Golf Digest Search Results

Peter Uihlein's road less traveled paying off

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:26:00 GMT

From the May 20 edition of Golf World Monday:

Peter Uihlein took the road less traveled, but it was longer than the one, say, Jordan Spieth took to the PGA Tour. Spieth went to the University of Texas before turning pro halfway through his sophomore year and in less than a semester locked down full exempt status for the 2014 season. He didn't have to travel much beyond Pebble Beach or Hilton Head to get full playing privileges in his home country.

Uihlein, 23, went to Oklahoma State, won the 2010 U.S. Amateur, and instead of going the sponsor-exemption route, got his passport and took off on a European Tour work-study program to places like India, Kenya and Kazakhstan. This was the same path Adam Scott took from the suggestion box of the same people who advised Uihlein.

Butch Harmon, who has been teaching Uihlein, and Peter's dad, Wally Uihlein, CEO of the Acushnet Company, who signed Scott to a Titleist deal when he turned pro in 2000, presented the idea. The famed European agent who signed Uihlein, Andrew (Chubby) Chandler, mapped out a schedule.

Uihlein, who won the Madeira Islands Open yesterday, was all in. Just as Scott believed it paid off before his Masters victory, so too did Uihlein before his first pro win. "It's hard not to listen to guys like that who have been around the block," Uihlein said before going out to celebrate with Brooks Koepka, with whom he shares an apartment in Florida. "I think it made sense even before I won today. Look at all the guys who started over here. It's just different being an American and doing it."

There were stumbling blocks early on, none worse than a trip to Morocco in March 2012 for the Trophee Hassan II that ended after an opening-round 83. Uihlein took nine weeks off during which he spent three weeks at Harmon's home in Las Vegas with Butch and wife Christy. "I really believe a young guy who comes out has it too easy on the U.S. Tour," Harmon said. "To go and play on the European Tour where the weather is bad, the courses different and the travel difficult, you become a better, well-rounded player in the long run."

The win gets Uihlein into this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and with a European Tour card secured, it has him looking at sponsor exemptions in the U.S. this summer. It also gives him bragging rights on Koepka, the Florida State graduate who won a European Challenge Tour event on May 5. They share an apartment in Palm Beach Gardens with Matt Broome, who is playing the Minor League Tour.

From his American base, Uihlein works out at PGA National with the same trainer as Stacy Lewis (Dave Donatucci) and works on his game at Floridian with Claude Harmon III and Old Palm GC, where Chandler has an office.

"This was quite a big win," Chandler said from his home in England. "He's been brave enough to do things differently when he could have had a lot of starts in the States, but he stuck to his plan. The idea was to learn the game before tackling the PGA Tour."

The road may have been less traveled, but it's leading Peter Uihlein back where he belongs.

Follow @TimRosaforte

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.

Jordan Spieth takes cues from Justin Leonard

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:05:00 GMT

By Tim Rosaforte

From the March 18 issue of Golf World Monday:

Instead of running marathons, Justin Leonard is doing push-and-carry walk-a-thons with his children. That's what turning 40 and having a family will do for you. Golf drops down the priority list to outside the top five. "You know it defined me back then, and that was OK because I was playing great," Leonard said during a revival at the Tampa Bay Championship.

Leonard isn't playing so great anymore. His T-4 at Innisbrook Resort & GC was his first top-10 since last year's Reno-Tahoe Open. He is coming off his worst year on tour, has turned to the jumbo putter grip and spends more time at school plays, soccer practices and karate matches than he does beating balls at Royal Oaks CC in Dallas. Bad years don't eat at him anymore, and finishes like his back nine on the Copperhead Course, when he dropped shots with a chance to win, are easier to deal with.

Photo by Getty Images

"Well, you know, I vacillate between feeling pretty old and not feeling very old," Leonard said. "But when I get out there between the ropes, and I don't have some 25-year-old giving me grief, I feel pretty good."

Jordan Spieth (above) is where Leonard was 19 years ago--a kid out of the University of Texas who turned pro hoping to get a tour card without going through Q school. Leonard did it on the last event of the 1994 season. Spieth, 19, is all but secure for the remainder of the 2013 season.

In four PGA Tour events, including a T-7 in Tampa Bay, Spieth has earned enough to gain special temporary status. What this means is unlimited sponsor exemptions. Coming off a T-2 in the Puerto Rico Open, Spieth can take a week off and set his schedule after an odyssey of playing four countries in four weeks. Spieth started his run with a T-7 in the Panama Claro Championship and a T-4 in the Colombia Championship on the Web.com Tour.

"I can't imagine being out here at 19 and to do what he's done," Leonard said. "He hasn't just driven a couple hundred miles. He's been to four different countries this year already. It's pretty remarkable."

The 1997 British Open champion has been mentoring Spieth since the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship, when the then 16-year-old from Brook Hollow GC said he was there to win, contended into the back nine Sunday, and tied for 16th. Spieth didn't know then that Leonard had accomplished what he would attempt to accomplish three years later. The list of players who got their card without Q school includes Leonard, Gary Hallberg, Scott Verplank, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Ryan Moore and Bud Cauley.

"I'm a little surprised to see this happen so soon," Spieth said before going to dinner Sunday night in Tampa. "But I wouldn't say I surprised myself to be in contention this many times."

Spieth has his goals set toward being the No. 1 player in the world some day, to breaking the major championship record held by Jack Nicklaus, to doing what Rory McIlroy has done the last two years. What does he hope to be doing by the time he reaches 40 like Leonard?

"I've never thought of that before," Spieth said. "But I'd say hopefully doing exactly what Justin Leonard is doing. I hope I have family of my own then, living in Dallas, playing the PGA Tour, and hopefully be a major champion like he is."

Follow @TimRosaforte

The Syllabus: Spring has sprung

Ryan Herrington — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:53:00 GMT

By Ryan HerringtonThe house lights blinked this past weekend, signaling the end of intermission for the 2012-13 season. Yet it was anything but quiet from the end of November to the end of January as...

What's right about Hossler's decision to skip spring

Ryan Herrington — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:33:00 GMT

By Ryan HerringtonThe subject of Beau Hossler and when his playing career would begin at Texas seems to have come to a resolution as Longhorn coach John Fields confirmed two days ago that the 17-year-old...

Inquiring minds want to know

Ryan Herrington — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:09:00 GMT

The fall season opened lot of peoples eyes regarding how various teams and players had developed over the summer months and how they might settle into the college scene for 2012-13. At the same time...

Williams survives, Spieth falls in Round 1

Ryan Herrington — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 23:37:00 GMT

By Ryan HerringtonCHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo.—To be successful at the U.S. Amateur, much less win the USGA's oldest championship, requires patience, perseverance and a little bit of luck. The latter is something Chris Williams and...

Assessing the amateurs' chances at Olympic Club

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:19:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO -- If history is any indication, it would be no surprise to see an amateur on the leader board this weekend at the U.S. Open.

To wit: three of the four previous times the USGA has brought the national championship to the Olympic Club, an amateur has finished inside the top 15 after 72 holes. Harvie Ward posted a T-7 performance here in 1955, Johnny Miller a T-8 in 1966, and Matt Kuchar a T-14 in 1998.

This year's amalgam of amateurs might not be large in quantity -- eight amateurs is the fewest to compete in the Open since 2002 -- but it is long on quality. Leading the way are Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth, a pair of U.S. Walker Cup team members who are no strangers to the spotlight.

Cantlay finished T-21 at last year's U.S. Open. (Photo: Getty Images)

Cantlay claimed low amateur honors a year ago at Congressional CC, finishing T-21. It was the first of six made cuts in seven PGA Tour starts over the last year for the 20-year-old from Los Alamitos, Calif. A repeat performance at Olympic would make the current UCLA undergrad just the third golfer since World War II to claim the honor in back-to-back years, joining Jack Nicklaus (1960 & '61) and Phil Mickelson (1990 & '91). He would also claim the second leg of the 2012 amateur "triple crown," after earning low-am honors at the Masters in April. (He has a spot in the British Open field, provided he does not turn pro beforehand.)

No. 1 Texas has some work left

Ryan Herrington — Wed, 30 May 2012 23:01:00 GMT

PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIF.--Coaches and teams fight all year to perform well so that if they should qualify for the NCAA Championship they can get into the wave that tees off the first round in the...

June 2012 Table of Contents

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT