Golf Digest Search Results

The Grind: New Orleans fun, G-Mac's cool, and DJ and Paulina heat up

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:49:00 GMT

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we're wondering what has happened to American golf? After opening 2013 with 14 straight victories, a U.S. player hasn't won THREE weeks in a row. C'mon, guys, that's almost an entire month! We already stink at tennis; we can't lose our grip on the other main country club sport! At least, the red, white and blue contingent will have a chance to get back on track this week. Why? Because the PGA Tour NEVER stops and neither do we. Here's what has us talking.

Who says there's no teamwork in golf? (Getty Images)

WE'RE BUYING

Graeme McDowell. G-Mac finally picked up his long overdue second PGA Tour win at Hilton Head. And then he called his new restaurant, Nona Blue, and opened the bar to all those dining there. No wonder he made our list of the coolest golfers ever.

Suzann Pettersen. A win in Hawaii has the Norwegian in the mix for the suddenly-competitive top spot in women's golf. As for her dancing (below), that we are selling. . .

Bernhard Langer. A week after contending on Sunday at Augusta National, Langer won his second event of 2013 on the Champions Tour. This guy might be the most in-shape 55-year-old since Sylvester Stallone did one final training scene in Rocky Balboa (aka Rocky VI).

WE'RE SELLING

Charley Hoffman. People often wonder why the long-haired Hoffman only has two career PGA Tour wins. Those people must not watch him on Sunday enough. Entering the final round at Harbour Town with a two-shot lead, Hoffman shot a 77 for a T-6.

The wind. After playing in very gusty conditions in the Northeast over the weekend, we were glad to see the pros have to suffer through a similar test in Hilton Head on Sunday. That being said, wind stinks. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's part of the game. We get it, but that doesn't mean we have to like it.

Guys who haven't won a major. We came up with a formula to determine who the best of this current crop is. That being said, outside of a select few (namely Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia), their collective track records in majors is embarrassing. It's not just that they haven't won a big one yet, for the most part, these guys haven't even come close. Fortunately, it's golf, and as Tom Watson proved, you can still contend when you're approaching 60. So they all still have time -- even Steve Stricker.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour stays in the Southeast, heading to New Orleans for the Zurich Classic. Ahh, New Orleans. Home of great jazz, the NFL's Manning family and "The Jester." What is "The Jester," you ask? Only the greatest frozen drink ever concocted. Just a word to the wise: If a friend offers to pay for as many as you can drink the day you're flying home, don't take him up on that offer.

Random tournament fact: Fourteen-year-old Tianlang Guan is in the field after accepting a sponsor exemption. He is NOT allowed to drink Jesters yet.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Starters -- (A-List): Jason Dufner. We're not big fans of playing defending champions, but we just have a feeling here.

(B-List): Justin Rose. The best player in a watered-down field.

(B-List): Fredrik Jacobson. The Swede has been knocking on the door for his second PGA Tour win all year.

(C-List): Billy Horschel. Does this guy ever take a week off?

Bench -- Bubba Watson, Ernie Els, Andres Romero and Rickie Fowler.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Natalie Gulbis went snorkeling while in Hawaii for the Lotte Championship and snapped this photo. On behalf of snorkeling fans everywhere, thank you.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- Tianlang Guan will win this week: 1,000-to-1 odds (actual odds)

-- Tianlang Guan will receive another slow-play penalty this week: 10,000-to-1 odds

-- Any player who misses the cut will feel a lot better after a few Jesters: LOCK

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

He's back!

Another fantastic effort by South Korean star Psy. We just wish he had shot a scene on a golf course. Psy's previous hit, "Gangnam Style," prompted Jesper Parnevik to put together a crew to do a parody video. Psy's videos are awesome. Of course, it helps when they have a higher budget than most Hollywood blockbusters.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (NOT INVOLVING PSY)

And to think, this actually used to be a penalty. . .

I have a friend who learned about a player being penalized for the wind moving his ball and he would remind me from time to time how stupid it was. It was a great day when I was able to inform him it was no longer a rule. Now I just hope he doesn't find out that you can still get disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard when MILLIONS of people around the world know what you shot.

THIS WEEK IN PAULINA GRETZKY-DUSTIN JOHNSON DISPLAYS OF PUBLIC AFFECTION

DJ drops the "L-bomb" and Paulina replies by telling him "You're the best thing that's ever been mine." Sorry, guys. This is getting serious!

THIS AND THAT

Raphael Jacquelin won the Spanish Open in a record-tying nine-hole playoff. That must be a pretty difficult hole if if took the Frenchman 10 tries before he could birdie it. . . . Speaking of playoffs, Angel Cabrera got back to winning them in his hometown event on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. Cabrera has played two events on the circuit created before the start of the 2012 season. He's won both. . . . This is a "Jester" (above). Drink at your own risk.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why don't they sell Jesters in the Northeast?

Will Jason Dufner #Dufner when he wins again?

When's the Johnson-Gretzky wedding and can we come?

-- Alex Myers is an Associate Editor for GolfDigest.com. Feel free to email him and please follow him on Twitter since he has self-esteem issues.

Follow @AlexMyers3

Inside Golf World Podcast: How We Cover The Masters

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:20:00 GMT

By Ryan Herrington

Dorothy Parker famously professed, "I hate writing. I love having written."

Trust us when we say we know the feeling.

A blank computer screen can be one of the scarier sights for any journalist, particularly when you're assigned the main piece at the year's biggest tournament. In this week's Inside Golf World Podcast, Golf World contributing writer Jim Moriarty discusses what went in to reporting and writing the game story from the 77th Masters, which chronicled Adam Scott's playoff victory over Angel Cabrera.

Of course, the week that was at Augusta National saw more storylines play out than simply Scott becoming the first Australian to win a green jacket.

Moriarty details how he went about keeping the various subplots (slow-play warnings, illegal ball drops, etc.) organized so that come Sunday night--and into Monday morning--he was able to craft a cogent, entertaining look at the year's first major.

Listen to the podcast
Subscribe to the Inside Golf World series in iTunes

Follow @GWCampusInsider

Creature Of Habits

Tim Rosaforte — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Routines, both old and new, explain how Angel Cabrera contended again at Augusta.

Media: 'He's the wizard of Oz'

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:24:00 GMT

By John Strege

The thought surely occurred to anyone recalling Adam Scott's inability to close out the British Open the summer before and CBS' David Feherty eloquently put it to words.

"The game of golf owes him one," Feherty said with Scott putting out on the 15th green in the final round of the Masters on Sunday, "but as we know the game of golf is a deadbeat debtor. It does not care."

Maybe it does after all. Scott erased the demons he took away from Royal Lytham & St. Annes last year and became the first Australian to win the Masters with birdie putts at the 18th hole in regulation and at 10 on the second playoff hole to beat Angel Cabrera.

When Scott holed the birdie putt at 18 in regulation that looked, for the moment, like it might deliver a victory, he shouted for joy.

"Did I just lip-read him, 'come on Aussies?'" Faldo asked. A slow-motion replay confirmed it.

"There's a great song at home called 'Come On Aussie, Come on,'" Australian native Ian Baker-Finch said. "That's what we've all been saying."

Here's the first verse, a fitting ode to Scott and Australian golf:

"It's been a long time comin'
"To silence all that drummin'
"To show them that it wasn't just a dream."

Aussome

It was a day for Aussies, from start to finish.

Early, Jason Day holed a bunker shot for eagle on the second hole. "A few of the tea cups fell off the breakfast tables down in Australia on that one," Faldo said. "That will get everyone rocking."

When Scott holed the winning putt in the rain, Faldo summed it up neatly. "It's now official," he said. "He's the wizard of Oz."

An emotional Baker-Finch, who has known Scott since he was a kid, added this: "From down under to the top of the world."

They weren't there for tennis

When CBS cut to Masters starter Toby Wilt to announce the final pairing of Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera, Wilt was overhead asking the players, "All right, guys, ready to play a little golf?"

Wilt, incidentally, is a member at Augusta National, and a friend of Snedeker's. They partnered to win the pro-am at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Put down that phone

When Angel Cabrera was brushing leaves with his practice swings beneath a tree right of the 10th fairway, Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo seemed to be calling off the rules experts watching at home and waiting to catch players in infractions.

"He'd better be careful back there with those practice swings," Nantz said.

"He can't knock a leaf off," Faldo said. "Now with HD, we can see a leaf falling."

The HD reference is to high definition television, responsible for the new rule designed to protect the player from inadvertent rules infractions spotted on television, the same rule that kept Tiger Woods around for the weekend.

"You're really flirting with a penalty," Nantz said. "One of those leafs fall it would be a penalty."

None fell.

He used to play like that with pressure

Peter Kostis after Tiger's second shot from the pine needles to the green at 13, leading to his third birdie in five holes: "Once Tiger kind of was out of it, there's been a freedom about his attitude and golf swing that has really taken over."

On Twitter

Dennis Miller, comedian and radio talk show host: "re CBS opening montage. Has the Masters become too meaningful to actually play it? Is Nantz performing Extreme Unction or announcing golf?"

(Getty Images photo)

Follow @JohnStrege

Five questions with Bonaventure Discount Golf's L.D. Waters

Derek Evers — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:37:00 GMT

L.D. Waters and his family have run Bonaventure Discount Golf, just off the Bobby Jones Expressway in Augusta, Ga., since 1955. He answers five questions from Mike Stachura. Q: What's your store like during...

Final Say: What Predictions Say About Us

Jaime Diaz — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Where are there more mysteries and unanswered questions than in golf? By predicting who will win a tournament, golfers are fighting back. For a prideful moment, we can pretend to know.

The Most Grueling U.S. Opens

Alex Myers — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 04:00:00 GMT

A look back at the toughest national championships in golf history.

Punchlines: Cabrera puts three in the water at Sawgrass' 17th

Steve Hennessey — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:16:00 GMT

At Golf World, we continue to be blown away by the creativity of our reader submissions in our Front 9 Punchline Contest. Every Sunday, we invite readers to contribute a snappy comment for one...

Saturday stats: Hanson-Mickelson unbeatable

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 03:03:00 GMT

(Paul Lawrie has the lowest world-ranking among the top-10 competitors at The Masters. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Nine notable third-round Masters stats from Golf World contributing writer Brett Avery, who compiles the Rank and File statistical sections for the magazine's major championship coverage.

1. World rankings of the contenders: Peter Hanson 25th, Phil Mickelson 14th, Louis Oosthuizen 27th, Bubba Watson 16th, Matt Kuchar 18th, Hunter Mahan fourth, Padraig Harrington 96th, Henrik Stenson 171st, Lee Westwood third, Paul Lawrie 186th.

Is Garcia ready to break through at Augusta?

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:20:00 GMT

(Photo: Getty Images)

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- A reporter asked Sergio Garcia which of the golfer's fingers was bothering him.

"This one," Garcia said, flashing a mock obscene gesture with his left middle finger to roars of laughter Friday afternoon in the interview room at Augusta National GC.

For a change, despite his infected fingernail, birds of a different sort weren't rare for Garcia at the Masters.

The Spaniard had six of them en route to a four-under 68 and a 36-hole total of 140, one stroke behind the leaders heading into the weekend. Midway through the major championship that has been the most frustrating in a career full of Grand Slam disappointment, Garcia is in great position to break his 0-for-53 drought in the majors.