Westwood Injures Himself In On-Course Slip

From an unbylined wire report, and just twelve days before the Open for the top title contender.

He was walking to the first tee in the third round of the Alstom French Open at Paris' Le Golf National.

"I was talking to Richard Sterne's caddie and not looking where I was going," Westwood told Sky Sports. "I slipped on wooden sleepers down the side of the cart path. My left foot went forward about two feet and my right foot stayed where it was.

"It left like I strained something at the top of my right leg and tweaked my right knee as well. I didn't really have much confidence in it and as the round went on I just kept stretching my groin out. It seems to have eased off but I am still a little bit wary of it. I felt if I stopped it might make it worse by seizing up, so I thought it was better to keep it moving.

Steiny Lands Another Ride To The Course; Expected To Sign Cantlay

Rex Hoggard with the news of UCLA's Patrick Cantlay turning pro and signing with agent Mark Steinberg who can now bum a ride off the young lad until January 25th, 2013.

Cantlay wasn't confirming after the round.

Despite Cantlay’s denial, sources say he plans to sign with Tiger Woods’ manager Mark Steinberg with Excel Sports Management. GolfChannel.com ask Steinberg about his relationship with Cantlay Sunday at Olympic and he declined to comment.

With dramatic changes to the PGA Tour’s Q-School and Nationwide Tour system looming it’s likely that many underclassman will bolt school early, but Cantlay’s longtime swing coach Jamie Mulligan warned that no decision has been made.

Gibson's 55: No Range Warmup, Played The Ball Down

Mike Baldwin catches up with Rhein Gibson--55 shooter from the Golfweek Tour--who has been busy playing and not talking much about the round. But he did chat it up with Baldwin and revealed that there was no pre-round warm-up and despite mudballs, there was no lifting, cleaning and cheating.

The mind-boggling score, oddly enough, was posted on a day Gibson didn’t get to warm up on the driving range, which was closed due to heavy rains the previous night.

“The ball didn’t roll much,” Munson said. “Several times we had mud on our balls. We played it down. We didn’t pick and clean it. It produced some unpredictable shots. The key was his putting.”

Gibson chipped in for an eagle on No. 13, a par 5. He hit 16 greens in regulation, and he logged only 19 putts.

Gibson also talks about how tough it is to get through Q-school to the PGA Tour. Problem solved!

Old 55 Flashback: Blancas Posted One In Competition

Nothing can take away from Rhein Gibson's 55 last weekend, but it's a nice occasion to revisit Homero Blancas's 55 in competition, as recalled in this 2001 story by Bill Fields.

For years Blancas' feat was listed in the Guinness Book of Records, but it was purged when the recordkeepers limited their low golf scores to those shot on courses of at least 6,561 yards in length, and at 5,002 yards, the funky, claustrophobic par-70 Premier GC--on which two slightly different sets of tees formulated 18 holes fraught with out of bounds and creeks--didn't qualify. But if you're the man who had the 55, the lowest competitive score any golfer has ever shot, there is nothing but beauty in the details.

How many golfers ever made Ripley's Believe It Or Not? How many other players have made 13 birdies and an eagle, totaled 27 for one nine and 28 for the other, hit 17 greens in regulation and required only 20 putts? "And the thing is," says Blancas, "I shot 62 in the morning. That might be the most amazing thing."