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Kangaroos delay LPGA Australian Open

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:45:00 GMT

Yesterday it was Black Widow spiders, today it's kangaroos. This photo courtesy of Stefan Postles shows Karrie Webb and her caddy waiting for a court of kangaroos (had to look that one up) to clear the ninth fairway before teeing off. No word of how long the delay lasted, but we're placing bets on what wildlife will impact the LPGA Australian Open next. Webb and the rest of the Tour may be hoping for something to attack Lydia Ko, because nothing else seems to slow her down.

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Golf World Monday: Peter Senior turns back clock in Australia

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:32:00 GMT

From the December 10 issue of Golf World Monday:

By Bill Fields

For all the oomph of golf's youth movement, veterans continue to have days when the numbers on a birth certificate have nothing to do with those on a scorecard. Few occasions have been sweeter for an elder golfer than the one enjoyed yesterday by Peter Senior, who at 53 scored an age-defying victory over a field of young bucks in the Australian Open at The Lakes in Sydney.

Photo by Getty Images

On a day when play was suspended for three hours because of winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour, the crafty Senior outclassed the field with an even-par 72 to win his second Australian Open 23 years after his first and become -- by far -- the oldest golfer to win his venerable championship, surpassing Peter Thomson, who was 43 when he won in 1972.

"It doesn't get any better than this," said Senior, the broomstick-putter wielding player who has lost three playoffs on the Champions Tour.

Always known as a sound ball-striker, the affable Senior, with son Mitch as his caddie, was steady as others struggled in the strong winds including third-round leader John Senden (82), Adam Scott (76), Geoff Ogilvy (77) and Justin Rose (76).

Just two years ago, when he was 51, Senior proved his game still had some horsepower when he won the Australian PGA. Senior is five months older than Sam Snead was when he triumphed at the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open, setting a PGA Tour record of 52 years, 10 months and 8 days.

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Norman's jab at Woods the latest evidence of a strained relationship

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:32:00 GMT

By John Strege

They were reasonably close once, Tiger Woods and Greg Norman, but the chasm that now separates them is too wide to bridge -- and had been long before Norman's most recent knockdown shot at Woods.

"What I'm seeing is that Tiger's really intimidated by Rory," Norman told Robert Lusetich of FoxSports.com.

The notion itself seems folly even beyond Woods' 14 major championships and 74 PGA Tour victories; McIlroy isn't the only player who's outplayed Tiger of late, just the best among them.

Photo by Getty Images

Whatever Norman's reasons for his latest analysis of Woods, it is an extension of a clash of egos that dates to 1996 and effectively ended a relationship that had begun five years earlier, when Woods was 15. Tiger was in Florida for a junior tournament, when an arrangement was made for the two to play golf together at Bay Hill Club in Orlando.

Related: How Tiger's swing has changed

Two years later, Tiger's father Earl, citing how impressed he was with the work Butch Harmon had done with Norman, asked Harmon to begin working with his son.

In 1995, when Woods was playing in the Masters for the first time, he and Norman played practice rounds together on Tuesday and Wednesday. At Augusta National the following year, they played practice rounds together on Monday and Tuesday.

When Woods turned pro at the Greater Milwaukee Open in late summer of 1996, he outlined his schedule for the rest of the year and included Norman's Shark Shootout on it. Shark Shootout representatives, however, said that Woods had not yet been invited, Earl Woods said then. Eventually, Woods was formally invited, but declined the invitation, citing a full schedule that incidentally had him taking off the week of the Shark Shootout (though he and Norman both played the Australian Open the following week).

Related: How My Shot: Greg Norman

There were murmurs from the Woods camp, meanwhile, that Tiger's disillusionment with Norman had began to form a few months earlier when Norman squandered a six-stroke lead through 54 holes of the '96 Masters and lost to Nick Faldo by five. Woods often sought the counsel of the game's elder statesmen, but Norman's collapse somehow rendered him poison. Woods also has an aversion to those hitching a ride on his bandwagon and he left some with the impression that he perceived Norman to be overtly passing himself off as a mentor.

The resentment, whatever the foundation, apparently is mutual. Norman's "Tiger intimidated" pronouncement was only the latest in what has become a series of headline-creating criticisms. One was that Tiger would not win another major championship. Another questioned Fred Couples' choice of Woods over Keegan Bradley for the U.S. Presidents Cup team last year.

Related: Like Tiger, Like Rory

Norman, meanwhile, said he reached out to the Woods camp, offering to counsel Tiger in his bid to reclaim the form that made him the game's most dominant player.

"I've had no response," he said on Golf Channel's "Morning Drive" show a year ago. "We live a half mile from each other. I think it's great he's in the neighborhood. But Tiger's his own individual. He's going to do things his way."

There was never a chance at reconciliation anyway, given Tiger's stranglehold on grudges. Norman's most recent jab, deftly timed on the eve of the Tour Championship, simply amplified the fact.

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Woods looking to build on success Down Under at Chevron

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:39:00 GMT

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Was Australia an illusion or a turning point for Tiger Woods? Are more than two years of injuries and distractions behind him as the new Sean Foley-crafted swing kicks in or was that Sunday singles success at the Presidents Cup another one-off tease?

Nothing that happens this week at the Chevron World Challenge will provide definitive answers to those questions surrounding Woods. That will come next year in full-field tournaments, especially the majors. But it will be fascinating to see if Woods can build on his success Down Under.

For Woods, this week's Chevron World Challenge feels more like the first tournament of 2012 than the last event of 2011. Photo by Getty Images.

"Playing Oz for two weeks, it was fantastic," Woods said on Wednesday after the pro-am round at Sherwood CC. "I hit all shots and all shapes. I was trusting my trajectory again. You get exposed in the wind. I felt very comfortable in that wind."

If the weather forecasters are correct, Tiger's new swing and growing confidence will certainly get another good test in Thursday's first round of the Chevron. The prediction is for sustained wind of 25 to 35 miles per hour, with gusts up to 50 mph. "If it blows like that, it will be a challenge," he said.

Tiger pulls himself into contention, then falls short

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 10:48:00 GMT

"75s are rarely interesting."

Tiger Woods' downbeat verdict on the disappointing three over-par third round that had just dropped him from the halfway lead into a tie for eighth place and seemingly out of contention for the Australian Open title was nothing if not accurate. Which is more than can be said for his "moving day" play, of course. A card littered with five bogeys and uplifted by only two birdies will only rarely get the pulse rate going, especially when it adds up to as many as 12 shots higher than the low score of the day.

(RELATED: Tiger's Teases)

What a difference another day, a session on the range and practice green and, presumably, a good night's sleep can make. So it was that, less than 24 hours later, a nifty 67, five under par, proved to be far more eventful both for the 14-time major champion and the thousands of spectators expectantly thronging The Lakes course.

In the end, Woods' 277 total wasn't quite enough to seal what would have been his first victory since he claimed the Australian Masters crown at Kingston Heath in Melbourne back in November 2009. But this strong effort contained enough good things to indicate that, given more of his famous "reps," Woods will surely find his way back to something like his peerless pre-scandal form.

A bogey-free round by Woods reveals progress

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:50:00 GMT

SYDNEY, Australia --The guy holding the sign that blared, "Tiger Woods -- the greatest golfer to walk on the planet!" was quick to make his feelings known.

"Hey Adam," he yelled from his vantage point maybe 70 yards ahead and to the right of the first tee at The Lakes, venue for this star-studded Australian Open. "Put a muzzle on that sheep of yours!"

The bogey-free round by Woods was his first since last February. Photo by Getty Images.

The ruminant mammal in question, of course, was Adam Scott's foot-in-mouth caddie, the despicable Steve Williams. Three months ago, the apparently delusional New Zealander claimed to have won "150 tournaments" and, just last week, referred to his former employer, the aforementioned Woods, as "that black (expletive)." And let's not forget the "Phil Mickelson is a prick" episode from a couple of years back. He's a beauty is Stevie, as they say in these parts.

Another sad display by Daly draws anger in Australia

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:32:00 GMT

SYDNEY -- John Daly not only ran out of golf balls on Thursday. He pretty much ran himself out of Australia.

Using words like "unprofessional," "disappointed," "extremely bitter," and "unacceptable," Australian Open tournament director Trevor Herden said in a news conference that Daly had played his last Australian Open. His invitation to the upcoming Australian PGA has been taken off the table.

"John is not welcome at Coolum," said Brian Thorburn, CEO of the PGA of Australia.

What triggered Herden's directness and Thorburn's ban was the latest in a series of Tin Cup moments for the weathered 45-year-old two-time major champion.

Coming off a double bogey at the ninth and a two-stroke penalty on the 10th hole for hitting a driving range ball from a bunker instead of his own ball, Daly was a WD waiting to happen. In a series reminiscent of the 18 he took at Bay Hill's sixth hole in 1998, Daly fired seven straight shots into the lake fronting the par-5 11th as spectators laughed and tournament officials seethed.

Woods: 'Stevie's certainly not a racist'

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:55:00 GMT

SYDNEY, Australia -- They met. They talked. The former employee apologized to the erstwhile employer. They shook hands. Now, can we all just move on?

That was the gist of the message from Tiger Woods after he and his former caddie, Steve Williams, had what was surely a brief chat during the 15 minutes between the arrival of the world number 58 at The Lakes course here -- venue for the upcoming Australian Open -- and the start of his pre-tournament press conference. A media meeting that, incidentally, was held behind locked doors.

In some ways, of course, a moratorium on what has been the biggest story in golf over the last week or so would be welcome. Woods' verdict completes the set; Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Adam Scott, Ernie Els, George O'Grady and Tim Finchem and newspaper columnists from seemingly everywhere having already weighed in to varying degrees on Williams publicly referring to his ex-boss as "that black (expletive)." But to do so would be to ignore the seriousness of Williams' verbal gaffe and the obvious and prolonged fact that, in a universally offensive way, he brought the game into disrepute.

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Still, Woods, not known for his ability to forgive and forget -- see Fuzzy Zoeller, Butch Harmon, Fluff Cowan, Hank Haney -- was in unusually conciliatory mood, similar to that of PGA Tour and European Tour bosses Finchem and O'Grady, who earlier combined to deem Williams' words not worthy of punishment. Naughty Stevie. Wash your mouth out. Now run along and play with the other Neanderthals.

After a miserable showing, Tiger Woods now has nothing but time

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 00:04:00 GMT

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. - The statistics this time didn't lie.

Forget tracking fairways and greens. The pertinent numbers for Tiger Woods in the 93rd PGA Championship were these: he found 22 bunkers, 11 off the tee and 11 greenside, and he was in four water hazards. He made five double bogeys.

Woods has much to work on, and plenty of time to work on it. Photo by Getty Images

That was the recipe of despair and frustration for the former No. 1 player in the world, whose second-round 73 at Atlanta AC sent him home early for the first time ever in the year's final major. Woods, a four-time PGA champion, ended up at 10-over 150, by far his worst showing not only in this tournament but in any major since he turned professional in 1996. He finished six shots off the cut and 15 shots behind 36-hole leaders Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley.

(Related: Our favorite "Tigerisms")

"I think it's a step back in the sense that I didn't make the cut, and I'm not contending in the tournament," said Woods, who missed the cut for only the seventh time in his 260 pro starts on the PGA Tour. "But it's a giant leap forward in the fact that I played two straight weeks, healthy. That's great for our practice sessions coming up. We are going to be now able to work and get after it. So something, unfortunately, I haven't been able to do, and I thought I could come in here and play the last couple of weeks and get it done somehow, but I need some work."

O'Malley wins with his eyes closed

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:29:00 GMT

The yips are debilitating, and the desperate among those afflicted are open to all manner of suggested remedies. Australian Peter O'Malley is one such victim, who won the NSW Open in Australia last week putting with his eyes closed.

This isn't a new idea -- Johnny Miller won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in 1994 by putting with his eyes closed, among other means of tricking his mind that week. Still it's interesting any time we hear of a tour pro doing so in competition and doing so successfully.

"I've tried different grips and all sorts of different things, but I started practicing with my eyes closed to get some good feel and then I thought I'd just try it on the short putts just to take away a bit of the visual anxiety," O'Malley told reporters on the eve of the Australian Open. "I can still miss putts but it feels a little bit better.

"I've only probably played half a dozen tournaments doing it, so the first time committing to it was pretty tough. But then you just say, 'OK, it can't be any worse so I'll just keep persevering with it.'"

-- John Strege