Archive for May, 2009
When the final round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament began, Zach Johnson held a 1 stroke lead over Paul Goydos, but when Goydos birdied the 16th hole things were reversed. Goydos now held a 1 stroke over Johnson. Unfortunately for Goydos, he would bogey both of the 2 remaining holes to miss a playoff by 1 stroke.
James Driscoll began the final round at 7 under par, 8 strokes behind Johnson. Driscoll shot an 8 under par final round 62, and when Johnson could only manage an even par 70 in the final round, they headed to a sudden death playoff.
Johnson hit his approach shot to about 10 feet on the first playoff hole, leaving him a very makeable birdie putt. Driscoll missed his 20 foot birdie putt leaving the outcome of the golf tournament in Johnson’s hands. Johnson took advantage of the situation, rolling in his 10 footer, giving him his second when on tour this year.
With his win, Johnson vaulted to the number one spot on the FedExCup standings, passing Geoff Ogilvy and Phil Mickleson. Ogilvy and Michelson are the only other players on the PGA Tour with two wins this season.
It’s been quite a while since the Mariners were a big name in baseball, but it seems that 2009 might be their year. While Ken Griffey Jr. hasn’t done a whole lot to contribute to the team with his play, his presence has given the Mariners confidence. The Mariners haven’t seen a lot of success in baseball since Ichiro’s rookie year, but even Ichiro has picked up his game in 2009. The Mariners are leading the West, and have a record that could get them into the playoffs. In Seattle, the fans have started to flock to Safeco Field in droves, bringing with them Ichiro baseball bats, bobbleheads, and jerseys. The Mariners have a solid infield, outfield, and bullpen, and an even better lineup at the plate. 2009 could be the Mariners year for success.
One team the Mariners have always struggled against is the New York Yankees. Whether it’s some odd issue of polarity between the different coasts, the Mariners lose to the Yankees even in years where the New York ball club is struggling. If the Mariners can crush the Yankees, it will be a good indication of whether the team has World Series potential.
When the final round of The Players Championship began on Sunday, the big question was, how would Alex Cejka handle the pressure of playing in the final group with Tiger Woods. That question was answered quickly and definitely, “not good”. Cejka began the final round of the golf tournament with a 5 stroke lead over several players, including Woods, but when a bad drive lead to a bogey on the first hole, you had to wonder if the wheels were going to fall off early, and they did. After the bogey on the first hole, Cejka made a double bogey on 4 and bogies on 5, 6, and 8 to make the turn in 42 strokes. The only bright spot for Cejka was when he made a birdie on 10, which he followed with back to back bogies on 12 and 13 on his way to a final round 79.
On the flip side, Henrik Stenson could not have dreamed for a better day on the golf course. His final round began rather slowly with pars on the first 6 holes, but he was able to take the lead with birdies on 7 and 8 to shoot a 2 under par 34 on the front nine. Henson was then able to pull away from the field with birdies on 11, 13, 15 and 16 to finish with a bogey free round of 6 under par 66 for a total of 12 under par for the golf tournament, 4 shots clear of the field.
Tiger Woods had played his way into the final pairing on Sunday, but was never able to mount a charge like we have become so accustomed to, finishing with a 1 over par 73 and a tournament total of 5 under par. Phil Mickelson struggled most of the week finishing the tournament at 3 over par.
The first NFL training camps started in April, as teams welcomed back veterans and some new players as well. Many of the spring training camps are voluntary, but unless a player is protesting their contract, most show up. The spring training camps are an excellent way for the team’s new players, including rookies, to become acclimated with the playbook. The reason most rookies don’t see a lot of success in their first year in the NFL is because they’re not used to the playbook, and to contributing to an offense or defense at the NFL level. It’s surprising that many players who achieve huge success at a college level fail in the NFL. While some talent translates well from college football to the NFL level, it takes a lot of time and dedication for most players to achieve success. Even players that are first round draft picks have about the same chance of succeeding in the NFL as others.
It’s fun to watch the teams break out their football training equipment and test their skills, with the new season less than six months away, teams who are able to click in practice will have the most success in the new year.
Sergio Garcia is in somewhat of a slump right now, but will he be able to pull his game together to try and successfully defend his title at this years Players Championship. It doesn’t seem to matter how badly a professional golfer is playing, they can turn it around almost instantly. One week they can barely break eighty and the next week there shooting in the mid sixties. Sergio might be able to find his game this week, but I think I’ll put my money on either Phil Mickelson or Tiger Woods. With the way he’s playing right now, Sean O’Hair would also be a good pick to win this week.
Last week at the Quail Hollow Championship Tiger shot a 7 under par 65 in the first round, but could only manage to go 2 under in the last 3 rounds to finish the golf tournament at 9 under par. Similarly, Phil Mickelson shot a 5 under par 67 in the first round, but gained only 3 more strokes to par and finished at 8 under par for the golf tournament.
I said it before the Masters and I’ll say it again here, I would love to see Tiger and Phil standing on the 10th tee on Sunday tied for the lead and have the golf tournament come down to the 18th hole. I think that would be so good for the game of golf. We have waited for several years to see a rivalry form between Tiger and somebody. The only rivalry I’ve seen lately is when the press takes something Phil said about Tiger and blows it way out of proportion. I want to see them battle it out on the golf course with their golf clubs, not in the news.
We were treated to quite a show this year at the Masters when Phil got off to such a fast start in the final round, shooting a 30 on the front nine to get within one shot of the lead, and then Tiger making a late charge on the back nine to also get within one shot of the lead. Unfortunatley, Tiger bogied the last 2 holes and Phil bogied the last hole, taking both of them out of contention. Maybe this week they will be in the lead on Sunday and give us the head to head battle that we’ve been waiting for.
When the final round of the Quail Hollow Golf Championship began, Sean O’Hair was at 8 under par and was trailing tournament leader, Zach Johnson by 3 strokes and Lucas Glover by 2 strokes. Johnson more or less took himself out of the tournament on the par 3 second hole when he made a triple bogey 6. He was never able to recover, finishing his final round with a 76 and a tournament total of 7 under par.
After making a bogey on the fourth hole, O’Hair went 6 under par over the next 12 holes moving him to 13 under par and a 2 stroke lead heading to the treacherous par 3 17th. He needed those 2 strokes because he made bogies on both the 17th and 18th holes. Glover also bogied the 17th hole and needed a birdie on the 18th hole in order to force a playoff. His approach shot hit near the flag stick, but bounce off the back of the green. He was able to get his chip close to the hole, which allowed to save his par, but that left him one stroke behind O’Hair and in second place in the golf tournament.
This week O’Hair struck the ball extremely well. He needed to, because he didn’t make one putt over 10 feet long all week long. It’s amazing that someone can win a golf tournament and not make at least one putt longer than 10 feet. I think this win will give O’Hair the conficence he needs to start contending for more golf tournament victories. If you’ll remember, it was only a couple of years ago that he went to the 71st hole, the par 3 17th, in The Players Championship with a chance to win, only to see that chance disappear when his tee shot went into the water. I look for him to contend again this week when the PGA Tour returns to the TPC at Sawgrass for the 2009 Players Championship.