On to a Tigerless Sweet 16
On to the Sweet 16.
After a 9-7 mark on day two at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, things start to get interesting now with not only Woods, but his three fellow number-one seeds, headed home early. Both Friday matches in the Bobby Jones bracket are sure to attract plenty of attention, with 19-year-old rising star Rory McIlroy drawing Tim Clark instead of Tiger, and Geoff Ogilvy and Camilo Villegas set to lock horns.
Here is how we see things unfolding in Round 3 – but trust us, don’t take our word for it:
BOBBY JONES BRACKET
TIM CLARK (8) VS RORY MCILROY (4)
The kid is all right, huh? We know McIlroy won in Dubai a few weeks back, but teenagers aren’t supposed to be this composed rubbing shoulders with the best players on the planet, are they? That said, how do you go against a guy who just knocked off the best player on the planet? Not sure, but we’re doing it. Our pick: McIlroy
GEOFF OGILVY (2) VS CAMILO VILLEGAS (3)
Probably the best matchup of the day. There is not a lot separating these two, but since we called Villegas to make it to the final four, we are going with the Colombian. After all, we’re never wrong, are we?. Our pick: Villegas
BEN HOGAN BRACKET
LUKE DONALD (9) VS ERNIE ELS (4)
We’ve called Donald in a pair of upsets, and he’s come through both times. Next up, the Big Easy. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Our pick: Donald
PHIL MICKELSON (2) VS STEWART CINK (6)
Lefty hasn’t had an easy time to this point, but that isn’t much of a shock. Mickelson will face a tough test in Cink, a finalist a year ago but like Villegas, we’ve got Lefty going to the final four. No sense hopping off the Mickelson bandwagon now. Our pick: Mickelson
GARY PLAYER BRACKET
IAN POULTER (8) VS SEAN O’HAIR (12)
O’Hair is still around but that has as much to do with his opponents’ gaffes as his play. It’s obvious Poulter’s Ryder Cup performance in September was no fluke. We think he’s got one more in him. Our pick: Poulter
PETER HANSON (15) VS PAUL CASEY (6)
We’ve had Hanson losing both matches so far, and obviously he’s not buyin’ what we’re sellin’. Third time a charm? We think so. Our pick: Casey
SAM SNEAD BRACKET
ROSS FISHER (9) VS JIM FURYK (4)
Fisher destroyed Pat Perez Thursday, but we’re thinking his week ends here. Furyk is tape-measuring his irons on a course that sets up well for him. Oh, and Furyk played college golf in ‘Zona and will be the crowd darling for as long as he is in this. Our pick: Furyk
JUSTIN LEONARD (7) VS OLIVER WILSON (11)
Leonard has trailed for just two holes through the first two days but Wilson is riding a pretty large wave after eliminating Anthony Kim Thursday. This one is a pick ‘em. Our pick: Leonard
Hoping to improve on a .500 average at the Accenture Match Play Championship
So much for a future career in the fortune telling business.
Batting .500 is a good thing if you are playing for the Yankees, but when it comes to predicting the opening round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, not so much.
So, after a less than dominating 16-16 mark on the first day, let’s roll the dice as we set the table in the Round of 32:
BOBBY JONES BRACKET
Tiger Woods (1) vs Tim Clark (8)
Woods didn’t miss a beat in his return Wednesday, looking solid, if not dominant, on the way to dumping Brendan Jones. Not bad for a guy that hasn’t played since last summer, huh? Tim Clark will provide a stiffer challenge, but Woods should start to get back into his comfort zone right about now. Not the best news for the South African. Clark could still be feeling the effects of the beating Woods administered here two years ago. Our pick: Woods
Rory McIlroy (4) vs Hunter Mahan (12)
Boy Wonder takes on Mahan, who knocked off #5 seed Mike Weir. We’re going with Mahan here, only because McIlroy is just a little wet behind the ears in match play. And that is the only reason. Our pick: Mahan
Geoff Ogilvy (2) vs Shingo Katayama (10)
Ogilvy had to work a little overtime to get rid of Kevin Sutherland, while Katayama upset Masters champion Trevor Immelman. Then again, there is a reason Ogilvy is ranked #2 in his bracket. Our pick: Ogilvy
Camilo Villegas (3) vs Miguel Angel Jimenez (6)
Villegas had most of the afternoon off Wednesday with a 7&6 beating of Rod Pampling. He’ll face a stiffer test here, but seems to us Villegas has something to prove this week. Our pick: Villegas
BEN HOGAN BRACKET
Vijay Singh (1) vs Luke Donald (9)
Singh looked very ordinary in his opening round match and will need to show a lot more if he is to get by Donald. It’s obvious Singh isn’t over that surgery just yet. Our pick: Donald
Ernie Els (4) vs Steve Stricker (5)
One of the most interesting matches of the day between two players who love this format. About as evenly-matched as you will find, but we are going with the guy with the slightly hotter hand right now. Our pick: Stricker
Phil Mickelson (2) vs Zach Johnson (7)
As he showed again last weekend, Lefty just can’t seem to close things out when he has the chance and seems to make life tough for himself. This is a guy he doesn’t want to miss many shots against, and Mickelson knows it. Our pick: Mickelson
Lee Westwood (3) vs Stewart Cink (6)
We had Cink getting upset by Richard Sterne in the opening round and he proved us wrong. Westwood used to be money in the Ryder Cup, but hasn’t had a lot of success in this event. This one will be close, but we’re going with last year’s finalist. Our pick: Cink
GARY PLAYER BRACKET
Ian Poulter (8) vs Charl Schwartzel (16)
Less than a day after taking out Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel takes on a guy who seems to have been made for match play. Midnight for Cinderella. Our pick: Poulter
Sean O’Hair (12) vs Boo Weekley (13)
In case you haven’t noticed, the better seeds didn’t exactly clean up in this bracket. Look no further than these two. Potential for a classic matchup. Anyone got a coin? Our pick: Weekley
Stephen Ames (10) vs Peter Hanson (15)
Hanson upset Robert Karlsson on day one, so he’s got something to tell the grandkids. But not much more. Our pick: Ames
Paul Casey (6) vs Matthew Goggin (14)
Seems to look like a mismatch in Casey’s favour, but not many thought Goggin would get by Kenny Perry, either. But Casey just has too much international experience. Our pick: Casey
SAM SNEAD BRACKET
Ross Fisher (9) vs Pat Perez (16)
Yikes. Harrington? So much for betting against Perez. We know Fisher pulled off an upset of his own, but Perez should be carrying all the momentum here. Our pick: Perez
Jim Furyk (4) vs Martin Kaymer (5)
Playing on a course that is built for a guy with strong iron play – or, in other words, Furyk - is probably enough to give Furyk the edge here. But Kaymer is no pushover. Furyk had better have the irons dialed in. Our pick: Furyk
Justin Leonard (7) vs Davis Love III (15)
Two players with plenty of match play experience means this one could go either way. Love needed a few extra holes before pulling off the big upset against Stenson. We’re guessing his run ends here. Our pick: Leonard
Anthony Kim (3) vs Oliver Wilson (11)
OK, so AK barely broke a sweat in a blowout win Wednesday, but let’s be honest: Wen-Tang gagged the match away. Kim was far from impressive but AK has his bad one out of the way. Our pick: Kim
Accenture Match Play predictions: Tiger heads home early, Lefty does not
Yeah, we know, this week marks the return of a guy we haven’t seen in a while. A re-coronation, if you will, which makes you wonder why they have the audacity to play the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship.
The nerve, huh? Isn’t the outcome already etched in stone?
Well, not exactly.
We’re walking a very short plank here and letting you know that not only will Tiger Woods fail to win in Arizona during his much-heralded return from the ranks of the unemployed, he won’t even get out of his bracket. No, the best player on the planet has not relinquished his spot atop golf’s food chain, but rather is going to need a week or two before he begins to steamroll everything in his path.
On that note, and at the risk of proving just how little we know about this sport, here are our opening round predictions:
Bobby Jones Bracket
Tiger Woods (1) vs Brendan Jones (16)
David vs. Goliath, but Goliath is coming off reconstructive knee surgery. No matter. We’re tempted to put up the Upset Special sign here, but unless Brendan Jones gets the urge to kneecap Woods with a 4-iron on the first tee, it isn’t going to happen. At least not yet. Tiger showed us last summer what he could do on one leg. He should make short work of an awestruck Jones. Our pick: Woods
Tim Clark (8) vs Retief Goosen (9)
Pretty evenly matched, as you can tell by the seedings, but Clark, who ranks second in scoring average, gets the nod, even with a 1-5 career record here. We think. Our pick: Clark
Rory McIlroy (4) vs Louis Oosthuizen (13)
Who are these guys and how did they get in this tournament? Most casual observers on this side of the pond probably get a blank look on their fact when you mention this pair, but that is going to change. Especially McIlroy, the teenage phenom. Playing with the best in the world might test the kid’s nerves early on, but he should sneak by Oosthuizen. Barely. Our pick: McIlroy
Mike Weir (5) vs Hunter Mahan (12)
Prime match for an upset? Perhaps. Weir has a pair of top three finishes already and Mahan hasn’t shifted out of first gear yet, so we’re going with the lefty. Well, the Canadian one anyway. Our pick: Weir
Geoff Ogilvy (2) vs Kevin Sutherland (15)
Already a winner this year, Ogilvy has been a birdie machine in 2009, averaging more than five per round. Not the best news for Mr. Sutherland. This one could get ugly. Our pick: Ogilvy
Trevor Immelman (7) vs Shingo Katayama (10)
Two even-matched players but we’ll take the one who is a Masters champion. And with an easier name to pronounce. Our pick: Immelman
Camilo Villegas (3) vs Rod Pampling (14)
Tiger’s back, time for Villegas to prove he is the real deal. He should do that quite easily in this match. Colombia, rejoice. Our pick: Villegas
Miguel Angel Jimenez (6) vs Rory Sabbatini (11)
For a while last week at Riviera, Sabbatini looked like he might pull off a win before hitting a speed bump – or was it a roadblock?- on Sunday. If he can keep his temper in check, we like his chances here. Our pick: Sabbatini
Ben Hogan Bracket
Vijay Singh (1) vs S Soren Kjeldsen (16)
Anything can happen in match play, and a rusty Singh will have his hands full with a game Kjeldsen. Singh has looked very ordinary recently, but with the world watching, this would be the ideal time for him to get it going. However, an upset isn’t out of the question. Our pick: Singh
Ben Curtis (8) vs Luke Donald (9)
This is about as even-matched as you can get, but still trying to figure out how Curtis is ranked ahead of Donald. Oh well. Our pick: Donald
Ernie Els (4) vs Soren Hansen (13)
This one could be a back-and-forth affair, but we’re taking experience. Our pick: Els
Steve Stricker (5) vs Dustin Johnson (12)
Stricker is picking right where he left off in 2008. Johnson is probably just happy to be here. Our pick: Stricker
Phil Mickelson (2) vs Angel Cabrera (15)
A bomber’s dream matchup. These two hit it a ton. Lefty seemed to have regained his touch last week after a slow start but he hasn’t exactly been a force in this format. No matter – at least not yet. Our pick: Mickelson
Zach Johnson (7) vs Graeme McDowell (10)
Johnson found the winner’s circle again a few weeks back but this one has upset written all over it. Don’t forget McDowell went undefeated for Europe at the Ryder Cup last fall. Our pick: McDowell
Lee Westwood (3) vs Prayad Marksaeng (14)
Marksaeng has made a name for himself overseas, but the proven Westwood, even with a 4-8 match play resume, should be too much for him. Our pick: Westwood
Stewart Cink (6) vs Richard Sterne (11)
Cink should get the nod here seeing how he made the final only to get dusted by Tiger one year ago, but we’re not calling enough upsets in the opening round. Sterne could provide one here. Our pick: Sterne
Gary Player Bracket
Sergio Garcia (1) vs Charl Schwartzel (16)
Figure this out. Sergio owned the Ryder Cup prior to his blowout at the hands of Anthony Kim in September, but has never made it out of the third round here. That is bound to change. This one will be over quickly. Our pick: Garcia
Ian Poulter (8) vs Jeev Milkha Singh (9)
An extremely intriguing opening-round showdown. “The other Singh” will soon be a household name in North America, but after Poulter’s Ryder Cup performance, we’re sold. Our pick: Poulter
Justin Rose (4) vs Boo Weekley (13)
Gee, you think Weekley will have the Arizona crowd revved up? Us too. Weekley could surprise a lot of people and go deep this week. Our pick: Weekley
Adam Scott (5) vs Sean O’Hair (12)
Hey, Adam, Ana Ivanovic or Kate Hudson? Who cares…they’re both hot. And Adam Scott is one lucky dude. And not a bad golfer, either. This is a battle of young guns. Our pick: Scott
Robert Karlsson (2) vs Peter Hanson (15)
Karlsson had a career year in 2008, and despite a slow start by his standards this year, should have little trouble with Hanson. Our pick: Karlsson
Alvaro Quiros (7) vs Stephen Ames (10)
We figure Ames has learned his lesson about lipping off prior to match play. Oh, and Quiros isn’t Tiger. Our pick: Ames
Kenny Perry (3) vs Matthew Goggin (14)
Everyone is waiting for Perry to come back down to earth. They could be waiting a while. Our pick: Perry
Paul Casey (6) vs Aaron Baddeley (11)
Another interesting opening round matchup. Casey is on a roll in 2009 but don’t forget, Baddeley took Woods to 20 holes before bowing out last year. Our pick: Baddeley
Sam Snead Bracket
Padraig Harrington (1) vs Pat Perez (16)
Looks like a mismatch on paper, but Perez has won in 2009 and won’t back down from the Irishman. We’re tempted to call an upset, especially given Harrington’s very ordinary play of late, but we can’t look the old gift horse in the mouth. No offense, Paddy. Our pick: Harrington
Robert Allenby (8) vs Ross Fisher (9)
Allenby recently lost his mother while Fisher is appearing in his first Accenture Match Play. Tight matchup, but an emotional Allenby should get out of the opening round. Our pick: Allenby
Jim Furyk (4) vs Anders Hansen (13)
Time for Furyk to thrust himself back into the limelight after a winless 2008. He should make short work of Hansen, who nonetheless has been strong overseas. Our pick: Furyk
Martin Kaymer (5) vs Stuart Appleby (12)
Kaymer had a fantastic season on the European Tour, but nothing counts for experience, right? At least we’re buying it, even if Appleby can’t seem to get out of the third round here. Our pick: Appleby
Henrik Stenson (2) vs Davis Love III (15)
Love already has a runner-up in 2009 but is running into one of Europe’s top players. Not quite the mismatch it seems but the American will be in tough. Our pick: Stenson
Justin Leonard (7) vs Andres Romero (10)
Hmmm. Leonard was 5th to open up the year at the Mercedes Benz, but has missed his last two cuts. That’s all we need to know. Upset time. Our pick: Romero
Anthony Kim (3) vs Wen-Tang Lin (14)
Remember Valhalla? This is another stage for Kim to prove he is one of the best young players in the world. He won’t disappoint. Our pick: Kim
A.J. Choi (6) vs Oliver Wilson (11)
Choi hasn’t missed a cut in four starts and is coming off a third last weekend at Riviera. Wilson has never played in this event. That’s enough for us. Our pick: Choi
Our final four: Tiger is a no-brainer, right? Uh, wrong. Not only is this the first time Woods will really test out the reconstructed knee, but he is bound to show at least some signs of rust, proving that, yes, he is indeed mortal. We’re picking Villegas to get out of the Bobby Jones bracket. We also like top seeds Garcia and Harrington to make up for their showings at the Ryder Cup and figure Mickelson is due to finally get this match play format right. Our final four picks: Villegas, Mickelson, Garcia, Harrington
Tiger, Lefty rivalry hits another level this week
Lefty coming off a win. Tiger coming off rehab. Both set to go for the other’s jugular this week in Arizona.
Giddyup. Game on, at last.
OK, so we’re trying to fan the flames of a fire that just ain’t burnin’, and we aren’t the only ones. You’ll hear it, read it, ad nauseum all week long, and these guys aren’t even playing each other. At least not yet.
But hey, after drifting through more than a month in a zombie-like trance watching the likes of Pat Perez, Nick Watney and Dustin Johnson - nice guys all - get rich while keeping the seat warm for Tiger, allow us to point to the heavens and revel in the official start of golf season. Hallelujah.
All right, maybe not. But we may get there at some point before Sunday.
Right now, Brendan Jones gets the honour of playing the role of Peter McNeely to Tiger’s Tyson. Or he could shock the world and wreck storylines – as if – like is prone to happen every now and again at this match play thing.
But back to Phil, Tiger and their pseudo tiff.
Prior to his near-collapse this weekend past at Riviera, this PGA Tour season had all the excitement of cleaning the bathroom. No scandals – where art thou, John Daly? - no bad blood, no tangible headlines from the usual suspects.
The PGA Tour needed a kick in the rump – at least a kick from someone we can relate to – and Mickelson provided it on Sunday. We’re sure Lefty wasn’t sending a message toTiger when he went birdie-birdie-par to close out his week at Riviera, but it makes for good drama to say he was firing the latest warning shot in their little, uh, “feud”.
Truth is, there isn’t a hell of a lot of substance to this perceived hate-on between Mickelson and Woods. So they don’t exactly see eye to eye. Big deal. If there is any sort of animosity, we’re hedging a bet that it’s between Lefty and the loose-lipped Steve Williams, but until Williams has someone hauling his clubs instead of carrying someone else’s, it can be filed in the “Who Cares” drawer.
But you’ll read about the dislike Tiger and Phil have for one another all week long, or at least until one of them gets knocked out. The simple truth is both players could probably care less what the other thinks, but that doesn’t make it hatred. Just indifference.
But it makes for good reading.
And right now it’s all we’ve got.
Tiger Woods can throw lifeline to struggling tournaments by showing up
A door-to-door salesman Tiger Woods is not but, with his long-awaited return to the game being met with a collective exhale from the offices of the PGA Tour, now would be a pretty good time for Tiger to take one for the team.
Things just aren’t the same since Woods won the U.S. Open playing on one peg last summer. He became a daddy again. The guy that carries his clubs began to think his opinion really mattered. He lost a sponsorship deal with Buick.
And the PGA Tour, like everything else these days, is in a lot worse shape than it was when he left.
And this is where Tiger’s return can indeed be bigger than the game itself.
As Tim Finchem pleads with players to go out of their way to schmooze sponsors, sign a few extra autographs, kiss babies and show up for tournaments they normally wouldn’t give a passing thought to, it is the Tiger effect he is counting on most. Mickelson, Garcia and Harrington will sell tickets, but it is Woods, and he alone, that may twist the arm of sponsors to re-up on their deals, if not save events altogether.
By making an appearance at a handful of lightweight events on the tour schedule, Woods becomes the most valuable member of Finchem’s marketing team.
One could make the same redundant argument that Woods does enough for the PGA Tour with his tireless charity work and is not obligated to do anything more. A tough, gruelling schedule will take its toll on any millionaire, we know, but we’re guessing Tiger is pretty well-rested these days.
There are more than a few tournaments that have been wobbled by this economic uppercut, and only Woods can break the fall before they hit the canvas.
Now no one is suggesting the RBC Canadian Open is on the endangered list, but we’ll use them for the sake of argument because, well, Tiger has a tendency to take a pass on Canada’s national championship. The Canadian Open, thanks to the efforts of the RCGA and the deep pockets of RBC, has enjoyed an impressive resurgence, but imagine, if you will, the demand for tickets if Woods decided to hop on a plane from the British Open and make a rare appearance in Canada this summer.
The Canadian Open doesn’t need Tiger to survive, but there is more than a few other tournaments that aren’t nearly as fortunate.
Woods has been a blessing to the game, but let’s not forget the game has been pretty kind to Woods as well. The kids aren’t going to have to worry about the old college fund, if you know what I mean.
If Tiger leads, thousands of fans – not to mention his PGA Tour colleagues – will follow. It’s time the biggest name in professional sport gave a shot of adrenaline to tournaments getting far too close to having the plug pulled.
It is a sales pitch that only Woods can deliver.
Just let Ryo Ishikawa be a kid
Ryo Ishikawa, get Michelle Wie on your speed dial. Pronto.
Now that the microphones are out of your face and you can actually focus on that little white ball, maybe the next reporter that mentions you as the “next you-know-who” should be demoted to covering cow-tipping somewhere in Kansas, huh?
Golf’s latest crown prince introduced himself to North America Thursday with a less-than-dazzling 2-over 73 at Riviera – a performance that was a whole lotta Tryon and not much Tiger.
Considering the kid was 3-over after seven holes, props to him for keeping the nerves in check and getting the train back on the rails before things got really grotesque. Pretty impressive for someone who, after he signed his scorecard, was probably catching up on his PlayStation in between sips of a Shirley Temple in the player’s lounge.
Like Wie, Ishikawa is gaining global attention while he’s still investing in Clearasil. To date, Wie hasn’t come close to living up to the hype, although she started life in the fishbowl when she hadn’t even hit high school.
Next up, Ishikawa.
Organizers at the Northern Trust Open are pretty pleased. So far, over 375 media credentials have been handed out this week. The last time Woods played here, there were 209 issued.
Welcome to Ryomania. And, no, don’t ask me how to pronounce it.
So why all the pressure before his plane even touched down on this side of the Pacific?
As pointed out in the New York Times, Ishikawa has “the rock star look and the golf star game.” Most 17-year-olds that get their name in the Times are probably in the back of a paddy wagon headed to juvie hall. Not this one.
He has already achieved celebrity status in his homeland, and sponsors are elbowing one another for a spot in line in a race to get the kid signed.
As Chris DiMarco said this week, “the only thing I worry about is whether he gets burned out early.” Point taken.
Fame, no doubt, can be fleeting. Just ask Tryon, who entered the PGA Tour to similar fanfare as Ishikawa and now finds himself toughing it out on the Gateway Tour.
Like Wie, Ishikawa has a heavy burden of expectation to carry around on his slight shoulders at far too young an age. Perhaps it is time for the golf world – or, at the very least, media – to take a deep breath and step back. If he’s got the game, he will make headlines. For every Tiger who rises to the occasion when pushed under the microscope, there are a lot more Tryons. Promise, to date, unfulfilled.
There are a few teens making headlines in the golf world, most notably Ishikawa and Northern Ireland phenom Rory McIlroy. Both will step on to the hallowed grounds for the Masters in a couple of months, where the questions will get a little tougher, the greens a little trickier, the pressure a lot heavier.
And sometimes we forget they’re just kids.
Talent is one thing. Living up to it is another matter altogether. Just ask Michelle Wie. Or Ty Tryon.
When it comes to Ishikawa, perhaps we should let the kid just be a kid.
Olympic golf proposal lacks any sense of originality
In the midst of submitting their recent official proposal to have golf included in the 2016 Olympics, the International Golf Federation showed their lack of originality.
Just to hammer home their apparent sense of keeping things status quo, the IGF pitched the rather mundane idea of a limited-field, 72-hole stroke-play tournament much like a World Golf Championship tournament – as if there wasn’t enough of those already.
To take a brief detour off the beaten path, I have always been of the opinion that pros don’t belong in the Olympics, an opinion that hasn’t wavered. In fact, I even suggested that the grand stage of the Olympics would serve quite nicely for the 2016 World Amateur, should golf get the green light for the Games.
There is the notion – some say fact – that the IOC doesn’t want golf in the Olympics unless the top players in the world – or, in other words, Tiger Woods – commit to play.
The question, of course, is will the world’s best come? With the green jacket and Claret Jug having already been awarded and players starting to feel the grind of a gruelling schedule, how many stars are going to want to make the trek to Madrid, Rio de Janeiro or Tokyo, provided Chicago doesn’t win the bid, with the FedEx and Dubai races about to kick into gear?
But for the time being, the IGF gets the benefit of the doubt.
Woods has offered his support to get golf re-established as part of the Olympics for the first time in over a century and the novelty of an Olympic gold may be too much for him to pass up. Many of his colleagues may very well feel the same, but we can’t be sure for another seven years.
But even if the top players end up playing for the medals, could there not have been something with a little more drama, something that differs even slightly from the format we see all year long?
Instead of a 60-player stroke-play field, make it a match play format just to change up the pace - country vs. country so there is no possibility of seeing Tiger and Phil battling it out on the final day.
If it’s Vijay and Tiger, it’s the U.S. and Fiji in the final match. Weir and Sergio, it’s Canada vs. Spain. Forget this individualistic crap. It’s about playing for your country.
I mean, this is the Olympics. Treat it like it is something special.
Instead, it will be like a World Golf Championship event with gold, silver and bronze.
How original.
Michelle Wie, after all the hype, still has not learned how to win
Perhaps, in the eyes of many, it will be seen as just another choke job from Michelle Wie, something we’ve just come to expect from the snake-bitten underachiever.
For most of Saturday’s final round at the SBS Open, it looked like the promise might finally be fulfilled. A three-shot lead on the back nine in her own backyard. Curtains, right?
Not exactly. Not when it comes to Wie.
Hollywood couldn’t have written this one any better. Well, until Angela Stanford came and tore up the script, with a little help in the form of another gag job from Wie.
To be fair, Wie had the misfortune of obliging as Stanford, the hottest player in women’s golf these days, patiently waited for an opening. When she saw one – a Wie double-bogey on 11 – you just knew this was it. The beginning of the end.
Those that have sipped champagne know when to capitalize on the misfortune of others, a task Wie hasn’t quite mastered yet.
The kid has some talent, no doubt. One day, perhaps even soon, that breakthrough win will come. But right now, the resume screams bridesmaid. Five runner up finishes on the LPGA Tour – without a win – is all that needs to be said.
Let’s not forget, this isn’t some deer-caught-in-the-headlights 13-year old anymore. That card has long since been played. But Wie is a rookie on the LPGA Tour – at least officially – and evidently there is still plenty to learn.
Saturday had the makings of being a pretty giddy day for the LPGA Tour. The prodigy – can we still call her that? – playing in front of her adoring hometown fans, going toe-to-toe with the hottest player in women’s golf and coming out with her first triumph.
But, again, this is Michelle Wie. Nothing comes easy.
It’s been a pretty lengthy negotiating curve for Wie, one that hit yet another road block in Hawaii.
Wie’s most glaring weakness at this stage is she just hasn’t learned how to win at the pro level. She doesn’t quite know when to make that putt, hit that fairway, that will put it out of reach. If anyone needed further proof, they saw it Saturday.
Her time will come. We’ve been saying it for years.
As Stanford admitted, Wie “has all the shots.”
She just hasn’t learned how to make them when it matters most.
Carolyn Bivens gets full marks for bringing Korea to California
Good thing for Carolyn Bivens that those Koreans don’t seem to hold a grudge.
Just months after seemingly cheesing off an entire continent by trying to implement an iron-fisted English-only speaking rule that was seen by many as a direct slap across the face of the Korean lasses who were having their way with those American gals, Bivens brought Korea overseas Thursday, injecting the tour with some much-needed good news.
First, let’s rewind a couple days and give you a brief, blow-by-blow synopsis of what, at first glance, appeared to be another screw-up. Bivens seemed to create another PR snafu when she turned her back on SBS,the sponsors of this week’s season-opener, after 15 years to sign a lucrative deal with J Golf, a division of JoongAng Broadcasting Corp., for exclusive Korean television rights.
Not all that bright, right? Especially when SBS confirmed they were cutting the cord with the LPGA after Saturday’s final round?
Not exactly.
What looked to be another kick to the gut of a tour that was already doubled over turned out to be anything but when Bivens announced the new sponsor would bankroll the tour’s long-term deal to return to the Los Angeles area beginning in 2010.
Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, take their money, right?
The kind, deep-pocketed folks that they are, JoongAng Broadcasting will also pick up the tab for the LPGA’s Phoenix event this season.
Coupled with the unveiling of a 10-year broadcast agreement with the Golf Channel, it has been a week to remember for the LPGA after an off-season to forget, when at least three tournaments lost their lifeline because of the crumbling economy.
With the economy on this side of the pond in tatters, Bivens gets a cookie for recognizing the potential to bring Korean money to North America in a bid to get back into one of the largest media markets in the U.S.
Times are tough, sure, but Bivens has to be commended for thinking outside the box and getting Korean sponsors for North American tournaments. The LPGA is wildly popular in Asia these days, no doubt due to the influx of Korean-born players excelling on the circuit, and Bivens obviously saw opportunity knocking.
It would have been far too easy for Bivens to simply wave goodbye to the SBS Open in favour of another tournament or two in Asia. Instead, she brought Korea to California.
And for that, Bivens may be a lot more shrewd that people are giving her credit for, myself included.
Uh, Carolyn, now might be a good time to start those Korean lessons.
LPGA should be hoping for Michelle Wie to realize potential at last
With the Michelle Wie circus about to set up the big top in Hawaii for the LPGA curtain-raiser, the sideshow, at last, has ceased being the headline act.
Not to say that Wie will suddenly escape the spotlight as a full-time, card-carrying member of the LPGA Tour – in fact, her game will become even more scrutinized, the whispers a little louder, beginning with this week’s SBS Open at Turtle Bay – but Wie seems to have found her way home at last. And home is the LPGA Tour.
Now her focus is where it should have been all along, and you can bet the LPGA has its fingers crossed.
So far, the Big Wiesy has seemed more like the Big Teasy. Right about now is when the LPGA Tour needs Wie to at long last live up to the hype.
With sponsors beating down the door of Carolyn Bivens’ office to pull out of deals with the LPGA, the news didn’t get any better this week when, instead of celebrating their season-opener, the loop learned that Seoul Broadcasting System, sponsors of the SBS Open, were jumping ship after the tour decided to end their 15-year agreement for exclusive Korean broadcast rights.
They are due for some positive news and, with Annika Sorenstam now retired, at least for the time being, the LPGA will be looking for a new poster child. With apologies to Lorena Ochoa, Yani Tseng and Paula Creamer, Wie is the preferred choice for that role.
The world hasn’t been waiting forever for Wie to break through. It just seems that way.
Back in 2003, when I was doing media for the Canadian Tour, there was a rather lively player meeting where it was announced that Wie had been granted a Golf Channel sponsor’s exemption into the season-ending Bay Mills Open Players Championship in Northern Michigan. Several players were not exactly on board with the notion and, in a moment of levity, the long-hitting Hank Kuehne, who had captured the tour’s Order of Merit title the year before, suggested if players were worried about being “beaten by a 13-year girl”, perhaps it was time to find a new line of work.
“That’s easy for you to say, Hank,” said the affable Jason Bohn, now a PGA Tour champion. “You can out-drive her.”
As expected, the room erupted in laughter. But, it must be noted, back then, Wie was gaining worldwide attention, a kid with freakish talent and unlimited potential. Arnold Palmer suggested “she’s probably going to influence the golfing scene as much as Tiger, or more.” Fred Couples said “”When you see her hit a golf ball…there’s nothing that prepares you for it. It’s just the scariest thing you’ve ever seen.”
Something happened on the way to history.
A steady stream of horrible decisions hasn’t helped Wie as a pro, and she has never quite lived up to the billing.
But the slate can be wiped clean beginning this week and Wie, as a full-blown member of the LPGA Tour, can begin the next chapter in what to date has been a pretty bizarre tale.
No matter how rough the ride has been up to now, Wie remains the future – or, at the very least, a rather large part of that future – of women’s professional golf.
The LPGA can only hope that the future lives up to the promise of the past.
Fairways Web Editor Marty Henwood spent more than six years as the Media Relations Director with the Canadian Tour and has been involved in sports journalism for more than a decade, including stints in newspaper, radio, new media and media relations. He will offer his unique take on the world of golf, with nothing and no one off limits.