There may have been 70+ players teeing off in the first round of the HSBC Champions tournament, but the throngs of Chinese fans were really there to see only two players–Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.  And even though neither of the superstars was at the top of the leaderboard, neither disappointed the fans.  But the first day, at least, belonged to Nick Watney, who fired an 8-under 64, good for a two stroke lead over a group of three golfers, including Ireland’s Shane Lowry.
Woods finds himself three strokes back after an opening round 67.  American Anthony Kim and England’s Paul …read more

Doug Barron became the first PGA player ever suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs, violating the tour’s policy on PED’s that came in to effect July 1, 2008.  If you’re wondering who the heck Doug Barron is, you’re not alone.  He’s only played on the developmental Nationwide Tour four times  this year, and the PGA tour but once, where he failed to make the cut.  Obviously the PED’s weren’t helping much.
It’s unknown, at this time, what exactly Barron was busted for taking, or why.  A few PGA pros came to Barron’s defense, saying the the golfer has suffered from multiple health …read more

It was deja vu all over again for Robert Allenby, after the Australian was beat once again by American Anthony Kim, this time at the World Match Play Championship.  This time there was no accusations of Kim’s alleged partying the night before the match, as Allenby had done earlier this month when the two squared off at the Presidents Cup.  But the result was the same, as Kim advances to Sunday’s final against Ross Fisher.  Fisher made the final after handling Masters champ Angel Cabrera.
As was to be expected, there was a bit of contention between Kim and Allenby during …read more

It was two and done for Paul Casey, the top-ranked player in this week’s World Match Play Championship in Spain.  The Brit failed to progress out of the group stage after losing both his matches today.  Casey lost to 168th-ranked Scott Strange of Australia, then to American Ryder Cup player Anthony Kim to cap off a most miserable day.  But to be fair, Casey did just return from tearing a rib muscle on August 6, which may or may not have affected his play today.
Kim ended the day atop Group A, thanks to his win over Retief Goosen.  Group C …read more

The LPGA Tour finally has a new commissioner–and his name is Michael Whan.  The 44-year-old former marketing executive takes replaces the embattled Carolyn Bivens, who was forced out after the tour kept losing sponsors and tournaments.  Whan previously worked for TaylorMade Golf and Wilson Sporting Goods, and was most recently the president of Mission-Itech hockey.
Whan faces a daunting task, as the tour has lost six tournaments over the past year.  But the forecast for 2010 is promising, which excites the new commissioner.
It took a three month search for the LPGA to decide on Whan.  Interim commissioner Marty Evans will continue …read more

Golfing legend Jack Nicklaus recently surfaced in Kuala Lumpur, and the 69-year-old gave some surprising thoughts on golf in Asia, new equipment, and Tiger Woods.  Nicklaus believes the balance of power in golf is shifting to Asia, and that one day Chinese players will come to dominate the sport.  This comes on the heels of Asia’s first major champion, Y.E. Yang of South Korea, who earlier this year defeated Tiger Woods to capture the PGA Championship.  He bases his ideas on the lessened effects of the recession in Asian countries, specifically China, and golf’s presence in the 2016 Olympics as …read more

For as great a service Twitter provides, it seems that athletes get in trouble the easiest on the social networking site.  Case in point–PGA pro Parker McLachlin.  But his Twitter misstep isn’t quite so bad as some other, higher-profile athletes.  The PGA tour has a rule regarding the use of electronic devices during competition.  Basically the rule is, don’t use them–a simple rule that McLachlin forgot about during the final round of the Frys.com Open this past weekend.
The third-year pro was informed of his infraction by the PGA, after tweeting during a longer than usual wait on the back nine.
“Just …read more

Trevor Immelman, the smooth swinging South African who won the 2008 Masters tournament, underwent wrist surgery recently,after missing most of the season with tendinitis.  Immelman had tried to let his injured left wrist heal up with rest only, but it became apparent that surgery was the only viable option.
The surgery on Immelman’s wrist was performed this past Thursday by a doctor in New York.  The same doctor did similar surgeries on Luke Donald and Jim Furyk.
After a six week recuperation period, Immelman will start strength training exercises.  It will be a three month window of rehabilitation before Immelman can resume …read more

Guess which golfer won the points-based PGA of America player of the year award.  If you didn’t say Tiger Woods, well then, shame on you, because you’re wrong.  Woods won the award going away, thanks to his six PGA tour victories worth 10 points each, lowest adjusted scoring average, worth 20 points, and his finish atop the PGA Tour money list, which was also worth 20 points.  This marks the tenth time Tiger has taken home the hardware.
And that’s not all.  Woods is also taking home the Vardon Trophy from the PGA of America and the Byron Nelson Award from …read more

U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover finished what he started yesterday, capturing the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.  Playing with a new set of irons, Glover briefly gave up the lead to British Open champ Stewart Cink, but a run of three straight birdies helped propel him to a 5-under 66, and a two-day score of 11-under.
Masters winner Angel Cabrera finished second, 5-strokes behind Glover.  Cabrera shot a 5-under 66, leaving him at 6-under for the tournament.  Cink overtook Glover on the front nine, but gave back the lead after faltering on the back nine with a couple of …read more