PGA Golf Talk

Lorena Ochoa, the Women’s number one golfer, who is playing her first tournament of the year, is currently on the leader board with a seven stroke lead at Singapore in HSBC Women’s Champions tournament. The Mexican golfer, who has won eight tournaments last year, is currently at 13-under in the tournament. The tournament which started on Thursday at the Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore has a strong contingent of 78 of the world’s best players playing for the $2,000,000 prize money. This is the inaugural HSBC Women’s Champions tournament in Singapore and Ochoa has started the tournament where she left off last season.

Ochoa continuing her rich form which helped her win the ADT championship, the last tournament last year, is excited to be in the leading position after round one. She said that she had a great first day at the office as she was hitting the ball perfectly and was very much excited about the fact that she was able to get good contact. She had a lot of birdie chances on the first day of the tournament and the winner of the Rolex Player of the Year for 2007 season has an LPGA record of earning $4.3 million in 2007, more than any other player in the history of the game.

The veteran players of the Presidents Cup, Fred Couples and Greg Norman have been named to captain the United States team and the International Teams respectively, for the 2009 Presidents Cup, according to PGA tour. The 2009 Presidents Cup is slated to be played at Harding Park Golf course in San Francisco. Both Fred and Greg have enough experience of playing in the biennial match play competition and Couples replaces Jack Nickalus as captain and Gary Player is succeeded by Greg Norman.

The PGA Tour commissioner, Tim Finchem, said that he is extremely happy to introduce Fred and Greg as the captains for the Presidents Cup and says that he is sure that the captains will play their role with passion, commitment and sincerity like the previous captains. The Presidents Cup competition is tightly in the hands of the American team as the over all standings so far has America with a 5 – 1 lead. Fred Couples said that he feels it is a great honor to lead the American team and said that he had enjoyed every single moment of playing for the U.S team in the Presidents Cup. Greg Norman said that he is very much looking forward to the challenge and prospect of captaining the international team.

Tiger Woods has done it again by winning his 15th World Golf Championship title of his career and there is no stopping of this great golfing genius. Tiger Woods easily went through the Accenture Match Play Championship without being seriously tested by his opponents and pocketed his fifth consecutive victory world over. Woods said that he is planning to have a perfect season this year and will put all that he has to reach his goal. Tiger Woods performance at the Match Play Championship was really outstanding as he made 14 birdies out of the 29 holes and won by the largest margin in the history of this event. The victory at the Match Play Championship is the 63rd career title for Tiger Woods and this puts him the in the fourth position in the overall PGA tour wins list.

Tiger Woods has won four consecutive PGA tour tournaments at least three times so far and he thinks that he is in the best playing form of his entire career. This win in the Match Play Championship has made him richer by $1.35 million and his overall earnings in these tournaments are at $19.8 million. Tiger Woods is looking good to earn more millions this golfing season.

The 18 year old golfing genius, Michelle Wie, is much stronger and healthier this year and is pretty confident of doing well in the LPGA tour this season despite suffering from a serious wrist injury last year. She feels that the wrists will never be the same again and hopes to be in the thick of the action this season as she had gone through a rough season of injuries and withdrawals last season. Wie said that, even though her wrists will not be 100 percent okay, she feels pretty strong and healthy and hit the ball a long way this season.

After a disappointing 2007 Wie is set to kick off this years season at home on the island of Oahu for the fifth year in a row. Her swing coach David Leadbetter is of the opinion that the swing is returning back to her game now and the rehab program that Wie has gone through is helping her regain her lost touch. Wie wants to get back into contention this year and possibly win a couple of tournaments this season. Wie is excited about her six exemptions on the LPGA tour and can make an attempt to qualify for the British Women’s Open as well as the US Women’s Open.

On February 8-10, 2008, the Portland Golf Show was held at the Oregon Convention Center. There were plenty of rounds of golf offered as well as the chance to try out new golf clubs and equipment. They had giveaways and door prizes too. Free subscriptions to golf magazines, two ball sleeves, gold apparel, and other merchandise were handed out as well. Many of the attendees were pleased to meet Barb Trammell who is the CEO of the Oregon Golf Association. She is also the rules expert and an official at the US and British Open and the Master’s. Any changes made to the rulebook go through her.

Some people who attended also were able to receive free training from some of the professional players. Most said this was a highlight of the show for them. They also had a great clearance center where items from the year before or items that they had too many of were on sale for the crowd. People went through many of these tables finding all kinds of merchandise at a great price. They also had a selection of the newest clubs and equipment on the market and items from other companies too. These companies included Nike, Callaway, Cleveland, and Bridgestone. There were also other prizes given away. These were trips to different golf locations such as the Kaanapoli Golf Resort or the Bandon Dunes.Pgagolftalk.com

There is no doubt in Gary Nicklaus’s mind that Tiger Woods has all that is needed to win him the Grand Slam this year. Woods said that he feels that all the four major golfing tournaments can be won easily and he has proved his prowess by winning the first two season starters in 2008. Nicklaus says that if one feels that he has the ability and the determination to achieve the Grand Slam, then he should really give it a try. The Golden Bear felt that Tiger is preparing himself for the Masters and is probably more tuned to it as he has held all the four of the grand Slams at one time.

Woods became the first player to win both the Masters and the U.S Open in 2002, a feat that was achieved by Nicklaus about 30 years ago. Jack Nicklaus has won the Grand Slam in 1966 after winning the British Open that year. Nicklaus came closer in repeating the feat in 1972 and 1975, when he had won both the Masters and the U.S Open but couldn’t quite finish off at the Muirfield Open. Woods had a similar fate in 2002, when he won the Masters and the U.S Open in style and was the hot favorite to win in Muirfield. Oakland Hills will be the place where Woods will have a chance to win the Grand Slam and it is the same place where the Golden Bear missed his slam title in 1972.

Their rivalry is the most watched on the PGA Tour these days.  Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh are pitted against each other as to who will be named PGA Tour’s second best player of his generation.

Mickelson lost to J.B. Holmes at the FBR Open in a sudden-death playoff.  Holmes then ranked number 197 in the world.  After a week, Singh showed promise to win the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am but lost to Steve Lowery who was number 305 then.

Mickelson ranks second among the active players, having won 32 games.  Singh follows suit with 31 wins, most of which he won after he turned 40 years old.  One more victory for Singh will place him at the top of the career list for foreign-born players.

Tiger Woods has won 62 games, trailing close behind to Sam Snead who has a total of 82 victories.  No one else comes close to Snead’s record than Woods.  Even with this, Mickelson and Singh are still way ahead of the others, being followed by Davis Love III with only 19 wins.

Mickelson and Singh have both won 3 majors.  Mickelson has a PGA and two Masters while Singh has two PGAs and one Masters

The American Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger is bringing in a small change in the playing format in an attempt to be successful over the Europeans who have defeated the American Ryder Cup team successfully for the past three years. The veteran golfer who has so far participated in four Ryder Cups wants the opening session of the Ryder Cup matches to start with foursomes instead of four balls. Azinger told that the team has decided to switch over to the alternate shot that saw the U.S Ryder Cup team win the cup in 1999. The general feeling in the camp is that the Americans are pretty good at alternate shot and once it clicks then the team would have got off to a pretty good opening.

Paul Azinger is also on course to give a face-lift to the wild card system that will encourage four captains’ picks instead of the regular two picks. Azinger is also of the opinion that he will delay the announcement of the these picks and will only announce it after Nick Faldo, the European Ryder Cup captain announces. The fans as well as the players are very hopeful that these changes will bring back memories of the 1999 Ryder Cup season.

This time Victorian PGA championship has won by Australian Marc Leishman at Sanctuary Lakes. Kurt Barnes bogeyed the victory to the hand the title in the hands of unexpected Leishman. Leishman closed this game at seven under par 65. Initially game was lead by Kurt Barnes who is the master and blaster but the self-destruction has caused him loss the championship. Lieshman 24 has won his first home state championship and it was his fifth professional game. Four birdies and two eagles in ninth hole stretch from 4th to 12th holes has sealed the deal. Whole Barnes is unable to explain the situation as he overshot the 16th green with a wedge; three putted the 17th, plugged his approach with a mid iron in a green side bunker on the final hole, and closed at 67. Later after his devastating defeat he said, these kinds of defeats is present in past and will also happen in future, it is a part of Golf. Barnes is set at second place at a tie with Cameron Percy (Victorian) at 18 under par. Lieshman on the other side is a promising newcomer and looking forward at 2008 as a launch pad on to the international stage.

PGA Learning Center, in keeping with Valentine’s Day, is offering a special ‘Golf is Fore Lovers’ affair on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. Guests will enjoy a romantic setting for a change, and they are invited to come with their dates to enjoy the Ultimate Golf Experience.

They will also have the privilege of joining different pre-Valentine’s Day events like the ‘Diamond Necklace in the Rough Putting Contest,’ where the guests play a four-hole putting course. They can then drop their scorecards to be raffled for a diamond necklace. Another game is ‘The Sweetest Golf Swing Getaway Contest’ where the players can join a driving contest, with categories for men’s and women’s longest and straightest drive, for a chance to win a weekend package at the Hilton Garden Inn.

In the ‘Putter’s Delight Apparel Contest,’ players can putt for the chance to get at most 50% discount on golf apparel while all the players will get at least 20% discount.

PGA general manager Bob Baldassari says this is a good way for people to play golf in a relaxed and informal environment. Indeed, it is, and the chance to win the great gifts is a big plus for this event.