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MI Golf Holidays

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24

Aug
Fri

Fowler bolstering his Ryder chances at Barclays

By Brendan MohlerFARMINGALE, N.Y. -- While most golf fans are focused on the Barclays at Bethpage Black this week, some eyes are looking ahead to the Ryder Cup. Particularly those of this year's captain Davis Love III, who will announce which four players will earn his captain's picks and join the eight who've already been determined by the points standings. Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images The first four players outside the top eight are Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, and Rickie Fowler. It's hard to imagine anyone else making the squad, though there are a few worthy names close behind, like Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker. It's safe to say that Rickie Fowler is pretty much a lock. He's having a strong year thus far that includes his first PGA Tour victory at Quail Hollow and four other top ten finishes. And who can forget about his Ryder Cup experience in 2010? Fowler, who at the time was a 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie, made a statement by birdying the last four holes against Edoardo Molinari to halve the match and earn a half point for the desperate US squad. The half point was ultimately meaningless, but in earning it, Fowler proved himself worthy of Corey Pavin's captain's pick. This year, Fowler is hoping to get the nod from Love, but says he isn't concerned with the Ryder Cup just yet. Related: FedEx Cup's Finest "I'm trying not to think about it, but I keep it in the back of my mind," said a cool, comfortable, backwards-hatted Fowler after a round of one-under 70 today. "If I keep playing well, I'll let my game talk for itself." His game has certainly done some talking in the last year, and it seems that the Ryder Cup helped his game mature even further. "It was a special experience. Those last few holes in the singles match were kind of like coming down the stretch trying to win a tournament. That definitely helped me at Quail Hollow." At the Barclays, Fowler is currently in a tie for sixth at six under after rounds of 67 and 70. If Rickie can continue playing through the weekend, at least one of Davis Love's choices will virtually have been made for him. Follow @BrendanMohlerGW !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")

24

Aug
Fri

Women in the golf industry: Susan Hess

Q&A by Stina SternbergIn a new series, Golf Digest Woman profiles some of the most interesting working in the diverse, often male-dominated world of golf. This week's subject is 48-year-old Golftini founder Susan Hess (below,...

24

Aug
Fri

CamCaddy lets you use smart phone to record swing

By John Strege Instructor Sean Foley, whose clientele includes Tiger Woods and Hunter Mahan, is never without his video camera while working with them on a practice tee, for an obvious reason: It's helpful for...

24

Aug
Fri

Fitness Friday: Stretch Your Chest for Bigger Drives

Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. This week he talks about stretching your chest if you really want to hit bigger drives. Note: in...

24

Aug
Fri

What Augusta's Decision Means

Marcia Chambers on gender and the future for the home of the Masters

23

Aug
Thu

Overheard in the gallery at Bethpage Black

By Ashley MayoWelcome to Bethpage State Park, where the playoffs are officially underway and a the duel between Tiger and Rory is just beginning. A complete Bethpage experience involves eavesdropping on spectator chatter. Below, some of the odd exchanges we overheard within the Long Island gallery.Man, while walking from the clubhouse to the tenth tee (which is quite a hike): "I'm already dead." His gal pal: "Good news is, for every hill you climb UP, you get to enjoy running DOWN." Man: "Must you always be so positive? It's annoying." Guy, talking about a muscular security guard on the tenth tee: "That guy means business." Guy's friend: "Hold me, Mommy." Guy, right after Matt Kuchar tees of on no. 10: "KUUUUUUCCCHHH." Guy looks at his buddy, smiles and says, "I love being THAT guy." Related: Sh*t golfers sayMan, after Rory's drives it over the left corner of fairway bunkers on the 12th hole: "Right. That's actually NOT the line I normally take." Guy on 14th tee, watching Tiger's group walk up to the tee and wait for Keegan Bradley's group on the green. "Someone's gotta tell Keegan to play quicker. He wouldn't be allowed to play Bethpage; he'd be thrown off! Phil came through TEN minutes ago. This is slower than my Saturday round." Guy standing by a bunker on the 18th green: "Look at all those bees swarming around." His buddy: "Yellow Jackets are the least of a golfer's worries on this monster." "Dude, to another guy: "I swear, every time I see you you're wearing that shirt." Guy: "Dude, the chicks love it." Man, while rummaging through his buddy's backpack: "I mean, could you bring any more Advil?" Buddy: "Hills." After Tiger misses a six-foot birdie putt on the par-3 third: "He should fire his caddie. ... And bring back what's-his-face." After Tiger saves par from the greenside bunker on the fifth hole: "He's too good! HE'S TOO GOOD!"  Guy standing next to him: "He ain't betta than New York." A woman screeches after Rory nearly holes out his shot from the greenside bunker on the seventh hole. Guy says, "The girls just love this kid. Lucky bastard." Related: Overheard in the gallery on Sunday at the U.S. OpenGuy, after Bo Van Pelt tees off the tenth hole: "That's what I like to call a 'smoothie' swing." His buddy: "Why 'smoothie?'" Guy: "Because smoothies are tasty." Little boy, after Bo Van Pelt tees off: "GET IN THE HOLE!" Guy: "It's cute when little boys say that sh*t. It's sad and ridiculous when grown men do it." Follow @AshleyKMayo !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");

23

Aug
Thu

ScoreBand: An ionized scorekeeping bracelet

By John Strege We'll leave it to others to extol the benefits of egative ions, but devices that produce them, usually in bracelet form, seem to be ubiquitous in golf (and other sports), including...

23

Aug
Thu

Woods bests McIlroy by a stroke at Bethpage

By Bill FieldsFARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- It was a day of good but not spectacular golf for Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who were in the glamour grouping for the first round of the Barclays at Bethpage State Park's Black Course as the FedEx Cup playoffs got underway. While Padraig Harrington set the pace with a seven-under 64 Thursday morning, Woods was four strokes behind with a 68. McIlroy cooled down after a hot start to shoot 69. Zach Johnson, the third member of their pairing, equalled Woods and bettered McIlroy despite giving up a lot of distance to each. As evidenced by Harrington's score and a bevy of good rounds just behind him -- Woods and Johnson were outside the top 10 when they finished -- the Black Course was as vulnerable as it ever is thanks to a lack of wind, reasonably soft greens and, according to Woods, fairly generous hole locations. Related: Defining shots of the PGA Championship"They're probably a step and a half easier today than they normally are for an Open," Woods said of the pins at Bethpage, site of the U.S. Open in 2002 and 2009. "Today they're a little bit easier and we had a little bit more room and could take more chances. Even if you short-sided yourself, you could leave yourself uphill putts. Looking at the pin sheet before we played, I was surprised at how easy some of them were. We're used to seeing them tucked three or four [yards] from the side or up against the back, or just over ridges. There was plenty of room." McIlroy made the set-up look easy early, playing his first six holes in three under before stalling. "It got a little quieter in the middle of the round," said McIlroy, a 23-year-old grouped with two 36-year-olds. "My short game let me down a couple of times. Feel like the way I played, it could hae been a few shots better." McIlroy's effortless power was on full display Thursday as he averaged 301.6 yards off tee, hitting 11 drives 300 yards or longer. Woods, hitting the driver a bit less than McIlroy, averaged 291.1 yards with nine tees shot at or beyond 300 yards. Known for a pinpoint short game, Johnson averaged 275.2 yards but hit his approach shots an average of 29 feet, 8 inches from the flagstick, considerably inside Woods (35 feet) and just outside McIlroy (26 feet, 10 inches.) Both of his longer-hitting fellow competitors paid tribute to Johnson's grit. Related: Zach Johnson's workout tips "He's one of the best putters out here and usually drives it on a string," Woods said. "Him and [Steve Stricker], probably one of the best wedge players out here. Obviously you don't win a Masters by never going for a par 5 in two without a wedge game. That's the hallmark of his game. He did it today." "Zach's game is good," said McIlroy. "Sometimes you think this course might be a little long for Zach, but he manages his game so well. He's a true pro and has been out here a long time. He showed how to get it done today."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")

23

Aug
Thu

Harrington answers Ryder critics with his play

By Derek Evers (Photo: Scott Halleran/Getty Images)FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Padraig Harrington entered the FedEx Cup playoffs knowing it was mathematically impossible to make the European Ryder Cup team on his own. With no points awarded for the four FedEx Cup events, Harrington is dependent upon a captain's pick from Jose Maria Olazabal, something the Irishman knows is far from a guarantee. A 64 on Thursday -- including a 29 on the back nine -- at the notoriously-difficult Bethpage Black should help his cause, if not add a little more intrigue into an already juicy subplot at this week Barclays. "I don't know where I sit," Harrington said, before cracking, "or maybe I do. I'm Irish, and we pay a lot of attention to the bookmakers and their odds, and I'm sure if I went and had a look at the odds, I would be a longshot to make the team." Despite his strong play throughout most of 2012, Harrington's weak schedule -- he missed out on eight tournaments that guarantee world ranking points due to a poor 2011 -- has dropped him to 62 in the world and put him well outside of the top 10 automatic qualifying spots for the European team. And a much-publicized run-in with Olazabal at the 2003 Seve Trophy has many wondering if the bad blood will overshadow Harrington's strong performances at the year's big events. Though he remains winless in 2012, Harrington finished in the top 10 at both the Masters and U.S. Open, and in the top 20 at the PGA. Related: FedEx Cup's Finest Prior to the season's final major, Olazabal said Harrington would need to play "extraordinarily well" at Kiawah to sway his hand toward selecting the six-time Ryder Cup player. And though a T-18 might not have done much to move the needle in his favor, his opening round on a two-time U.S. Open venue had to catch the captain's attention. "I would be a liar to tell you I'm not thinking about the Ryder Cup," Harrington admitted. "I thought about it too much at the PGA [Championship] for sure. I think I've had a little bit of clarity since the PGA and certainly I've had a better ability to do my own thing this week." "Guys in the U.S., you can't understand how big of a deal [the Ryder Cup] is in Europe. It's very important. It's just a big, big deal." On Wednesday, when asked about the choice facing his fellow countryman, Sergio Garcia backed his captain, saying Harrington "wouldn't be a sure pick" if he were in Olazabal's shoes. Ironically it was Sergio's win at Wyndham -- securing a guaranteed spot on the Ryder Cup team -- that re-opened the door for Harrington. With only two spots remaining, Garcia was seen as a favorite to earn one of the captain's picks, but now that he locked up a place on the team, the spotlight has turned back to Harrington. Related: Padraig Harrington's swing sequence One thing Harrington and Sergio can both agree on is that Olazabal will pick whoever he thinks is best for the team. And while it wouldn't guarantee him a spot, a win at this year's Barclays -- against a field boasting nine of the world's top 10 -- would certainly help Harrington's cause. That sentiment was echoed by world No. 1 Rory McIlroy who said a win this week this week would make the choice obvious. "Of course, you'd have to [pick Harrington]." Either way, Harrington needs to do his own part here at Bethpage if he plans on making his seventh consecutive Ryder Cup team. "I'm sitting here after shooting 64 around Bethpage leading the tournament, and we're spending 90 percent of the time talking about [the Ryder Cup]," Harrington joked, knowing full well his performance throughout the FedEx Cup will be put under the microscope. If Thursday was any indication of how well he handles the pressure, Harrington should have little to worry about. 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");

23

Aug
Thu

The Style Blog: Green with envy

By Argy KoutsothanasisI admit it, I'm very excited about Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore becoming the first female members of the Augusta National Golf Club -- it feels like a victory for everyone. Sure, I'm...