PGA Golf Talk

Tiger Woods makes his 2008 PGA Tour debut at the Buick Invitational this weekend in sunny San Diego. Torrey Pines Golf and Country Club plays host to the real beginning of the PGA season with the Pacific Ocean as a gorgeous backdrop. This will be sneak peek preview for the U.S. Open, which will also be hosted by Torrey Pines. That being said, do not forget to take the weather in to consideration. Torrey Pines is rarely played in the winter. And I don’t care that it’s in California. The climate is different in January than it will be in June, so factor that in when you’re studying the lay of the land.The big hole to watch out for is sixth hole, which has been converted from a manageable par-5 to a terrifying par-4.

The Philippines won the first Women’s World Cup of Golf by two strokes followed by South Korea at Sun City on Sunday.  Jennifer Rosales and Dorothy Delasin carded a final round of 65 for a 72 hole aggregate of 18-under par 198. South Korea, who shared the overnight lead with the Philippines, were second on 16-under par with Chinese Taipei and Japan in third at 13-under. France were fifth on 11-under.For the South Africans it was a case of too much to do in the third round of better ball after trailing South Korea by seven strokes at the start. Teeing off on the 18th and enjoying a two-stroke lead over South Korea, both Rosales and Delasin found heavy rough.

International Final Qualifying (IFQ) for the British Open gets underway in South Africa on Tuesday.This is the first of five qualifying events on five different continents for the July 17-20 championship will be held at the same Royal Johannesburg and Kensington course .Mark Murlessis looking to bounce back from his disappointing two-over 73 on the final day. Sixty-two players from 15 countries will try to gain automatic entry to the third major of the season by finishing in the top four of the 36-hole qualifying tournament on Wednesday.

 Tyrone Ferreira showed no sign of nerves on his professional debut by firing a bogey-free, six-under-par 65 to share the lead after the first round of the Joburg Open on Thursday. The co-sanctioned European and Sunshine Tour event at the par-71 Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club got underway in steady rain but that did not hamper Ferreira. The 20-year-old, South Africa’s number one amateur in 2007, birdied his second hole as a professional, a 490-metre par-five, to give his round immediate momentum.

The Sony Open golf championship is a golf competition scheduled during the PGA Tour. The event has taken place at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, every January since the foundation of the competition. The 2006 prize fund of the tournament constituted $5,100,000, while $918,000 out of it went to the champion.This championship will be held on January 7-13, 2008. No tickets available for now.

Adams Golf, one of the leading equipment companies in golf, has announced recently the signing of Rory Sabbatini. Rory is a four-time champion on the PGA TOUR, who ranks 11th in the world. As part of the negotiated deal, Sabbatini will wear the Adams Golf hat, carry the Adams Golf staff bag and play the company’s Idea a3 irons, Idea Pro hybrid and Insight driver.

Lorena Ochoa  showed amazingly good results with her 8 tour wins, 1 major, No. 1 year-end ranking, No. 1 money list, 69.69 scoring average, 21 top-10s, 1st in greens in regulation. In contrast, Woods succeeded in 7 tour wins, 1 major, No. 1 year-end ranking, No. 1 money list, 67.79 scoring average, 12 top-10s, 1st in greens in regulation. In fact, Ochoa was the first woman to eclipse the $3 million plateau and a short time later said bye-bye to the $4 million zone. So, unfortunately for Tiger, this year was definitely Ohoa’s year. Well, one cannot be a champion forever.

Eventhough Tiger Woods spent 10 weeks and four days without hitting a golf shot, it hardly became a problem for him on Thursday in the Target World Challenge when he struck just about everything where he was aiming, except for the last 18^th hole… Woods’s approach got into the hazard on the 18th hole and finished with a double bogey for a 3-under 69, leaving him one shot behind Jim Furyk in the final tournament of the year.

Tiger Woods, PGA tour champion and one of 15 top golf players in the world, will come back to action for the first time since hoisting the inaugural FedExCup. Woods is aimed to defend title and win his 4th Target World Challenge presented by Countrywide.

Australian Sim shot a 7-under 65 yesterday and took a one-stroke lead over long-hitting American player J.B. Holmes and 3 others after the 1st round of the Australian PGA Championship. Michael Sim’s, 23, rookie season on the PGA Tour this season was delayed by a stress fracture in his back. The golfer went out in 4-under 32 after he made birdies on 3 of the last 4 holes of the front 9 and a 15-foot putt for par on 9.