Bits and pieces:
-Watched as South Korea's Na Yeon Choi 'cruised' to a one shot victory on the LPGA yesterday afternoon. She actually had to come from behind at the Samsung World Championship after being up by seven strokes on Ai Miyazato at one time earlier in the day. The event was played at the site of last year's US Open event, Torrye Pines, where Tiger Woods has his dramatic duel with Rocco Mediate. Choi, like Tiger, birdied the last hole, but hers was a winning shot as Ai Miyazato had squandered her one stroke lead by dumping her second shot at the closing hole into the water and coming away with a then tying bogey. First win on the LPGA for the slender twenty-one year old Choi. Of note: She had to rely heavily on her putter as she left several shots short over the last several holes and had to convert testy four and five foot shots to stay competitive. Think she made five of six, including the one at 18.
-Joe Allen, Bric Parker and I would have loved a similar make of a putt. We each watched in horror as our thirty inch eagle putt fell off to the right at #4 during Saturday morning's scramble. We settled for the birdie - what else could we do - and then continued our round almost certain that that missed opportunity would be our undoing. Indeed it was as we finished one shot shy of the winning score.
-Chances of Tiger Woods not being the winner at next week's FedEx championship at East Lake in Atlanta? Well, lets see, he is playing the field so 29 other guys have a shot to win. He, like everybody else, has had a week off - we all know how grueling playing 18 holes of golf day in and day out can be. TW is also probably still miffed at the two he let slip through his fingers in the last month, including the PGA major where he had a two shot lead going into the last day. So I would have to say his chances of not winning are 50-50. One in two. Seem fair to the others? No, but then this isn't about fairness; it's about being good, making shots, and beating down the competition.
-Cloudy day today - rain a possibility. But should be a good day for golf at Lakeview. Soft greens; no run in the fairway. And we do have to get ready for tomorrow's conclusion of Mike Anderson's TBC East-West Challenge. The guys from the Oaks, the West, lead the guys from lakeview, 10.5 to 5.5. Two ball and alternate shot formats for the 18 holes tomorrow. Rally caps, guys - get them on now and lets turn the tables on our buddies from down the road. They deserve a comeuppeance, don't you think?
