Golf's Heismen: Hossler, Law Take Top College Honors

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I'm a little late on this but nice to see the recognition for Haskins winner Beau Hossler and Annika winner Bronte Law.

Hossler seems to be handling his shoulder injury well given that he is now delaying his pro debut. Ryan Lavner with the report on NCAA golf's two best players for 2015-16 and Hossler's health update shared with Steve Burkowski.

Ok So Not All U.S. Open Sectional Stories End Happily

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Garry Smits with the bizarro tale of 17-year-old Won Jun Lee getting docked two strokes for fixing a ball mark off the green.

The story gets more awkward given that the playing partner who called the violation on Lee ended up tied with him for second, only to lose out on a berth because of the penalty.

Lee denied guilt but also repeatedly apologized, and as Smits notes, there was a witness to what was apparently a violation more than once.

Tommy Dudley, a Timuquana member and one of the on-site USGA rules officials, said it wouldn’t have mattered.

“There was enough outside evidence to support [Wilkinson’s] contention,” Dudley said.
Dudley said the “outside evidence” was Wilkinson’s wife, Mandy, who confirmed Lee’s actions. Wilkinson said he asked his wife to watch Lee on Tuesday after he said he said Lee flirted with the rule several times on Monday before a rain delay.

Wilkinson said he approached Lee during the delay to tell him that he was close to breaking the rules.

Fun times in Florida!

Video: Oakmont's 11th & 12th

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A case could be made that the 11th is the least interesting hole at Oakmont, playing uphill to a landing area the golfer can't see and forcing a lay-up for most of today's players who have not managed to boost driving distance averages since 2003.

The green slopes from back left to front right but should give up plenty of birdies. A nice thing since there aren't many left after this.

The flyover:

The par-5 12th featured fairway contour issues last time around that let to the field's GIR finishing at only 44% according to the USGA. Those issues have hopefully been fixed. Tees will be moved around here to offer the look of a reachable five a legit three-shotter. The ingredients here are all pretty spectacular and hopefully the setup is better this time around.

Stunned, Thrilled & Resigned: Tiger Doing '97 Masters Book

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Stunned because the timing for a book is a bit surprising.

Thrilled because some of the topics mentioned in the release sound as if he'll expand on some of the more interesting thoughts shared with co-author Lorne Rubenstein for a Time interview earlier this year. And Tiger has a lot of fascinating takes on the game he's held back.

Resigned to the idea he's not feeling the itch when someone who doesn't like to look back is agreeing to doing a book reminiscing.

The release posted at TigerWoods.com:

Grand Central Publishing (GCP), a division of Hachette Book Group, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of UNTITLED TIGER WOODS 1997 MASTERS BOOK by sports icon Tiger Woods, co-written with Lorne Rubenstein. Jamie Raab, president and publisher at GCP, negotiated world rights to the book with Mark Steinberg of Excel Sports Management, with Gretchen Young, VP, Executive Editor at GCP editing. The book will be published in hardcover, e-book and audio editions in March 2017 in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of Tiger's win at the 1997 Masters.  

Tiger, then only 21, won the 1997 Masters by a historic 12 shots, which remains the widest margin of victory in the tournament's history, making it arguably among the most seminal events in golf. In UNTITLED TIGER WOODS 1997 MASTERS BOOK, Woods will recount, in his own words, his experience of winning his first major, becoming the youngest Masters champion ever. The 1997 Masters was Tiger's first appearance in the tournament as a professional; he had turned pro only the previous August. Tiger was already among the most-watched and closely examined athletes in history. He was the first African-American/Asian player to win the Masters, and this at the Augusta National Golf Club, perhaps the most exclusive club in the world, and one that had in 1990 admitted its first black member. His utter domination of the field after shooting a 4-over-par 40 on the front nine of the first round, and then recovering with a 6-under-par 30 on the back nine, captivated and astonished the golf world and beyond. Tiger has called it the defining tournament of his career, having won 13 more major championships since.  

The book, Woods' first since his 2001 book, "How I Play Golf," will explore Woods' history with the game, the tournament itself, how golf has changed over the last 20 years and what it was like winning.

Hopefully Tiger reads up on the USGA/R&A report saying distances haven't spiked much the last 13 years! We wouldn't want to get our facts wrong!

Woods will open up about his relationship with father Earl Woods, dispel previous misconceptions and will candidly reveal many more stories that have never been told before.

"The 1997 Masters was one of the most important tournaments in my life for many reasons," Tiger said. "I think about the hug with my dad and all the events that went on that week. A lot of people know generally about that tournament, but this gives me a chance to tell in detail what happened on and off the course."

"It is a great privilege to help bring to light this vivid account by the legendary Tiger Woods of his barrier-breaking win at the 1997 Masters Tournament," Young said of the acquisition. "For the first time he shares with readers the personal, professional and societal challenges he experienced in reaching and winning the tournament, providing keen insight from one of the game's all-time greats on the Masters then and now, as well as on the sport itself."

Maybe a chapter on the changes to Augusta National that resulted from the performance? We can only dream!