Open Thread

by Mulligan Stu on Apr 20, 2008 12:41 PM EDT

... Sunday Finishes ...

PGA Tour
They're not booing, they're saying "Boooooooo." For the second straight year, Boo Weekley is the champ at the Verizon Heritage. Weekley shot 71 on Sunday and finished three strokes ahead of Anthony Kim and Aaron Baddeley.

Story | Scores

European Tour
Hey, if you're going to win your first tour event, might as well win it by nine shots. That's what Ireland's Damien McGrane did at the Volvo China Open. And that was despite finishing with a 73 in trying conditions. Simon Griffiths was the distant runner-up.

Story | Scores

Champions Tour
Tom Watson won the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, avoiding a playoff when Scott Hoch missed a short putt on the final hole. Hoch and Jay Haas finished one stroke back of Watson, who saved bogey himself on the last hole after hitting into the water.

Story | Scores

LPGA Tour
Four straight weeks, four straight wins for Lorena Ochoa. Ochoa outlasted 19-year-old rookie Yani Tseng, winning by three, at the Ginn Open. When she next tees it up Ochoa will be trying to tie the LPGA record for longest winning streak.

Story | Scores

Ladies European Tour
Another first-time European tour winner, this time Emma Zackrisson of Sweden. That's her in the photo below, which I'm running because it seems likely such a wonderfully unguarded, joyous moment. Zackrisson won the Spanish Open by four strokes over Nikki Garrett, Diana Luna and Joanne Mills.

Story | Scores

Futures Tour
M.J. Hur birdied the final hole to tie Vicky Hurst atop the leaderboard, then defeated Hurst in a playoff to win the Louisiana Pelican Classic. Hur shot 68 in the final round to catch Hurst, who shot 72, and they finished at 10-under 206.

Scores

And one more: Ji Yai Shin wins the Woori Investment & Securities Ladies Pro Golf Tournament on the KPLGA.

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Comments

Ginn

It's fantastic that the LPGA is getting network time this weekend. But sheesh, CBS is making us listen to Bobby Clampett and Mary Bryan in the same broadcast ... that's like a Wes Craven movie ...

by Mulligan Stu on Apr 20, 2008 1:10 PM EDT reply actions

that's quite

a belly button on Emma.

by BloggerBob on Apr 20, 2008 4:28 PM EDT reply actions

you're not kidding - either of you...

Bobby Clampett is a strange guy, and I have no idea where they found this Mary Bryan woman, but they aren't exactly confidence inspiring. All his talk of "impact dynamics" are more than just technical golf geek jargon - that is the focus of his book, "The Impact Zone." It's not a bad book even with all of its mixed metaphors.

Speaking of Emma (and her bellybutton) - you wouldn't notice it from the angle of the picture, but she is the second LET winner in consecutive tournaments using The Dark Ace putter.(ProfoundPutters.com) We just happened to have Bernt Stellander, the developer of The Dark Ace, on the air this morning. He has several LET players using his putters, and set up a few LPGA players with them at the Ginn this week. Retief Goosen used one at the South African Airlines Open last December and led the tournament in putting statistics. If you're looking for a new magic wand, this one is definitely worth checking out.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Apr 20, 2008 8:42 PM EDT reply actions

Mary Bryan

She was a tour player back in the 70s and 80s, I believe. She's been doing CBS LPGA broadcasts for several years, but usually was the analyst in the booth with the host. She was bad at that, too, but not as bad as she is now. Since Beth Daniel showed up (man, CBS' crew really makes you miss Dottie Pepper ...), Bryan is now in the tower (assuming they spring for a tower -- maybe she's just in a tree) as the second host and she's REALLY bad at that. Always stepping on her on-course reporters, poor Val and Billy can't get a word in.

by Mulligan Stu on Apr 20, 2008 10:45 PM EDT up reply actions

it can't be this difficult...

...to find decent, knowledgable broadcasters who can speak English without subliminally selling their books, can maybe read a putt, identify a club, or maybe just follow the flight of the ball !

I heard Bryan "analyze" a missed putt by Tseng (after mispronouncing her name for the umpteenth time). She criticized the tempo and conjectured that she MIGHT have hit the ball on the toe of the putter. MIGHT ??? We were all watching the same video - her putter dropped in towards her feet when she started the takeaway, then came straight through - of COURSE she hit the ball on the toe. It's right there on the screen - just look at it. Her problem was her setup - she was too far from the ball. On the takeaway, the putter returned to the natural line of her body. It was just an inch or so, but that's more than enough to move the ball out to the toe. Geez.

CBS might not want to put big money into LPGA broadcasts, but how difficult can it be to find people who will at least pay attention ?

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Apr 21, 2008 9:05 AM EDT up reply actions

You forgot one..

The Nationwide Tour had THE finish of the day at The Athens Regional Foundation Classic, in Athens, GA, with Robert Damron collecting his first win on any tour since the 2001 Verizon Byron Nelson Classic.

Damron shot a six under par 66 to jump from 11th to 1st and into a playoff with England's Greg Owen.

The playoff hole was the 547 yard par 5 18th, a tough three shot hole with water in play off the tee across the fairway and down the left side to the green. Damron sank his 14 foot birdie putt to clinch the title.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Apr 20, 2008 10:19 PM EDT reply actions