When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
An online betting outfit is challenging Robert Allenby and Geoff Ogilvy to hash out their differences in the ring, all in the name of charity.
Thanks to Brian Keogh for tweeting (and apologizing in advance) for the bagpipe-accompanied Brian Morgan photos of Trump International Scotland. I just can't take my eyes off the green carpet walkway on the uphill par-3 with the burn to the right...
Mark Hayes offers this from Robert Allenby's ten-percenter in rounding up Sunday's post-Presidents Cup confrontation prompted by Allenby's inability to take personal responsibility for his play:
His manager, Tony Bouffler, was confident there would be no lasting ramifications.
"All I know is that they have been good mates and I'm sure will continue to be so in the future," he said.
Martin Blake talks to Geoff Ogilvy's man:
''Look, it wasn't TV Ringside or anything,'' said Paul Galli, Ogilvy's manager. ''I wasn't there, but from what I've been told, it's a storm in a teacup. There were a few words spoken. They will be fine. I've got no doubt they can come together at the [Australian] Masters in a few weeks, have a beer and move on.''
Blake also notes the harsh reaction of former touring pro Paul Gow on his podcast with Luke Elvy, where they also talk about Greg Chalmers' dilemma in pursuing the Australian Masters along with other notes from the Australian PGA week.
But former US PGA Tour professional Paul Gow said it was time Allenby bit his lip in pressure situations.
"I think he acts like a five-year-old when he plays golf," Gow said in his weekly Playing Around podcast with Channel 10 commentator Luke Elvy.
"He has to understand he plays golf for a living. He was in a team environment and to throw out those comments was really immature.
"It's probably time for Robert to grow up, let his clubs do the talking because he's a really, really good player. With this attitude, he will probably never win a major."
Brent Read reports on Robert Allenby's continued meltdown over his horrible Presidents Cup play, with Geoff Ogilvy's Sunday tweet perhaps fueling an "ugly spat" Sunday night following Australian PGA play.
Allenby and Ogilvy exchanged words at the Hyatt Coolum on Queensland's Sunshine Coast where the pair were playing in the Australian PGA with the former believed to have challenged his long-time friend to take the matter outside.
The incident took place in the village square at the Hyatt, where players, caddies, family members and the public were celebrating Greg Chalmers's victory earlier that day. At least one glass was broken before Allenby, who lost the play-off at the PGA that day to Chalmers, walked away, prompting Bronx cheers from a section of those in attendance.
Ah that must have really soothed his ego.
Ogilvy responded with a tweet that read: "Warms the heart to see Robert playing so well this week." Ogilvy later told media the tweet was genuine, although Allenby is believed to have taken offence at what he felt was a piece of sarcasm. It is understood he questioned Ogilvy over the tweet and his Victorian counterpart responded by asking why Allenby refused to take responsibility for his play.
The conversation degenerated to the point where a glass was broken and an offer was made to take the matter outside.
Allenby left the country but will be back for the Australian Masters at Victoria in a few weeks. Victoria, a splendid design, is Ogilvy's boyhood home course.
***New details of the "stoush" from Sportal's Steve Orme, courtesy of reader Chris:
And when Allenby sauntered over to Ogilvy's table and sat down at around 9.15pm on Sunday night, the 2006 US Open champion immediately made his dissatisfaction known.
He was overheard accusing Allenby of throwing him under the bus and openly questioned his character, which sent the four-time PGA winner into a rage.
Allenby inadvertently broke a wine glass and screamed 'do you want to go?' (fight), prompting Ogilvy, who was surrounded by seven friends, to get out of his chair in front of a captivated and stunned audience.
Common sense prevailed as Allenby softened his approach momentarily.
But the argument soon flared up again as Ogilvy unsuccessfully sought an apology.
The ugly stoush escalated once again as Allenby invited his adversary to meet him outside of the main square, to which Ogilvy quipped 'I'd like that'.
Allenby subsequently stormed out as Ogilvy sat calmly.
Greg Chalmers won for the second time in Australia this year, adding to his Australian Open win with a playoff victory over Robert Allenby and Marcus Fraser.
Allenby, who hated the greens at The Lakes three weeks ago and couldn't putt the "real" greens at Royal Melbourne defended the state of his game after his opening round of the Australian PGA, as quoted in an unbylined FoxSports.com story.
If anyone knows what the final quote means, please feel free to translate.
While Allenby admitted that not winning an early match-up robbed him of some confidence, he said the end result could have been vastly different with a bit of luck.
He also admitted that the criticism of him had got under his skin.
"I guess everyone said I played poorly, but if you think about it, I played pretty good with Retief (Goosen) on the first day," he said.
"I hit a lot of great shots, but I didn't get the win.
"Everyone's making me feel like I'm playing s***."
Now where would they get that idea?! People!
Allenby said his failure to strike a blow at the Presidents Cup was not based solely on his form.
It was a team event, he said, and as such he was relying on his teammates to perform.
"Sometimes it's not you. Sometimes other people are hitting you in the shin," he said.
"I'm just sick of people saying I'm in a slump.
"Go get your own slump. This is mine."
Even better, Allenby blamed his teammates for his Presidents Cup points shutout. Mark Hayes reports:
He said Retief Goosen had missed several makeable birdie putts after "I hit it inside 10 feet a few times" in Thursday's foursomes.
He said Y.E. Yang had left him playing alone too many times in the closing nine of Friday's fourball matches.
And that Geoff Ogilvy had "hit me in the tree three times off the tee and I had to chip out three times" in Saturday's foursomes.
That's probably what prompted this Ogilvy tweet Sunday:
Thanks to Darius Oliver for arranging a whirlwind two-day tour of the Mornington Peninsula region south of Melbourne, home to some of the sweetest golf terrain imaginable along with some world class designs and the exquisite vanilla slice in the lovely resort town of Sorrento.
There really is no terrain quite like it, so picture the Hampton's melded with a seemingly endless view of linksland, ancient trees, shrub-covered hills and you have some idea what the second home area for Melbourne's elite looks like.
The standout courses are featured, with images below or on the Photos page (the course website links below have much better shots than my quick snaps captured in between shots).
This Greg Norman Bob Harrison design is held back only by a routing that finishes with a long, uphill stretch, and I'm told that this is more a product of the land planning done by another architect who divided up the plots at this 54-hole complex. Otherwise Harrison's mix of holes, green complexes and opportunities to hit some wildly fun run-up shots makes this the stand out design on the peninsula. The club has two other courses and from the glimpses I saw, they are no match for the world-class golf found on the Moonah. Norman gets the credit, but the vision behind the architecture, beautiful bunkering and overall fun is Harrison.
Stand out hole: short par-4 11th with a beautiful exposed sand area off the tee with a semi-blind second to a punchbowl green. Pictured in the slideshow below, which also shows the fantastic bunkers on this beautifully maintained example of firm, fast golf.
Standout hole: the par-3 16th, played from the forward tees. A stunning Redan-like downhill three also features a "Doak" tee 235 yards away, which negates the fun of playing the run-up approach shot. (pictured in gallery)
This is the real heartbreaker of the region. The scale and beauty of the property is ideal for golf--think Royal Dornoch meets a heathland course). Unfortunately, the club has sold key plots of land to raise money, causing changes to the 9th hole and now the beautiful first. This should be a course on the top of all Peninsula lists but because of its lack of distance in the modern era and the recent changes to the property lines, will likely lose relevance with many. But even with the changes, Portsea still features plenty of super holes and should be celebrated for its smaller, more intimate scale as compared to the courses at The National. It's a must play and the kind of place you'd like to play everyday thanks to the variety, terrain and beauty.
Standout hole: short par-4 13th set atop a knob with a wide area to play to but trouble on all sides, with an exposed green making second shots tricky.
Technicaly closer to the sandbelt courses than the peninsula, this 36-hole facility features the longer South and more intimate North, which plays over ideal territory and featured what you'd expect to find in a region influenced by MacKenzie: interesting greens rewarding well thought out angles of attack and cleverness around the greens. It wasn't always that way, as Peter Thomson's work has been modified by Mike Clayton to better reflect the sandbelt values. A few more trees could be removed and the rough (so gladly seen after years of drought) trimmed, but all in all this is an ideal members course in that it will test an elite player while proving playable for the average member.
Standout holes: the par-3 second and par-3 14th are both stunning to look at and fun to hit shots too, while the par-4 18th makes for a solid finish.
Bernie McGuire gets confirmation from Mission Hills' Ken Chu that the two-man World Cup will go to 72-holes of stroke play and world ranking points starting in 2013.
"The World Cup will change format, and it will begin enjoying world rankings points, and it will still be held biennially and at around this time of year," he told Reuters.
"But with golf to be in the 2016 Olympics the equation in golf changes, and these changes to the World Cup will be having the Olympics in mind."
Chu, along with his younger brother Tenniel, Mission Hills vice chairman, held meetings earlier this week at Haikou with the Federation of Golf Tours heads, including PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and his European Tour counterpart, George O'Grady.
Chu indicated the Federation would release a joint statement shortly confirming the changes.
Ah no need now!
The NY Times's Ken Belson talks to merchandising and packaging experts who say Tiger's a good buy right now. Naturally, I just enjoy reading quotes about a product that doubles as a person.
“He was brought down, but he’s rebuilding again and rebuilding a different way,” said Ira Mayer, the publisher of the Licensing Letter, a newsletter than tracks merchandising deals. “At this point, he’s the underdog, and that’s a strategy, too. Bill Clinton survived worse, and Tiger is not a head of state.”
This year, Woods has won $660,000 on the PGA Tour, a far cry from the $10.5 million he earned in 2009.
But whatever his troubles, he remains the highest-paid athlete in the world. Last year, he earned more than $62 million from prize money and endorsements, 51 percent less than in 2008, according to the annual study by Sports Illustrated. In the wake of his personal and professional difficulties, Nike, EA Sports and other sponsors did not walk away.
Rolex partnered with Woods until 2002, when he switched to another watchmaker, Tag Heuer. When that deal ended this summer, Rolex re-signed him. Rolex was motivated to work with Woods not just because it competes with Tag Heuer, but also because he remains a popular figure overseas, particularly with wealthy consumers, branding executives said.
“Internationally, he’s been forgiven more quickly,” said Bob Dorfman, who writes the Sports Marketers’ Scouting Report. “It’s a good time to buy Tiger in that sense.”
The story goes on to quote Tiger talking about the Fuse product and how he had scientists independently verify the validity of the product claims. Let's just hope he doesn't get accused of cheating with another power drink like he did during the Gatorade days.
An AP report quotes organizers of the South African Open saying John Daly did not "snub" their event, believed to be his final appearance anywhere for a while after intentionally dumping balls in the lake at The Lakes.
Promoter Mbali Ngqula dismissed reports that Daly had refused to play the European Tour event after his fiery exit from the recent Australian Open, where he hit a string of shots into a lake and then quit saying he had run out of balls. Ngqula said on Thursday "it is wrong to suggest that John snubbed our invitation, he did no such thing." Ngqula said Daly was "very willing" to play the South African Open but had been unable to make it in time.
I rarely disagree with my colleague Jaime Diaz, but in the case of his Golf World column on what Royal Melbourne proved about Woods game, I don't agree.
The Royal Melbourne Composite course may have been a beast, but it played to Woods' strength. For all the hosannas raised to the Alister Mackenzie masterpiece, at less than 7,000 yards, to hold up, it had to be tricked up. Only carefully crafted and supremely struck iron shots were well received by the rock-hard and crazy-fast greens, and Woods can still hit more of those than anyone. What the layout didn't require was the driver, and that's the club that will tell where Woods really is with his swing. Finally, Woods got a relatively easy singles draw against Aaron Baddeley, who was shaky after his Calcavecchian miss off the 18th tee on the opening day set a negative tone for his team.
In short, we still don't know if Tiger will really be back. But Australia gave us some strong evidence that he is finally feeling accepted.
Other than some silly rough, I don't think Royal Melbourne was tricked up. As I noted in my story for the same issue of Golf World (not posted), the PGA Tour staff did a super job backing off the pedal to ensure that the course was not tricked up during Friday's potentially Shinnecockian day.
Furthermore, the conditions were major-championship-like in terms of crowd presence and speed of the golf course, making the kind of golf Woods and several others displayed pretty telling about the level of one's game.
Now, as for the driver issue, it is true that Woods didn't have to hit a lot of drivers. But a quick look at the 2012 major schedule will show that the driver will not be an important club at two and perhaps three of the venues. Stingers will be a golfer's friend in 2012, which bodes well for Tiger.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
