Finally, a rule change that actually does something worthwhile.  Tom Watson made a valiant effort at this year’s British Open, but eventually ran out of gas, ending up with a second place finish.  Not bad for a 59-year-old when you think about it.  However, despite his great run, Watson would have lost his exemption status at next year’s Open Championship due to his age, had the Royal & Ancient not amended one of it’s rules.
The R&A changed it’s rule to allow former champions who finish in the top 10 in the previous five years to gain a five-year exemption.  The …read more

After the first day at the Presidents Cup, the U.S. team came out strong and dominated, but a gaffe by Justin Leonard on the final hole left the International team just one point behind, the score standing at 3.5 to 2.5.  Leonard missed a 3-footer on the 18th after he mistakenly thought Retief Goosen had conceded the putt.  Goosen did not, and Leonard’s putt caught the right edge of the cup and spun away.  That miss halved the match, and gave the International squad a very important half point, leaving them one point back of the Americans.
The foursome matches played …read more

If Greg Norman was looking for a player to anchor his International squad at the upcoming Presidents Cup, he need look no further than Japanese phenom Ryo Ishikawa.  The 18-year-old heads into the event having won his fourth tournament of the year, the Tokai Classic.  It is the sixth tournament win of the young man’s career, his first coming when he was just 15-years-old.  He’s quickly become the Tiger Woods of Japanese golf.
On paper it appears the U.S. Team has the advantage, but as anyone who has ever played the game of golf, once you’re on the course, anything can …read more

Well that didn’t take long. After only 15 months of wedded bliss, Chris Evert and Greg Norman have split up. This seems ironic given that Norman had to fork out one of the largest divorce settlements in history when he was forced to pay his ex-wife $103 million dollars. He had been married for 26 years to his former wife.

This marriage to Evert lasted a fraction of that long. Perhaps a tell tale sign that things weren’t going to work out had to do with something he said right after he and Evert got married. …read more

Today was the day that the two captain’s for the Presidents Cup, Fred Couples for the American squad and Greg Norman for the Internationals, were to reveal their two captain’s picks for their respective teams.  While Couples stuck to the script, taking Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan, Norman went off on a tangent, choosing one of the best young players in the world, then confusing everyone by picking a player who seems to be getting by on reputation alone.  Norman’s choice of Ryo Ishikawa is a good one, for all the obvious reasons.  He’s won three times this year on …read more

As the saying goes, “to the victor go the spoils,” and that couldn’t be more true for 2009 PGA Championship winner Y.E. Yang.  In the span of a week, Yang has gone from being ranked No. 110 in the world, to besting Tiger Woods at Hazeltine, to becoming a member of the Presidents Cup International Team.
With his improbable victory at the PGA Championship, Yang saw his world ranking  jump from No. 110 to No. 34, which put him as the ninth-highest ranked golfer not eligible for either the American Presidents Cup team or the European Ryder Cup team.  The Presidents …read more

In the wake of Y.E. Yang’s improbable and stunning upset of Tiger Woods at the recent PGA Championship, there are more than a few golf fans who believe that Yang’s victory was a direct result of something Tiger rarely does…choke.  Whether you’re one of those who buy that (he did give back 2-strokes on the front nine, and needed 33 putts for the round), or you believe that it was Yang’s unflappable play against the world number one player (Woods shot 75 on Sunday, not 80) that accounted for the upset, either way, it’s over.  So, in order to ease …read more

Australia’s greatest golfer, PGA legend Greg Norman, has signed on to play in the next three Australian Open tournaments, including this year’s event at the New South Wales Golf Club.  Norman has not played in the tournament since 2005, where he tied for 26th at Royal Sydney.  “The Shark” has captured the Stonehaven Cup five times in his career, and at 54 years old still exudes the cool confidence that a sixth title is within reach.
Along with his commitment to the Australian Open, Norman has also signed on as an ambassador for Tourism NSW.  Australian Open officials are hoping that …read more