Wheeeeeeee!

20-year-old South Korean Meen Whee Kim rolled in a tricky 15-footer to save par after he pushed his 7-iron into the greenside bunker on the 9th at the Stadium Course (he started on no. 10) to cap off a bogey free nine-under 63 in the second round of PGA Tour Q-School.

Kim tied the course record and set a personal best, his lowest score in competition. Which he admitted crossed his mind as he stood over his putt for par. He said he knew what it meant, and as expected, he felt some nerves, but made the putt which wasn’t exactly the easiest in the world because of the pin placement and green contour. (continue reading…)

In the wake of the USGA and R&A announcement on Wednesday, I surveyed a bunch of players at Q-school for SI/Golf.com and asked them if they were for or against the anchoring ban. Golf.com’s Mike Walker made the pretty graphic above. (continue reading…)

Bradley, the first player to win a major with a belly putter, eyes the imminent anchoring ban...with respectful distaste

The anchoring ban controversy elicits strong reactions. It pits a group of people who favor one school of thought against another faction who are set in their view on the issue. (Of course there are some who are indifferent because they say it doesn’t effect them one way or the other but that’s kind of missing the point.)

Now I’m sure you haven’t heard or watched or talked about this imminent new rule that will prohibit the anchoring of a club to the body. Trust me, I am dreading 3-4 more years of this, and more importantly, it’s taken away attention away from the multitude of interesting storylines at Q-school (that I have saved yet not enough hours in the day to write and post). That said, after this, I’m putting a hold on all things anchoring — with exceptions, like if it involves opinions of players at Q-school or if Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley picket outside Sherwood Country Club. (continue reading…)

I took videos of two players hitting balls on the range at PGA Tour Q-School (the last one ever!). Turns out they’re both young international rising stars that you should keep your eye on. 20-year-old South Korean Meen Whee Kim (who prefers to be called “Whee”) and 21-year-old Frenchman Romain Wattel are making their first start at Q-school finals.

In the spirit of the gossip magazine meme: Who Wore It Best? (Guys, despite your attempt to feign ignorance, I know a lot of you are familiar with it.) So, I ask, who swings it best? Or better? THIS IS LIKE GOLF PORN.

(continue reading…)

As expected, the USGA and the R&A proposed a new rule that would ban anchoring of the club, most applicably the putter, to the body when making a stroke on Wednesday morning in a joint teleconference (see below for video aired on Golf Channel).

While golf’s governing bodies call it a “proposal,” it’s pretty much been decided that the rule will be implemented — but of course, to cover their bases, there will be a 90-day thorough review, so the members of the USGA and R&A rules committees can hear every side to every argument possible (as if this hasn’t been discussed enough) before the next approval in Spring of 2013. (continue reading…)

Charlie Beljan's Cinderella story started when he earned his card at Q-school finals in 2011

As longtime WUP readers know, Q-school is my favorite tournament to cover all season. (Heck, I even went to second stage this year!–talk about the nerve-wracking atmosphere I’ve ever experienced.) Rather than going to Tiger Woods’ member-guest 22-man invite-only World Challenge in the L.A. area, I drove about three hours east to the desert, more specifically PGA West in La Quinta, for what I consider the most intriguing event of the year. Especially since 2012 is the LAST Q-SCHOOL EVER (as we know it — there will no longer be a direct pathway to the PGA Tour).

Let’s take a moment of silence to celebrate and remember 45 years of the only professional sporting event where you can start at Q-school pre-qualifying with no status and then play up to four different stages (full tournaments with strong fields) in the grueling process, which ends with the six-round finals, to earn full status on the PGA Tour for the following season. Ain’t that great?

Everybody loves a “Rudy” and Cinderella story. (continue reading…)

Keegan to USGA: Fine, I'll deal with it.

On the eve of the joint teleconference by the USGA and R&A on Wednesday morning from 8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. (EST), it’s widely purported that golf’s governing bodies will announce that the decision has been made to ban “anchoring,” aka the putting method used with belly and broomstick putters. Which allegedly will not go into effect until 2016 (because the USGA reviews the Rules of Golf every four years, don’t ask me why).

The short of it via industry chatter and insiders: Anchoring against the fulcrum (body) will be illegal, but golfers will still be allowed to anchor the putter against the arm — a la Matt Kuchar. You can use a long putter as long as it isn’t propped or wedged against a part of the body. The actual wording of the rule will be interesting because of the gray area that comes up in this game and the potential lawsuits. (continue reading…)

Take that, guys!

For those who still had lingering questions–particularly during his “mini-slump” in May/June–whether or not Rory McIlroy was the real deal, his performance in the second-half of 2012 has surely quieted any skeptics. The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland finished the year in style, closing with five straight birdies to win the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Championship.

(Oh, by the way, sorry this post is a few days late–I’ve been battling migraines (the worst!), so unfortunately I missed the coverage of Rory’s epic performance in Dubai.) (continue reading…)

Wozzilroy in full force: Caroline commandeers the mic

Leave it to Wozzilroy to spice up the news (a massive thank you, by the way!) during golf’s version of the “off-season.”

After Rory McIlroy opened with a 66 at the DP World Tour Championship — which he followed on Friday with a 67 to share the 36-hole lead with Luke Donald — he took the podium for what he thought would be the usual post-round press conference with the usual mundane questions.

Well, if you’ve ever thought some of our inquiries were awkward or annoying, then clearly you’ve never witnessed a significant other commandeering the microphone to interrogate a player about your Christmas present in front of the world media, no less. (continue reading…)

That's what tourney directors looked like when they got the news

Tournament directors rejoiced when they received the merry news that after a year respite, Tiger Woods plans to enter the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. According to San Diego’s 10News, Woods is expected to play in his regular PGA Tour season-opener in January: (continue reading…)