TERRE HAUTE —
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football. But if it does, I know what shot I would pick to be the best shot of the year. Not only was it a great shot from an unusual lie, it ended up being the $10 million shot of the year too!
In the second playoff hole of the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola last Sunday at East Lake Golf Club near Atlanta, Bill Haas played too aggressively in his approach out of a sand bunker, going for the pin, and his ball hit the green but rolled down the steep bank and settled in shallow water at the edge of the water hazard. The water was low in the hazard, so there was about two feet of a mud embankment that ordinarily wouldn’t have been there, and although his ball was in the water, it was mostly out of the water, so he could get a club on it. Instead of having to take a penalty shot from the hazard, his ball was playable — at least if you’re a touring professional! Not the kind of shot I’d want to try. However, for Bill Haas, and apparently Johnny Miller, who was one of the announcers, it was a piece of cake.
Johnny kept saying that if he played it like a sand shot, the ball would fly up high and land on the green. And that’s just what Bill Haas did; only the ball got some spin and actually bit, and stayed within three feet of the pin. So now, Hunter Mahan, who was the other contender in the playoff, had pressure to make his 20-foot putt to win the playoff, instead of a lackadaisical two-putt that moments earlier he thought he’d have to make. Instead of making it, he two-putted, then Haas holed his putt. The playoff moved on to the 18th hole, where Haas made par and Mahan bogeyed, thereby making Haas the winner of the Tour Championship, which was worth $1.4 million, plus $10 million for the FedEx Cup bonus. Not only that, but his showing caused Fred Couples to pick Haas for this year’s President’s Cup team. Not a bad day for a touring pro who hadn’t had a win all year.
So after Fred Couples picked Bill Haas, and the International team captain Greg Norman chose Australians Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddely, the teams are set for the President’s Cup, which will be played in Australia at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Nov. 17-20 this year.
Couples’ other captain’s pick was made back in August, when Couples announced publicly that Tiger Woods would be one of his picks. At the time the team standings closed, Woods was 29th on the list. Tiger’s last PGA Tour victory was in September 2009 at the BMW Championship. Woods does have a great record in the President’s Cup, going 5-0-0 in 2009, and overall holds the record for the most matches won at 18. However, his showings in some of the Ryder Cups have been less than stellar. Since Fred picked Tiger so early, perhaps he gave Tiger enough time to work on his game to be prepared for the matches, at least I hope so!
For the International team, there will be five Australians on the team, giving the home team a resounding advantage in the crowd-noise category. Those players are Jason Day, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley. The rest of the players are K.J. Choi, Kyung-tae Kim, and Y.E. Yang from Korea, Charl Schwartzel and Ernie Els from South Africa, and Ryo Ishikawa of Japan. That looks like a very formidable lineup, especially when you add in the home-field advantage.
For the United States, the players that made the team on points are Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, David Toms, Hunter Mahan and Jim Furyk. The captain’s assistants are Jay Haas and Michael Jordan. With Jay Haas already being with the team, it just makes Bill Haas’ shot in the Tour Championship all the more special.
2011 will be the ninth time The Presidents Cup has been played. The United States has had six wins, the International team one win, and there was one tie. The tie occurred in 2003, when the competition was in South Africa, and Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus were captains. After regulation play, the teams were tied at 17 points apiece, and two players were chosen to represent their teams in a sudden-death playoff. After three playoff holes, with darkness descending, the two captains decided the teams would share the cup.
The only time the International team has won was in 1998, when the matches were played at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, the same location as this year’s event.
Quote of the Day — “Did I win the FedEx Cup?” - Bill Haas to his wife, who didn’t know he had also won the FedEx Cup until the awards presentation after he won the Tour Championship.
On & Off the Course
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
- On & Off the Course
-
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Golf is not a casual sport, even though it has a term called “casual water.”
-
On and off the course: Sycamores seeded sixth heading into MVC golf tourney
It wasn’t too long ago that Indiana State University didn’t even have a women’s golf team.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: A hard ticket to come by
This is the weekend of the Masters Tournament, the first of the four major tournaments.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Some things on golf course are worse than steep putts
It’s not often that anything gets more scary on a golf course than a steep downhill putt, but on some courses around the world, things a little more on the supernatural side might give you a bigger fright!
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Red, White and Blue visits the Isle of Green
In 2006, the Ryder Cup was held in Ireland at The K Club in County Kildare.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fall may be coming but golf season is far from over
Once the major tournaments are over with, what’s there to look forward to in the world of golf?
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf… simplified!
Golf is not a simple game. A golf course is made up of 18 holes, all different. There are par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; they all vary in length and elevation, and each has its own challenges. There can be water hazards, trees, sand bunkers, tall grass, hills, valleys — and then, if that’s not enough, there’s probably wind too.
-
On and Off the Course: Northern Ireland builds on golf history
Northern Ireland is only about 5,452 square miles in area and has a population about the same as West Virginia, which is about 1,880,344.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s Open at the Broadmoor
This is the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open, and this year it’s being played at The Broadmoor, East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Fort Golf Course: A Walk in the Park…
Indiana has some pretty spectacular state parks, but one of them gives you the ability to “spoil a good walk” by chasing a little white ball.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Father’s Day is a good day for golfers
Most people consider the time around Christmas to be the gift-buying season.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Playing with lead a difficult task
As exciting as last week’s Masters was, with six players being tied for the lead at one point on Sunday, it was very difficult watching Rory McIlroy fall apart to shoot an 80.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Masters a rite of spring
This is Masters weekend, the grand kickoff to the golf season for a lot of golfers. Sure, there have been tournaments on TV, because the professionals have been playing in Hawaii, California, Texas, Dubai, and other areas not so affected by winter as we are here in the Midwest, but to me, watching The Masters is a rite of spring.
-
ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
-
On and Off the Course: Purdue's Kampen Course a gem in Indiana's rough
About a month ago, Indiana was still heavily mired in heat and humidity, making outdoor activities such as golf less appealing than usual. At that time it felt like the repressive heat would never go away, it would never rain again, and all of the grass was just going to continue to wither and die. And the month prior to that we kept getting rained out of golf events!
-
On and Off the Course: Successful golfers know ... focus is the key
I have a good friend who coached his daughter’s basketball team for a number of years, and told me that his theme with the girls was always “focus”, until it was ingrained in their brains. Now when they play high school ball, if they hear “focus” yelled from the stands, they know the source.
-
On and Off the Course: Technology adds even more fun to the course
You’ve hit a drive into some brush in an area marked as a hazard, but you can’t find the ball to prove it is there. And no one actually witnessed it go in the hazard. You just think that’s where it probably is. What is the rule for this situation?
-
On and Off the Course: Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic a worthwhile charity event
On Monday, I worked as a volunteer for the Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic, Golf Tournament and Auction at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with clear blue skies, just a few wispy clouds here and there and a high temperature of about 76 degrees.
-
On and Off the Course: Trends show golf in decline
You don’t have to watch the news or read the paper to understand that America is struggling on the economic front. The evidence can be witnessed at the local golf course.
-
On and Off the Course: Remembering former South golfer Ian White
It’s usually a bit of a struggle for me to figure out what my topic will be for this column. This week I could have written about Tiger’s withdrawal from the Players’ Championship due to a bulging disc in his neck, or by association, the health hazards a violent golf swing can have on the human body, or any number of other golf-related topics.
-
On and Off the Course: Ochoa’s departure to impact LPGA
LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan already had a tough job, trying to promote the LPGA tour and keep the 25 events that they have on the schedule, but that job was made tougher last week when the tour’s No. 1 player announced her retirement from the game at the ripe old age of 28.
-
On and Off the Course: Examining the square groove rule change
Even though the Masters is going to have its own little drama going on with the return of Tiger Woods, an interesting thing to note will be how well the players are able to hold the hard fast greens at Augusta. An underlying part of the bigger picture that everyone might not realize is a rule change that could dramatically affect most, if not all, of the players. That rule change took effect on Jan. 1.
- On and Off the Course: President's Cup should be entertaining Just when we thought golf season was over, and it was time to concentrate on football, we must awaken from our naps, because there’s going to be some exciting golf for us to watch next weekend. The President’s Cup will run from Oct. 6-11 at Harding Park in San Francisco.
- On and Off the Course: The obscure of golf's rulebook Golfers know that the rules that govern the game are abundant. The game originated in the 15th century on the links of Scotland, and somehow as time went on and people became more civilized, rules were adopted.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s City Match Play had tough competition I played in the Terre Haute Golf Association Women’s City Match Play Tournament a couple of weeks ago.
- On and Off the Course: One for the ages … well, almost! I wonder how long people will be referring to last week’s British Open, as “one for the ages.” They could also refer to it as “one for the aged!” Tom Watson’s near miss of a 9th Open Championship (as the Brits prefer to call it, and as it rightly should be by virtue of its longevity) was a rallying cry to all those golfers who have toiled for so many years at their game, but had given up hope as for ever getting it back to where they had it twenty years ago.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: In a bad economy, should LPGA raise its fees? For 31 years The LPGA’s Corning Classic was held at Corning Country Club in Corning, N.Y., with Corning Glassware as its title sponsor. This year, however, was the end of an era as LPGA players played their final rounds in its’ longest-running event. Due to many factors Corning chose to not renew their contract for 2010.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: ‘Average golfer’ ready to face challenges of Bethpage Black Golf Digest, in association with the USGA and NBC Sports, has asked the question, “Can the ‘average golfer’ break 100 at Bethpage Black under U.S. Open conditions?”
- On and Off the Course: Golf is for Mother’s, too I’d like to wish all of my readers who are mothers, whether they play golf or not, a Happy Mother’s Day — and if you do play golf — I hope you have a fine day today and that you find the time to get out on the course.
- More On & Off the Course Headlines
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Raw Video: Toddler Trapped in Washing Machine
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
Hurricane Forecast: 15 Named Storms Expected
Man Tells Police He Killed Missing Boy in 1979
NJ Official: NYPD Muslim Surveillance Legal
Search Intensifies for Missing Louisiana Woman
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Vegas Grocer Deported to Face War Crimes Charges
Obama Highlights Economic Recovery Plan in Iowa
14-year-old Texan Wins National Geographic Bee
Bloomberg: Man Implicates Self in Etan Patz Case
FAMU Bandmates: Victim Volunteered to Be Hazed
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Astrologers Predict Outcome of Presidential Race
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Sudden Storm Topples Wisconsin Trees
Illegal Burn Suspected in Nevada Fire
Kayaker Survives Trip Over Washington Waterfall
Alison Brie Likes To Jog Naked
Maddie the Balancing Dog On Cross-Country Trip
Crawford's Sexy Leather Look
Boys eyes 'removed with spoon'
Alton's Best Burger Ever
Ellie Kemper's Stripper Surprise on 'Ellen'
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
"Twilight" Stars Caught Kissing
Etan Patz Case: Suspect Arrested
Britney's Hot Pink Mini-Dress
Wrongfully accused rapist exonerated after 5 years in jail
Actress to Play Casey Anthony
Prince William on The Queen: 'Woman in Man's World'
Fight erupts in Ukrainian parliament over language bill.
New Video of The Dark Knight Rises Released by Warner Brothers
Racy ad encourages safe sex for senior citizens
Coach dismissed after going to prom with student
Jennifer Lopez's Rock Hard Abs
