Golf Confessions

Annika finds herself tied for the lead after the first round of play at the Sybase Classic in Clifton, N.J.  This could be two weeks in a row that Annika wins with number one Lorena Ochoa in the field.

Sorenstam leads Ochoa by one shot entering the second round of play.  Annika is playing very well and all phases of her game are working.  It will be great for the LPGA if the two top players can enter the weekend in a battle for the championship.

A player that has not gotten off to a hot start this year is Natalie Gulbis.  Natalie won her first tour event last year and great things were expected for this year.  She may still be struggling with swing changes that she and coach Butch Harmon are working on.

Annika Sorenstam the third winningest lady golfer has announced her retirements at the end of this season.  Annika has won 72 events.  Kath Whitworth leads all golfers with 88 victories.

Annika has won three tournaments this year.

The players at this year’s Player’s Championship were in a survival mode for this championship.  The course was hard and fast just like the tour wanted.   You kick in the wind with up to thirty mile per hour gust and you have yourself a tournament.

A lot of the big names did not even make it to the weekend, and some of the ones that did make the cut did not fare too well.  Phil Mickelson was trying to win back to back and started the final round with a double bogey on the first hole and he was done.  Paul Goydos and Kenny Perry were in the final pairing of the day and Paul did all he could do to pull off a blue collar miracle.

You had to think the break he got on number 14 after hitting two excellent shots and not making a par, he may have some evil waiting for him just around the corner.  Paul, not known as one of the longer hitters kept his ball in play most of the tournament and made some crucial putts.  In fact Goydos had the lead or a share all day until the last hole when he took a bogey on the very difficult par four.

Goydos was very brave all day and played his heart out in front of a crowd that was really pulling for him.  Sergio Garcia was another player that certainly needed a win at this juncture of his career.  Picked to be a super star early on in his career, Sergio has had his ups and downs.  His biggest problem has been with the putter.  Garcia has recently sought the help of putting guru Stan Utley and it seems to have helped.  Although Sergio still fought the putting demons off and on during the four days.  But he stepped up big on the 72nd hole and made a key putt for par to force the playoff when Goydos failed on his par bid.

Sorenstam won her third tournament of the year in a very convincing fashion. 

The closest competitor was seven shots back and number one ranked Lorena Ochoa was twelve shots back.  Annika played to her old form before she had back problems and was forced to miss much of the 2007 season.

Annika and Ochoa should have their way with the rest of the season.  Know that Annika is finding her old self it will be interesting to see how Ochoa can hanlde the pressure of being pursued.   

Annika fires a 66 at the Michelob Ultra Open in Williamsburg, Va., on the second day and her 130 leads Ochoa by three.  Sorenstam is on a mission to regain her number one world ranking and she may be making a statement to Lorena. 

Michelle Wie continued her poor play with a two day total of 146 and missing the half way cut by four shots.  It is not going to be easy for Wie to compete if she does not play in more events and on a more frequent schedule.  She may have a lot of talent but being able to play with these girls is not as easy as it use to be.  There are more and more very good players coming out on the LPGA every year and Wie may find that she is no longer special.  Talent is one thing, but being able to compete and win is totally different.

The average age for the final pairing at The Players tournament today in Ponte Vedra is 48.5.  Leading the way is Kenny Perry    (-6)and trailing by one shot is Bernhard Langer(-5).  These older guys may need to take a nap at the turn, just kidding.  It will be interesting to see if the young guns can make a charge on these experienced veterans.

I am sure that Vijay Singh who lives at Ponte Vedra was again very disappointed.  Vijay failed to make the cut with a two day total of four over par.  You would think that Vijay would know this course as well as any one.  Maybe he knows too much and can’t let it happen.  Singh is one of the best ball strikers on tour and has the length to tame the par fives.

The way the course is set up no one seems to benefit from being a long hitter or short hitter.  Two years ago Fred Funk won at the age of 48 and is certainly not a long hitter, but is very accurate.  The courses are getting longer, just like Augusta, but this extra length may be playing into the shorter and more conservative type player.  The name of the game has and always will be PUTTING.  Did you see what Langer did yesterday?  He was sinking them from all over the place. 

Sergio will have to regain his putting form of the first day if he is going to be a contender.  Garcia had to have his nerves shaken on the very first hole with a three putt when he missed one inside two feet for par.

Let the wind blow and see who can survive.

Sergio Garcia used his time with putting guru Stan Utley to his advantage and has a one shot lead after the first day of play at The Players Championship.  Sergio has been struggling with his putting for a while and has tried long putters, short putters, left hand low and anything else that he thought might help with his slump.  Utley has helped many tour players with their short game woes.  If Sergio can match his putting with his ball striking he will be a force to contend with this week.

Phil Mickelson had a solid round in his defense of his title.  Phil will have to over come the fact that no player has repeated back to back.  Ernie Els was going along comfortably until he came to the short par three seventeenth.  On the tee Ernie was two under par with two holes remaining.  Ernie proceeded to triple bogey the hole and went to number eighteen tee at one over par.  Ernie did what most good players do, he hit two great shots on eighteen and sunk his birdie putt to finish the day at even par.  This shows what will be on the players mind on Sunday afternoon, no lead is safe playing number 17. 

Trevor Immelman withdrew this morning from The Players Championship at Ponte Vedra, Fl.  It is unknown at this time what caused Trevor’s withdrawal.  He has already returned to his home in Orlando.

The tournamnet has been moved from its traditional spot in March to May.  The move may help miss some rain but the wind may be a huge factor this week.  TPC at Sawgrass is projected to be hard and fast.

Phil will have an opportunity to show case his great short game in these conditions.  Over the past couple of years Phil has spent a lot time working on his full swing and neglected his short game.  But recently Phil has gotten back on his short game agenda and is hoping to see some positive results this week.  This tournament is very special to most of the participants.  There is a lot of prestige in winning The Players Championship.  The golf course is one of the toughest the tour plays all year and the field is always one of the very best.

None of the majors has as tough of a field as The Players.  The Masters has one of the weakest fields all year.  The field only has about 90+ players versuses a usually field of 156.  The field is made up of several amateurs and other tour leaders from around the world.  Then the cut is around 50 players.  The PGA has several pros from that are non tourning players.  The US Open and the British Open are open to open qualifying and this brings in a lot of non touring pros and seldom do many if any of these qualifiers make it to the weekend.

This should be an exciting week for the golf fan.  If the tournament is close come Sunday afternoon then watch for the treacherous 17 to offer some drama.

Nick Price seeking his first win on The Champions Tour is beaten by Denis Watson from Zimbabwe.  Price had a two shot lead going into the final round on Sunday over Loren Roberts and Scott Simpson and a five shot lead over Denis Watson.  Price skies to a 75 and Denis shoots a 69 to win by one over Price, Scott Hoch and Tim Simpson.  Scott Simpson ballooned to a four over par 76.