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News in Golf
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Links to up to the minute news in golf
from around the world.
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Introduction to Match Play
Our Match Play Primer is a good feature to revisit every year this time on the world golf schedule, with the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship teeing off.
The "Match Play 101" articles go over scoring in match play (what does "4-and-3" mean?); terminology (what is "dormie"?); explains rules differences between stroke and match play; and gets into some questions of strategy.
Take a look at the Match Play Primer.
Elsewhere on About.com:
1930 British Open
1929 British Open
Introduction to Match Play originally appeared on About.com Golf on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 09:11:10. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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This Week: WGC Accenture Match Play Championship
Luke Donald is the defending champion and the No. 1 seed at the 2012 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, which opens on Wednesday with all but two of the Top 64 players in the world rankings (Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey are the absentees).
And Donald also has the marquee matchup of the first round, taking on Ernie Els. A .pdf of the complete bracket is available here. In addition to the Donald-Els matchup, the Bobby Jones division also includes Dustin Johnson vs. Jim Furyk in the first round.
In the Ben Hogan division, top-seeded Martin Kaymer begins with Greg Chalmers, and David Toms vs. Rickie Fowler is also on the docket.
In the Gary Player division, top-seeded Rory McIlroy faces George Coetzee, and the other top first-round match is Sergio Garcia vs. Miguel Angel Jimenez.
The Sam Snead division is loaded. Top-seeded Lee Westwood opens with Nicolas Colsaerts, but we also get Tiger Woods vs. Gonzale Fernandez-Castano; Nick Watney vs. Darren Clarke; Webb Simpson vs. Matteo Manassero; and Bill Haas vs. Ryo Ishikawa.
See our WGC Accenture Match Play tournament page for the list of past winners, plus more trivia and info about the event.
The European Tour does not have a tournament this week, but the PGA Tour is also staging the Mayakoba Golf Classic. The LPGA Tour is in Singapore for the HSBC Women's Champions.This Week: WGC Accenture Match Play Championship originally appeared on About.com Golf on Monday, February 20th, 2012 at 15:07:50. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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TV Viewers Again Lead to Golfer's DQ
Another golfer has been disqualified from a tour event after television viewers alerted officials to a rules violation.
The golfer in this case was Peter Whiteford, and the tournament was the European Tour's Avantha Masters in India. Whiteford was in contention, too - he was the first- and second-round leader after rounds of 66 and 68, and finished the third round one stroke off the lead.
But when he showed up for work on Sunday, he was informed that he had been disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.
The incident that led to the disqualification occurred on Whiteford's final hole of Saturday's third round. Whiteford thought his ball might have moved in the 18th fairway, and, according to European Tour chief referee John Paramor, asked his caddie, his fellow-competitor and a TV cameraman if they had seen the ball move. All said no. Whiteford played the ball.
But it turns out the ball had moved. Television viewers emailed the European Tour's website, and the TV viewers' information was passed on to Tour officials, who reviewed the tapes and the incident with Whiteford.
If Whiteford had known in real time that his ball had moved, he could have replaced it to its original position and assessed himself a 1-stroke penalty. He could also have notified rules officials of a possible error prior to signing the scorecard. Unfortunately, neither of those things happened, and Whiteford was DQ'd.
The European Tour has posted a statement about the incident.
Sound Off:
Should TV viewers be allowed to point out rules violations?TV Viewers Again Lead to Golfer's DQ originally appeared on About.com Golf on Sunday, February 19th, 2012 at 09:57:22. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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Tseng Makes the List
She didn't win the LPGA's 2012 season-opener, but Yani Tseng also didn't wait long to pick up her first victory of this year. Tseng won the second LPGA event of the year, the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Tseng closed with a final-round 66, finishing at 19-under 269. That was good for a one-stroke victory over third-round leader Ai Miyazato, who shot 68 on Sunday. It was Tseng's second-straight win in this tournament.
So what list does Tseng make, as referenced in the headline? The win is her 13th on the LPGA Tour, and that's enough to show up on our list of golfers with the most career LPGA wins. Tseng is tied at 13 wins with Betty Jameson, Rosie Jones and Liselotte Neumann.
Tseng now has 21 points in the LPGA's Hall-of-Fame qualifying system; it takes 27 points for an LPGA player to earn an automatic place in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
So think about it: Tseng is just 23 years old, has 13 LPGA wins (33 worldwide) and 5 majors, and has a very good chance of qualifying for the Hall of Fame this year. (Tseng wouldn't actually be inducted until she's reached 10 years on the LPGA Tour.)
See also:
LPGA's Hall of Fame system isn't easy, it's hardTseng Makes the List originally appeared on About.com Golf on Sunday, February 19th, 2012 at 08:44:00. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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Vote: Which Golfer Do You Want to See In a Future Swimsuit Issue?
So Natalie Gulbis is in the 2012 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Good for her. But it's not like Gulbis hasn't posed in a bikini before. Gulbis has already said she'd do it again in a future edition. But if SI features a golfer again, how about somebody new? And if someone other than Gulbis poses in the future, who would you like that to be?
At least one of the choices listed in the poll below - Paula Creamer - has expressed interest in posing for Sports Illustrated. Replying last year to a question from one of her Twitter followers, Creamer said she would consider an offer from the magazine. (Tweets are very non-binding.)
Two of the golfers in the poll - Gal and O'Toole - have posed in bikinis before. Creamer does an annual calendar in Japan. Pressel and Wie have done glamour shoots.
These certainly aren't the only candidates, of course - there are many great candidates on the LPGA. If you'd like to make a write-in vote you can leave your selection in comments.
But let's not forget about our (and Sports Illustrated's) female readers. Fact is, the fellas are making appearances in the swimsuit issues these days, too. In the 2012 edition, athletes Rafael Nadal, Chris Paul and Michael Phelps are featured posing with model Bar Refaeli.
So which guy on Tour gets your vote to pose?
Vote: Which Golfer Do You Want to See In a Future Swimsuit Issue? originally appeared on About.com Golf on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 11:59:35. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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First Look: Natalie Gulbis In Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
And here is the first image of Natalie Gulbis from the 2012 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition:
Photo by Kayt Jones/Sports Illustrated
This Natalie Gulbis photo is from the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, which is on sale now.
So I guess we can confirm that Gulbis is in the issue, eh?
Gulbis is actually not wearing a swimsuit in the image above, nor in any of the other photos in the magazine. It's bodypainting. Gulbis is one of three athletes included in the bodypainting section of the 2012 SI swimsuit issue. (Soccer star Alex Morgan is another, and the third is swimmer Natalie Coughlin.)
Gulbis' inclusion in the swimsuit issue was first revealed about two months ago, although nobody (except us) seemed to notice. On Dec. 10, Gulbis' friend Cristie Kerr tweeted about it, but that tweet was quickly deleted.
More of Gulbis' bodypainting pics can be found at si.com/swimsuit.
This isn't the first time Gulbis has posed in a bikini (although it probably is the first time said bikini was, in reality, paint applied to her body). Her first swimsuit calendar was released in 2004, and also in 2004 she appeared in a photo shoot for FHM magazine.
If you enjoy photos of Gulbis looking glam, then also check out this gallery, which includes pics from some of those Gulbis calendars of yore:
More about Gulbis:
Vote in the Poll:
Which golfer do you want to see in a future swimsuit edition?
First Look: Natalie Gulbis In Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue originally appeared on About.com Golf on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 22:31:32. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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This Week: Northern Trust Open
It will be tough for this week's PGA Tour Northern Trust Open to top last week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. A near-perfect final round from Phil Mickelson for the win is always an event.
But Mickelson is playing at Riviera Country Club this week, so who knows? Plus, the Northern Trust Open sports the best field we've seen so far on the PGA Tour in 2012.
In addition to Mickelson, the field includes Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Fred Couples, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler, Padraig Harrington, Ryo Ishikawa, Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose and Adam Scott, to name a few.
The defending champion is Aaron Baddeley, and Badds is going good at the moment.
To view the list of past champions, plus more tournament info and trivia, see our Northern Trust Open tournament page.
Elsewhere, the European Tour is playing the Avantha Masters in India; and the LPGA Tour is in Thailand for the Honda LPGA Thailand.This Week: Northern Trust Open originally appeared on About.com Golf on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 16:15:15. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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Cleveland Goes Throwback with Classic Driver, Mashie Line
Take a look at the new Cleveland Classic driver and you might think Cleveland Golf has produced a persimmon driver. The company has gone retro with its latest clubs, but not that retro. The Classic driver has a modern titanium head painted to resemble the old persimmon woods.
Cleveland also is expanding its Mashie line with a new Mashie hybrid, plus irons and fairway woods under the Mashie monicker.
View the new clubs
See also:
How to store golf clubs
Cleveland Goes Throwback with Classic Driver, Mashie Line originally appeared on About.com Golf on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 11:56:09. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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Phil Mickelson Notches Win No. 40
Phil Mickelson played a brilliant final round on Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am to win the tournament and notch his 40th career PGA Tour victory.
The fact that he did it playing alongside Tiger Woods in the final round? Phil's fans will love that, too. Woods struggled, particularly on the green, and shot a final-round 75, dropping to 15th place.
Mickelson, on the other hand, blistered Pebble Beach with a 64, the best round of the day by three strokes. It is Mickelson's fourth win in this tournament, his previous wins happening in 1998, 2005 and 2007.
And, as noted, it is career win No. 40 on the PGA Tour for Mickelson. Forty wins? That's huge, and we really need to appreciate Mickelson's accomplishment.
To wit: Only eight golfers in history have won more times on the PGA Tour than Mickelson. Those eight golfers are Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Woods, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson, Billy Casper and Walter Hagen.
Mickelson is tied at ninth on the PGA Tour career wins list with Cary Middlecoff. He's now one ahead of Tom Watson. And Phil is five behind Hagen.
Here's another way of putting it: Mickelson has more PGA Tour wins than Gary Player and Fred Couples combined; more than Greg Norman and Ben Crenshaw combined.
See also:
Phil Mickelson's PGA Tour victories
Golfers with most wins on the PGA TourPhil Mickelson Notches Win No. 40 originally appeared on About.com Golf on Sunday, February 12th, 2012 at 18:38:25. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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Like Father, Like Daughter: Korda Wins in Australia
Now we know that Yani Tseng will not win every women's golf tournament played in 2012. Tseng finished tied for eighth in the LPGA's season-opening ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open on Sunday, finishing two strokes behind the winner.
And that winner was 18-year-old Jessica Korda, by way of a 6-way playoff. Korda outlasted Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Julieta Granada, So Yeon Ryu and Hee Kyung Seo - a very accomplished set of runners-up - to win her first LPGA title in her second year as a pro.
Jessica is not the first Korda to win in Australia, however. Her father is Petr Korda. Petr Korda reached as high as No. 2 in the world tennis rankings, winning 10 singles titles in a career that spanned from the late 1980s to 2000. And among Dad's championships is a major, the 1998 Australian Open.
Petr Korda, from the Czech Republic, started his family in Florida. Jessica is the oldest of three children, and, as you might guess, is a very good tennis player herself.
But she's an even better golf, and if not for the exploits of her good friend Lexi Thompson, Korda would probably have been much better known to the general golfing public even before her win at the Women's Australian Open. She finished in the Top 10 as a 15-year-old amateur at the 2008 U.S. Women's Open. She was a member of the 2012 U.S. Curtis Cup team.
In the playoff on Sunday, all six players parred the first extra hole, then Korda won the title by making a birdie on the second.
Korda is about two weeks shy of her 19th birthday, which makes her the fifth golfer in LPGA history to win at age 18 or younger. See the list of youngest winners on the LPGA Tour.
The 6-person playoff, by the way, ties the LPGA record for most golfers in a sudden-death playoff.Like Father, Like Daughter: Korda Wins in Australia originally appeared on About.com Golf on Sunday, February 12th, 2012 at 08:58:31. Permalink | Comment | Email this
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