Tough times for the Big Easy
The last two years on the golf course haven’t been a walk in the park for Ernie Els, a three-time major champion. For a few hours on Sunday afternoon at Innisbrook’s Copperhead course, Els had a chance to break his two-year win-less streak on the PGA Tour, but he stumbled coming down the stretch, missing short putts and bogeying two of the last three holes at the Transitions Championship. (continue reading…)
Japan's super star plans to spend more time in the U.S. next year
If all goes as planned, Ryo Ishikawa will take up full membership on the PGA Tour in 2013, which he called “one of the goals for the year” on Tuesday at this week’s Transitions Championship. (continue reading…)
Westy insists he's not playing for second
Never count out Lee Westwood at a major championship — even after he posts a dreadful first-round four-over 75. He suddenly appeared on the leaderboard late Saturday afternoon. He seemed to be hitting it well when I saw him on several holes on the front nine, but the flatstick was failing him. But he got hot after rolling in a birdie on No. 13. And then two more on Nos. 14 and 15. Following three consecutive birdies, he put an exclamation mark on his run with an eagle at the 16th. (continue reading…)
Jason and Ellie Day's Christmas card this year...maybe?
You’ve seen Jason Day and his wife Ellie talk about living in an RV while they’re on the road. And you’ve seen Jason and Ellie give a tour of the inside of their bus. Now, Jason, who finished tied for second in his first appearance at Augusta, looks back at the Masters. (continue reading…)
Day: Clutch at Augusta!
Less than a year ago, Jason Day backed into his first PGA Tour victory, chunking a shot into the water on the 72nd hole, at the Byron Nelson Championship. (Luckily, moments later, Blake Adams followed him in the drink.) And in February, Day was so unhappy that he felt like he “was going to quit.” Two months later, playing in his first Masters, the 23-year-old Australian threatened the course record at Augusta with a 64 in the third round and then staged a back nine run to nearly win. (continue reading…)
Add Ernie Els to the growing list of PGA Tour players that may jump on the long putter bandwagon. Els started toying around with a belly putter while practicing at the Masters a few weeks ago. At The Heritage this week, he might take it a step further and actually put it in his bag for tournament play on Thursday. While those close to Els have been encouraging him to make the change, he’s been reluctant for several reasons, including overcoming the stigma attached to long putters.
“I’m old school,” Els said during a candid chat on Tuesday at Harbour Town Golf Links. “I’ve been around a long time and it used to be that whenever you go to a long putter, it meant that you had the yips or you had something really wrong with your putting.”
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“Flying to Malaysia with charl! Glad one of us has a green jacket on!!!”Rory McIlroy took to Twitter yesterday evening to post a picture of himself with Masters champion Charl Schwartzel (along with the caption above). The two were sharing a flight to Kuala Lumpur ahead of this week’s Malaysian Open.
It’s late and my (rather small) fingers haven’t stopped typing for more hours than is considered remotely normal or healthy, but I want to at least jot down a few of my thoughts while they’re still fresh (even if I’m delirious — you’ve been warned). After all, I attended my first ever Sunday at the ’11 Masters, which ended up being one of the most compelling finishes in tournament history.
When I walked onto the grounds at Augusta National on Sunday afternoon, I already sensed an intoxicating buzz in the air (and not just because a good percentage of the patrons were drunk). Maybe I was just overly excited and strung out because I couldn’t believe I was at Sunday at the Masters and I only had two-three hours on the course before I had to return to my live-blogging duties for the WSJ.com.
The final round of the Masters is underway, but we’ve still got two hours before the leaders tee off. As you know, Rory McIlroy leads by four shots over K.J. Choi, Jason Day, Angel Cabrera and Charl Schwartzel. Adam Scott and Luke Donald are five strokes back. Do you think Rory can pull it off today? I sure hope so. If he pulls a Dustin Johnson at the US Open or Nick Watney at the PGA, who do you think will take control? Can Tiger still win or is he too far back?
I’m heading out to watch some of the action in person, but I’ve already started live-blogging at the Wall Street Journal’s Daily Fix and will return in time for most of Rory’s round. Please come by and say hello and leave your thoughts in either comment section. Thanks! Here’s to a compelling and unforgettable Masters Sunday!
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
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