10.12.09
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2:11 PM
There were rumors about Anthony Kim's behavior floating around at the Presidents Cup, including one that had Fred Couples close to sending the 24-year-old star of last year's Ryder Cup home for his attitude at a team dinner. But one scene at the end of a four-ball match Saturday at Harding Park spoke about how far Kim had come in a matter of days. That was when Couples pulled Kim close and attempted to plant a kiss on his player's face. It made for great TV, especially when Kim pushed his captain away, but it earned young Anthony one of the autographed Michael Jordan jerseys Couples was handing out on a daily basis -- and a Sunday pairing against Robert Allenby.
Their match was inconsequential, but Kim used it to put the exclamation point in a 3-1 week that raised his two-year record in Cup competition to 5-2-1. Fist-pumping his away around the course, Kim looked like the player who took out Sergio Garcia in last year's Ryder Cup, 5 and 4 -- but who has been largely absent throughout 2009.
After whipping Allenby just as impressively, 5 and 3, Kim left the press conference, hat on backward, with an eye toward celebrating. Instead, he was asked in the parking lot about accusations Allenby had made minutes earlier to a group of reporters -- that Kim was out partying in the early-morning hours before their 9:43 a.m. starting time.
Asked if he was out until 4 a.m., as Allenby alluded, Kim kept his composure, as he had on the course during the day. "Absolutely false," he said. "I was at the hotel, had dinner with the team, met my buddies for about 20 minutes, then went straight to my room. I was in tip-top shape. If Robert had that to say, he maybe needs to practice a little more."
-- Tim Rosaforte
10.07.09
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2:09 PM
The recession reached into LPGA headquarters Wednesday when the cash-strapped tour eliminated the deputy commissioner position and laid off seven other staffers, according to sources familiar with the situation. The only eliminated position confirmed by the tour was that of Libba Galloway, a lawyer who was elevated to the newly created position of deputy commissioner by then-commissioner Carolyn Bivens.
"Due to the changes in our tournament business and other effects of the world-wide recession, the LPGA has eliminated the position of Deputy Commissioner effective December 31, 2009," acting Commissioner Marty Evans said in a statement. "Libba Galloway, a key contributor to the LPGA for nearly a decade, will transition out of the association at the end of the year. We thank Libba for her leadership, commitment and the countless contributions that she has provided us."
Chief communications officer David Higdon would not comment on whether there were other job eliminations. But sources familiar with the situation say they will be announced publicly on Thursday so that the affected staffers have time to share the news with their families.
Given the drop in revenue for the tour, the layoffs were viewed as inevitable and had long been rumored within LPGA headquarters. The timing of the move spares the new commissioner the burden of coming into office having already created ill will by letting people go. The search for a new commissioner is in its second round of interviews and a decision could come by the end of the month.
One of the revenue streams for the LPGA is the 6 percent it gets from each tournament purse. Total prize money in 2008, when there were 34 tournaments, was $60.3 million. This year, with 27 events, the total figure plunged to $47.6 million, a drop of $12.7 million, which meant $762,000 less for the tour. The prospects for next year are for even fewer tournaments, and many of the events that have re-signed for 2010 have done so at a lower purse, meaning even less operating revenue.
The thinking inside tour headquarters is that the jobs eliminated will not be filled by the new commissioner and were necessary staff reductions for budget reason. Sources in Daytona Beach also say this is not likely the end of belt-tightening at the tour.
-- Ron Sirak
10.05.09
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9:06 AM
TIMONIUM, Md. -- The Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship could be on the move in 2010. Held at Baltimore CC Five Farms since 2007 after many years in Dearborn, Mich., the tournament could wind up at redesigned TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms in Potomac, Md., longtime site of a PGA Tour event when it was called TPC at Avenel.
Mike Stevens, president of the Champions Tour, said it will be up to Baltimore CC's board to decide whether the Senior Players re-locates for a year, but it is clear the tour has a strong interest in bringing the event to TPC Potomac, which reopened earlier this year after a $25 million facelift.
The fact that the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods is going to be played at Aronimink outside Philadelphia the next two years while Congressional CC gets tweaked for the 2011 U.S. Open there also figures in the equation to bring the seniors to the D.C. area.
"We have a TPC over there, it's a nice course and they did a great job with the re-do," Stevens said. "With Tiger's event going to Aronimink for the next couple of years, there's a hole in that marketplace for golf. We feel it would be a great opportunity for us to showcase the TPC and maybe get some additional momentum for this tournament."
TPC at Avenel wasn't a hit with tour players when it hosted the Kemper Open/FBR Open/Booz Allen Classic, but Stevens, who played the course last Friday, believes that Steve Wenzloff and Jim Hardy solved the design flaws with their renovation. Moving the Senior Players out of the fall is also under consideration.
"Any time golf hits football season, it struggles, said Stevens, noting small galleries for the third round, which went up against home football games by area college teams Maryland and Navy. The tournament drew a larger crowd on Sunday, and the fans got to see a tight, dramatic finish with Jay Haas shooting 64 to edge Tom Watson by one stroke on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed course.
-- Bill Fields
09.29.09
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2:33 PM
ORLANDO -- Arnold Palmer will be at the White House on Wednesday, accepting the Congressional Gold Medal from President Barack Obama. "I think I'm gonna do it," Palmer joked Tuesday at the official re-opening of his Bay Hill Club and Lodge after major renovations.
Palmer, a close friend of the late former President Dwight Eisenhower and most recently Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, wryly admitted he has received tons of messages from friends to pass on to the President. Politics aside, recent American Presidents have always sidled up to The King.
President Clinton presented him the National Sports Award at a gala banquet in Wasington. In 2004, Presidents George W. Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Congressional Medal was first given to then General George Washington in 1776. Asked what the award meant to him, Palmer's eyes twinkled.
"I didn't know George Washington," Palmer said. "But if I did I'd shake his hand and say you were the first and I'm not going to be the last."
Palmer just survived a two-week celebration of his 80th birthday in Orlando and his home of Latrobe, Pa. One of his proudest moments was throwing an 80 MPH fastball down the middle at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. He did this after throwing a golf ball for this first pitch.
"Well, it was quite a birthday," Palmer said. "I won't say I'm sorry because the alternative is not so good. I got together with some old friends I don't see much anymore. We laughed and had a lot of fun."
--Tim Rosaforte
09.10.09
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3:08 PM
The recurring theme on tour this week is how tough the players have it because they have to play three weeks in row and four out of five in the hopes of stuffing their pockets with $10 million.
Scott Verplank compared it to a pro football player who plays a Thursday night game and then has a game the following Sunday. To emphasize his point he even said, "You go from playing the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night and you've got the Steelers on Thursday. That's about how it is. You don't have a lot of time for rest and relaxation."
Not a lot of sympathy here, Scott. Let's see ... third and three, staring at a group of 300 lb. monsters versus needing two birdies in three holes to pocket a cool $1.3 million. Tough choice isn't it?
Steve Stricker even said, "I don't think it's fair to the players or the tournament too much to whip us around in such a quick fashion and get us going again, I'm tired. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep." A little tired are we after taking home that first-place check last Monday?
Even the workout king of all-time, Mr. Tiger Woods, who's playing his sixth tournament in seven weeks uttered, "It's a lot of golf for me." To his credit, Tiger did follow up with, "Winning takes care of everything."
When Tiger speaks, Mr. Finchem listens. No doubt this is the last time you will see a run of three straight FedEx Cup playoff events followed by a week off and then the Tour Championship. But really, the overbearing volume of public whining from a bunch of guys privileged enough to make an extremely good living hitting a little white ball around meticulously manicured lawns gets tiresome very fast.
--Michael Erdman
08.26.09
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11:43 AM
Palmer's Bay Hill course in Orlando -- host of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, of course -- is currently undergoing renovations.
All of the greens are being redone, as are the bunkers, which will now each be visible. He's fixed the drainage on Nos. 3 and 6. And some of the par-3s will be lengthened.
The renovations were scheduled to be completed on Oct. 1, but they're ahead of schedule. Arnold will play the first round there on Sept. 4.
Perhaps the biggest news, though, is that after a few years as a par-70, the course will play as a par-72 for next year's event.
"I guess the trend now is that people want to see more birdies," he told me.
When I asked if it really matters whether a player shoots 8-under-par on a par-70 course or 16-under on a par-72, he shakes his head. "Nope," he says. "Not one bit."
--ESPN.com
08.23.09
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3:48 PM
SUNRIVER, Ore. -- The leader board landscape has changed drastically through nine holes of the final round of the Jeld-Wen Tradition at the Crosswater Club.
Brad Bryant, who led by three strokes after 54 holes, increased his advantage to four with a 10-foot birdie putt on the first hole Sunday, but the rest of the front nine didn't go his way.
Bryant turned in one-over 37 and trails John Cook, who shot a 32, by two strokes with nine holes to play. Bryant, seeking his first Champions Tour win since the 2007 U.S. Senior Open, has not fared well when owning the lead heading into the final round. On the Champions Tour Bryant is 0-for-5 when holding at least a share of the lead, and he was winless in six of those situations on the PGA Tour.
--Bill Fields
08.22.09
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8:51 PM
SUNRIVER, Ore. -- Tom Kite will be making a lengthy detour between the Jeld-Wen Tradition and next week's Boeing Classic near Seattle on the Champions Tour.
Kite, who designed Liberty National GC in Jersey City, N.J., with Bob Cupp, will spend Monday and Tuesday at The Barclays, the first event in the PGA Tour playoffs for the FedEx Cup.
"We've worked hard to get the course really good," said Kite, who will fly from Portland, Ore., to Newark, N.J., Sunday night and travel from New Jersey to Seattle Tuesday night. "The proof will be when the guys see it this coming week. It's a fairly challenging golf course and some guys might not like it beause it's hard. All in all, I think most of the guys are going to like it. It's a pretty hard course, and if they get some wind, as they normally do, it'll be a pretty good test for them."
Kite said Liberty National, which is situated on New York Harbor with stunning views of the Statue of Liberty, hasn't been tinkered with since it opened July 4, 2006. "The only thing we've done recently is add a tee on the [324-yard, par-4] 16th hole," Kite said. "It was one we've wanted to get built for a long time. It was in a set-back area and we couldn't do it. We had to go through a lengthy permitting period to be able to get it done. Otherwise, there haven't been any changes."
This will be the third time a tour event has been played on a Kite course -- the LPGA had an event at the Legends Club of Tennessee in Nashville, and the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open is contested at Trump International Puerto Rico.
"The vistas are unbelievable at Liberty National," Kite said. "Whether the course plays good, we'll find out, but it's going to look good on TV, that's for sure. I'm looking forward to going back."
--Bill Fields
08.22.09
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8:49 PM
SUNRIVER, Ore. - Brad Bryant shot a 67 Saturday to maintain his advantage in the Jeld-Wen Tradition at the Crosswater Club and with a two-stroke advantage over Mike Reid is in position to do something that hasn't been done on the Champions Tour since 2001.
If Bryant holds on Sunday and wins for the first time since the 2007 U.S. Senior Open at Whistling Straits, he would be the first wire-to-wire winner of a senior major since Doug Tewell in the 2001 Tradition.
Bryant finished 54 holes at 15-under 201. Reid, who hasn't had a top-10 finish since 2007, is at 203. John Cook is another stroke back at 204. Reid hasn't won since taking his lone Champions Tour title, the 2005 Senior PGA Championship at Laurel Valley.
"If I play as well tomorrow as I played today and somebody beats me, they deserve it more than me," Bryant said.
--Bill Fields
08.22.09
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5:49 PM
SUNRIVER, Ore. -- Jay Haas' picture was on the front page of the local newspaper, The Bulletin, Saturday, but it wasn't because of good play.
Haas was shown getting electrical stimulation treatment on his sore left elbow in the tour's medical treatment van. A frustrating, winless Champions Tour season for Haas -- who has won multiple times each of the last four years -- has been exacerbated lately by the pain of tendinitis.
The joint bothered him so much during the second round that he thought he might have to withdrew, but he got through the day with with an even-par 72. The pain wasn't as bad Saturday, when the 12-time senior tour winner shot a four-under 68 at the Crosswater Club.
"Just old," Haas, 55, joked of his new malady after the third round. "It's not so bad that I can't swing the club, but if it flares up, it's not good. The last three weeks, the elbow has been an issue, but not the whole year. I'm not going to slit my wrists anytime soon, but I'm frustrated with how I've played. I'm just throwing away too many shots, and when I hit a couple of good ones, I haven't been making the birdies."
--Bill Fields
