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Can He Keep The 'Ha' In Hahn?

Jaime Diaz — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

James Hahn has all the makings of that increasingly rare breed on golf's professional tours: the genuine character.

Golf World Monday Podcast: Zinger's Corner

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:41:00 GMT

Listen to the podcast: Zinger's Corner

Contrarian views are nothing new for Paul Azinger, who in this week's edition of the Zinger's Corner podcast offers counter arguments on two topics in the news: pace of play and performance enhancing drugs. In his chat with Golf World editor-in-chief Jaime Diaz, Azinger isn't sure assessing players penalty strokes for slow play will address the problem--and it actually might create other issues. Meanwhile, Azinger questions what substances on the list of PEDs that the PGA Tour prohibits are proven to lower scores on the course and whether the list needs to be better tailored for golf. "In 1993 I had cancer in my right shoulder," he said, "and I couldn't put my scorecard in my back pocket most of the year. But because of Advil, an anti-inflammatory, I was able to play every day. How is that not a performance enhancing drug? Yet it's still legal." Azinger also tips is cap to Phil Mickelson and his performance at TPC Scottsdale while applauding the Phoenix crowds for making it a tournament worth watching.

Download and subscribe to the Zinger's Corner series in iTunes

Golf World Monday: Caddie races, pro and con

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:20:00 GMT

By Dave Shedloski

From the February 4 issue on Golf World Monday:

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. The latest wrinkle to the alternate entertainment lineup at the Waste Management Phoenix Open is the caddie races at the par-3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, the "stadium" hole surrounded by grandstands that seat more than 20,000 boisterous fans.

Photo by Getty Images

Caddies race from tee to green, a distance up to 162 yards, a decent jaunt, especially with clubs on their backs. We think they're fun to watch, frankly. Whether it's Kenny Harms sliding head first into the green or Brent Henley body-checking older brother Kip after stumbling and falling head over heels, the races are something completely different.

Even players Y.E. Yang and Kyle Stanley got into the spirit yesterday. Hey, we're for just about anything that brings more paying customers to golf, so we have no problem with caddies adding to the festivities with wind sprints. But that spill Brent Henley took could have resulted in a serious injury or damage to the clubs belonging to Robert Garrigus.

Just something to think about. Perhaps next year the loopers should at least put down the clubs before leaving the starting blocks. Less risk to life, limb and graphite.

Follow @DaveShedloski

Phil wrests golf news from deer antler spray

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:33:00 GMT

By John Strege

The week in golf began with deer antler spray in the news and Vijay Singh invoking the George Costanza defense ("Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? I tell you, I gotta plead ignorance on this thing"). A more credible explanation might have been a twist on an old cliche, that it takes a five-point buck to make a buck.

Singh subsequently withdrew from the Waste Management Phoenix Open, depriving the large and raucous crowds there the opportunity to render their vocal judgment on one of the game's oddest controversies. However the PGA Tour views his transgression, Singh playing the 16th hole at the TPC Scottsdale might have been punishment enough.

Phil Mickelson greets fans walking up the 18th fairway at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Photo: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Into this void stepped Phil the Thrill, Mickelson his own three-ring circus, wresting the news from deer antler spray (and beam-ray lights and hologram chips, the other accoutrements of Singh's training regimen).

Mickelson was dazzling all week, opening with an 11-under par 60 that came within an 18th-hole lipout of 59 and leading wire-to-wire in winning for the 41st time in his PGA Tour career.

Nick Faldo once won the British Open by making 18 straight pars in the final round. The odds of Mickelson ever playing with similar efficient monotony are roughly the same as deer antler spray curing your slice. Or your rheumatism.

It is what makes him the greatest show on turf. You never know what to expect, other than to expect something special when you least expect it. For instance, a week after struggling to make the cut in his hometown, he exhibited his Hall of Fame bona fides at the Phoenix Open.

The desert hare that he pulled from his hat was a first-round 60 that he followed with a 65, a round that included a double-bogey on the 18th hole, for those who might have been given reason to expect sustained brilliance. His third-round 64 included birdies on the last four holes and he hit it stiff at 16, thrilling the stadium crowd there that never requires a reason to raise a ruckus.

The big tease carried over into the final round, too, where he allowed his six-stroke lead to be halved by Brandt Snedeker, before closing out his third career victory in this event, this one by a margin of four.

Mickelson and the Phoenix Open were made for one another. An Arizona State graduate and former resident of Scottsdale, Mickelson is akin to a favorite son here, and the manner in which he connects to crowds has further endeared him.

"Phil has picked up where Arnold [Palmer] left off," NBC's Peter Jacobsen said, alluding to the man who set the standard in developing a rapport with crowds. "He really embraces the whole atmosphere, not just this hole, but he does it every week. He's consistent."

The Phoenix crowds, meanwhile, provide an annual and necessary reminder that golf needn't be a funereal experience, that fun has its place. And they never have more fun than they do when Mickelson is in the middle of it, though they might have proved otherwise had Singh elected to play.

One can only speculate what the volatile mix of sun, beer and deer antler spray might have produced, but suffice it to say that it would have been memorable.

Follow @JohnStrege

Counting Down Best of Buddies-Trip Destinations. No. 8: Scottsdale

Matt Ginella — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:48:00 GMT

If I were planning a buddies trip to Scottsdale, I’d go during the week of the Waste Management Phoenix Open (Jan. 28-Feb. 3). Often referred to as “the greatest show on grass,” some would argue...

Putting the heckling of Keegan Bradley at the Tiger Woods Challenge in perspective

Steve Hennessey — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:22:00 GMT

Photo: Keegan Bradley was on the receiving end of some heckling from fans this week at Sherwood C.C. Courtesy of Stephen Dunn/Getty Images. By Stephen Hennessey It seems like we've entered another era of...

Golf Requires The Hardest Thing To Pull Off In All Of Sports

Jaime Diaz — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

As Spencer Levin and Kyle Stanley have shown us in this early season, the pressure of closing a PGA tournament might be the hardest of any sport.

Marquee group hopes Phoenix is just the start of a big 2012

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:44:00 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- While over the last year or so it has begun to seem like the marquee pairing on any given day on the PGA Tour is whatever group has Webb Simpson in it, the biggest draw on Thursday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open was the troika of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler. Aside from their star power, the threesome had at least one other thing in common -- they all could use a big 2012.

The 41-year-old Mickelson, distracted a week ago by a health issue involving his daughter Sophia, was coming off a missed cut in the Farmers Insurance Open in his hometown of San Diego. Last year, he and Johnson, who share both their teacher, Butch Harmon, and a penchant for big money games, had their private battle scheduled for early in the week at Whisper Rock GC. This year on Wednesday afternoon, Mickelson had a different mission. He ran into Kyle Stanley at Whisper Rock and if anyone understands what a 72nd hole disappointment feels like, it's Phil. They played a few holes and talked about Torrey Pines. "We were just out there practicing. He was there so we played a few holes. I wouldn't say it was organized but it was nice," said Stanley. "It's nice to play with an older guy who has a lot of experience and you can always learn from it." They decided to play again after their opening rounds on Thursday.

Big crowds followed Mickelson, Johnson and Fowler on Thursday. (Photo: Getty Images)

Mickelson is also dealing with a lawsuit involving a Canadian man who has been posting comments about him on Yahoo. "I'm all for freedom of speech," said Mickelson after his opening round 68, "but I won't tolerate defamation and so I've got a great attorney, Glenn Cohen, who's on it."

Gigapan: Stadium Course: 16th at TPC Scottsdale in Phoenix, Arizona

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT