Despite not playing as much golf as one might expect of a world leader, Lee Westwood has maintained his position at top of the world golf rankings for the 3rd week in a row. In fact, the only change in the entire top 10 ranked world golfers was the two Northern Irish players, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, who swapped positions to leave McIlroy down in 10th and McDowell up to 9th. Having finished 4th at the Australian Masters at the weekend, Tiger Woods has also stayed put, remaining in 2nd place behind the English world leader.
Outside of the leader board, Lee Westwood has won his 10th European Tour title by closing the UBS Hong Kong Open with a 22 under par aggregate of 258, causing him to leap 3 positions up the rankings, to world number 11! A single step higher for Poulter will make him the 4th Englishman in the top 10 ranked world golfers, along with Paul Casey, Luke Donald and, of course, Lee Westwood. Although that will bring England level with the USA in terms of the top 10, we mustn’t get too cocky as, after Poulter, the rankings are devoid of any English players until Justin Rose and Ross Fisher at 28 and 29.
New world number one Lee Westwood remains confident and, after his performance in Shanghai, who can blame him?
In his first round as world number one, Lee Westwood delivered a magnificent 66 – including 3 birdies in 4 holes – to be beaten only by a 65 from Francesco Molinari. Considering Westwood hasn’t played for 3 weeks, this is impressive work from the Englishman, especially considering his game plan was “just to go out there and enjoy myself and see what happened”. Despite a trio of birdies in the middle holes, Tiger Woods finished behind Westwood with a 68, though seemed happy with the result; “I hit a lot of good shots and also putted well.” the world number two stated.
Not everybody is convinced of Lee’s dominance of the world rankings, however. Nick Faldo, for example, has questioned the validity of naming a world number one who is yet to win a major title. In response, Westwood declared Faldo’s comments to be “Fairly obvious”, explaining that “the previous world No 1 players...have all won major championships. It would be nice to join that club as well”.
Westwood is clearly being realistic about his rise to the top of world golf. When asked about the rankings, he has said “it’s one thing getting there but it’s another thing staying there”.
After 281 weeks at the number one, Tiger Woods drops down to second place in the official world rankings.
Tiger lost out to English player Lee Westwood, who spent today "bumbling around Sainbury's" and "shopping for some rubber gloves and mashed potato" as officials calculated his win of top spot.
But Tiger Woods isn't disappointed, he told The Guardian Newspaper:
"You have to win in order to become No1 in the world and you have to win a lot to maintain it. That's just the way it goes."
Tiger Woods' last win was November 2009, days before the media frenzy regarding his private life. Woods took a five-month break from golf after his confessions of extramarital affairs, which led to him divorcing wife Elin Nordegren.
Now it's been reveled that tickets to see Tiger Woods play in Australia aren't selling with tickets still available for the Australian Masters, which saw tickets sell out in advance six weeks in advance last year.
David Rollo, speaking for Golf IMG Australia said the diminished ticket sales are nothing to do with Tiger's extramarital affairs, but rather, are due to this being the second year running that Tiger has visited Australia.
Rollo said "It was the first time he'd been here in 11 years [last year] and at that time I guess there were people who thought he may not be here for another chance to see him."
The official top 10 world rankings:
1 - Lee Westwood (ENGLAND) 8.29 points
2 - Tiger Woods (USA) 8.13 points
3 - Martin Kaymer (GERMANY) 7.98 points
4 - Phil Mickelson (USA) 7.83 points
5 - Steve Stricker (USA) 7.20 points
6 - Jim Furyk (USA) 7.09 points
7 - Paul Casey (ENGLAND) 6.14 points
8 - Luke Donald (ENGLAND) 5.70 points
9 - Rory McIlroy (N IRELAND) 5.44 points
10 - Graeme McDowell (N IRELAND) 5.43 points
I, for one, leapt for joy at our victory at the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor. However, jubilant though I was at seeing the Americans beaten, I still couldn’t help myself feeling a little bit sorry for Hunter Mahan, as I watched his choked and bumbling attempt to answer questions about his defeat to Graeme McDowell. Apparently, however, this isn’t abnormal for our cousins across the Atlantic:
Golf's biggest tournament is now over for another two years. To help ease your withdrawal symptoms we’ve got you a round up of all the tasty news, stories and gossip!
A win for Europe!
By now you probably know who won the cup for Europe: Irish hero Graeme McDowell. McDowell was overjoyed, calling the experience "crazy".
"This is crazy," added McDowell. "I was trying to do it for 11 team-mates, for all the fans, for the caddies, for Europe and for Monty - and we were all trying to win it for Seve (Ballesteros) too.
"The back nine at Pebble Beach felt like a back nine playing with my dad at Royal Portrush.
"It's so much pressure and this is a special feeling - there's nothing quite like it.
"Monty was amazing. For the last two years he has been up for this."
We want to say a MASSIVE well done for McDowell – what a great victory for Europe!
"Cigar Guy"
If you've been getting your golfing news online it was impossible to miss the Daily Mail’s fantastic shot of Tiger Woods hitting the ball straight into the camera - but in case you have click here to see it.
A Daily Mail photographer captured an amazing photograph of Tiger Woods hitting the ball; sadly Tiger mucked up the shot and aimed it straight at the camera, by mistake. In fact, the ball hit the lens, but not before the photographer caught it mid-flight in the air.
But, that wasn't the impressive part of the photo. The most interesting part of the photo was a man standing on the right that the Internet has since dubbed 'Cigar Guy'. Wearing a turban with a cigar hanging out of his mouth, the 'Cigar Guy' is the focal point of the image, stealing the glory away from the amazing ball, mid-flight.
Soon the Internet was all over the photo, with one blogger doctoring the original photo and pasting Cigar Guy's head onto every member of the crowd AND over Tiger's head too.
See it here: http://deadspin.com/5655370/
Rain rain go away…
Well, of course everybody should have expected the rain during the Cup matches: they were played in Wales after all, a country that's as famous for its rainy days as it is for superstar signer Tom Jones!
But sadly, the American golfers had a bit of an issue with the weather, or rather, the gear they were playing in.
The suits were taking far too long to dry, plus they were becoming bogged down in water. Bags the American team was provided with were reportedly soaked through, prompting complaints from several of the players' caddies.
Because of the rain, little golf was played during the Friday of the tournament, hurtling the waterproof rain suit malfunction into the sporting press as the ‘story of the day!’
Finally, PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka issued the following statement about the suits to Golf Digest magazine:
"All of the companies that produce this rain gear meet the technical specifications that you would want to have for extreme conditions," he said. "They do more testing than we could ever do on our own, and we look at the specifications and take them for what they are. And the fact of the matter is, they didn't perform as well as they needed to. Now, there are a number of players that were quite comfortable with the rain gear, but not everybody was, and you know, we have got to represent all 12 players and 12 caddies, as well."
The countdown is on! In 21 days the world's largest golfing tournament takes place in Newport, Wales, and we’re going to bring you all the news, stories and information about the event over the next couple of weeks…
There’s only three weeks to go, so here’s the most recent news:
- Golf is good for the economy
- Newport residents cash in on Ryder Cup
- Event attracts Welsh stars like Shirley Bassey
- Ryder Cup officials warn about fake ticket scams
Golf is good for the economy:
It's Wales' first year hosting the Cup, which has been running since 1927. Wales, naturally, are very pleased to showcasing the event, which they're certain will create a host of jobs and opportunities for Welsh residents.
Website http://www.rydercupwales2010.com, which was set up by the Welsh Assembly Government, has stated that similar golfing events in the past has opened Wales up to an international audience, resulting in local businesses doubling their profits! For example,
Jacqueline and Glyn Roberts have run their business in Harlech for 15 years, but have seen it double in size over the past year. They attribute this spectacular success to their region's raised profile due to the Ryder Cup Wales Seniors tournament and golf marketing campaigns by the Wales Tourist Board.
We're hoping the Ryder Cup won't be any different and will help Wales' tourism industry boom!
So next time your wife moans at you for playing golf, tell her you’re just doing your bit for the economy!
Newport residents cash in on tournament:Newport residents are cashing in on the upcoming tournament, with locals renting their homes out to golf-loving visitors for huge sums of money.
Websites like http://accommodationfortheevent.com/rydercup/ are helping Welsh homeowners advertise their properties in front of an audience of Golf lovers.
Two-bedroom homes are being listed for as much as £8,000 per week, which makes the tournament very lucrative for the locals. If you reside in Wales, it may be worth shipping your family out to the local B&B for a week and letting your house out to Golf enthusiasts!
Event attracts Welsh stars like Shirley Bassey:The Ryder Cup usually attracts some of Golf's biggest names and this year is no exception, with players like Tiger Woods on the bill.
And, excitingly, some of Wales' most popular artists are also confirmed to be putting on performances, including Cardiff's very own Shirley Bassey, Katherine Jenkins, the Loftprophets, Only Men Aloud and Shaheem Jafargholi. Steve Jones will be hosting the events and Catherine Zeta Jones will make a guest appearance during the opening concert.
Ryder Cup officials warn about fake ticket scams:This week Ryder Cup Europe has voiced concerns over fake ticket vendors.
Golf fans are reminded that tickets are now non-transferable; this year all tickets contain photographic ID so you must ONLY buy your tickets from the official vendors.
Guide to avoiding pirate vendors:- Don't let any third parties buy tickets on your behalf.
- Only buy shuttle tickets from the 'Ryder Cup Travel Services', as most roads will be closed to other transport during the week.
- Only book tickets with Ryder Cup Europe official vendors.
We’ll be back with more Ryder Cup golf news soon!
Personally, I try to leave Tiger Woods alone. His affairs are none of my business and I'm not interested in who or what he has done. By contrast, other people have seen fit to make an entire documentary about the golfer. For those who are interested, here is some information.
A new, British documentary is set to portray Tiger Woods as "a deeply repulsive figure". In Tiger Woods: The Rise and Fall, Jacques Peretti claims, along with people who have known Tiger intimately, that he is a project dreamed up by his father, Earl, whilst he served in Vietnam. Designed to be a super-golfer, to infiltrate the white-world of golf, young Tiger was even hypnotized before big competitions, by an member of the U.S. Army.
Raised in an all-white neighbourhood, where he was bullied and introduced to racists at golf clubs, the documentary claims Tiger developed an "awesome arrogance" and sense of entitlement, that eventually led to his downfall. In short, where Michael Jackson's lost childhood meant he was forever a kid, Tiger's lost teenage-years seem to have trapped him in his arrogant adolescent mindset, whilst his talent has landed him with the money to use that arrogance however he pleases.
The big news in golf this week is that rapidly declining golfing legend Tiger Woods ended up finishing tied 78th in the 80-man WGC Bridgestone Invitational. This means that only one player finished with a worse score than Woods, and the winner finished an astonishing 30 shots ahead of the greatest champion of all time. The question is, then: how is it that a player performing so badly can still technically be ranked as the greatest player in the world?
This may certainly seem mysterious to newcomers and golfing laymen, but the answer is really quite simple. The world rankings are calculated using a points system: different tournaments and courses are designated varying amounts of points depending on their profile and difficulty. Players are then awarded points dependent on their finishing position.
At first, this may seem flawed: players will surely accumulate points over their careers, and the greatest contemporary player will be overshadowed by a retired legend! The answer is that each individual player's ranking is calculated from only the last two years of playing. Again, this may seem unfair on a player who has only recently gained form (or, as in Tiger's case, lost form). Of course, the system cannot compensate for this entirely, but some compensation is done through scaling down the points awarded over time: each tournament's value remains for 13 weeks only, and is then reduced in weekly increments until the end of the 2 year period. This way recent form is given priority whilst allowing for anomalous performances.
The idea behind changing the rules about golf club grooves was to limit the amount of spin players can get on the ball when playing out the rough, with the intention of forcing players to play more on the fairway. It could be, however, that they new regulations are causing more bad than good as, after being accused of cheating on the grounds on the clubs he was using, Phil Mickelson skipped the WGC Match Play last week. With Tiger Woods out of it as well, this put Steve Stricker at the head of proceedings which, as great a player as he is, isn't exactly going to inspire the golfing world.
It does seem that, as golf technology advances, the game becomes less beautiful to watch. Clubs and balls have advanced to the point that players can now pull off the same shots, no matter what the conditions; nothing ever changes, it is starting to feel like just the same (admittedly impressive) shots over and over. I, for one, miss the days when things like wind speed and direction played a real role in the type of shots even top players had to play. Fairways get tedious after a while; I enjoy seeing people risk the rough for a good approach!
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell agrees with me (or would do, if he knew I existed) that changes in the rules and advancement in technology may be creating more problems than solutions. "It’s caused a lot of bad press and bad publicity and cost the manufacturers a lot of money and the players a lot of headaches" he said recently, going on to mentioned he feels, "The days of the shotmaker are nearly dead...a lot of golf courses today really favour guys like Quirós who fly it 350 yards off the tee, which I think is a bit of a shame."
It seems, since the very start of the sex-scandal-laden few months, the world of golf has been getting used to the idea that it may well have lost its number one. The blog team here are wondering...can golf survive as we know it without Tiger Woods?
He may not be Eurpean, but Tiger Woods is widely considered the most dynamic, exciting and talented golfer of the modern generation. We may not always like how he plays or how he acts, but we keep watching him anyway! Golf may well need Tiger Woods like WWE needs Triple H; we don't like him all that much, but it wouldn't be the same without him.
Want some proof? When Tiger Woods plays in a tournament, the ratings rise up to 50% - not even Triple H raises ratings like that! President of CBS Sports, Sean McManus declared that they are "doing perfectly fine" without Woods in the sport; "Golf is still a valuable product for us." he went on to say. A valuable product, eh? If ever there was a clear indication of the Americanisation of golf, that may well be it! Perhaps that's what will change now Tiger is gone; maybe it'll become more about the game and less about the ratings, the money and the hype.
So, we put it to you readers; what will golf be without Tiger Woods? Better? Worse? Simply different? Exactly the same?
So far I have managed to continue the Golf Blog without mentioning the Tiger Woods story; except on the 28th of November, to report he had a car crash, that he was safe and that we wished him well. Since that car crash, however, Tiger has been subjected to one of the most ferocious media bombardments of a sports personality I can remember. Today I would like to point out that I am sick of it.
As if having his entire life splashed all over the media isn’t bad enough, the poor guy has now even publicly apologised for “transgressions” that, let’s be honest, are none of our business whatsoever! Yet what was out response? “What transgressions? We want to know exactly what you’ve done that you are ashamed of!” He’s a professional golf player – what right do any of us have to the content of his personal life? Sure he’s a billionaire through being an exceptional golfer and advertising Nike golf clothes; he’s an interesting person and it’s only natural that we take an interest in him. But why the vulture-like approach? Why the demands for explanations and apologies? Who do we think we are to ask Tiger Woods to share information about himself that we would never dream of sharing with the public?
When will people realise that celebrities don’t make themselves; it’s our insatiable appetite for gossip and excitement that turns people into walking news stories. If this blog suddenly got 65 million readers and I was made a millionaire overnight, would I be expected to admit all my deepest secrets to the world as well? If not, then why is Tiger expected to? Leave him alone – get something interesting in your own life and talk about that instead.
Tiger Woods has been released “in good condition” from hospital, following a car crash in the early hours of yesterday morning. Although initial reports indicated the billionaire golfer was seriously injured, readers will be pleased to hear he escaped with minor injuries.
Tiger apparently backed his car into a fire hydrant and then hit a tree, according to Associated Content. However, they also report that he was seriously injured in the crash, so it’s clear they can’t be entirely trusted – or perhaps their ‘credible sources’ aren’t are credible as they thought. Tiger’s wife, Elin, is reported to have heard the crash from the house; running down to the car, she used a golf club to smash in the back window. Whether this helped the situation at all, I don’t know! What I have been told, however, is that she found Tiger lying on the floor, drifting in and out of consciousness – so why she broke the back window with a golf club is a mystery to me. The police have reported that she was “frantic” at the scene, which is to be expected from anybody who finds their husband in a car crash.
Although we are jealous that the man plays golf for a living, is married to a Swedish and earns millions advertising Nike golf clothing; everybody here at the Golf Blog nevertheless wishes Tiger the speediest of recoveries; even if it is only from minor cuts to the face!
Having agreed with Tiger Woods that China will become something of a golfing super-power within the next dozen years, Phil Mickelson is now planning to open a golf academy in Kunming to help develop the sport in the country. He also plans to create a par-3 golf course for children, to help develop the sport at a grassroots level, as well as having his instructional book translated into Mandarin.
Mickelson declared, "This is a tremendous opportunity to help develop the game in the largest emerging market in the world” which, to you and I, means something along the lines of “Golf is now an Olympic sport, which means that China will invest lots of time and money into making sure they’re really good at it. Hence, I’m cashing in early by making sure I establish my golf course and academy in time for the forthcoming boom in popularity”. I can’t say I blame him, though I am cynically waiting for the Mickelson brands of golf clothing, golf clubs and various accessories to appear in the Asian market…
"I'M GONNA BE RICH!" - direct quote from Phil Mickelson ;)
It’s enough to make many of us feel old, but World Golf Hall of Famer Arnold Palmer turned 80 today! Anybody who has been watching The Golf Channel this week should pay extra tribute to the man, for it was he along with Player and Nicklaus who made the sport as popular and TV-friendly as it is today.
As well as being hugely popular and prolific in his prime, Palmer also won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998 for his victory in seven major championships over the mid-twentieth century; including the Masters four times (1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964), the Open Championship twice (1961 and 1961) and the U.S. Open in 1960. Without doubt players like Tiger Woods owe their vast fortunes to the likes of Arnold Palmer, who led the way in getting endorsements for players – himself earning a million dollars on the PGA Tour by 1967.
Most readers will remember Palmer playing his 50th consecutive Masters in 2004 – a monumental event marred only by his failing abilities, which were forgivable at the age of 75! So, here’s to Arnold Palmer – a great golfer, a great man and a great excuse to watch The Golf Channel all night long in celebration!
Faster, higher stronger – these are ideals anybody can strive for, whether they have a job and a house or nothing at all. Admittedly people with enough money for professional training are at an advantage, but nobody is altogether excluded because they can’t afford to take part. To play golf, on the other hand, you require a certain degree of wealth that makes the sport entirely exclusive to richer countries. Golf doesn’t cost a fortune to play, but it does cost a lot more money than people in poorer countries have available. So I ask; how is it fair to include another event in the Olympics that many people simply cannot afford to compete in – one in which much of the outcome is actually dependent on the equipment you are using? Golf club memberships and clubs cost money - not huge amounts of money, but more than thousands of poor athletes could hope to raise.
Ethiopian distance runners train by jogging barefoot up mountains; how are they meant to train for golf? By fashioning golf clubs from sticks and tin cans, then hitting a ball across the sun-baked landscape? Tiger Woods’ golf clubs alone are probably worth more than the entire Ethiopian running team’s funding! By including golf in the Olympics, we have simply created another event to be dominated by the rich countries, purely on the grounds of them being rich enough to play it.
I accept that golf is as much a sport as any other at the Olympics, but the Olympics isn’t about including every sport under the sun. I also accept that many sports in the Olympics are of a similar nature; equestrian sports and shooting for example – I would argue that these also pervert the nature of the Games. The very philosophy behind the Olympics is about equality of completion – a level playing field upon which nothing matters apart from your own skill. Obviously wealth will always have an impact on training, but it should never exclude a group of people altogether.
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