PGA Golf Talk

Sandy Lyle, who turned fifty on February 9th, is thrilled about coming of age to play the prestigious tournament, the Champions Trophy, wherein a player is allowed to compete in the championships only if he is aged 50 years and above. Lyle who is a six time PGA tour champion, with the first win at the British Open in 1985, is absolutely thrilled to take part in the Champions Trophy this week. He will be the youngest player of the Champions Trophy tournament even though he has amassed two majors.

Lyle says that he has been playing the tours in Europe and US along with players about 18 years of age and felt that it was difficult to compete with the younger generation who arte physically very strong and can send the ball many a mile. He is excited to be playing with the older golfers now and wants to end his 16 year old title drought in this season itself. Lyle expects to take part in 20 tournaments in the coming season that includes the British Open as well as the Masters. He has taken several months off from the goal arena and says that he is ready for the challenge of the older golfers and his first assignment will be at the Newport Beach Country Club this week.

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.

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.

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.