Golf Digest Search Results

Media: 'I'm stupefied by the slow penalty'

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:30:00 GMT

News unfolds at a languid pace in golf, but a languid pace was the news in the second round of the Masters, introducing a note of controversy that provided a seamless segue from the end of the Golf Channel's "Live from the Masters" show to the beginning of ESPN's telecast.

Tianlang Guan, the Chinese teenager who earned widespread admiration for his poise and ability a day before, again was the center of attention on Friday when on the 17th hole he was assessed a slow-play penalty that jeopardized his making the cut. He made it on the number.

Near the end of its show, Golf Channel's Steve Sands interviwed Ken Schofield, the former executive director of the European PGA Tour, regarding the penalty called moments earlier by European Tour rules official John Paramor.

"John Paramor was my first recruit in 1976," Schofield said. "I didn't regret it then and I would not have regretted it in all of my time. John will have applied the penalty in accordance of the competitions of the 77th Masters tournament. Clearly this is very, very unfortunate, but it's a fact of life. Whether the guy is 14 or whether he would have been 60-year-old Tom Watson, John would have applied the rule."

ESPN's Mike Tirico, meanwhile, paid homage to Guan. "The 14-year-old handled it with class, saying afterwards, quote, I respect the decision [end quote], his maturity the equal of his ability, adding to the global admiration for an eighth-grader half a world from home."

Otherwise, opinion was largely the domain of those on Twitter, most coming down on the side of Guan, some curiously so. For instance, Joe Ogilvie, whose Twitter avatar bemoans slow play (a cap with a red circle, the words SLOW PLAY inside them, and a red line through it), wrote: "I'm stupefied by the slow penalty. Hope he still makes the cut."

Ogilvie is among golf's faster players, incidentally, is ardently anti-slow play, and seemingly would be expected to applaud the penalty.

Then there was tennis star Andy Roddick, who wrote, "I understand everyone saying he was warned etc....... My stance is simple to all of those arguments. He's 14."

What does his age have to do with the rules?

Speaking of age...

Given seven hours to fill on its "Live from the Masters" show, Golf Channel featured a couple of interesting interviews, one with Raymond Floyd, once a mentor to Fred Couples. Even at 53, Couples believes he can contend in the Masters, and, indeed, he finished Friday tied for second.

"He has a very good chance to win here because he has maintained his length," Floyd said. "That is paramount. Experience is huge. Huge. The more you play here the better you get a feel for the golf course. I see where Freddie's coming from. I agree with him totally. He has a chance to win here where he might not at any other tour event."

The big question, however, was posed by ESPN's Curtis Strange: "Can his nerves hold up?"

Speaking of slow play....

When the ESPN telecast began, the first we saw of Tiger Woods was on the tee at the par-3 fourth hole, where there was a backup. Rickie Fowler and Jason Day, playing in the threesome following Woods' group, were standing near the tee box and visible in the background.

'The most sin...'

That was all of the sentence that David Feherty got out when Jim Furyk chunked his third shot into the water at the 15th hole.

He was about to say, he said moments later, "the most sinister 75 yards in golf."

Tiger Woods might concur, his third from a similar distance striking the flagstick and bounding back into the water, a stroke of misfortune that would demoralize lesser players. Instead, he took a drop, hit it to within four feet and made the putt for a bogey.

"And that right there is why he is who he is," Arron Oberholser posted on Twitter. "#15th club strongest mind in the game."

On Twitter

David Duval: "The only way to deal with slow play is simple. Give the rules officials the ability to time players without warning them."

(Getty Images photo)

Follow @JohnStrege

Celebrity caddies in the Masters Par 3

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:03:00 GMT

By Sam Weinman

The Masters Par 3 is the rare tournament players aren't overly keen on winning. Or so goes the superstition since no one has ever won the Par 3 and the Masters in the same year.

But what the tournament lacks in cutthroat competition, it makes up for in surprise cameos. Take, for instance, the presence of Caroline Wozniacki, who caddied for boyfriend Rory McIlroy on Wednesday. The sight of a former world No. 1 tennis player in a caddie jumpsuit might be groundbreaking material if not for the fact that by Par 3 standards, celebrity caddies are nothing new.

Below our list of noteworthies:

Andy Roddick: The now-retired tennis star, himself an avid golfer, looped for Zach Johnson in the Par 3 in 2011. The two hadn't met prior to that day, but they got along well enough for Johnson to let Roddick get in a swing himself, which he summarily dunked in the water.

Matt Ryan: The Atlanta Falcons quarterback got the nod from Stewart Cink in 2012. Ryan, who had played a few rounds with Cink in the past, got in a swing as well, which he said drifted "way too far to the right."

Chris Evert: Are you picking up on the tennis player theme? Evert had married Greg Norman the previous summer when she caddied for the Shark in Par 3. In fact, Norman even made a hole in one on the sixth hole that day. It wasn't enough to save their marriage, however. They divorced later that year.

Kelly Tilghman: The Golf Channel anchor had a chance to caddie for Arnold Palmer in a group that also included Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player in 2008. Palmer allowed the former college golfer a swing of her own, which Tilghman barely cleared the water with.

David Robinson: The 7-foot-2 NBA All-Star center comprised one half of an odd couple when he looped for 5-foot-9 Corey Pavin in 1997. Robinson wasn't the only boldfaced name in a jumpsuit that week. Eagles lead singer Glen Frey caddied for Brad Faxon.

Follow @samweinman

Golf-Crazed Celebs

Sam Weinman — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

As celebrities descend on Pebble Beach, a look at the most passionate golfers among them.

Videos: Top 10 Tennis Stars Who Play Golf

Liz Bergren — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 04:00:00 GMT

The rarest category of athletes who excel both on the court and on the golf course. Here's a countdown of the top tennis pros who bring their 'A' game to the course.

2011 Masters: Par 3 Contest

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT

The scene at Augusta's colorful Par 3 Contest

MediaWatch: Big 3 carry Par 3 Contest telecast

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:08:00 GMT

Televising the Par 3 Contest on the eve of the Masters is entertaining if for no other reason than to give us another chance or, sooner or later, a last chance, to watch the Big Three together -- Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

"We have to cherish every time we see them together because it's not going to happen that much in the future," ESPN's Curtis Strange said.

The sentiment probably crossed the mind of anyone watching Palmer limping and in some pain, though the ESPN crew never offered an explanation for his stilted gait. Golf World contributor Dave Shedloski provided the missing explanation via Twitter. "If Arnie looks a little stiff today in Par-3 Contest, he's been having some trouble with his hips the last few days. He is 81," Shedloski wrote.

(Getty Images)

It was fun as well to eavesdrop on some of their banter, given how they spent the better part of their careers beating up on one another.

When at the top of the show it was revealed that Nicklaus had helped reaffix a spike in Player's shoe, Palmer chimed in, "He just hired Jack to take care of his shoes."

"And I didn't tip him," Player replied.

"I lose all the way around," Nicklaus said.

When Palmer apparently was asking someone in the crowd to give him a read on a putt, Nicklaus said, "Don't answer him. He can't hear you anyway." Palmer wears a hearing aid.

The late CBS producer Frank Chirkinian once said, "There is nothing humorous at the Masters. Here, small dogs do not bark and babies don't cry."

Yet another good reason to televise the Par 3 Contest is to demonstrate that there is laughter, even babies, though no small dogs.

A good time was had by all, including those players who had their kids on hand, many of them toddlers. "The Day Care Open," as Geoff Shackelford, in his inimitable way, described it on his blog.