This week the PGA Tour visits the wonderful city of New Orleans, for the Zurich Classic. My pick of the week is Luke Donald. After the disappointment last week at The Heritage, Donald will certainly have a comeback this week. Firing at all cylinders trying to achieve the No1 position in the world. Donald hasn't play here before, but that wont't be a problem for the pin seeking Englishmen. My fellow blogger JJ finally got a point last week using Donald, so now its my turn to take advantage of this talented golfer. Some notable players to watch are Jeff Overton, Nick Watney, and Brandt Snedeker. This course has suited Overton's game the past few years with T2 and T13 finishes. Watney has been pretty silent the past few weeks but is one of the hottest players on tour. He is in second in scoring average and first in overall ranking on tour. Snedeker coming off a great win over Donald at The Heritage. Its difficult to win two weeks in a row unless your Tiger in his prime. But the sudden death playoff revealed that maybe he will be a valuable player in the upcoming Ryder Cup. A quick side note, It was great seeing Barcelona overcome Real Madrid today.
Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are- Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Jason Day, and Luke Donald.
Helloooooo everyone, and welcome to this week's edition of Pick of the Week. This week the PGA Tour stops in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Nola is a famous sight to come see, as there are many festivities and party themes that are around those parts. It usually can attract some good stars, even this week. Studs like Nick Watney, Luke Donald, and Graeme McDowell have come to pay a visit. Also, my Pick of the Week for this tournament, Justin Rose, is making a stop here. I'm picking the Englishmen for this week because he has a relatively quiet but solid start to his season. He just top 15-ed in The Masters and had even been playing well before then. I see him to play pretty well this week, and hopefully come out with a win so I can make this race a little bit more interesting....
Till then, see you soon! And stay tuned for more blogs.
Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are- Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Rickie Fowler, Aaron Baddeley, Hunter Mahan, Ricky Barnes, Luke Donald, and now Justin Rose.
This week’s PGA Tour event: The Heritage has provide for an exciting finish with Brandt Snedeker’s early final round of 64. The 7-under round placed the young man from Nashville, TN at 12-under and the leader in the clubhouse. This would result in a sudden death play off with Luke Donald. Snedeker would come out victorious. An unexpected win for Snedeker coming from six shots back. Donald,from England, trying to capture a victory to become No1 ranked player in the world. To add to the excitement of a new player to reach the No1 position, Lee Westwood won the Indonesian Masters in Jakarta. Westwood also a Englishmen reclaims his former No1 position with the win. England is becoming a world leader in golf just as they are in soccer. Donald, currently ranked No3 in the world, headed into the final round with a one shot lead over Jim Furyk the past champion of this event. Donald has been known to be inconsistent off the tee but his short game has allowed him to reach this level of success. Let this be an example to golfers. Short game is very important when you want to improve and lower your scoring average. Even though Donald has had recent success, with his victory at the WGC match play. Many question whether players like Westwood, Kaymer, and Donald deserve to be called the top players in the world. We saw Kaymer miss the cut at the Masters, while ranked No1. Certainly these players have played well in the past six months and deserve recognition. Some notable players this week: Tommy Gainey, Tim Herron, Jim Furyk, and Ricky Barnes. Tommy Gainey or as some call him two-glove Gainey, played well finishing at 11-under. He now has 3 top 10s this year on the PGA Tour. Tim Herron fired a 4-under par final round to finish at 10-under and claim a top 10 finish. After some back injuries, Ricky Barnes seems to be back on track, after a solid week. My fellow blogger should saved Barnes for this week, for the Pick of the Week. But JJ wins a point since Donald finished higher than Jason Day. The Heritage is a ball strikers course which suited Jim Furyk’s game, that has produced 7 straight rounds in the 60s at Hilton Head. On a side note there was many Taylormade R11 drivers in the field, which makes me want one more.
Jason Day walks with his wife Ellie during the Par 3 Contestst
This week the PGA Tour visits Harbor Town Golf Links for The Heritage. Home of the symbolic Light House Tower on the 18th hole. My pick of the week is Jason Day. After a tie for 2nd at the Masters, Jason Day has provided to be a contender. So the odds are high since he almost won the biggest tournament in golf two weeks ago. The field is certainly filled with many great players, that will be in the race for the win. After some disappointing starts at the last two events: the Masters and Valero Texas Open. My fellow blogger picked Luke Donald, who is suggested as the number one pick to win this week. Hopefully Jason Day can pull through and allow me to keep a high lead against JJ. Some notable players to watch this week are Boo Weekley and Jim Furyk. Weekley has won twice here when his game is on. So a comeback can occur this week, since he has acquired confidence on this course. Furyk is the defending champion and hopes to reclaim his title. This course is considered to be a ball strikers course. So someone like Furyk, who can work the ball has a clear advantage in the field. Some poor tee shots can certainly knock a player out of contention. This will be a weakness for Luke Donald, just as we observed at the WGC.
Jason's interview after Augusta
Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are-Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, and Jason Day
Hellooooooo everyone, and welcome back to this week's edition of "Pick of the Week". This week, the TOUR heads to famed Hilton Head as the professional golfers compete in what is now simply called "The Heritage". Much like Augusta, this tournament holds a lot of tradition and the winner receives a jacket as well. Albeit a red plaid jacket, but a stylish one none the less! This week should be a lot of fun to watch, as it brings a lot of big names year in and year out. Names such as Jim Furyk, Aaron Baddeley, Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar, and Jason Day are here to compete and win at this event. And since it might not be back next year due to sponsorship issues, they would all like to be known as the last to win here. For this week's pick, I'm going with Englishman Luke Donald. The aforementioned world number 3 has had a great season so far, with a win at the WGC Match-Play earlier this year along with a string of top 10's to boot. The guy doesn't hit it far, but he is arguably one of the best iron players on the planet and has world-class short game. It's no surprise that he is in the top 5 in the world, and with a win this week he could even vault all the way to top. So, I predict him to take the crown this week, and help me get one step closer to catching my fellow blogger Bernardo.
Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are- Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Rickie Fowler, Aaron Baddeley, Hunter Mahan, Ricky Barnes, and now Luke Donald.
This week the Hack Till We Die crew took to Salinas Fairways to hold another range session. Our friends Kyle Contreras and Carlos Alvarez came out to join us and let us take a video of their swings. Not too much serious practice went on, but we certainly shared a few laughs and thoughts with each other. Currently we are getting ready for a jr/adult tournament coming up. We will be paired up in teams of two with Kyle and Carlos. These guys always love some healthy competition, so let the trash talking begin. Leave some feedback on the swings on here or the Youtube channel. Also want to give a shout out to Marcus, certainly doing work for Everett Alvarez golf team.
Last week on the PGA Tour, Augusta National came out with a first time winner by the name of Charl Schwartzel. This week, the Valero Texas Open and TPC San Antonio revealed to us another young first time winner. Californian Brendan Steele took home this week's title in the tough winds at a relatively low score of -8. The 28 year-old UC Riverside alum headed into the final round with a one-shot lead over fellow rookie Kevin Chappell and managed to hang on by one. He holed about a 5-footer for par to take home the trophy and stand above the rest on this day. Scoring was clearly not easy on this weekend, with stars Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy unable to make charges, with them shooting 76 (Adam) and 73 (Geoff) each. Birdies came at a premium and parring most of the holes meant you were playing well with the very disruptive wind. Steele picked up a cool 1.1 million for this gutsy victory. He also will receive invitations to the upcoming Players Championship, next year's season-starting Tournament of Champions, and the 2012 Masters as well. His total score of 280 is the lowest it has been since 1934, when the final score in that tournament was 283. Before this win, Steele's best finish on the PGA Tour was a 17th place finish at the Farmer's Insurance Open back in February, so it was clear that he was in good form this week. Now we will wait and see he can continue to ride this success the rest of the season, and possibly see if any of his fellow rookies can come up with a win to fight him for the chance to win PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
Highlights of the final round are posted below. Until next week, take care! And watch out for an upcoming special edition of an HTWD Range Session blog, as well as our Wednesday picks of the week for The Heritage...
The PGA TOUR heads to TPC San Antonio,Texas, for the Valero Texas Open. My pick of week is Adam Scott. Coming off a hot start at the Masters and defending champion of this event, it is likely the Aussie will perform this week. The key to Scott's recent success, is the putter. We all know this guy has tremendous skill and was once thought of to be the next Tiger. Some even believed his swing was a younger model of Mr.Woods. Many tour pros can hit the ball a long ways and if you play golf, you know it comes down to, who can make the putts when needed. This was the clear issue for Scott in his past career. Last week at the Masters we saw a different Scott, he was making more putts, especially when he had too. The switch to the long putter could be a sign of a come back. Many players comment on taking their game to the next level, in my opinion they are suggesting making more putts when needed. This is clear in Scott's generation of golfers that include Sergio Garcia, Charles Howell III and more. Both players with immense skill but lacking the putting skills to seal the deal.
Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are- Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott.
Following last week's thrilling final-round finish at The Masters, this week the PGA Tour stops at another staple in their schedule: The Valero Texas Open. They head to San Antonio, Texas to play at the TPC San Antonio golf course. It was ranked 17th in terms of difficulty out of the 52 courses in 2010, and was also recently redesigned a little bit by Greg Norman 2 years ago. This tournament also boasts a good deal of star power here; notable names such as Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy and Martin Laird making appearances. It should be a very good follow up week from Augusta. That said, I'm going to go with a bit of a dark horse pick this week. I'm going with Arizona native Ricky Barnes to as my pick, and I expect him to play well. With nearly EVERYONE going low last week, Ricky shot a disappointing 75 on the final day, yet still managed a tie for 20th out of it, which is quite surprising. He hasn't won yet on the TOUR, but with his talent and consistency, it should come soon (hopefully this week). All in all, I just need the man to play well, considering fellow blogger Bernardo is 2 points up on me now, since my pick of Hunter Mahan missed the cut last week while his selection of Phil Mickelson didn't play too well but made the cut and beat Hunter outright nonetheless.
Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are- Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Rickie Fowler, Aaron Baddeley, Hunter Mahan, and Ricky Barnes
Until next time, stay tuned for more blogs and make sure to vote in the poll!!
The Masters has been mastered. What an exciting finish to this prestigious tournament. With so many players at one point sharing the lead and Rory McIlroy falling out of the tournament starting on number 10 it was unsure who would pull through. First of all I would like to certainly honor Rory’s great play through out the week. It was tough to see the talented young man lose it on the back nine. This is a clear example of how harsh golf can be. It only takes one shot to lose it all sometimes. Charl Schwartzel birdied the final four holes to win the Masters. Making a 20-footer at the final hole to shoot a 6-under 66. He finished 14-under, enough to stop Australia from getting its first green jacket. With four rounds under par it is clear why Schwartzel deserves this win not only for him but for South Africa. He is only the third South African to win the Masters, which includes Gary Player and Trevor Immelman It was a great picture seeing Phil place the green jacket on Schwartzel since they have pass history, dueling for a victory at Doral.
Tiger on Sunday
The Masters certainly put on a show on the final day. The tiger was truly unleashed starting with his eagle on the 8th hole. You could see the old tiger in his eyes focused on the task ahead. Followed with a birdie on on 15th after a missed eagle putt that could have placed Tiger as the leader. Tiger is urging for a win since he hasn’t won a major since 08 at Torrey Pines.
Jason Day
Three Austrians which slowly creeped up the leader board during the week and finished with a shoot out on Sunday: Adam Scott, Jason Day, and Geoff Ogilvy. Adam Scott started his hunt for the lead after a early birdie on number 2. He finished with a 2-under front nine. He birdied number 14th to get solo control of the lead at 11-under par. It was great to see him playing great again. I believe the new long putter is key to his success. It is clear he had regained confidence in his putting stroke after a must up and down on number 15th for par. The par putt on the 71st hole was clearly his best shot of the tournament. Wow; Geoff Ogilvy with over seven birdies on the scorecard today. With a stretch of five birdies in the back nine starting on number 12 and finishing on 16, Geoff once again showing he is not someone to be reckoned with, when it comes to Major Championships. This was Jason Day’s first Masters appearance and played it as a experienced Masters contender. His second round bogey free 8-under par is what clearly got him into contention. His birdie on 17th was very impressive giving him a chance going into 18th. Following with his birdie on 18th, finishing strong. Hats off to Jason Day and his inspirational story. Finished with the lowest score for a Masters rookie. The Aussies certainly have the game and style to be the futures big names. Maybe filling the shoes of Phil, VJ, Furyk, and Tiger.
Hideki Matsuyama
K.J. Choi was putting on a show of consistency that helped make this day perfect. This is K.J. Choi’s second year in a row of being in contention on Sunday and being on top of the leader board almost everyday. Finishing at a respectable 10-under. Some other notable players are Freddy Couples, Luke Donald, Angel Cabrera, and amateur Hideki Matsuyama.
Whew, what a day on this friday of the 2011 Masters Tournament! Birdies and bogies galore! Even the famous Augusta roars by the patrons are starting to return. 1st Round leader Rory McIlroy did what he intended to do, and kept his lead with a very solid 3 under 69 that has him sitting at 10 under par, 2 shots clear of second place. But, standing there in second is 23 year-old Aussie Jason Day, who shot an extremely impressive round of 64, which is the low round of the tournament so far. These two guys will be paired together again for the third straight day, and we will see how they will handle the pressure that comes with the final pairing of a major championship. But plain and simple, the real story is not about them, but about the man behind them: Tiger Woods. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Tiger Woods is in third place and 3 shots off the lead. This is the Tiger Woods that has been "struggling" this year, has been "close" with his golf game, and is now the world's number 7 ranked golfer. He only came into the inward 9 at 2 under par, which was 8 shots off the lead, but he produced a very memorable back 9. He showed everyone that he still has some magic left, capping off an amazing 31 with a birdie on 18 and a ton of momentum heading into the weekend. The fact that he is now legitimately in contention heading into the final two rounds has created a lot of buzz, and will definitely generate a lot more viewers. Keep in mind that the players that are in front of him have little experience of how to handle a tournament of this level, whilst Woods has shown time after time he can handle the pressures. But hey, as great of a story this is, it could go south. Although Tiger showed the swagger of old, nobody is fully confident if he can pull this off as he used to. He may go nowhere and finish out of contention. He may win. We don't know for sure, but we do know one thing: Tiger Woods is finally lurking, and it's enough to keep everyone interested and on the edge of their seat for tomorrow.
Here we are, folks! Finally, we have reached the eve of the first major of the year! The REAL golf season has begun, and it starts big with the biggest tournament of them all, The Masters. This tournament is equivalent to the NFL's Super Bowl, the MLB's World Series, and the NBA's League Finals. It is every professional golfer's dream to win this event, hands down. This event is not easy to get into, however, as it is technically an "invitation" event and has a strict qualification process to get an invite. This means that they only invite the best and greatest golfers on the planet to play in this event each year, and it requires a lot of work to win. It also requires a great deal of experience to win here, because there is so much to account for. Rookies generally don't do so well here, and normally it results in veterans with some experience here to put on the Green Jacket.
Now, onto my pick of this week to snatch that Jacket. I'm going to go with Hunter Mahan. The 28 year-old American is very talented and has played well this year, posting 5 top-10s already. He also boasts and impressive track record here, with the past 2 years resulting in top-10s for him. I think his game suits this course quite well, and I think he'll break though for his first major here. He's already shown that he can win against an elite field, and I believe that he is due for a major championship soon. And who knows, it could come this week.
Note: So far the golfers I have used this year are- Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy, Rickie Fowler, Aaron Baddeley, and Hunter Mahan
Its that time of the year again. Golf's first major of the year, the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. My pick of the week is Phil Mickelson. After coming off a win at the Shell Houston Open which as my fellow blogger said is consider a "mini-Augusta" for its course conditions. Certainly being the defending champion, displays his knowledge of the course and his great play. Some notable players to watch this week are Tiger Woods and Nick Watney. Augusta and Tiger tend to always bring some excitement to the golf community. He returned to golf last year at this tournament and finished in a tie for forth. I have been a pretty harsh critic of Tiger before but I'm ready for him to get back to contention. Nick Watney can putt and hit it a long ways. A perfect combination of "drive for show and putt for dough". He finished in the top 10 last year, clearly presenting he has the tools to become one of golfs great players. Can't forget about my favorite golfer Sergio Garcia he made it into the field because of the qualification of winning The Players Championship.
Amen Corner: Augusta National
Toughest stretch of holes at this course
This week the Hack Till We Die crew took to Salinas Fairways to hold another range session. Bernardo and I invited our friend Kyle Contreras to join us and let us take a video of one of his iron shots. All three of use used our time wisely; we all had a drill that we worked on. Bernardo had a towel beneath his underarm to keep the left arm more connected, I was working on more of a straighter take away than before, and Kyle tried to stand closer to the ball. All in all, we didn't always hit perfect shots, but good results did show up as we kept at it. Watch out for upcoming range sessions soon.
Also, in response to Bernardo's surprise side blog about the Mexico vs. Paraguay international friendly on Saturday, I'm posting highlights of the USA vs. Argentina game that happened just minutes after that one ended. The USA soccer team played relatively well against a relentless Argentina offense that could have scored many goals if not for the fact that goalkeeper Tim Howard had an excellent game. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, with Esteban Cambiasso scoring for Argentina in the 42nd minute and young phenom Juan Agudelo netting in the 59th minute for the U.S. Highlights of the high-profile friendly here:
In the final tune-up before the long-awaited Masters Tournament, Phil Mickelson took home the Shell Houston Open trophy at an exceptional 20 under par- 3 strokes better than his nearest competitors. On a course that tries to emulate Augusta National with sloped greens and closely mown grass, it gave a great final round to watch. Only 4 under going in to the weekend, Lefty lit it up on the final 2 days, shooting a scorching hot 63 on Saturday and following it up with an amazing 65 on Sunday with a stretch that included 5 straight birdies. Phil truly likes his odds at the Masters next week, and will be most likely heading into it as the favorite now. With this win, Mickelson will jump to 3rd in the official world golf rankings and bump Tiger Woods out of the top 5, into number 7. Phil notched his 39th career PGA Tour win here, and hopes to ride the momentum through the first major of the year.
Side note: This week was close for our Pick of the Week competition. My pick, Aaron Baddeley finished off a good week with a 4th place finish as he gears up his game for Augusta National. Bernardo's pick, Matt Kuchar, also played well- he finished in a tie for 8th- while he prepares for this upcoming week. Since Aaron finished higher than Matt, I earn the much-needed point this week.
This week the HTWD crew took to the usual practice course: Salinas Fairways. Still in the process of a swing change. But we slowly are seeing progress in our swing and scores. This weekend I got to play Tehama Golf Club and JJ took a trip up to the Stockton area to play the Reserve at Spanos Park. Here is a video of one of many swings at the range. Stay tune for another HTWD range session. Till then Hack Till We Die.
Cell snapshot of Tehama
Sports Side Note: Who's ready for Chelsea v Manchester United Champions League Game
The head-to-head record between the clubs in all competitions is 67 wins for United, 44 for Chelsea and 47 draws. Lets see if ManU can increase this overall record of wins against Chelsea
