John Daly Injures Arm In Altercation with Himalayan Black Bear

John Daly has had to withdraw from the Avantha Masters in India after an altercation with a Himalayan Black Bear left him with torn ligaments in his right arm.  It is believed a fracas broke out between the two, when the bear entered the back garden of Daly’s rented house in New Delhi seeking maize and corn, it’s winter diet.
An Indian policeman said “It is very aggressive and can attack without provocation. It has been observed to kill goats, sheep and the small mules of villagers and herdsmen. The bear was obviously unaware of this when he entered Daly’s compound”.

Sky Sports Denis Pugh Missing Feared Kidnapped By BBC

England (somewhere)—
Cuddly grandad and Sky Sports golf analyst Denis Pugh, 73, is this morning missing feared kidnapped by the BBC.  It is believed Pugh was yesterday lured to a secret location by Cbeebies executives under the guise of auditioning him for the role of Zippy in the all new version of the children’s cult classic show ‘Rainbow’ due out later this year.

Quick thinking Pugh managed to snap a picture of his would-be abductors, who were posing as sinister BBC cameraman, and posted it to Twitter seconds before all communication was cut off.  His twin boys Francesco and Eduardo are said to be distraught and being comforted by Mama’s pasta whilst awaiting news. 
Members of Pugh’s local golf club The Wirral have held a candle lit vigil between the jacuzzi and the snooker table, just a bit over from the dancing pole. “The thought of our club without Denis, and members actually having to pay for lessons doesn’t bear thinking about”, the Club Captain said today.
Scotland Yard have drafted in retired former SAS Colonel Bruce Critchley, 106, to head up the case.  Sources say a phone call was received today from the kidnappers outlining their demands.

No Trust Issues For Phil, Hot At Riviera

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Stray Sheep Distracting Top Irishman at Portuguese International Amateur

Irish amateur legend Eddie McCormack lies just one shot off the lead at the Portuguese International Amateur Championship but golf was the furthest thing from his mind after he completed his first round at Montado.

The 49 year old Cavan man who bought a house and farm on the cheap in Galway told reporters “I’d swear I left the gate in the back field open.  And if I did those feckin’ sheep will surely find find their way onto the runway at Galway airport.  They love that, so they do.”

Asked about his round which included seven birdies McCormack continued “Ay sure I’m doin’ me best buh the course out here is yellow.  If I had the tractor I’d give it two blasts of 10.10.20 fertilizer eight weeks apart.  And them greens, all they need is water, they are crustier than a Mother Hubbard’s rasher.”

Later McCormack received good and bad news from home after a neighbour texted to say the back field was shut, all but one of the 1200 sheep were in, and the 50 that were sent to the factory made a tonne of money.  Unfortunately one sheep had made it to the runway and got flattened by a landing Fokker 50 from Dublin.

Next best of the Irish contingent was ‘on the fags, off them again’ Eoin Arthurs  whilst Alan Dunbar struggled in the heat with having too much hair.

 

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Tiger Woods Calls For Outright Driver Ban. Kim Agrees

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -

Just one week after the news that Tiger Woods wants belly and long putters banned, the multiple major champion is now calling for an outright ban on drivers.  Woods is believed to have discussed the wording of a driver ban with the R&A and USGA when they were done considering the legality of belly and broomstick putters.

Woods, who hasn’t hit a straight drive since 2007 said “I’ve never been a fan of drivers. I believe using 3-woods with a shaft length that is no longer than a regulation pick axe handle is how the game should be played. I’m a traditionalist when it comes to that.”

Woods said he has spoken to R&A chief Peter Dawson and suggested it should be mandated that the 3-wood head be no bigger than the body of an eight week old bull frog.

“I think with that we’d be able to get away from any type of people (me) hitting it crooked,” he said. “But that’s still the art of swinging the club at the same time.”

Anthony Kim was quick to come out and back Woods stance.  Speaking through a gimp mask from a California house party at 3am in the morning, an animated Kim said “Gedda fugg awa ya jaggovv or see thiz driver shoooved up yourrrr asssss”.

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Trevino Sweeps Board In Annual PGA “Stating The Bleedin’ Obvious Awards”

with Ron Burgundy In California

In recognition of his "continued ability to blurt out stuff he’s just read in the paper", Lee Trevino has once again swept the board at the annual Gala PGA “Stating The Bleedin’ Obvious  Awards” held at the Kodak Centre in Hollywood California.

The awards are strictly for ex professionals who fit the criteria of “piping up every now and then with a quote, on a slow news day”. 

Members of the academy honoured Trevino with the top award of the night, “The Anything About Tiger Woods Award”, for his latest comment on Mr Woods.  

"I would call a Realtor in Henderson, Nevada, and I'd find out where Butch lived and I'd buy the house next door. I'd go over and ring the doorbell and say, 'Hi, neighbour,' and get back with Butch. That's exactly what I would do."

Trevino held off stiff competition from Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus to scoop the top award which was presented by The Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman, herself a shock winner of the award in 2008 for suggesting that Tiger be “lynched” in a “back alley” somewhere.

  There was some cause for celebration for the Sky Sports Golf Team at the The Stating The Bleedin’ Obvious Awards when Denis Pugh picked up the “Bleedin’ Obvious Timewasting  Instructional Piece Whilst Totally Avoiding The Question Award” for his demonstration of how to hit a draw and fade in the practice net when asked by David Livingstone what was going wrong with Tiger’s swing at Pebble Beach.

The celebrations for the Sky Sports team were short lived however when Simon Holmes was beaten for the Best Comedian Award.  The prize again went to Trevino for his follow-up comment on Tiger Woods and Butch Harmon.

"I'm sure there's bad blood there, at least that's what I've heard.  I haven't talked to Butch in years, so I don't know how he feels with Tiger and I don't know if Tiger is too proud to ask for the help and if he asked for help if Butch would give it to him. He's all messed up right now."

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Keegan Bradley Blasts Back At Tiger and Belly Putter Haters

The beauty about Twitter is that you have a limited number of characters to make your point.  But belly putting Major Champion Keegan Bradley used a tweet to masterful effect to hit back at Tiger Woods and others calling for a ban on belly putters.

The tweet says This is a photo hanging in Rivera. 40's or early 50's. People having been putting like this for a very long time!

Attached is the picture, which paints a thousand words!

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Natalie Gulbis Buck Naked Pics Beat Ernie Els To Top Story on GCD!

When we think of American golfers and facepaint the first thing that comes to mind is the Solheim Cup with those annoying little American flags on the players cheeks to prove how patriotic they really are.

 

Now LPGA star Natalie Gulbis, who didnt quite make the 2011 US Solheim Cup team, in an act of pure defiance has decided to a bit of face painting of her own cheeks in the 2012 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.  When I say “face painting”, I of course mean posing naked with just some face paint covering her technological zones. That’s what I meant by “cheeks”

Struggling to find out if there’s a Christina Kim one also there somewhere……..

Here’s a link to the sports illustrated full article

 

 

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TopGolfer 2012 Schedule Announced!

The TopGolfer Tour has released its schedule for 2012 which includes eight new venues and twelve new events across Ireland.
The amateur series which is now in its third season will incorporate 43 scratch cups running from April to September at established host venues such as Cork GC, Castle GC, Woodenbridge GC, Warrenpoint GC, Dromoland Castle, Concra Wood and Rosslare. 
This season the tour will also visit new venues at Dun Laoghaire GC, Loughrea GC, Mallow GC, Grange GC, Blainroe GC, Naas GC, Killeen GC and the superb Faldo Course at Lough Erne.
The winner of each tour event will receive an invitation to the TopGolfer Tour Championship which, after visits to Carton House in 2010 and Druids Glen in 2011, will this year be hosted by Fota Island Resort in Cork, host to Irish Opens in 2001 and 2002.
Tour Director Dermot Synnott explains “We’re really excited about 2012. We have strengthened the schedule with some superb new venues all of which are perfect for the intense competition of scratch cup golf. Our members, now more than 8,000 players, demand good golf courses in the best of condition. They’re going to enjoy the best of Irish in 2012!”
Synnott and his partner Rob Hill launched the TopGolfer Tour in 2010 to provide golfers who play off 9 or better with a series of competitive events. It was an instant hit attracting over 2,500 competitors in its first season.
2011 saw the introduction of the Kelkin Revive Order of Merit. With points up for grabs at every tour event, it doubled the entries to almost 5,000 competitors in its second season, and concluded with Jim Carvill of Warrenpoint GC taking the Tour Championship crown.
This years’ Order of Merit final will be played over the Ryder Cup Course at The K Club offering members one last chance to qualify for the Tour Championship.
For more information visit: www.topgolfer.ie
Click below to view 2012 Tour Schedule

2012 Northern Trust Open Betting Preview and Tips

2012 Northern Trust Open Betting Tips
Odds from paddypower
Winner Alright: Last week we tipped Phil Mickelson at 22/1
Also click link to check out my 2012 Avantha Masters Tips on the European Tour

Phil Mickelson 10/1

It’s an all star field this week with the likes of Luke Donald, Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia all making their season debut. For me though it’s hard to see past Phil Mickelson again this week after he won for us so convincingly at Pebble. Winner here in 2008 and 2009, driving it like an arrow with a new shaft in his driver and holing everything with that blade, Phil is irresistible. One caveat might be exhaustion, he has been on the go for a month and is knocking on a bit you know!

Aaron Baddeley 30/1

A five under 67 at Pebble Beach last Sunday for a top five finish is sure to provide a real confidence boost for Badds heading into the defence of his Northern Trust title. Imperious two shot win last year over Vijay Singh. On form Baddeley is a real greens in regulation merchant, ideal for tough layouts. And they don’t get much tougher than this.

Kevin Na 40/1

This will be the third week in a row we tipped Kevin Na and while he hasn't given us a monetary return, he certainly has given a good run for our money with another tied fifth last week. Na tied for 10th in 2010 and bettered that with a third place finish last year. The par 71 at Riviera is real leveler and the trend is the form players coming in continue here. Let’s hope that works for Na.

KJ Choi 40/1

KJ hasn’t the best of form coming into this week with two poor showings on the desert swing of the European Tour. Riviera and KJ however go together like Batman and Robin. The Korean has never missed a cut here and top 10’d in three out of the last four stagings. Maybe better to wait until Friday evening on this one, but KJ is always one to watch here.

Best Of The Rest

Dustin Johnson 25/1, I believe made huge headway, mentally, at Pebble Beach. He’s obviously been struggling since returning from injury but I detected a spark of that old DJ last week. Usually a man that plays well on tough courses, I predict a much improved result this week.
Last but not least is one of my favourite players to watch, Ricky Barnes 80/1. He’s all about confidence and after a good showing last week has the talent to post a top 10 if not better this week.
 

Previous Top 10’s and Course Info

Radical New Advert To Feature Freddie Couples Walking Slowly, Lounging Around and Wearing Ridiculous Golf Shoes. Only Joking, No It’s Not.

In a bid to remind people that not just priests can buy their shoes, Danish footwear giant Expens-ecco are said to be planning a radical new TV commercial to emphasize all the fun that can be had whilst wearing their spikeless street shoe.

For the first time ever the Expens-ecco commercial will not feature Freddie Couples lazing by a railway track, sailing a boat whilst expressing mild enjoyment, or lounging around like an old dog and looking into the distance.

The radical new one minute advert, to be aired this week, features Couples tripping and falling out of a sailing boat, laughing with a woman on a bike before slipping off the pedals and catching his testicles on the crossbar, and entering the Hadron super Collider to be spun violently. All the while wearing his 2012 Expens-ecco spikeless golf shoes.

Since switching to the gripless Expens-ecco (bowling) golf shoe in 2010, Freddie has played one good round at the Masters and been to Germany twice to visit a world expert in back pain to find out what on earth could be causing the chronic back problem which has flared up in the past two years.

“We cannot understand why these spikeless golf shoes are not taking off” said an Expens-ecco spokesman adding “to encourage sales this month we are giving three free visits to the chiropractor with every pair sold.”

He continued, “Whilst Freddie remains vertical he will our only brand ambassador at expens-Ecco.  We cannot think of anyone else we would like to see play golf  whilst balancing in our shoes.”

 

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2012 Avantha Masters Golf Betting Preview and Tips

2012 Avantha Masters Golf Betting Preview and Tips

DLF G&CC, New Delhi, India 16 Feb 2012 - 19 Feb 2012
Odds on the exchanges
Winner Alright: Last week we tipped Phil Mickelson to win the Pebble Beach pro-am at 22/1

also check out my 2012 Northern Trust Open Betting tips here.

Jeev Milkha Singh 25/1

Golf is the fastest growing sport in India and one of its most famous faces is Jeev Milkha Singh. Started well in Dubai last week but struggled thereafter to finish down the field. Jeev battles with a back problem and it was this injury that ended his title challenge here last year. One behind going into the final round, the Indian played through the pain barrier to card a 75 and finish just outside the top 10. Fully fit, he has the course knowledge to place.

David Drysdale 55/1

Solid if unspectacular in Dubai, David Drysdale is just one great putting week away from another big European Tour finish. The DLF should suit the Scot, who’s driving and greens in regulation stats combined were the best in the field last week. His third at the Joburg Open will hopefully stand him in good stead down the stretch this week.

Gregory Havret 25/1

I’m going to stick with Gregory Havret for one more week. Finished 24th in Dubai which wasn’t bad if you take into account he was 10 shots behind winner Rafa Cabrera Bello after the first round! Played well here last year birdying three of the last four holes on Sunday to finish third. Putting will be the key for Havret in India, he top 10’d on the stats last week and if he can do so again will be a threat on this short New Delhi track.

Romain Wattel 36/1

If Havret doesn’t do the business this week then maybe his protégée, 21 year old Romain Wattel will oblige. The two are members of Bussy St Georges Golf Club near Paris. Wattel won as a teenager on the Challenge Tour and though this week will be only his 34th Tour start, he has already clocked up two top 15’s in Abu Dhabi and Dubai last week. High on the putting stats when we plays well, that will be vital this week.

Best Of The Rest

Holland’s Joost Luiten 18/1 didn’t set the world alight in the desert but I think he has the game to feature this week having won in Malaysia in late November on his last trip down to this part of the world. Another player who I think has a fantastic putting game is Rhys Davies 42/1. The Welshman will start from very high odds this week having missed the cut in Dubai. The DLF course is world’s apart from what the played on last week so it will be interesting to see how he fares.
Obviously it’s more difficult to keep tabs on all the Asian Tour players but I will be keeping an eye out for Mardan Mamat 60/1 who won recently in the Philippines. And of course how could we forget our old friend Kiradech Aphibarnrat 60/1 whose sure to give us plenty of smiles.

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Classic Odyssey Blade Key To Mickelson’s Pebble Win

After trying several putters in recent time, it was the classically styled Odyssey White Hot XG Blade that helped steer Phil Mickelson to victory in the 2012 Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The blade comes with an alignment line ground into the metal by the Odyssey tour staff. Phil actually has a whole set of identically shaped blades, but with slightly different face inserts, some hard some soft.  He also has light and dark versions of the putter, the lighter steel colour was used in Pebble Beach.  

  On slow greens Phil adds lead weight strips to his putter.  On fast greens like at Pebble Beach and Augusta, he uses the putter without added weights.

Because of the forward press of his hands immediately prior to his stroke, Phil’s blades have between 5 and 6 degrees of loft added to negate the effect of the hands.

 

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Winner Alright: Phil Romps Home At 22/1

Thanks to everyone who emailed and commented about our latest tips winner Phil Mickelson at the 2012 Pebble Beach Pro-Am.  Looking back at the tip, the words about Tiger Woods proved to be spot on.

Phil was available at 22/1 on the largest exchange.

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Hidden Gem Unearthed As Concra Wood Land EuroPro Tour Event

Great news from my wife’s part of the country with the brilliant Concra Wood set to stage a PGA EuroPro Tour event from July 9th to 13th.  Here’s the release from the Castleblayney venue.

Concra Wood GC is ready to roll out the red carpet for some of the brightest young golfing talent in Europe.

2012 Pebble Beach Pro-Am Final Round Highlights

Video highlights from the final round of the 2012 Pebble Beach Pro Am where Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were paired together.

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Clint Eastwood Blown Bulb Makes Faldo Jump Like Cartoon Cat

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