Taniguchi Yellow Card At Pebble

Japan’s Toro Taniguchi survived the cut and expulsion from the US Open after he was accused of using innocent beach goers as target practice during the US Open.  Apparently it’s a common practice in Japan, where exhausted car factory assembly workers go to their local multi story driving range and attempt to hit range employees who wear padded uniforms and helmets.  Taniguchi explained the situation to baffled USGA officials who had not got a clue of what he was saying, as it was in Japanese.  Here he is pictured clearly aiming for an innocent couple out for an afternoon stroll.  Shame on you Toro.  Shame.

US Open 2010 Computer Betting Predictions

Prediction	Name		Ave finish in 2010	Last 5 events finish	World Rank	Scoring Ave	Since last missed Cut	% chance of winning
1	Phil	Mickelson	26.08	27.60	2	70.00	1	86.696
2	Lee	Westwood	19.08	11.00	3	69.27	10	86.418
3	Tiger	Woods	54.33	54.33	1	70.70	2	84.299
4	Steve	Stricker	20.80	29.00	4	69.95	13	81.180
5	Jim	Furyk	29.50	28.40	5	70.25	1	79.587
6	Luke	Donald	27.07	7.00	6	69.57	5	78.000
7	Camilo	Villegas	28.38	33.60	15	70.09	2	73.073
8	Retief	Goosen	22.20	23.60	17	70.24	5	72.361
9	Graeme	McDowell	29.57	17.40	37	69.83	6	71.575
10	Rory	McIlroy	39.00	37.40	10	70.25	3	71.226

 

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Tiger Urges Capello but Furyk the Man for World Cup

Tiger Woods had his say on England’s World Cup campaign yesterday, urging Fabio Capello not to “bench” bumbling goalkeeper Robert Green for the next game.  Woods had been watching team USA being gifted a draw against England by Green.

Jim Furyk it seems can go one better.  Following Sunday’s final round in Pebble Beach Furyk is set to jet to South Africa to join up with the USA squad.

Hard man Furyk trains every morning on the driving range by standing at the opposite end to the players and heading the driven golf balls as they speed through the air.  “That’s why my forehead is so white” says Furyk, “it has turned to concrete from the constant impact of golf balls”.

At a press conference yesterday, midfielder Landon Donovan urged Furyk to miss the cut at Pebble Beach to join the USA squad sooner.  “He’s tall and ugly and has a sweet right foot, we need the fear big Jim brings to the defence if we’re going to bring the World Cup back to the US” said Donovan. “He swings the golf club like an octopuss falling out of a tree and we need some of that mayhem on the soccer pitch.  I cant wait to see Furyk make a “Messy” out of Messi”.

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US Open 2010 Betting Preview, Tips and Odds

Tiger Woods 6/1

Tiger Woods goes into the US Open in much the same way as the Irish rugby team went into last weeks test with the All Blacks. Both are missing vital components. In Woods case, his coach is gone, his swing is gone, his driver is gone and his wife is, well, gone. Given all the turmoil in his life, Tiger still possesses a singular determination to win golf tournaments like no other. Seemed to be swinging in the slot much better at Memorial and his short game and upper body strength still give him a decided advantage over the field. Winner by a street here in 2000, whatever happens Tiger this week, it’s going to be fascinating to watch.

Phil Mickelson 7/1

Is the grand slam really a possibility for Masters champion Phil Mickelson this year? One thing we know for sure, if he drives it as crooked as he did two weeks back at The Memorial he hasn’t a hope. My guess though is that Phil will have that aspect of his game sorted and will really fancy his chances at Pebble Beach, a course on which he has three career victories. His magical short game have helped him to five second places at US Open and reports of studious preparation on the Monterey Pennisula track are ominous for the field. (pic: Phil with kids at the drive-thru the morning after the Masters. The Green jacket was at the end of the bed so he stuck it on!)

Lee Westwood 11/1

He may be ranked third but Lee Westwood is simply the best player in the World at the moment. He’s finished in the top-10 in eight of his last 11 events including second at The Masters and tied fourth at The Players. A brilliant win last week at the St Jude Classic proves his game is right where it needs to be. A word of warning though; last weeks exertions both mentally and physically in the smothering humidity of Memphis must have taken its toll and all Westwood’s conditioning reserves will be called upon this week. Tied fifth at Pebble in 2000.

Luke Donald 33/1

First, second and third in his last three events, Luke Donald is back on the PGA Tour a changed man. A weight has been lifted from the Englishman’s shoulders with his victory in Madrid and having all but wrapped up his Ryder Cup place. Rested and refreshed Donald won get a better crack at the US Open. At 7100 yards Pebble Beach is about 400 yards shorter than some of the monsters they use for this event and should be very manageable for him.

Robert Karlsson 66/1

When I think of Robert Karlsson and US Open my mind goes back to Torrey Pines in 2008. While all the cameras were on the Tiger versus Rocco drama, the truth behind that event was that Karlsson gifted it to the field. He finished three shots back tying fourth but gave a whopping five shots to the leaders on the Saturday. Played brilliantly at the St Jude Classic last week and is sure to be buoyant about his chances. Nobody would deserve this more than Robert having missed most of last season with a serious eye problem. Dropped from 100/1 to 66/1 yesterday.

Dustin Johnson 40/1

Six foot four inch Dustin usually starts Major’s at a much longer price than 40/1 so it’s interesting that the market odds setters feel the same way as I do. Finished his last four events under par with a top-10 at the Byron Nelson a worst place of 34^th. He won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for the second straight year , only five others have done that, including Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Sam Snead. The only other player besides Johnson to go straight from college and win in each of his first three years on the PGA Tour is Tiger Woods. Though the course will be unrecognizable with its US Open set-up, don’t count out a good week for Dustin.

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What’s In The Bag 2010 Luke Donald

Player Profile and WITB: Luke Donald

Born 7 December 1977 (age 32) in Hemel Hempstead, England

Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)

Weight 161 lb (73 kg; 11.5 st)

Residence Evanston, Illinois;

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK;

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Spouse Diane Antonopoulos

Career

College Northwestern University

Turned professional 2001

Professional wins 7

Number of wins by tour

PGA Tour 2

European Tour 3

Biography

This week at Pebble Beach is yet another opportunity for Luke Donald to shed his “plucky loser” in Majors tag and with his current form, he may not get a better chance.

The Englishman was rewarded for returning to the European Tour for a three week stretch by winning the Madrid Masters. Donald’s victory came just a week after an agonizing second place at the BMW PGA Championship.

The son of a Scotsman Donald was born and raised in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. Along with brother Christian the pair played junior golf at Hazlemere and Beaconsfield Golf Clubs. Christian caddied for Luke in club events, cultivating a working relationship that was to endure all the way to the PGA Tour.

A three time All American collegiate player, Donald turned professional in 2001 and the following year won the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. In 2004 he won the Omega European Masters and the Scandinavian Masters on the European Tour and his 2006 Honda Classic after moving the PGA Tour moved him into the top ten in the world for the first time. A barren spell followed punctuated by the glory of winning his singles match, 2&1 against Chad Campbell in the 36th Ryder Cup to help ensure Europe win the trophy for a third successive time.

Leader in sand saves and seventh in putting on the PGA Tour, this year Luke seems to kicked on as a player and his victory in Spain once again elevated him into the worlds top 10.

What’s In The Bag 2010 Luke Donald

 

Donald Shorts

Quite The Artist

Luke is an avid collector of contemporary art having majored in art at Northwestern University. He has produced works for the PGA Tour on a number of occasions and once painted a portrait of Stephen Ames for charity!

Sponsor

Luke has lucrative sponsorship agreements with RBS, Ralph Lauren and Footjoy among others. However the most eye-catching is his Mizuno equipment contract. He reportedly receives $1 million per annum just to wear their hat with the promise to quadruple it if he wins a Major!

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“Doc’s Dawn Raid” with Golfbidder at Doonbeg

 The Doc with Brian Finnerty on the tee in Doonbeg at “Doc’s Dawn Raid”

Last Friday saw the inaugural Doc’s Dawn Raid in association with Golfbidder where golfcentraldaily.com and Irish Examiner SpinDoctor readers joined me in stunning Doonbeg for a day of unadulterated golfing fun. Having met on the driving range at 8am readers from all over the country tested 60 top models of drivers from Golfbidder before tackling Greg Norman’s masterpiece which was in superb condition. Thanks to Brian Shaw and his team in Doonbeg and all the participants and watch out for the next Doc’s Dawn Raid coming soon!

Left to Right: Hugh Sheehy, Val Lambe, Martin Waters, Mark Moran, Tony Desmond, Doc, Colum Gleeson, Johnny Lydon, Tom Kennedy, Brian Shaw (Doonbeg) and Brian Finnerty.

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Nappies and Talc for Garrigus

It looks like nappies and talcum powder will be in the player’s suitcases for next years St. Jude Classic after some unsavoury sights threatened to soil, I mean spoil, Sunday nights entertainment. For long time leader Robert Garrigus, it was less a case of “Squeaky Bum Time” and more a case of “Sweaty Bum Time” as an embarrassing patch appeared on his nether region in the stifling heat and humidity in Memphis. Garrigus case of crotch-rot only added to his misery as he imploded on the last hole blowing a three shot lead and the tournament. It all brings new meaning to the phrase “filled his pants”!

Palmer Tricks Up Pebble

Arnold Palmer and his design company have been commissioned to toughen up Pebble Beach for this week’s US Open. During one telephone call to Palmer, one of his chief designers mentioned that he was knee deep in one of the many new bunkers being installed on the third fairway. Palmer shot back: "Knee deep? Hmmm. No. Take them all the way to your waist. I want those bunkers to be penal.” He has moved fairways closer to the ocean, added bunkers, rebuilt greens and lengthened the course to nearly 7,100 yards for the first time with the aim of giving it more teeth. Whether the changes were needed or not is a hot topic. Pebble Beach held its own in the 2000 US Open when only Tiger Woods broke par. The biggest difference from the way the course is set up for the annual AT&T Pro-Am is on holes 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 18 which no longer have a strip of rough along the ocean side of the fairway to keep balls from bouncing in that land along the cliff’s edge.

On The Foregolf Tour Truck: Derek Murray Working with Woosie

“ I know Ian a while now but I had dinner with him at The Masters this year and we had a good chat about how the modern game has almost ruined him. The larger driver heads with low and deep centre of gravity that are designed to be forgiving means he hits the ball too high with them. Today’s drivers are designed to go straight but the technology used in them also means it is hard for him to shape the ball. We had a meet up last week during The Seniors at Carton House and have a plan to not only design a new driver set-up to help him lower the flight with a deep faced low flighted head but we are also going to introduce a new steel shaft for his irons with more tip feel and better energy transfer to claw back the years and get him some of the old yardage back. If I can get him some feel back through the right shaft and set-up he will hit it further with less effort and more control.”

with Derek Murray from www.foregolf.ie

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Doc’s Prognosis: Open Smells For Rose

Bloggy Underfoot: Open Smells For Rose

It’s the second Major of the year. Everyone who is anyone is fit and ready at Pebble Beach. No one golfer is all powerful right now and it seems this Open is wide open.

Though Pebble Beach host the AT&T National Pro-Am late every season, we have to go back to the year 2000 to review the venue set up to Major specifications. Tiger annihilated the field back then, the only player to finish under par winning by 15 strokes. What caught my eye were his closest challengers back then, Ernie Els, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington. All four are in great form and still capable of great things. Is Tiger 15 shots worse than he was in 2000? Five days will tell. I personally don’t think he is, as I recall from the 2000 staging, Tiger got himself into more than his fair share of trouble off the tee, but his power and masterful short game rescued him time and again.

The US Open in 2000 also followed the tragic death of defending champion Payne Stewart eight months earlier. I don’t think I will ever forget the dawn tribute (pictured) paid to Stewart by his fellow pro’s prior to the tournament when, lined along the 18^th fairway, they simultaneously struck balls into the Pacific Ocean in his memory.

I may have started this piece with an erroneous statement. Everyone who is anyone will not actually be at Pebble Beach this week as USGA bosses have deemed that Memorial Champion Justin Rose does not merit a place in the field. It is an absolute travesty of justice that the in-form Englishman who defeated a top class field (including Phil and Tiger) at one of the Tour’s toughest courses (Muirfield Village) has been left out. With all due respect to sectional qualifiers, I just don’t see how a guy that shoots two decent rounds over one day qualifying in Walton Heath gets into the US Open while a recent Tour winner such as Rose is left out. Rose had one last hope, the USGA reserve one special place in field and while commentators felt it should go to either Rose or Robert Garrigus, the journeyman pro who blew a three shot lead on the final hole last week in Memphis, it eventually was handed to 2008 contender Rocco Mediate. Though it may not really be Open after all, it promises to be a fascinating weekend.

Wayne’s World Of TPI Fitness: Early Extension

Problem:

Early Extension occurs when the hips and spine of a golfer straighten up to early in the downswing. This can be seen when the hips and pelvis mover closer to the ball on the downswing the lower body cannot rotate freely through impact and instead it pushes forward and the golfer stands up.

Cause:

Research carried out by the Titleist Performance Institute has shown that any limitation in a golfer performing a full overhead deep squat can force a player to early extend during the downswing. These limitations may alter a good address position and force players to change their spinal posture throughout the golf swing. A massive 65% of golfers suffer from Early Extension.

Exercise:

To help achieve a deep squat practice the Dumbbell Assisted Deep Squat. Start by getting a 5kg dumbbell and a chair or small step. Standing in front of the chair holding a dumbbell extend the arms in front of you. Slowly begin to lower into a deep squat. The dumbbell should help maintain the centre of gravity. At the bottom of the squat place the dumbbell on the chair then slowly raise to a standing position.

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What Pressure Does! Robert Garrigus Wet Pants

The Memphis heat was stifling the humidity was high and the pressure on Robert Garrigus was intense.  Looks like he should have gone with the rain pants like many of the other players.  Instead Garrigus had the added embarrassment of appearing to wet his pants under the final round pressure.  Oops!

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Westwood Wins as Garrigus Fills His Pants- St Jude Classic 2010 Final Round Highlights

Needing only a double bogey for his first tour win, Robert Garrigus literally filled his pants, taking 7.  Lee Westwood came through a three man playoff with Garrigus and Robert Karlsson for the win.  Here are the final round highlights from the 2010 St Jude Classic.

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Farry Win the Highlight of the 2010 Irish Seniors Open

Report from the European Tour website:

Marc Farry became the fifth first time winner on the European Senior Tour in 2010 when he held off a spirited challenge from Ross Drummond to win the Handa Irish Senior Open presented by Fáilte Ireland.

The Frenchman fired a final round 69 to finish on ten under par at Carton House Golf Club in Co. Kildare, two strokes clear of Scotsman Drummond who had to settle for finishing runner up for the fourth time in four seasons on the Senior Tour.

Estoril Open 2010 Final Round Highlights: Thomas is Bjorn Again

Click on pic above to view highlights from the final round of the Estoril Open de Portugal on the European Tour website.

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