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Matching entries from Houston's Clear Thinkers
A Texas original
Given the achievement of covering his 200th major golf tournament at the U.S. Open this past June, Clear Thinkers favorite and fellow Texan Dan Jenkins has been making the interview rounds and it has been a rollicking good time....
Jenkins returns to Sawgrass
Clear Thinkers favorites Dan Jenkins, the dean of American golf writers, is making his first trek to TPC Sawgrass in a decade this week to cover my favorite tournament, The Players (which includes the always fun video of the...
It's 2009 Shell Houston Open Week
The Shell Houston Open has finally arrived as a big-time PGA Tour event. After an ugly divorce from The Woodlands, and a difficult transition period in which most of the best PGA Tour players avoided the event, the 2009...
He's back
Tiger Woods returned from major knee surgery to make his first appearance of the PGA Tour season this week, although Tim Clark made it a brief initial appearance. Meanwhile, Woods' major sponsor Nike rolled out this commercial to celebrate Woods'...
IMG's bad week
The late Mark McCormack must be spinning in his grave. His baby has had a very bad week. McCormack was the attorney who parleyed his friendship with PGA Tour star Arnold Palmer to create the world's leading management firm...
How much did you say he made?
Except for the incredibly large amounts, there are no surprises at the top of Golf Digest's annual list (H/T Geoff Shackelford) of professional golf's top 50 money earners from both prize money and endorsement income. Tiger Woods ($117 mil...
Project Barkley
Hank Haney has done some really good work in helping Tiger Woods modify his swing plane over the past several years. But what he has done in helping Charles Barkley fix his golf swing is nothing short of miraculous....
"That's just not us"
While General Motors is making its case in Congress for an $18 billion bailout (didn't GM need "just" $12 billion last week?), it's trying to cut corners in other areas, such as its endorsement deal with Tiger Woods that...
Can he do it?
I don't think so, but I sure will be pulling for him. We mid-50 year olds have to stick together. If Norman can pull it off, his victory should put to rest one of the cruelest golf jokes of...
Tiger's tournament enters the Tiger Chasm
The Tiger Chasm -- the widening netherworld of golf tournaments that don't attract much attention because Tiger Woods doesn't play in them -- has now swallowed even Tiger's own tournament, this weekend's AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in...
Tiger's bittersweet victory
Just off one of the most remarkable performances of his amazing career, Tiger Woods is going on the shelf for the rest of this golf season and probably for a good chunk of next season rehabilitating from surgery to...
The Players trumps the Masters
Well, he didn't do it with a belly putter, but Sergio Garcia fulfilled my prediction after last year's British Open that it was just a matter of time before he won a big-time tournament. On Sunday afternoon, the 28...
My favorite tournament
It's not one of the four majors (despite the PGA Tour's constant drumbeat to make it the fifth), but The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach just south of Jacksonville, Florida is my favorite golf tournament...
What is Tiger thinking and has The Masters become a bore?
So, Tiger Woods is being forced to take a month off from the PGA Tour as he rehabs from knee surgery. I know that Woods' workout routine is considered cutting edge, particularly for a professional golfer, but what on...
Another one-planer wins The Masters
Last year it was Zach Johnson (see also here). This year, it's Trevor Immelman. What's the deal with all these one-plane swingers dominating the Masters Tournament? Could it have something to do with the fact that neither Johnson last...
America's slipping grip on golf
First, PGA Tour events had to worry about the Tiger Chasm. Now, this W$J article reports that they also need to worry about competition from tournaments in foreign venues: The U.S. has, for decades, held sway over the international...
It's time for The Masters
It's the week of The Masters golf tournament, so I'm passing along a copy of the Augusta National scorecard that my late father used when he shot a cool 99 at the course back in the mid-1970's. The weather...
Comparing Tiger's swing with Hogan's
In comparing the swing of Tiger Woods with that of Ben Hogan in this Links Magazine article, long-time golf teacher Bob Toski makes the following observation about how changes in the nature of golf have prompted swing changes: One year...
NASCAR golf?
This earlier post suggested a creative approach to generate interest for a PGA Tour golf tournament caught in the Tiger Chasm -- i.e., the neverland of golf tournaments that draw nowhere near the interest or publicity as the 15-18 golf...
Recommendation of the Day
I'm not sure exactly what it means, but it cannot be a good thing for the PGA Tour that the biggest news so far in the pre-Tiger Woods part of the season is the controversy over Golf Channel host Kelly...
Texas' best golfer of the moment
There are only four PGA Tour players who have won a tournament in each of the past four seasons. Three of those four are easy picks -- Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh. Who is the fourth? None other...
Interesting golf stat of the week
The first edition of Golf World magazine each year is my favorite of the year. It's a stathead's dream as GW previews the upcoming PGA Tour season by providing extensive individual statistics of each Tour player from the previous season....
The limitations of statistics
I'm as much of a stathead as the next fellow, but the Tour Blog's Jeff Babineau reminds us of the limitations of statistical analysis: OK, Stat Geeks, here's one to ponder: Tiger Woods led the PGA Tour in greens in...
Nicklaus sours on the public corporation
This Bloomberg video interview reveals that you can count legendary PGA Tour champion Jack Nicklaus as another businessman who has had enough of the public form of corporation: The biggest mistake I ever did was let my guys talk me...
Tiger's peer effect
All those PGA Tour players who have folded like limp dish rags while paired with Tiger Woods over the years will be a bit skeptical of the conclusions of this recent study (H/T to Tim Harford): This paper uses the...
One way to drug test
Steve Elling reports on European Tour Director George O'Grady's idea on an effective and low-cost drug-testing procedure for the PGA and European Tours: O'Grady estimated that drug tests will cost $1,000 per player, which makes the possibility of testing an...
Tiger's latest milestone and another caddy snit
In case the start of the NFL season distracted you, the remarkable Tiger Woods shot a closing round 63 at Cog Hill in Chicago to win another PGA Tour tournament over the weekend, the 60th professional tournament title of his...
The Fed Ex Cup enters the Tiger Chasm
Chronicle golf columnist Steve Campbell reports that the Fed Ex Cup -- the PGA Tour's new series of tournaments intended to breath life into the lifeless end of the golf season -- has entered the dreaded Tiger Chasm even before...
A chip off the old block sizes up Tiger Woods
Clear Thinkers favorite Dan Jenkins is the best writer on golf of our times, but his daughter Sally is a darn good golf writer in her own right (previous posts here). In this column after Tiger Woods' Saturday round this...
Best Houston Golf Clubs
If you find yourself watching Tiger Woods waltz to his 13th major tournament championship this afternoon, then take a moment to check out this Mark Button/Avid Golfer article on the best private golf clubs and courses in the Houston metropolitan...
Another Tiger Tale
As we watch Tiger Woods pursue his 13th major championship this weekend at the British Open, it's worth reminding ourselves that we are blessed to be able to watch the best golfer in history. CBS golf commetator David Feherty, who...
And you thought your boss was bad?
Argentina's Angel Cabrera won the U.S. Torture er, I mean, Open Golf Tournament yesterday over Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk, but the more interesting story from the Open was Colin Montgomerie's extraordinary effort to retain his "most unpopular golfer" status...
Say again, Johnny?
My sense is that former U.S. Open champ and NBC golf color commentator Johnny Miller is not going to be joining B.J. Lisko of the Salem News for cocktails any time soon after this broadside prompted by a U.S. Open...
Champions Cypress Creek overrated?
Don't expect Jack Burke, owner of Houston's venerable Champions Golf Club, to be taking out any new subscriptions of Golf Magazine any time soon after this Golf.com article rates Champions' Cypress Creek Golf Course as the fifth most overrated course...
A Wie incongruity
Anyone who follows professional golf even casually knows about the recent travails of teenage phenom, MIchelle Wie, who Butch Harmon thinks is playing worse now at the age of 17 than she was as a 14 year-old. The latest golfing...
The PGA Tour's Texas Mess
The Tiger Chasm has had an extremely detrimental effect on the Texas PGA Tour events (see here and here). Texas golf writer Art Stricklin picks up on that theme in this Golf.com op-ed in which he points out that the...
Practice range back-biting
So, you think the competition on the PGA Tour is intense? According to this John Huggan/Scotsman article, the intensity of that competition is nothing compared to what goes on between the golf instructors of the top PGA Tour players: Especially...
More on the Tiger Chasm
In this column, the Chronicle's chief golf writer has seen the Tiger Chasm that is gobbling up Texas' PGA Tour events and he does not like what he sees: If the first half of the season is any indication, the...
More love for Zach
Clear Thinkers favorite Dan Jenkins is not having any part of the notion that Zach Johnson's victory in The Masters Golf Tournament was boring due to a tricked-up Augusta National: I, for one, loved it. The Augusta National, with an...
The next troubled Texas PGA Tour event
The Shell Houston Open recently finished a rather uninspiring 2007 edition of the event. Now, the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas -- which has also had (earlier post problems brewing) over the past several years -- is looking as...
Zach Johnson wins The Masters
It's not every day that a fellow born in my hometown of Iowa City and raised in Eastern Iowa wins a professional golf tournament, much less the the Masters Golf Tournament. But Zach Johnson pulled it off in dramatic fashion...
"Turning a masterpiece into a brute"
It's the always-anticipated day of the final round of The Master's Golf Tournament, not everyone is sanguine about the fact that Stuart Appleby's one-over-par 73 on Saturday allowed him to take a one-shot lead over Tiger Woods and Justin Rose...
It's time for The Masters
The venerable Masters Golf Tournament begins this morning at that golfing Zimbabwe in Augusta, Georgia. Golf Digest's John Hawkins does his usual fine job of handicapping the field and, somewhat surprisingly, doesn't think that Tiger Woods is putting well enough...
Visiting the SHO
The Shell Houston Open concluded on Sunday with the top-rated player -- Adam Scott (3rd in the World Rankings) -- winning the tournament (final leaderboard here) by making a par on the 72nd hole even after pulling his drive into...
Tiger Woods, DB
Not only did Tiger Woods win his seventh straight PGA Tour event over this past weekend, but he debuted a pretty clever commercial in which he fends off a course rat from stealing his clubs on the range by nailing...
Texas' best golf course designer
The PGA Tour kicks off its season this week with the Mercedes Championship at one of the most beautiful places in the world, Kapalua on the island of Maui, Hawaii. This Lorne Rubenstein/Golf Observer article examines the work on Kapulua's...
Boom-Boom, those feuding Jones boys and other fall golf notes
Yeah, I know it's football season in Texas and no other sport really matters, but I've been wanting to pass along a few interesting tidbits from the golf world. John Hawkins reports that Fred Couples, a fan favorite in Houston...
Arnie's Houston farewell
I've been remiss in not mentioning Arnold Palmer's announcement this past Friday during a round in a Champion's Tour event at Houston's Augusta Pines Golf Club that the round would be his last competitive round of golf. Steve Campbell's article...
Ryder Cup post-mortem
John Huggan is the European correspondent for both Golf Digest and Golf World magazines, and his thoughts on the just-concluded Ryder Cup matches addresses the rather embarrassing question of whether the U.S. team has fallen so far behind the European...
More gripping for the Ryder Cup matches
As noted here earlier, there is something about the upcoming Ryder Cup matches next week in Ireland (perhaps that the American squad has lost four of the last five matches?) that provokes some entertaining reactions. In this IdahoStatesman.com article, NBC...
It's football season, so let's talk golf
The start of the college football season over the Labor Day weekend tends to overwhelm all other sports news, but it's hard to overlook the fact that Tiger Woods shot a 63 yesterday to win his fifth straight golf tournament,...
Gripping already for the Ryder Cup
The United States has lost four out of the last five Ryder Cup competitions, so it's not particularly surprising that some U.S. golf fans are viewing the 2006 Ryder Cup competition next month at the K Club in Ireland with...
The PGA channels the Ryder Cup
As Tiger Woods strolled to his 12th victory in a major golf championship yesterday (second now only to Jack Nicklaus' 18 major wins), the big news out of Medinah was the confirmation of the ten players who earned a spot...
The best major?
The fourth and final major professional golf tournament of the year begins today in the western suburbs of Chicago as the PGA Championship returns to Medinah Country Club. Golf World's Tim Rosaforte provides ten reasons why the PGA is not...
Where Tiger stands
The NY Times Damon Hack, who is writing some of the best articles on golf in the mainstream media, weighs in on Tiger Woods' British Open victory with this article that summarizes where Tiger stands in relation to the greatest...
Something to think about before you grab the big stick
Tiger Woods' dominating performance (and here is a video of the swing that he used) in winning this year's British Open gives us hackers something to think about next time we tee it up on our home course. Woods averaged...
Good swing thoughts
As I write this, Tiger Woods is leading by 3 strokes in the second round of the the Open Championship. For one of the main reasons why Woods is the favorite to win the Open at the relatively defenseless Royal...
Prepping for the U.S. Open
The 2006 U.S. Open Golf Tournament begins today at New York's venerable Winged Foot Golf Club, so the following will provide you with some interesting reading while you enjoy this year's edition of golf's most challenging tournament: This NY...
The next troubled Texas PGA Tour event
This earlier post reviewed the problems that continue to plague the Shell Houston Open Golf Tournament on the PGA Tour schedule. However, to the north of Houston, the EDS Byron Nelson Open -- which begins Thursday in Dallas -- is...
When even Tiger can't help
The Enronesque experience of General Motors has been a common topic on this blog, but you know it's gotten bad for the automaker when even Tiger Woods's endorsement appeal cannot bolster one of the company's brands. This John O'Dell/LA Times...
"Keep Up"
Stephen Ames -- you know, Tiger Woods' buddy -- won the Players Championship in a walkabout on Sunday, so the final round wasn't particularly interesting. Nevertheless, the golf tournament generated some highly entertaining moments, anyway. During the first two rounds...
"Nine and eight"
The PGA Tour is in La Jolla, California for the Accenture Match Play Championship this week, and the special format of that tournament has already produced some sparks between the competitors. For you non-golfers, match play is different from the...
The remarkable Dick Harmon
Don't miss Chronicle golf writer Steve Campbell's fine article on the funeral yesterday for longtime Houston golf teaching professional, Dick Harmon, who died unexpectedly last week. As with the visitation on Thursday evening that I attended in an overflowing funeral...
Dick Harmon, R.I.P.
The Houston and U.S. golfing communities are in shock this morning with the news that Dick Harmon -- one of the four brothers who are among the best golf instructors in the United States -- died unexpectedly on Friday morning...
Final PGA Tour Money List
With Brad Bryant's surprisingly easy win in the season-ending Tour Championship yesterday, the PGA Tour's all-important money list is final for the 2005 season. Some interesting notes: Tiger Woods won again with over $10.6 million in winnings, which works out...
Barkley on golf
The TNT Network weekday coverage of the PGA Golf Championship was somewhat frustrating, as it basically followed Tiger Woods while he struggled to make the cut and then occasionally showed the players who are actually in contention. But then, out...
Feinstein on Nicklaus and Woods
In this Washington Post column, noted author and columnist John Feinstein comments on Jack Nicklaus' farewell to the British Open and, in so doing, observes that 2005 British Open champion Tiger Woods -- while likely to break Nicklaus' record of...
Definitely not Ozzie and Harriet's family
Tiger Woods isn't playing this weekend, but I bet you will want to watch the final round of the Byron Nelson Golf Tournament in Dallas after you read this blog post, anyway. 22 year-old Sean O'Hair -- who was born...
Dan Jenkins on The Masters
Regular readers of this blog know that Dan Jenkins is my favorite golf writer, bar none. Mr. Jenkins still covers each golf major tournament for Golf Digest magazine, and his article (not yet online) on this year's Master's tournament appears...
The amazing Dan Jenkins
Given that it is Shell Houston Open week, it seem appropriate to note that Ft. Worth's Dan Jenkins -- whose writings were previously featured in posts here and here -- is the best golf writer of our times. An outstanding...
Neutralizing good golfers
Although Tiger Woods may not make it look so, golf is an exceedingly difficult game to play for most of us. Yet, because of the exceptional ability of Mr. Woods and a relatively few number of professional golfers, this Golf...
Meanwhile, on the Tour . . .
Speaking of golf, Vijay Singh's past two weekends have been interesting, to say the least. Last week at the Honda Classic, Vijay jacked a 2 foot putt in a playoff that cost him about half a million in prize money....
A great golf match
Just thought I would pass along this picture of Phil Mickelson's pitch shot on the 18th hole that lipped out yesterday and prevented a sudden death playoff between Mickelson and Tiger Woods, who regained the No. 1 World Golf...
Sabermetrics for golf?
This blog has often noted (for example, here, here and here) the increased utilization of statistical analysis in professional sports to evaluate player performance. Now, statistical analysis of professional golf is on the rise. This fascinating Jamie Diaz Golf Digest...
The truth about Tiger's swing change
This Jaime Diaz Golf Digest article is the flat out best analysis of Tiger Woods' recent swing change that I have read and a must read for any student of the golf swing....
Chuck Cook on Tiger Woods' swing changes
Chuck Cook is one of Texas' many fine golf teachers, and he runs the Chuck Cook Golf Academy at the Barton Creek Resort in Austin. Mr. Cook has trained under several notable teaching professionals, including Bob Toski, Jim Flick, Peter...
The saga of David Duval and a few other golf notes
A few notable developments from the wonderful world of golf: Vijay Singh finished his long climb to overtake Tiger Woods as the world's top golfer as he beat Woods in a head-to-head matchup on Monday to win the Deutsche Bank...
The doping scandal investigation
Sally Jenkins, fresh off of hammering Tiger Woods for his behavior during last weekend's U.S. Open, goes after the United States Anti-Doping Agency and its investigative tactics in this Washington Post column. Ms. Jenkins observes: Let's see if we can...
Sally Jenkins on Tiger Woods
Sally Jenkins is the daughter of Dan Jenkins, who is simply the best golf writer of all-time. However, Sally is currently writing on golf for the Washington Post, and she is fast joining her father as one of the best...
Dan Jenkins on Phil Mickelson's Masters
As noted here earlier, Dan Jenkins is American's finest sportswriter on golf. He has covered an incredible 53 Masters Golf Tournaments in a row, and here is his Golf Digest article on this year's spectacular tournament that Phil Mickelson won...
Putting with Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world, has won 40 professional golf tournaments, and is worth several hundred million. Chris Riley is one of the best putters in professional golf, but has won only once on the PGA...
Speaking of golf, did you hear the one about . . .
Tiger Woods cracked a good one yesterday during the opening round of the Buick Open in San Diego. While waiting to play a shot and watching a huge Navy vessel off the Pacific coast, Woods asked: ''Is that (Greg) Norman's...
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