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Results for April 2011 Back to Local Knowledge Index

John Smoltz's rough Nationwide Tour debut

Friday, April 29, 2011 Comments

John Smoltz's Nationwide Tour debut began in promising fashion. The ending, however, did little to justify the future Hall-of-Fame pitcher's spot in the event.

Playing in the South Georgia Classic on a sponsor's exemption, Smoltz, who carries a plus-2 handicap, started on the back nine and parred his first two holes before birdieing No. 12 to get into red figures. The rest? Well, it was ugly.

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Over the final 15 holes, Smoltz didn't record another birdie while racking up nine bogeys and two double bogeys. The final number, 84, looked more like the reading from a radar gun after one of his sliders towards the end of his baseball career.

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Could a sneeze have led to Tiger's injury?

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Comments

The news that Tiger Woods suffered a Grade 1 mild medial collateral ligament sprain to his left knee and a mild strain to his left Achilles tendon (at least that's what the statement on Woods' website says) while hitting his second shot from the pine straw underneath the Eisenhower tree on the 17th hole during the third round of the Masters brought with it questions of how exactly the injury occurred.

How about a sneeze?

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OK, this may be a bit of a stretch, but bear with me. I was following Woods during the back nine at Augusta National that Saturday and was standing by the 17th tee as Woods got ready to hit. As Woods started his backswing, a spectator sneezed. Woods was able to stop his swing and his caddie, Steve Williams, provided a pleasant, "Bless you" to the offending fan.

Woods then re-set and proceeded to hit his tee shot, which struck the large tree and dropped straight down into the pine straw. It was on the following shot that he hurt his leg.

Maybe if the sneeze doesn't happen, Woods hits a better tee ball and doesn't hurt his leg on the next shot. Far-fetched? Perhaps. But not a completely illogical thought.

-- E. Michael Johnson

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Warning: Ben Crane dances, half naked

Monday, April 25, 2011 Comments
Ben Crane, who has released videos about his pre-round routine, working out and slow play, continues his knack for hilarious expression with this dance-inspired video.

"I'm known as a boring person," he admits. But did you know he "grew up in the Dance Academy"? Here, half naked, he breaks out his best dance moves.




--Ashley Mayo
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How close is RBC to saving the Heritage?

Monday, April 25, 2011 Comments

From this week's issue of Golf World Monday:

The search for a new sponsor for the Heritage has made Steve Wilmot, the tournament director, physically ill from worry after Verizon pulled out of the Hilton Head stop last year and left the event scrambling to stay alive in 2011.

furyk_harbour_town_blog_0425.jpgAn exciting playoff won by Brandt Snedeker, a compelling subplot with Luke Donald ascending to No. 1 with a victory, and gorgeous weather accentuating Harbour Town GL had to make him feel better. But the best medicine will likely be delivered in the coming days when Royal Bank of Canada is expected to ride to the rescue and save the tourney.

Several players and sources related to the tournament told Golf World that RBC is close to signing a four-year sponsorship deal. Talk about timing: RBC already received nice exposure with two of its players, Donald (shown) and Jim Furyk, in the final pairing.

So the good news is that one of the players' favorite events held on one of the PGA Tour's most revered layouts probably isn't going away or getting replaced by a TPC near you. Score one for the little guys.

-- Dave Shedloski

(Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)


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Poultergeist: Ian Poulter's ghost

Saturday, April 23, 2011 Comments

Is the house in which Ian Poulter is staying while he plays in the Heritage on Hilton Head Island, S.C. haunted? Maybe, according to his own reports via Twitter. His posts:

-- "Check this out, we have a ghost in our house this week & I'm not joking we have had some very strange goings on every night."

-- "We have a dead bolted door in the house & every morning that door is unlocked & slightly open. It's happened 7 times already."

-- "No joke for real, very bizarre the door is pretty solid with a dead bolt & number of times it's been unlocked & open. Calling home owner now"

-- " @Graeme_McDowell I might join you mate we have a ghost in our house and it's given a strange feel in this house."

-- "I should ask @golfchannel or CBS if I can borrow a camera & set it up on that door for the night. My camera won't video for that long."

Needless to say, he's getting little sympathy. Lee Westwood posed this question on Twitter: "is it the ghost of arsenals last win???"

A Jamie Valder posted this: "Shut up you bender, get a grasp on reality and you might actually play some good golf"

Poulter shot 75 on Saturday to drop to a tie for 36th.

-- John Strege

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Micheel's assorted ailments have been dizzying

Friday, April 22, 2011 Comments
HILTON HEAD, S.C. -- Shaun Micheel's troubles with his golf game sound like the lyrics of a Pink Floyd song.

"I move around inside myself," said the 2003 PGA champion in trying to explain his struggles. "I know that sounds kind of weird, but it's the best way to describe what's happening to me."

Micheel, 42, suffers from an inner ear disorder called indiolymphatic hydrops, a form of miniere's disease in which he has trouble with the pressure in his ears. For the last three years he's had headaches, dizziness on and off, and a constant ringing in his ears. Read more
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Will an offending reed be Davis' talisman?

Thursday, April 21, 2011 Comments

HILTON HEAD, S.C. - A small portion of what appeared to be a piece of straw protruded from a pocket in Brian Davis' Titleist golf bag Thursday afternoon. Upon closer inspection, it was a brown reed, which Davis' caddie Steve Hulka had plucked from Calibogue Sound Wednesday night and slid into a compartment of the black-and-white bag as an odd but appropriate talisman.

"I found the culprit. Well, darn close to the culprit," Hulka said with a grin. "It's a memory for us of all the bad - and good - from last year."

"I noticed he put it in the bag. I'm not going to take it out," Davis said. "Maybe this time it helps me."

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Davis, 36, birdied his last two holes Thursday at Harbour Town GL for an opening 3-under-par 68, a heartening and healing beginning to The Heritage for the native of London, who finished runner-up to Jim Furyk here a year ago.

Furyk won on the first extra hole in a sudden-death playoff, but Davis departed a winner of sorts, too. He called a two-stroke penalty on himself and conceded the title to the eventual FedExCup season champion after he ticked a loose reed with his wedge in his backswing in the marshy area left of the 18th green, a violation of Rule 13-4 covering the movement of a loose impediment in a hazard.

"I started a bit rusty, but finished well," Davis said of his effort amid sunny and calm conditions Thursday. "It's just nice to be back here and playing well again here. I didn't want to make a lot of it."

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Is a belly putter the answer for Ernie Els?

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Comments

HILTON HEAD, S.C. -- Ernie Els is bellying up to a higher bar in his search for better putting.

els_blog_0420.jpgEls, 41, put a belly putter, an Odyssey White Hot, in his bag during Wednesday's pro-am at The Heritage. Although he wasn't sure that he was going to use it in the tournament, which begins Thursday at Harbour Town GL, it's obvious that his frustration on the greens this year has reached a new level.

"I might have it in this week, but I'm not set on that yet. I'm giving it a tryout," said Els, who ranks 159th in putting on the PGA Tour, a huge decline from the previous season when he ranked 59th and won twice. "I think I might just need a different look and a different way of seeing the putts. It feels OK, but you don't really know until you put it under the gun."

-- Dave Shedloski

(Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)


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Poulter back at Heritage after needed rest

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Comments

HILTON HEAD, S.C. -- England's Ian Poulter is back at The Heritage for the first time since a three-year run from 2004-06, but not because it could be the last time the PGA Tour visits Harbour Town GL. It's just that the date better suits him.

He's not alone. Seven of the world's top 20 are here this week.

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"It's a great event, and it's one that I have enjoyed in the past because it's really one of the coolest golf courses we play all year," said Poulter, ranked No. 16 in the world. "This date works for me. If this were the week after the Masters like it has been in the past, I wouldn't be here, but now it's two weeks after, and I'm happy to be back because I love it here."

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Dustin Johnson and caddie Brown part ways

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Comments

Dustin Johnson and Bobby Brown were always more family than just player and caddie. That was never more evident after the U.S. Open collapse on Sunday at Pebble Beach, the rules violation on the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, or the near missed tee time in this year's Northern Trust Open. Many players would have made caddie changes after any of those mistakes, but Johnson took it on himself and never blamed his man on the bag.

In a move that comes as a surprise, Brown and Johnson have split up. Brown, who is dating the sister of Johnson's girlfriend, initiated the dialogue and both have agreed it's better to move on. They started working together in the middle of Johnson's 2008 rookie season and have been together for four victories, including two AT&T National Pro-Ams and the 2010 BMW Championship.

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"This is part of the game and we both understand that," Brown said Tuesday.

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