Tag Archives: Michael Putnam

Jun
3
2014
Open Heart: Compton joins 15 others in Pinehurst field from Columbus Qualifying
By Stephanie Wei under US Open
5 players waiting to playoff for 3 remaining spots

5 players waiting to playoff for 3 remaining spots

With darkness quickly settling in, the vigor had gone straight out of Erik Compton by the time the USGA officials announced the five-for-three (five players–Ryan Blaum, Ken Duke, Compton, Michael Putnam and Cameron Tringale) for three remaining spots) playoff at the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying in Columbus Monday evening.

“Really?” Compton said as he walked off the putting green at Brookside G&CC. “Right now? It’ll be dark by the time we get to the fairway.”

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Jun
2
2014
The longest day in golf: U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying in Columbus early update
By Stephanie Wei under US Open
Robert Garrigus shows off his sexy legs

Robert Garrigus shows off his sexy legs

Oh, it’s that time again, which happens to be one of my favorite days in the golf season — the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier in Columbus, Ohio, held at Scioto Country Club and Brookside Golf & Country Club, with the latter being the host course this year.

It always falls a week before the championship week beings, which is also the Monday after the Memorial Tournament, so it’s essentially a PGA Tour event, except players are allowed to wear shorts, showing off their *super* sexy white legs, otherwise known as “O.B. stakes” — a la Robert Garrigus in the above picture — and if you don’t have a smart phone, the only leaderboard available is the one written in calligraphy by the scoring area. 

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Jan
30
2014
Pros weigh in on R&A decision to allow rangefinders for its amateur events
By Stephanie Wei under Amateur Golf
Lasers approved!
The R&A, one of golf’s governing bodies, announced on Monday the approval of distance measuring devices — or most commonly known as rangefinders or lasers, etc. — for their amateur championships in 2014, including the British Amateur. Your move, USGA! 

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Sep
26
2013
Logging in to Web.com Tour Championship (a primer)
By Stephanie Wei under Web.com Tour
Last shot!

Last shot!

I was one of the loudest and most outspoken critics when the PGA Tour brass announced the death of Q-School (as we once knew it), but I’m not going to lie, I’ve been pretty intrigued by the series of Web.com Tour Finals. Given it’s in the inaugural year, it seems to have received positive feedback from the players and other detractors.

I wish it didn’t coincide with the FedExCup Playoffs, though, because if I have to choose between covering the Finals and the Playoffs, I’m going to have to go with demand and that means the tournament Tiger Woods is playing. I know the Web.com Tour Championship, the fourth of the Final Series, is between the FedExCup finale, the Tour Championship and the Presidents Cup, but unfortunately I can’t make it because of personal reasons.

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Mar
29
2013
Wheatcroft’s first (PGA Tour) start in year, first lead in the bigs
By Stephanie Wei under PGA Tour
Wheatie just happy to be here

Wheatie just happy to be here

After shooting a pair of 67s at the Shell Houston Open, Steve Wheatcroft is leading a PGA Tour event for the first time in his career. And he got into the tournament — which boasts some big names, like Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy — the hard way: He earned one of the hard-pressed four spots in the Monday qualifier (go low or go home), but it wasn’t without a bit of grief.

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Jun
12
2011
From Junior Golf to the US Open for Gonzales and Putnam (and Moore)
By Stephanie Wei under US Open

Team Washington!

While Michael Putnam and Andres Gonzales compete against each other, they also root for the other to play well. At PGA Tour Q-School, I went to watch Mike play the last few holes and he asked me how Andres finished. When I told him it looked like Andres was in the top-25, a big smile appeared on Mike’s face and he was nearly giddy. I wasn’t at the US Open Sectional qualifier in Tunica, MS, but his reaction was probably similar.

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Mar
2
2011
Honda Classic: PGA National Is Really, Really “Tough”
By Stephanie Wei under PGA Tour

Scary Grizzly Bear: Welcome to the Bear Trap!

Ask any player what they think of PGA National, the site of this week’s Honda Classic, and there’s a 98% chance “tough” (or some rendition of it) will be one of the first words uttered. Graeme McDowell changed things up and said, “windy,” when I asked him for one word to describe the course.

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Feb
17
2011
Behind-the-Scenes on Wednesday at Riviera
By Stephanie Wei under Behind the Scenes

Range shot at Riviera

My left foot isn’t happy, but I get stir-crazy sitting in the media center when I should be outside scouring the practice areas and course. So, off I went sans crutches, no less (they’re such a pain when I’m trying to take notes and I look way cooler limping than hobbling, anyway — which, of course, is totally important). First of all, I definitely need a cover story in the place of the actual, lame one. I ran into Hunter Mahan before his press conference and Twitter chat, who suggested I go with something like, “I was diving off the stage at the Bird’s Nest to crowd surf and those drunks dropped me.”

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Feb
17
2011
No. 10 at Riviera: Delightful, Drivable But Potentially Dangerous
By Stephanie Wei under PGA Tour

No. 10 at Riviera taken by Geoff Shackelford, who made use of his unique leaping abilities, to snap this shot last year

Ask any player and/or caddie in the field at this week’s Northern Trust Open about Riviera Country Club and chances are he’ll gush over the par-4 No. 10. Measuring a mere 315 yards, the short hole yields just as many birdies as bogeys. Many will pull out driver (or 3-wood for the bombers) and take a shot at the narrow, slippery green guarded by bunkers front, back and right. The danger is missing it short right, where in the words of one caddie, “You’re screwed.” Playing it “safe” and laying up isn’t necessarily the “smart” move because you might not even have a shot with a wedge into the green. Simply put, No. 10 is a great strategy hole.

“It’s one of the best holes in golf,” said Hunter Mahan, who finished second at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (and opened this event last year with a triple-bogey 7 on the 10th).

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Jan
13
2011
Tomasulo Back on His Feet in Time for Sony Open
By Stephanie Wei under PGA Tour

Peter Tomasulo hobbles around the course with a broken foot at the '10 Nationwide Tour Championship

Until Monday’s pro-am, Peter Tomasulo hadn’t walked 18 holes since the Nationwide Tour Championship during the last week of October — and that was with the aid of a cane. The 29-year-old Long Beach, California native suffered a broken bone in the outside of his foot (the fifth metarsals) in a friendly west coast vs. east coast pick-up basketball game before the start of the NWT Chattanooga Classic earlier that month.

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