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Overheard in the gallery on Thursday at Augusta

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:52:00 GMT

AUGUSTA, GA. -- Welcome to Augusta National, where three honorary starters (Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus) have kicked off the 77th Masters. The air smells of pine straw and the azaleas are blooming. A complete Masters experience involves eavesdropping on spectator chatter. Below, some of the odd exchanges we overheard in the gallery on Thursday.

Patrons quickly spotted Lindsey Vonn, Tiger's latest flame. (Photo by Getty Images)

Man, watching honorary starters: "It's funny that the caddies bring the whole bag out. 'Uh, what are ya gonna hit here, Jack? Driver or wedge?'"

Man, after watching 77-year-old Gary Player hit his ceremonial tee shot: "My 16-year-old can't swing it that fast."

Man, walking beside first fairway: "It's not even 10:30 and every other person is holding a beer. These patrons are wild!"

"I'm glad I didn't buy that shirt. It looked great on the mannequin, but ugh, it looks horrible on an actual man."

Man, looking through binoculars: "Yep, Bubba's using that pink driver." Woman, also looking through binoculars: "And Ian [Poulter] has pink hair." (Poulter is wearing a neon-pink visor.)

Man, after Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter and Steven Fox all missed the first fairway: "I shoulda worn my armor."

Man, after Watson successfully escapes a fairway bunker and hits the first green in regulation: "Oh, good. I didn't wanna see him cry."

Man, after Tiger hits his first drive: "The bird's in the air, the bird's in the air. Here we go, here we go, here we go!"

Patron: "Is that...is that Lindsey Vonn?" His buddy: "Yep." Patron: "Good job, Tiger. Good job."

Overheard on Friday at Augusta

Overheard on Thursday at Augusta

Why haven't Europeans been winning at the Masters?

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:25:00 GMT

By John Huggan

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- As a group, they've achieved almost everything else in this century. Five Ryder Cup wins over the Americans. Eight major championship victories. And countless tournament triumphs across the globe. But so far in this century, no European golfer has donned a green jacket.

It's an oddity, as even a glance at the Official World Golf Ranking over the past 12 and-a-bit years shows only too clearly. Even more so when one considers that not so very long ago, the Old World came close to dominating the youngest of the four most important titles in the game. Between 1980 and 1999, six European stars (Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Jose Maria Olazabal) pulled on golf's most famous garment. But, since then: nothing.

So what's the deal? What's going on here? Why has this clearly gifted and talented generation of Euros failed so miserably on a course where their immediate predecessors flourished so memorably?

Photo by Getty Images.

"The crop of really good European players that has emerged over the last decade or so have all -- apart from Luke Donald -- been marginal putters," contends leading coach and CBS commentator Peter Kostis. "Except during the Ryder Cup. Ian Poulter has certainly displayed some great skill on the greens in that environment, but I'm not sure he has the ball striking to win the Masters. Then again, he is now better in that area than he has ever been. So you never know.

"Back in the days when Faldo, Ballesteros, Olazabal and Langer were winning the Masters, what they all had in common was great putting. The last line of defense at Augusta National is the fiercely sloping greens. So if you can't putt, you can't score well there.

"I think Rory McIlroy would have won a couple of years ago if he had been a better putter. The putts he missed early on in the final round seemed to rattle him. Had he made those, I think he would have calmed down and the back-nine debacle that did ensue would not have happened."

Still, Kostis is not one who feels that the dearth of European victories since Olazabal's second in 1999 is going to last much longer.

"Rory is a better putter than he was two years ago," he says. "So is Lee Westwood. Which will improve their chances of victory. I think Rory has the best opportunity though. He went to see (former USPGA champion and renowned putting coach) Dave Stockton right after the disappointment of 2011 and made himself a better putter. He knew that had let him down."

While the Kostis theory makes sense, Donald wasn't reading too much into the last 14 years of futility.

"Does it surprise me?" asks the former world No. 1. "Nothing surprises me in golf anymore. But the fields are a lot deeper and anyone can win on a given week. But there's a bunch of great European players right now. So we certainly have as good a chance as anyone else."

Englishman Paul Casey, absent this year from Augusta for the first time since 2006, is another who sees hope for the immediate future.

"What may make a difference is that so many of our guys are playing more golf in the U.S.," he says. "That will better prepare them for the majors and Augusta in particular. But the bottom line is that I have no idea why a European hasn't won at Augusta in so long. Sometimes weird stuff just happens. Look at this year on the PGA Tour; an American won every event until last week in San Antonio. That's impossible to explain. It's like ten reds in succession coming up on the roulette wheel.

"It's strange, but it does happen."

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The Grind: Tiger "Swooshes up," DJ dresses down, & Bay Hill picks

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:46:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

Notice how Lindsey's Under Armour logo is tough to see? Very smart, Nike...

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we nominate Tiger Woods as the best company man of all time.

Is there ever a situation in which he's not wearing Nike? If "Suit up" is a popular cry for men changing into dress clothes (Thank you, Neil Patrick Harris), then "Swoosh up" may as well be Tiger's fashion motto. His new photos with girlfriend Lindsey Vonn? Nike. When he goes to a sporting event? Nike. Even in this grainy pic of him at a Las Vegas night club, Woods is wearing one of his Sunday red golf shirts. We wouldn't be surprised if the suits he wears to the Ryder Cup gala are hand stitched by Phil Knight himself. Hey, whatever makes him happy. And apparently, Vonn, despite the fact that she's sponsored by Under Armour, makes him happy as well. Or maybe he just hasn't noticed that yet. . . In any matter, here's what else we've noticed:

WE'RE BUYING

Kevin Streelman. March Madness may officially start this week, but we've already had our first major upset, as Streelman picked up his first PGA Tour title in his 153rd start. How bad were things for this journeyman? Well, from the pictures, it appears he resorted to taking a pair of Phil Mickelson's pinstripe pants.

Stacy Lewis. The new No. 1 in women's golf didn't just pick up another title, but she won after overcoming a two-stroke penalty that stemmed from a TV viewer phoning in to inform officials that her caddie had tested sand in a bunker on Saturday. Lewis thanked the person for calling in because she said it served as extra motivation. Is she from the same planet as the rest of us?

Related: Golf's Power Couples

Jordan Spieth. He's 19 and in the last two weeks he's finished T-2 and T-7 in PGA Tour events. Enough said.

Tiger and Lindsey. OK, so the whole going public on Facebook with staged photos was a little cheesy, but good for them for making it official. Maybe more than anything, a solid relationship is what Tiger needed to really get back on track. As long as he can control his competitive spirit from racing Vonn down the slopes, of course. . .

WE'RE SELLING

Innisbrook. I was disappointed when I played the resort's Copperhead Course this past summer, but I blamed that on being dumb enough to take a golf trip to Florida in late July. However, I was almost as disappointed when I watched some of the world's best players take on the track in prime conditions. PGA Tour players seem to really like this course, but other than the snake statue that marks the start of the closing three holes dubbed the "Snake Pit," I didn't find anything about it very memorable.

Related: Golf's #FirstWorldProblems

Big names. With a watered-down field, several of the game's top players were in perfect shape to pick up a PGA Tour title heading into the weekend. But by Sunday afternoon, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Jason Dufner and others had let that opportunity slip away. The result was Kevin Streelman having to track down Boo Weekley, who had posted a 63 more than three hours before. Not exactly what NBC had hoped for.

Malaria. Poor Natalie Gulbis.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour concludes its Florida Swing at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, aka one of those tournaments that Tiger always wins.

Random tournament fact: Woods' emphatic hat throw upon sinking the winning putt here in 2008 was the best cap spike in Florida since Steve Spurrier and his often-abused visor coached the Gators.

WEEKLY YAHOO! FANTASY LINEUP

Starters -- (A-List): Sergio Garcia. Garcia has six top 10s in 11 tries here. Psst. That guy we have on the bench, though, has seven wins here and has won both times this year we've put him on our bench. . .

(B-List): Jim Furyk. The Grinder is still having problems on Sundays, but he's playing fairly well in 2013 (coming off a T-7 in Tampa) and has three straight top 11s at Bay Hill.

(B-List): Webb Simpson. The Wake Forest product hasn't had much success at this Wake Forest legend's event, but we think that's due to change. He's also due for a win with six top 20s in eight starts so far in 2013.

(C-List): Ian Poulter. It's tough to pass on Poulter while he remains eligible as a C-List play -- especially when he finished third here last year.

Bench -- Tiger Woods (PLAY HIM), Justin Rose, Kevin Na and Ryan Moore.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

-- Lindsey Vonn will come onto the 18th green to congratulate Tiger if he wins: 10-to-1 odds

-- Arnold Palmer will be spotted drinking an Arnold Palmer from the Bay Hill clubhouse: Even odds

-- The Arnold Palmer that Arnold Palmer is drinking will be delicious: LOCK

CELEBRITY/ATHLETE WE'D LIKE TO PLAY GOLF WITH

Steve Carell. The last three movies I've seen are Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and. . . The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Let's just say only one of these was not, um, incredible. Carell was brilliant as the clueless boss Michael Scott on the Office for seven years, but no one has had a more hit (Crazy, Stupid, Love, The 40-year-old Virgin) or miss (Evan Almighty, Date Night) run of late when it comes to movies. His latest venture falls in the latter category. Steve, let's hit the links and talk. I'm not sure your agent knows what he's doing. Ohhh, you got paid as much as $15 MILLION to be in that? Never mind. . .

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

I've been getting some complaints about my pictures (mainly of Paulina Gretzky) demonstrating some sort of gender bias, so I'm going to try to be fair here. Just check out Dustin Johnson enjoying a trip to Cabo. This guy must workout. Looking go--, sorry, I can't do this. Paulina! I miss you! Below is what the photo looked like before I cropped it:

Ahhh, much better. By the way, colleague Stina Sternberg raised a great question recently: do Paulina and DJ have someone follow them around just to take pictures? If so, where do I apply for the job?

FREE MARCH MADNESS ADVICE

It's that time of year for me to enter way too many NCAA pools and burn way too much money. Yay! But since I did correctly pick Kentucky to win it all last year (Who didn't? They had an NBA team), a lot of people have been asking for my Final Four picks. And by a lot of people, I mean my mom and my grandma. But here they are: Florida, Louisville, Indiana and Wisconsin. In the finals, I have the protege, Billy Donovan, topping the mentor, Rick Pitino. In other words, you should probably stay away from the Gators and Cardinals. Speaking of gators. . .

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

This is an old video, but considering it happened on a Tampa golf course, it seems appropriate. Oh yeah, it's always an appropriate time to watch awesome footage of two alligators wrestling:

THIS AND THAT

What's the good news about a guy falling down an 18-foot sinkhole in a fairway? It got Dave Shedloski to write this fantastic piece on the course. . . . Tiger Woods had a funny new commercial come out. Take a wild guess what company it was for. . . . My college buddy Jim lives in Austin, Tex., and recorded his first hole-in-one over the weekend in 80-degree weather. Congrats, Jim, but yes, I'm extremely jealous. Not only do I not have an ace, but it's still SNOWING here in the Northeast.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why do salads taste so much better when they're chopped?

Will I ever have a hole-in-one?

Will Golf Digest's headquarters ever move to a warmer location?

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

Cobra offers Amp Cell driver in 'Season Opener Green'

John Strege — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:29:00 GMT

By John Strege The color green is a perpetual golf industry favorite in the run-up to the Masters next month, and, accordingly, Cobra Golf is issuing a limited-edition of its new Amp Cell driver in...

Need a John Daly Fathead for your living room?

John Strege — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:17:00 GMT

By John Strege Who wouldn't want this, a bigger than life-size John Daly wall cling from Fathead for a wall in your living room or family room? Yes, Fathead has a golf section, offering...

WGC Match Play: Ian Poulter continues his match-play dominance

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:50:00 GMT

By Alex Myers

Here's a look at what transpired on Friday at Dove Mountain and what we can look forward to on Saturday:

Revelation of the day -- Ian Poulter is a match-play god:
Does this guy EVER lose in this format? The Ryder Cup hero's only PGA Tour win came at this event in 2010. That means that somehow he was beaten in each of the last two years, but we wouldn't bet against him. While this format makes predicting a winner even harder than usual, the Englishman has emerged as the clear favorite heading into the weekend.

"Nice try, Bo. Who's next?" (Photo: Getty Images)

"That's soooo match play" moment of the day -- Bubba Watson and Jim Furyk: The match looked all but over when Watson, 1 up, stuck his approach on No. 18 to about three feet. But Furyk answered with a great shot of his own and when "the Grinder" made his putt and Watson missed, the two went to extra holes. Watson wound up winning on the 22nd hole, but only after putting himself through some unnecessary stress.

Weirdest Day -- Rickie Fowler and Francesco Molinari:
Thanks to late tee times and a rare snow storm, these guys both managed to make it to Day 3 of the event without winning a single match. They showed up to the course on Friday to play a combined six holes before bowing out, but we don't feel too badly for them. The $46,000 for simply competing in the tournament is a nice parting gift.

Shot of the Day -- Scott Piercy:
The 34-year-old holed his approach from 228 yards on the fifth hole to go 4 up in his match against the 2011 champ, Luke Donald. Piercy didn't stop, shooting six under on the front nine and winning 7 and 6 -- the most lopsided victory of the tournament. There's a scientific term for what the former No. 1 player in the world ran into: a buzzsaw.

Saturday's sneaky-good best match of the day -- Matt Kuchar vs. Nicolas Colsaerts:
The long-hitting Belgium became a household name during the Ryder Cup when he made eight birdies and an eagle on his own ball in a match against Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood. He'll need to showcase some of that firepower vs. Kuchar, who has an 11-3 record in this event and has been ousted by the eventual champ in each of the past two years.

Saturday's best chance for an international incident -- Hunter Mahan vs. Martin Kaymer:
It seems impossible for Mahan to look at his German opponent and not begrudge him for sinking the putt that won Europe the Ryder Cup this past fall. If Kaymer really wanted to get under Mahan's skin -- and that might be a good idea considering he's won eight straight matches in this event -- he'd show up to the first tee decked out in Ryder Cup gear.

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How To Fill Out Your Match Play Bracket: A Refresher

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:08:00 GMT

By Sam Weinman

After so many upsets in the first round of the Accenture World Match Play Championship, you may think there's no rhyme or reason to who wins these things. Quite the contrary! There is in fact a formula for determining a match's outcome. It's just not the one you'd expect.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Below we provide our basic guidelines for the next time you fill out your bracket.

1. If there's a golfer you have never heard of before this week, he will likely win.

2. If a golfer comes into the week enjoying a "hot start to the season," he will lose.

3. The guy who is in worse physical condition is a lock.

4. Always take the guy with the belly putter. If it's two guys with a belly putter, take the guy in worse shape.

5. If at any point analysts cite a golfer's "impressive match play record," that guy will lose. Unless that guy is Ian Poulter.

6. If a guy was a late addition to the field by virtue of Phil Mickelson going on vacation with his kids, he will win at least one match.

7. Always take the plucky European player over the American. Unless he's a plucky European player with "an impressive match play record." Again, exceptions are made for Ian Poulter.

8. If it's two Americans, take the guy who is considered the worse putter.

9. Also, give the edge to a guy who has any of the following:

-- A hyphen in his last name.

-- The guy with the more garish assortment of logos on his shirt.

-- An inordinate number of vowels and/or consonants in his last name.

-- A painter's cap.

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Poulter's latest: A putter cover, the Azalea Jacket

John Strege — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:07:00 GMT

By John Strege IJP Design, Ian Poulter's apparel company, once again will be offering colorful limited-edition putter covers commemorating each of the four major championships, the first of which is the Azalea Jacket. It...

Gusting winds blow tournament into Tuesday

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:09:00 GMT

By John Strege

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- On two occasions, Matt Kuchar's ball was blown off the tee. Ben Curtis hit greens in regulation on his first two holes and played them in five-over par. Ian Poulter expressed remorse that he hadn't invested in Maui wind farms.

So it is that the Hyundai Tournament of Champions that was supposed to end on Monday is now set to start on Monday as a result of winds, this time gusting to 48 miles per hour.

For the second time in three days, play was suspended in mid-round on the Plantation Course at Kapalua and scores were scrapped on Sunday. The tournament will start over again at 7:10 a.m. Hawaiian time on Monday, with the goal to play 36 holes, followed by an additional 18 on Tuesday.

"We tried, and what happened was expected," Poulter said. "But what can the tournament do? It's all really unfortunate. I understand why they had to try. They had no options. To the outside world everyone sees it's blue skies, we're in Hawaii, why aren't we playing golf? Well, I think we just showcased for the last hour why we shouldn't be on the golf course. It's unplayable. What should we have done? What could we have done? I don't know. This is a complete freak of nature. There's no other way to explain it, and it's just unfortunate for everybody involved."

Andy Pazder, chief of operations for the PGA Tour, said that the players can play if the wind gusts are in the 25 to 30 mile-per-hour range. "We registered gusts up to 48 miles per hour right before we suspended play," he said.

Slugger White, vice president rules and competition for the tour, said, "You just can't play in this. You could hardly walk in it, much less play golf."

White said the forecast for Monday is modestly better. "We've got about a five-mile-an-our decrease in velocity [projected]," he said.

Keegan Bradley, meanwhile, considered the possibility that these were the strongest winds he's ever experienced.

"Maybe at the top of a ski hill a couple times," he said. "This is the worst I've ever seen on a golf course."

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Poulter in fighting trim on eve of tour opener

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 00:32:00 GMT

(Getty Images photo)

By John Strege

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- The Ryder Cup has come to define Ian Poulter, who would rather define himself and adamantly would do so in broader terms.

"Ryder Cup, that's the first thing in their mind," he said, of how others would identify him. "But my golf over the years has been good enough -- two WGC [World Golf Championship] victories, 13, 14 others. I tweeted somewhat this morning when there was an article put out there that Ian Poulter has two PGA Tour wins and no majors. They seem to forget 14 other tournaments won around the world. That's a little frustrating."

His Tweet referenced a slight that wasn't. It came in a story by Shane Bacon on Yahoo! Sports, headlined, "What to expect in 2013." Poulter was among those about whom Bacon wrote, in a flattering manner at that. Bacon concluded with this: "I like Poulter to win multiple times in '13 and I see him contending at both Augusta National and the Open Championship."

For each of the players cited, Bacon listed identical brief biographical information: Age, number of PGA Tour victories and number of major championships. Poulter, who will turn 37 next week, has two PGA Tour victories, including the WGC-HSBC Champions late last year that earned him an invitation here. He has not won a major.

"[Bleep] report apparently 14 wins everywhere else around the world don't count. Just 2 on PGATour," he wrote on Twitter.

It all counts, of course, his two WGC, 10 European Tour, two Asian Tour, one Japan Golf Tour and one PGA Tour of Australasia victories (and his stirring role in European Ryder Cup victories). But the fact he felt slighted seems to reflect to a degree his own career analysis, that his resume is incomplete, notwithstanding his saying that "I'm really happy with it.

"I would like to win a major. That's the next big thing," he said. "Am I just perceived as a Ryder Cup goliath? I don't know. It was pretty good is what it was...I've underachieved, in my eyes. I don't think I've done enough. I definitely think there's a lot of room for improvement. I started late in golf so I've got a few good years left."

That would be to golf's benefit, for what Poulter ought to be defined by, in addition to the Ryder Cup, is his ability to entertain. There's never a dull moment, as the slight that wasn't demonstrates.

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