On Friday the PGA Tour announced that Thorbjørn Olesen of Denmark and Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño of Spain have accepted Special Temporary Membership for the remainder of the 2013 season, making them
eligible for unlimited sponsor’s exemptions.

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The Course Whisperer

Early in the final round of the Tampa Bay Championship, there was at one point a six-way tie at the top. Best guess was one of those guys would emerge with the trophy. And that’s not counting defending champion and the highest ranked player in the field, world no. 3, Luke Donald, who was lurking just behind the pack, which included Boo Weekley, Justin Leonard, Greg Chalmers, George Coetzee and Kevin Streelman.

As it happened, Streelman — whose previous most notable title heading into the week was something called the Kodak Challenge — emerged from the bunch and separated himself when he hit “probably the best shot of my life in that situation,” knocking a five-iron to six feet on No. 13. He rolled in the putt for birdie and never looked back and clinched it on the penultimate hole.

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Eyeing a win after finishing runner-up to Tiger and Phil the last two weeks

There’s a name that’s been gracing the first page of the leaderboard who is tied for the 54-hole lead: Brandt Snedeker, who finished runner-up the last two weeks to Tiger Woods (Farmers Insurance Open) and Phil Mickelson (Waste Management Phoenix Open), respectively. PGA Tour rookie James Hahn birdied his last three holes at Spyglass (the hardest of the three venues) to fire a six-under 66 and tie Snedeker for the lead at 12-under through 54 holes.

Good news for Snedeker – Mickelson, who triple-bogeyed the 18th at Pebble Beach today after knocking two in the water (if you haven’t seen the GIF of his slip, then here’s a link), made the cut on the number (one-under), so he’s not a threat. And Tiger isn’t in the field. (continue reading…)

Mmm... so inviting.

The battle for the third most coveted trophy in world golf (sorry, couldn’t resist) is underway in distant San Francisco, and while the leaderboard has yet to take any meaningful shape, some of the day’s talking points are already in place: (continue reading…)

The victorious Great Britain & Ireland team capture the Cup

With the US Open tennis and NFL’s opening weekend, I’m not sure how many of you kept up with the Walker Cup, contested at Royal Aberdeen in Scotland. From what I saw in the highlights on Golf Central, I wish I’d caught more of the coverage, or heck, been at the matches. (continue reading…)