during the second round of the Barclays. Golf superstars, it turns out, aren't immune from hurting themselves in very boring ways. Woods' pain was from a stiff lower back, and he arrived at the course with the discomfort. "Must have slept funny on it," he said after shooting a 69 that left him T-7, three shots behind co-leaders Nick Watney and Sergio Garcia. "Soft beds at the hotel, and woke up this morning with it stiff. As I warmed up, it got progressively worse and then you saw what happened on the golf course." Despite appearing to be in a good bit of pain at times -- particularly when walking down a steep incline into a fairway bunker at No. 13 -- Woods hit a lot of good shots and said he never considering withdrawing because of his back. "It was like a section of movement, so it didn't hurt standing up, it didn't hurt at the bottom of a squat, but it was somewhere in between there it was going to catch. It would grab just before impact, so you'd kind of expect it, so I could get through that. I've been through that kind of stuff before, so I know what it feels like." Related: How Tiger's swing has changed Woods went for treatment in the tour fitness trailer after speaking to reporters late Friday afternoon and expected to be OK for the third and fourth rounds and was pleased to be in contention to win for the fourth time in 2012. "They're good at what they do, and I'll be ready by tomorrow," he said. The 36-year-old was asked if injuries are more difficult to shake than when he was younger. "Well, it's harder to recover, there's no doubt," Woods said. "There's no doubt. But I'm infinitely stronger than I used to be and just as flexible as I used to be, which is very good." He did plan to prepare differently for the third round though. "I'm going to sleep on the floor," Woods said. "I do that in Europe all the time, so this is nothing new." Follow @BillFields1 !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs") (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)