Photo by Chuck Berman/Chicago Tribune
78 golfers played in the 47th annual Eskimo Open at Cog Hill in Lemont, Illinois, last Sunday. They played special winter rules which included an automatic two-putt when you were within 36-inches of the cup.
I certainly hope the bar was open and had an ample supply of whiskey.
Photo credit: Scott Halleran/Getty Images
With the new season on us and memories of the down 2009 season, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem is moving swiftly to make as much out of the 2010 season as possible. He has already visited the Kapalua Resort as the season-opening tour event approaches and welcomed the new sponsor Seoul Broadcasting Corp. The SBS Championship begins Thursday at the Plantation Course with only winners of last year’s tour events eligible for the $5.6 million tournament.
“We’ve had two very challenging couple of years, but I think we’ve turned the corner,” said Finchem. There is no mystery about what has occurred with economic challenges and the media blitz over golf’s icon, Tiger Woods. He did offer one observation: “I’ve never seen such media scrutiny, such a frenzy for coverage. It was bigger than 9-11, bigger than anything else you can think of. It was never ending there for a while. Thankfully, there’s a lull.”
Very important, at least early on, is Finchem’s travel itinerary. He plans to jet back and forth between his headquarters and west coast golf events for the next two months. Sponsors need to see him and players need to see him. Two tour events, San Diego and Palm Springs,still require sponsors. But at least AT&T, which recently dropped its sponsorship of Woods, remains committed to two PGA Tour stops, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the AT&T National, the event hosted by Woods which will move from the Washington D.C. area to Aronimink GC outside Philadelphia.
Finchem will not be able to be at the Sony Open in Hawaii, next week’s first full-field event. But he will make an appearance at six or seven of the next eight tournaments. He’ll be required to do some heavy duty traveling early in this new season to try to salvage what some say may be a disastrous season for the PGA.
Colin Montgomerie, 2010 European Ryder Cup captain, is very confident that his team will win at Celtic Manor even if Tiger Woods is included in the United States team.
Stan James Betting News has posted the following odds, Europe 4/5, USA 5/4, The Tie 10/1.
World number one Woods is currently taking a break from golf as he tries to sort out his personal problems after admitting being unfaithful to his wife. And he has not yet revealed if he will participate in the event between October 1-3.
Montgomerie is aware that Woods has a good record for the United States, particularly in the singles, but still feels his team will come out on top.
He told BBC Sport: “A lot depends on whether Tiger plays as he hasn’t lost in the singles.
“But if our 12 play to their potential, with the crowd’s backing, we will win.”
Bill and daughter Renee... AP Photo/Phil Long
Bill Powell, who was the first African-American to build, own and operate a golf course, died Thursday. He was 93.
In August, Powell received the PGA Distinguished Service Award, the association’s highest annual honor. In November, he was inducted into the Northern Ohio PGA Hall of Fame and honored as the Person of the Year by the Ohio Golf Course Owners Association.
Recently, the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce also presented the Powell family with its Community Salute Award.
“Bill Powell will forever be one of golf’s most unforgettable American heroes,” PGA of America president Jim Remy said. “Bill made us appreciate the game and each other that much more by his gentle, yet firm example.
According to Gary Van Sickle, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated, 2009’s award as the worst golf year ever was sewed up by Tiger Woods’ fall.
Here’s an excerp from his article:
“This year was scary bad. Every golf tour in the world is downsizing, some at alarming rates, along with advertising and sponsorship dollars. More courses are closing than are being built in America. Golf equipment makers have been forced to cut jobs. Golf real estate values, like most real estate values, have plunged. Golf hasn’t seen a dip like this since the Great Depression, not counting Charles Barkley’s swing. In fact, that’s how bad 2009 was — a show featuring Barkley trying to fix his spastic Mr. Roboto swing was one of the year’s guilty pleasures. We could all relate to Sir Charles.
The men’s major championships, while thrilling to watch, were ultimately bastions of buzzkill. If Kenny Perry, Phil Mickelson and Tom Watson had won the first three majors, and if Woods had finished off the PGA Championship, we might be talking about one of golf’s all-time storybook seasons. With no disrespect to the champs — Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink and Y.E. Yang — the winners we had were less compelling than the stories of the nearly men.”
(I don’t want to sound like a pessimist either, but I agree with him. This no-name decade ended with a golf year that left a lot to be desired. This was a banner year for my naps in front of the golf on TV. I’m hoping 2010 will be less restful and provide us some real golf entertainment.)
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