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
Brentley Romine reports that the PGA of America apparently places more weight on the Madeira Islands Open and European Challenge Tour than we previously thought, adding Brooks Koepka and Peter Uihlein to their PGA Championship field.
The Big Lead says this baseball-bat hole-in-one is probably a fake. All I know is Sanctuary Lakes, where this was shot, looks like a neat course. It's listed as a Greg Norman, which means if it's in Australia it's mostly a Bob Harrison design.
Installed as a 5-1 favorite from our good friends at Ladbrokes according to Randall Mell, Inbee Park has karma on her side based on her distant namesake relatives, the Parks of Musselburgh!
Mell writes:
Yes, she’s South Korean, but the name Park is revered in Scottish golf. Willie Park Sr. won the very first British Open ever played back at Prestwick Golf Club in 1860, beating the favored Old Tom Morris by two shots. Park won four British Opens overall. His brother, Mungo, won the Open in 1874. Willie’s son, Willie Park Jr., won two Open titles.
As for the whole Grand Slam debate, David Fay ended the debate on Morning Drive today, reminding us during his hit in between a visit from the latest Big Break winner that Grand Slam was taken from baseball's four-bag home run. Four.
And in our poll here, it's clear you all (69%) agree that she's going for a Grand Slam this week.
As for her game, Ron Sirak says the beauty of her performance to date has been in her "lack of distinctive quality."
Here is how Inbee gets it done: She keeps her ball out of trouble; she never loses her composure, at least not outwardly; and she can putt. All of those are skills that anyone can master with discipline and focus.
In the 216 holes Park as played in winning three consecutive majors she has only had one hole higher than bogey, a double on No. 18 in the first round of the LPGA Championship.
She has done that in large part because she hit 126 of 168 fairways -- 75 percent -- including a remarkable 51 of 56 in the U.S. Women's Open at Sebonack on Long Island.
Inbee has also averaged 28.08 putts for the 12 rounds of her triple.
**Park draws a 7:03 am tee time Thursday alongside Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Beatriz Recari. That's 2:03 ET.
Really, I know you don't care because we know the PGA Championship doesn't exclude anyone good, but I'll just do pretty much anything to not have to pay attention to the worst PGA Tour tournament of the year, the no-cut, money grab at dreary Firestone.
So here's the 2013 PGA Championship field.
The preview clip--with an unfortunate ad fronting the ad--for the latest episode of In Play With Jimmy Roberts focuses on pro golfers going to Israel and another talking about their "signature" wines, but the segment of real interest appears to be on water usage. Stone Phillips gets the call to handle one of the most pressing issues in the game.
In Play airs Tuesday, July 30 at 10:30 ET, 7:30 PT. The preview:
• Golf Course Water Usage and Conservation Concerns – One of the bigger concerns in the golf course industry today is water usage. Whether driven by higher costs, the lower availability of municipal water, or environmental conservation, golf course superintendents and architects around the country are stepping up their efforts to manage water. Former NBC journalist Stone Phillips examines the ways golf course architects are building courses with water usage and conservation heading into the future.
Interesting that the men get the private club treatment while the women go to resorts, but otherwise an impressive start to the new four-ball championships that replace the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships in 2015.
USGA ANNOUNCES HOST SITES FOR INAUGURAL
U.S. AMATEUR FOUR-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Olympic Club and Bandon Dunes Golf Resort to Host in 2015; Winged Foot Golf Club and Streamsong Resort Selected as 2016 Venues
San Francisco, Calif. (July 29, 2013) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship sites for the 2015 and 2016 competitive calendars. In 2015, The Olympic Club, in San Francisco, and Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, in Bandon, Ore., will host the men’s and women’s competitions, respectively. Winged Foot Golf Club, in Mamaroneck, N.Y., will serve as the 2016 host site for the men, while Streamsong Resort, southeast of Tampa, Fla., will host the women in 2016.
The introduction of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championships to the USGA’s competition roster was announced earlier this year. The new championships, which will be held annually between mid-March and late May, are the first to be added to the USGA championship schedule since 1995, when the USGA Men’s and Women’s State Team Championships were created to mark the Association’s centennial.
The announcement of the first two host sites for each championship was made during an event at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.
“We’re thrilled to bring the first two years of Amateur Four-Ball Championships to historic clubs that have hosted a number of USGA championships, as well as to celebrated newer venues,” said Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., USGA vice president and chairman of Championship Committee. “As part of our ongoing commitment to support and advance amateur competition, the four-ball format, which is widely popular at the state and regional levels and at golf clubs around the U.S., is sure to produce a spirited team dynamic and provide enjoyment for both the players and spectators at some of the finest courses in the game.”
When the LPGA designated the Evian Masters (now The Evian Championship) their fifth major starting in 2013, little could the tour have known that a player would go and win the first three majors of 2013, setting up a debate about what a Grand Slam actually constitutes.
LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan, who is to blame for this first world semantic mess, made his view clear last week on Morning Drive.
"I'll call her a 'Grand Slam' winner if she wins four," Whan explained during an interview on "Morning Drive" Thursday. "I think we've created the 'Super Slam' for five."
Oy. We, being the marketing team I'm guessing?
My vote: this is a Grand Slam. It's four majors in a row.
But let's get the silliness out of the way to focus on a historic week of golf at the Old Course: will Inbee Park be winning a "Grand Slam" this week if she is victorious at St. Andrews in the Ricoh Women's British Open?
If you had any question that golf thrives in different ways, just check out Bill Fields' gallery of sand greens golf from his recent trip to Nebraska.
Granted, there was a three-hour delay but still, it's amazing they couldn't finish a golf tournament in England in July. Wait, I'm not bashing Southport. Really!
From Alasdair Reid's story (accompanied by arguably the least flattering photo of all time) on the Mark Wiebe-Bernhard Langer playoff that will continue live on ESPN2 at 3 am ET:
Wiebe shot a 4-under 66 to match Langer at 9-under 271. Langer had a 70. They each parred the par-4 18th twice in the playoff.
"Playing in the dark was a new one for me," Wiebe said. "Hopefully we'll figure it out tomorrow."
Langer, the 2010 winner at Carnoustie, blew a two-stroke lead with a double bogey on the final hole of regulation after hitting into a greenside bunker. Minutes earlier, Wiebe's birdie putt at No. 18 came up short.
"I gave it away," Langer said. "I could bogey the last hole and win. I thought I hit a decent shot in the bunker but it came out too low.
Aladair Reid says Karrie Webb was "far clearer than any of the mealy-mouthed utterances the male players produced at Muirfield last week" when talking about the male-only membership issue:
“If you are going to hold a public event, take money from the public and from public companies, it is pretty hard to say that only a certain kind of person is allowed to be a member here. I would have no problem with Muirfield saying: ‘We are a great links course and a private men’s club’, and just never holding the Open Championship there.”
It was only a matter of time, but at least Gary Player didn't invoke a Yoko reference in suggesting that young Caroline Wozniacki isn't helping Rory McIlroy's golf game.
Speaking to My Sporting Life (you can listen to a 1:30 excerpt too):
“When you’re in love as a young man naturally golf seems to take second place for a while. It’s natural. Love is still the greatest thing that ever happens in our lives.
“But the thing is for a man like Rory with talent galore he’s got to make sure he has a woman like I’ve got, who has been married [to me] for 56 years, that has only encouraged me to do well and made sacrifices.
“He’s got to be intelligent and find the right wife. If he finds the right wife, if he practices and if he’s dedicated, he could be the man.”
Adam Schupak 
with the amazing WD by Canadian Open 36-hole leader Hunter Mahan.
Alistair Reid's first report on Steve Elkington's Twitter rant about Southport, host city of this week's Senior Open Championship, and this follow-up on the police escort he received Saturday at Royal Birkdale.
The European Senior Tour is investigating and Reid speculates that legal action could be taken. By who and on what grounds, is not explained.
The offending Tweets and resulting dialogue with followers have been removed.
Elkington has apologized for the Tweets.
**Alistair Reid tried to ask Elkington about his week following a final round 69.
Steve Elkington, who had caused a storm of the metaphorical sort with a Twitter tirade against the town of Southport and some dubious and potentially racist comments, was rather less effusive as he took his leave of the place. Asked for a comment after his round of 69, Elkington offered a terse "you kidding me?" before heading for the car park.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
