-Sobel at espn.com picking Kaymer to win it all at the WGC Match Play Championship later this week. He's also predicting that Tiger doesn't make it through his first match with Thomas Bjorn. Of course, he prefaces his comments by saying that such predictions are "an exercise in futility". Might as well throw darts. I do agree with him in giving TW little chance of playing well enough to win a tournament he has won three times in the past. Not saying he won't make it past the first round though.
-Michelle Wie tees it up again over in the Far East, this time at the HSBC Woman's Champions tournament in Singapore. I say she does well again along with Tseng, Choi, Shin and Kim. Defending champ is Ai Miyazato who didn't do a very good job of defending her title last week and probably won't do very well this week. But, like Sobel, who can tell, really. Might be a little bit easier on the Ladies tour what with Tseng already in with four wins in four attempts this year. She's playing super.
-Closer to home: The Loogootee boys (14-4) take on the Jasper Wildcats (9-10) down in Jasper tonight. Looking just at the win-loss records, one would think that the local boys have a pretty good shot at a win. There are two common opponents this year: Southridge and Washington. The Wildcats beat the Raiders by 15, Lions lost by 16; both teams lost to Washington, the Hatchets scoring 70 points against each team while allowing 54 vs Jasper and 34 vs Loogootee. Might be a stretch to predict a win for the Lions. In any case, good luck to Hogan, Burch, Whitmer, Ackerman and friends.
-If you didn't get out and play yesterday morning, you probably didn't get out and play at all. The rains and cooler weather settled in shortly after 1. Had several golfers out at Lakeview, including Dave Wininger who beat the wet stuff by a half hour or so. Don Carrico and Ted Soldanels weren't so fortunate, finishing up about a half hour into the wind and the rain. Better golfing weather tomorrow with partly sunny skies and temps in the 50's.
-Dave Stockton's putting suggestion: You remember when I posted that clip with Dave Stockton who was suggesting that you forget all about making the putt and just concentrate on the pace. I kind of pooh-poohed it but have come to see that he just might have something there. Since watching that clip, I have changed my putting routine. Still do look for the line very carefully but I don't try and hit it down the line. Rather, I do as Stockton suggests - get the pace right. So, the last thing I'm thinking of is the pace, something which turns out to be pretty good over 95% of the time. Compare that with hitting it down the line and sinking the putt, something which happens much less frequently, in fact, over 5-10 feet, a whole bunch less. It's like what Jack Nicklaus said a long time ago when teeing off: don't try and hit it straight, rather hit a draw or a fade. Same kind of reasoning: you are bound to be more successful more of the time. It's a mental thing and has to do with thinking positively about what kind of golfer you are. So, thanks to Dave Stockton for his tip to forget about making the putt and just get the pace right.
-Getting on with the day...
-Michelle Wie tees it up again over in the Far East, this time at the HSBC Woman's Champions tournament in Singapore. I say she does well again along with Tseng, Choi, Shin and Kim. Defending champ is Ai Miyazato who didn't do a very good job of defending her title last week and probably won't do very well this week. But, like Sobel, who can tell, really. Might be a little bit easier on the Ladies tour what with Tseng already in with four wins in four attempts this year. She's playing super.
-Closer to home: The Loogootee boys (14-4) take on the Jasper Wildcats (9-10) down in Jasper tonight. Looking just at the win-loss records, one would think that the local boys have a pretty good shot at a win. There are two common opponents this year: Southridge and Washington. The Wildcats beat the Raiders by 15, Lions lost by 16; both teams lost to Washington, the Hatchets scoring 70 points against each team while allowing 54 vs Jasper and 34 vs Loogootee. Might be a stretch to predict a win for the Lions. In any case, good luck to Hogan, Burch, Whitmer, Ackerman and friends.
-If you didn't get out and play yesterday morning, you probably didn't get out and play at all. The rains and cooler weather settled in shortly after 1. Had several golfers out at Lakeview, including Dave Wininger who beat the wet stuff by a half hour or so. Don Carrico and Ted Soldanels weren't so fortunate, finishing up about a half hour into the wind and the rain. Better golfing weather tomorrow with partly sunny skies and temps in the 50's.
-Dave Stockton's putting suggestion: You remember when I posted that clip with Dave Stockton who was suggesting that you forget all about making the putt and just concentrate on the pace. I kind of pooh-poohed it but have come to see that he just might have something there. Since watching that clip, I have changed my putting routine. Still do look for the line very carefully but I don't try and hit it down the line. Rather, I do as Stockton suggests - get the pace right. So, the last thing I'm thinking of is the pace, something which turns out to be pretty good over 95% of the time. Compare that with hitting it down the line and sinking the putt, something which happens much less frequently, in fact, over 5-10 feet, a whole bunch less. It's like what Jack Nicklaus said a long time ago when teeing off: don't try and hit it straight, rather hit a draw or a fade. Same kind of reasoning: you are bound to be more successful more of the time. It's a mental thing and has to do with thinking positively about what kind of golfer you are. So, thanks to Dave Stockton for his tip to forget about making the putt and just get the pace right.
-Getting on with the day...
