Golfgal on GFW

GFW may be gone, but Golfgal's posts live on!

Just a quick post to say I've salvaged almost all of the posts I did for GFW that were lost when they closed their doors. 

Yes...the Big Break Ka'anapali interviews are back!

Gayle

Rocco Mediate - CinderFella personified

2008's US Open was arguably the most exciting golf I've ever seen.  It started with Tiger's double bogey on the first hole on day one (shock #1) and ending with double overtime with golf world's most unlikely challenger - Rocky Rocco Mediate (shock #...I lost count!). 

What made it so exciting, besides the fact that the world's number one was in a playoff with someone who had to qualify even to get into this major, was the fact that there were so many instances when you sat up or stood up in front of the TV and said, "DID YOU SEE THAT!"

Here are just a few things that made it the best US Open ever!

1.  Torrey Pines provided a fabulous venue - what spectacular views!  I sure hope they bring it back there again.  I know one thing - I plan to play that course next January when I'm in San Diego before my cruise.  I watched Tiger play there in February and was blown away by the course and that man's scary talent.  I can't wait to reignite the feelings of this weekend by playing there myself.

2.  Rocco took Tiger to 90 holes!  He's 45 years old and if he would have won, he would have been the oldest player ever to win a major.   He was 158 in the world's rankings.  He was 126th on the money list.  He hasn't won in the last 138 starts (I guess it's 139 now).   His last win was 6 years ago.  And what was really cool, was that the audience was cheering for him over Tiger! (according to The Golf Channel's poll).

3. Emotions were coming through the TV set. We really felt the pain of players - Tiger's knee pain (made me feel sick to watch him double over) - Phil's quad-bogey pain (my mouth went dry - I had to turn away) - Els's triple-bogey pain (I wanted to cry) - Westwood's final putt pain to miss the playoff (and Britain's chances for a win since Tony Jacklin).  And we felt their joy - Tiger's joy on making it into the playoff - Els chipping it in when he couldn't make a putt all day - Rocco's joy at just being there! 

4.  It was anyone's tournament - the scores were so close through the entire weekend.  At one point I was sure Jimenez was going to jump to the top of the leader board, then Els had many great chances (if he had just holed a few putts), then Westwood appeared to have it in the bag on Sunday. And of course, CinderFella himself, seemed to have a "leg up" on Tiger  going into the 18th playoff hole 1 shot ahead. Who would have ever guessed it would come so close? 

5.  The Golf Digest US Open Challenge was a fun addition to the event.  I had hoped for a little better outcome and more real golf, but it was still a great idea and Atkinson should be proud of the way he handled himself.  I sure hope we see a ladies event like this someday soon (wink wink GFW :))

6. For the first time, I watched a PGA event and chatted online to all the fanatics out there in golf forum land at the same time.  After every shot, someone was giving their two cents on the tournament or player.  It was like a huge chat room - very exciting - very aggravating - very tense - but lots of fun!  I felt connected with golfers all over the world.  At one point there were 192 members on the US Open thread.  That was cool!

7.  But the best thing of all was "The Hug" - Tiger and Rocco in a bear hug.  I felt like I was watching Tiger and his dad at the Masters or Tiger and Stevie when he won the Open after his dad had passed away.  Brought tears to my eyes...

Well, it's good that majors don't happen every week. I don't think my nerves could stand it. 

Congratulations to the 2 US Open champions - Tiger who now holds the trophy for the 3rd time and Rocco who captured our hearts forever.

Golfgal

www.golfgal-blog.com

Big Break Ka'anapali - No more Cougar Momma

Well, it was certainly a roller coaster out there tonight on BB Ka'anapali!  Just when you thought you had it all worked out - Surprise!  Someone does something amazingly brilliant (like Susan chipping in for a birdie on the par 3) or something ridiculously stupid (like Dana not laying up in the playoff after watching how badly Kim's putting was tonight).

I was certain that Kim was going to be leaving after the first two elimination challenges (and watching her very bitter attitude in confessional), but somehow the goddess of golf shone down upon her and she squeaked through after Dana hit it, not once, but twice into the water on both of her tee shots from the 140 yard location.  So Dana joined the ranks of Cerbie, Adrienne and Liz, leaving just 8 ladies vying for the coveted LPGA exemption and all that cash!

But even with the bad shots we saw tonight...it was fun to watch the gals play some real golf. And of course, it's always great to watch the glass breaking competition.

Now, let's hear from one of the "story makers" on this week's show, Christina Lecuyer:

Well, Christina, I guess we know now what you meant last week when you said, "Did they not realize I was that good?" 

Yeah <chuckle>... All I know is that I'm getting a little too cocky.  Now I understand why some people may not like me.  I am a little to intense I think.

Last picked on the playground....that's a tough one.  How did you feel when that happened?

You know...it kind of stunk.  I guess I couldn't really believe I got picked last because I thought people thought I was a good player.  So I was surprised by that.  But who knows, maybe my intensity makes people nervous.  But I'm not going to feel bad about who I am.

There was a brief shot of Tina and Courtney saying that you were very competitive and that may have been a factor.

That may have been, but I don't think many people really knew me at that time.  But then again, you'd think that people would want to have someone like that - someone who's really competitive and wants to win - a person who doesn't want to lose no matter what and will do everything she can to win for her team.

Maybe it had something to do with the nature of the 3 team leaders:  Dana, Courtney and Sophie - none of them have been particularly aggressive during the previous episodes.   How do you think they chose their team mates?

I think everyone picked their roommates first (except my roommate wasn't there) and then they picked someone already known as a strong player.  I wasn't known and my roommate wasn't there to pick me.

Well, I think they know you now.  When you were on the green in 3 on the par 5, Sam was very complementary about you being a "fighter", but Lori said, "I think we are going to have to crack that nut." 

<laugh> Yeah, well, that's fine if that is what she wants to do.  And if that's what she thinks she is going to do, let's see her do it.

Another way to look at it is as a complement to your game.

Yeah, I think they were thinking at that  point..oh oh...maybe she can play.  So I think it was a good thing in the end.

I felt like I was watching Sergio in the press conference after The Players this week when he got the last laugh on the media.  How did you feel when you smashed that glass?

I was happy.  I thought... you didn't pick me, but guess what, I did it!  So maybe it was a bad call NOT picking me. 

But being a competitive person, I'm not going to feel bad about it - I'm just going to fight twice as hard when you don't pick me.

How did the teams decide who would play what on the par 3, 4 and 5 challenges?  I think we were all a bit surprised how that turned out.

Sophie, Sam and I got together and we each said what we wanted to play.  I wanted the par 5, Sam wanted the par 4 and Sophie wanted the par 3.  All of us were very confident in the hole we chose. 

But we were all completely shocked that Kim did not take the par 5.  Everyone thought it was the stupidest move she could have made by not saying, "Hello!!!...I hit the ball 400 yards!"

Dana has been very motherly toward Susan even when she was competing against her.  That surprised me, especially during elimination.  It was not very Big Break-like.

Dana really took Susan under her wing. She really liked Susan from the beginning and looked at her as a little kid that needed some mothering.  And she's right -  Susan is so young and kind of naive.  it was really nice of Dana to do that.

How old are Susan and Dana?

Susan is around 22 and Dana is 44 or maybe 45 now and has a 20-some year old daughter. 

Ah, perhaps she sees a little of her daughter in Susan.

Yeah, exactly...

What was Susan thinking going for the green when she was almost guaranteed safety after the first 2 holes?

That was just poor management and it looked kind of bad. I was watching it with people I'd never watched it before with because I am on the road.  And it was funny, but they were saying, "That was just bad golf!"  And it was - it was bad golf - poorly executed.  A lot of putts were taken and a lot of chip shots were taken.  But people don't realize that it is complete and utter, crazy nerves that do that to you.

Even Kim, who Stina said was one of the best golfers left in the field, played bad golf at the end and called herself, "the luckiest, stupidest girl in the world."

Yeah, she admitted it in confessional when she said, "I should have gone home today."  She should have - she played bad golf today.

Overall how did you enjoy the show. 

I thought it was one of the better shows actually.  There was a lot of action tonight for sure.

Any closing remarks?

You know how people say "if you could only watch yourself" Well, I think that my competitiveness is something that brought me to where I am, but I think at the same time that I have to tone it down.  I think the reason why this is so different than regular tournament play is because in tournament play you're basically playing yourself and the golf course and people don't really see that competitive nature out there.  But on the BB it is so different.  I was just being myself and that's who I am, but I think I am a little too intense sometimes.

Thanks Christina for being so open and honest.   Good luck playing off for that alternative spot on the US Ladies Open tomorrow.  We'll see you next week in Vancouver at the CN Women's Tour event and talk to you again after the show.

On a closing note...

Two weeks ago we saw Cirbie (AKA Golf Vixen) leave the show.  I just wanted to let you know that I've heard from Cirbie and she wanted to "set the record straight" on a few things about her game.  Check out the post I did that night and check out her comments at the bottom of the post.  Thanks Cirbie!  Don't be a stranger; we'd love to hear more from you about the show and your experience. 

Funny, but I feel like I'm living vicariously through these ladies, don't you?

Golfgal

www.golfgal-blog.com

The Babies are Booming

Well, it was another great golf weekend even with no Tiger or Lorena in sight.  Sure Lorena was playing in the SemGroup Championship, but she really was never in contention (I guess she can't win them all), and of course, Tiger is still recovering from his knee surgery (the 3rd on the same knee - hmmm...is age catching up to him?)

No, this weekend was for the youngsters on both the LPGA and PGA tours.

Paula Creamer, the youngest winner in the LPGA history, holed a birdie on the 2nd playoff hole against veteran Juli Inkster who was vying to become the oldest winner in LPGA history.   What a great match! 

I could only watch the LPGA highlights on TV because I can't get ESPN2 in Vancouver.  Arg! Thankfully Hound Dog provided some great video on Saturday's round on his blog.

I love both of these ladies, but I was rooting for Paula because she came so close last week, losing that playoff to Annika.  She deserved to get one back.  But it was tough to cheer against Inkster who is such as wonderful golfer and a great person and mother.  I really hope Juli wins another one this year.  She's such a terrific role model.

Now...is it just me, or did the announcers go on just a little too much about how hard Paula was on herself because of last week's lost.  Sometimes you wonder if they just play things up for TV, but it felt over the top to me.   

In my experience, people who are that hard on themselves usually blow it because they can't control their emotions.  That didn't appear to be the case this weekend.  Paula had some hiccups in her game today, but this week she was rock solid - certainly well above the field, including Lorena.  In fact, Juli and Paula were the only two players to end up under par for the week (remind me never to play that course ;)).

As for the men, well, it was 22 year old Anthony Kim all the way this weekend, beating out the field by 5 strokes and becoming the youngest winner on the PGA TOUR in six years. 

Kim came to the tour with high expectations and lots of confidence, and he received some ridicule early on for his bold AK belt buckles and cocky style.  Do you remember the story on Golf Digest's website last August?  Here's how it started...

"When Tiger Woods first laid eyes on Anthony Kim's belt buckle, he feigned disgust. "What is that?" Woods asked, gesturing to the large initials.

"Well, Nike hasn't put my initials on anything yet," Kim shot back, evoking a smile from Tiger."

It certainly is possible, maybe even probable, that Anthony would not have won if Tiger had been in the field, but there is no doubt that the young guns are coming on strong in both the PGA and LPGA tours this year.  By the first week in May, we've seen 8 wins by the "under 30" crowd on the PGA.  That's one more than all of last year. 

And on the LPGA, the world's number 1, Lorena, who shares my birth day, but unfortunately not my birth year, is only 27.   Paula's 22, Morgan Pressel 20, Natalie Gulbis 25, Suzann Pettersen 27, Yani Tseng 19, Louise Friberg 28, Jeong Jang 27...the list goes on and on...

Certainly, the veteran greats like Juli and Annika will defy the odds and continue to play with youthful exuberance, and win their share, but the youngsters are not standing by waiting for "their turn".

I do believe that Lorena has years of golf dominance ahead of her.  But one starts to wonder if Tiger's age will catch up to him sooner than everyone thinks.  The majority believes he is invincible and will remain so for another decade.  But 3 knee surgeries on the same knee makes you wonder...does he have that many years left in the number one spot or will someone like Tony, tame the Tiger before Kim reaches 30 or Tiger captures his 19th major to break Jack's record so he can retire.

Golfgal

www.golfgal-blog.com 

Paula photo by: © Daniel Raustadt | Dreamstime.com

Big Break's Golf Vixen breaks first

Last week we were left a little high and dry without an elimination on the Big Break Ka'anapali, but not this week.

Now don't get me wrong...I don't wish anyone back luck, but I did expect to see someone go home and when it didn't happen, I felt like I was watching the last episode of a major TV show with a "continued next week" at the end.  Having to wait a whole week to find out who would be the first to go home would have been really tough if I hadn't been enjoying 5 days of 90 degree golf in Vegas.  Fun fun fun!  When you live in Canada and it's April, and you're itching to play in something other than a ski jacket, basking in 90 degree weather and watching your balls fly 20 yards longer than they do at home is pure heaven.

Anyway, although not everyone on the Golf Forums out there is enamored with BB Ka'anapali, I have to admit, I can't wait to get home on Tuesdays to watch it.

This week was a good show and finally someone went home.  If you didn't watch the show, you wouldn't be surprised to hear that the barefoot "Iron Warrior", Cirbie Sheppard was eliminated this week.  But you'd probably be surprised to learn how close she came to beating out the much more experienced, Tina Miller (who has won 7 tournaments in college and played in two US Women's Open Championships ('04 and '05) and two LPGA events (the 2005 Wendy's Championship for Children and the 2007 Corning Classic) on sponsor's invites.)

Let's hear what Christina Lecuyer thought of this week's show (sorry Christina, I know you're a bit shy, but I couldn't resist this great pool shot :))...

First impressions of last night's show?

I thought it was a lot better than the last show.

That was a pretty cool immunity challenge playing blind shots like that. 

It was.  You know, I had no idea that my ball went off the green by that little because we didn't get to see our second shot.  So I was kind of disappointed because I hit two really good shots and didn't win, but I was also happy because I was really trying to hit good shots this time because last show I didn't hit many good shots.

After hitting such good shots, you must have been disappointed when Lori not only got immunity, but then the $5K check in the bonus round that could have been yours.

Yeah, it was tough to choke down that due to the fact that I hit some good shots.  I didn't even get a chance to swing at it for $5,000 so that was pretty disappointing sitting there, knowing I couldn't compete.  I am sure my mouth just dropped down to the ground when we all first heard about the $5,000 bonus.

You said after Lori won the $5K you were happy for her, but that after 2 good shots you weren't sure how you'd feel that night.  How did you really feel?

At the time she and I were getting along pretty well and so I said, "Okay, sounds good - good job, let's move on"  At that time I was also hoping there would be more opportunities like that ahead.  So I just said to myself, "Let's get safe today and hope for another opportunity tomorrow."

Liz seems to be very desperate - much more than the others.  She's said many times how much she needs this.

I know Liz pretty well and it is actually quite sad because out of all the people on the show she needs the money more than any of us.  You know, she lives on food stamps sometimes and can't fly into some events.  She'll play an event and then have to take a month off to work.  So she really needs the money.

That makes a lot of sense and now I understand why she said about Sophie, "I hope she gets 2 zeros.", while Sophie just said Liz was great.

Absolutely, and I was actually glad someone else said what they really think.  Even Susan, who in the early Big Break commercials, made some comment about my "I hope she chokes" said, "Hey if it's your competitor, of course you don't want them to do well."  So at the beginning I looked bad, but now everyone else is saying, "Hey this is a competition and I'm here to win."  If you're not here to win, why are you here?  I think finally everyone is starting to figure that out. 

In fact, I was just in a meeting with Kathy Whitworth - all time great LPGA Hall of Famer and she just said, "If you're not here to win, why do you play?"

Stina said that you have "a lot of guts."  She seems quite impressed with you.  What did you think when heard that last night?

I liked that complement. In fact, both Stina and Andrew said that I like to take risks.  In another interview I had, I was asked if I always take those kinds of risks.  And you know... after hearing these comments, I think on that show I took more risks than I do in a normal golf event. 

Lately I haven't been playing very well and and now I'm thinking I've been playing too tentatively.  On the show I played like I did in college.  In college, I wasn't afraid of anyone and I went out every week and said to my boyfriend, "I'm going to win."  And now I see all these players on the tour and feel intimidated and so I play it safe.  But now I'm thinking I have to start to play the way I know I can play and believe I can beat everyone, and when I do that, I know I'll do a lot better.

First we saw Cirbie playing in bare feet and now we see Adrienne hitting shots off her knees on the range?  Does she always practice like that?

<laugh> No...that was just a fun thing they taped.  We were goofing around on the range and we were all still getting along, so she was just having some fun.

In your words from the show, the elimination challenge was a combination of "Holy Moly" and "Holy Mother of Pearl".  Ha ha...sounds like you and everyone else were pretty shocked during that challenge. 

<big laugh> My boyfriend's mother told me not to swear on the show because all her friends would be watching and so I text messaged her and said, "See...I'm 3 shows down...noooo swearing!"

Was it really that Cirbie played better than normal or was Tina off her game.  Is Tina typically that reckless off the tee?  Is she really that inconsistent? Being in two eliminations, you have to start to wonder.

You know I was talking to one of my girlfriends, Kelly, who said that she knew Tina as an unbelievable player.  I didn't know Tina, but from what I saw, I didn't see her as any type of threat.  But now looking at her bio and her record - how good she was in college and she's played in a couple of Opens, I'm wondering...this girl could barely beat Cirbie who can't even hit her own shadow!

However I was impressed in the end. My boyfriend thought I was being sarcastic when I said, "Good job Cirbie", but I really wasn't.  She really hacked it out to stay in the game with Tina that long.  I felt really badly for her.  They didn't show it, but she was crying and she was so nervous she could barely hold the club.  So we were all feeling really sorry for her.  But we also all knew she'd be the first one eliminated.  Tina really didn't put up a fight.

What do you think Cirbie's handicap is? 

I have no idea, but it's not very good.  To be honest I understand from a TV perspective why they would pick her, but she had no chance.  I don't understand the reasoning, but it's hard to advertise her as one of the top 12 women in golf when it's obvious she really can't play golf.

We heard you say on camera, "I'd hate to play a round of golf with her [Cirbie]."

Oh my, it was horrendous. It was like, "Come On!!!"  She took literally 5 minutes on 1 putt.  Unbelievable.

Was she doing that to rattle Tina or was she just being clueless and shoeless?

I don't think she knew what she was doing - she wasn't thinking about anything at that point.

Stina said that Cirbie was "on the clock" - was that really true - did they say something to her?

Yes, they took her aside and said they were giving her 1 minute per shot. So, we knew she wouldn't do very well in the playoff because they rushed her.  To be honest, if she had had 5 minutes per shot, she may have taken it to another hole <laugh>

Cirbie's outfit in the confessional showed off her cleavage a bit more than anyone else's.  Was this because she was leaving the show and wanted to leave an "impression"?  She's got some fans on GolfWRX - guys who think she's hot - someone compared her to Rosanne Barr.

She definitely has a lot of fans. You know, she's a really good girl and people may see her on the show and think she is an idiot, but she's a really nice girl who keeps in touch and has a positive attitude.  She's engaged to an unbelievable rock star - hard core metal type - and she's really liked in that circle.  Yea, she's a really good girl, but she just can't play golf - it's that simple.

Tina's first 3 putt where she flew it past the hole was shocking for someone with her experience.  Were the greens that tough?

A 15 foot 3 putt - that's adrenalin and "Oh my gosh, I don't want to be beat by someone who can't play golf."  You know, its so different than anyone could ever imagine out there.  There's so much pressure, so it was just nerves I think.  But yes, the greens were fast.

What did you think when you watched the "confessionals" of the other ladies?  Any surprises? 

I was happy to finally hear Susan and Liz say that they were here to win.  It's true.  Everyone is saying it in confessional and in interviews, but I was the only one saying right out there on the course.   I'm not going to say anything mean about anyone and I'm not going to do anything to hurt anyone, but I will admit thousands of times, "You're here to win and if you say you're not, you're lying." 

Thanks Christina!

Well, one down...ten more to go.  If I were to pick the next contestant to be eliminated, the obvious choice would be Susan who isn't really in the same league as the others.  But she's stayed out of elimination so far and maybe she'll be the lucky one again next week.  It wouldn't surprise me - actually nothing really would in this "Holy Moly" series.

Golfgal

www.golfgal-blog.com

Received this comment from Cirbie on the post...

Loved the interview with Christina, yet there were some things that I HIGHLY do NOT agree with. Just to clarify My Golf Game to the viewers:
There's a lot of negativity surrounding how I performed on the BB this year, which I understand. But I want to clear things up, without anyone taking offense to what I'm bluntly going to say, so take it how ya want. I have a 1.5 HDCP from the Men's Tees. I was playing on a wrist injury from summer of '07 (as TGC knew) & am still injured & starting rehab for my wrist. It's tough enough to compete on the BB, & even Tougher to play on an injured wrist, especially knowing that I was the least experienced golfer with my background. I performed poorly the first episode, I do admit I was overwhelmed at first & couldn't perform well, especially after accidently ripping out my Neck piercing (dermal anchor) at 4am before the challenges, so my head was definitely somewhere else. The "cleavage" BS... hahaha... I am not your "typical conservative golfer" & would Hate to be one. I am a rocker wild girl to the core. Nuff said with that. I was the ONLY girl who DID NOT CRY on the show, just to clarify. I was shaking, often, due to adrenaline & wonderin' if I was able to perform with my wrist on short shots.  I must say that I had an amazing time, & look forward to getting back into tournaments & the like. I love golf & before I injured my wrist, I was playing the best I have ever played: scores of 67-73. I've been workin' hard as a CEO asst & in charge of International Expansion for an international natural products company, so golfing comes second right now. I will be on tour someday soon, & can't wait to be competing with these awesomely great players once again :)
Love to all!
Rock Hard. Roll On.
*GolfVixen*

Thanks Cirbie!

Great golf - even without Tiger and Lorena

What an exciting weekend in golf - even without Lorena or Tiger!

First, Annika Sorenstam held off Paula Creamer on the first playoff hole to win the Stanford International and the 71st title of her career.  It's heartwarming to see Annika playing so well again and win her 2nd event this year.

Next, Adam Scott, the "too cute for words" Australian, long overdue for a win, sank an unmakeable 48-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole yesterday to defeat Ryan Moore of the U.S. and win the Byron Nelson Championship.  I thought only Tiger Woods did things like that.  But perhaps Mr. Butch Harmon was right when he said that Adam"is the only one who can challenge Tiger Woods in the next four or five years".

But the story that touched me the most, was the come back of the decade, when Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland won the BMW Asian Open with a 40 foot putt on the final hole (see Irish Independent story below).  Darren has won 2 World Championships and 9 other European Tour events, but this one was by far the sweetest. 

Not a lot of North Americans follow the European Tour, but few golfers wouldn't know Darren Clarke.  The amiable Ulster man made US headlines in 2006 when he was chosen as a Ryder Cup Captain's pick only 6 weeks after he tragically lost his wife, Heather, to cancer.  I was one of those skeptics who thought it was too soon and that he wouldn't be able to perform at the highly stressed event, but his courage and determination made him a star at the Ryder Cup.  It was one of the most emotional Cups I have ever watched and even now it brings tears to the back of my eyes when I remember Darren winning his match 3-2 over Zach Johnson on the 16th hole and breaking down into tears.  I still get goosebumps over that.

Everyone who knows him, loves Darren Clarke, with his Spike hair and a grin that would make any golf gal swoon.  Sure, he smokes a cigar on the course when plays and he can drink you under the table, but he is a dedicated professional.  He is well loved by players on both sides of the pond.  Even when Elin Woods won her court case, she donated her money to a charity in his wife's name. 

This weekend, Clarke dedicated his win to his two little boys, Tyrone and Connor.  And hearing him say it brought more tears to my eyes. 

“This is very special, probably the greatest I have achieved. It has been the toughest of them all, to try and get back up to where I feel my golf should be. It’s nice to win again, a very good feeling.  Hopefully, I have made Tyrone and Connor very proud,” said Clarke. “This was always going to be a massive hurdle for me, to get the first win since Heather had passed away.  It’s nice that I just about managed to clamber over it. Being honest, I probably fell over. [Always a joke for the media from the Irishmen :)]

I've been watching the European Tour looking for the old Darren since 2006, and this year I really felt he was coming back into his prime again.  Every weekend I looked for him on the leader board and this year he hasn't been that far off.  A year ago, he could hardly make a cut.

How many of us could go through such heartbreak and come back out the other side?  I'm not sure I could do that. I probably would have quit after last year.  Heck, I wanted to quit yesterday after a pathetic round of golf.  But Clarke, with the support of family and friends (many of them PGA Tour pros) never gave up.  He is a great role model for his kids and us adults too.

Welcome back Darren!  I will be your biggest supporter for this year's Ryder Cup team.  Given your comeback this year, I have no doubt, there's a major win inside of you, just clamoring to get out!

Golfgal
www.golfgal-blog.com

Photo by: © Isogood | Dreamstime.com

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Wonder- putt secures Clarke’s ‘greatest win’

Irish Independent
28 Apr 2008

DARREN CLARKE threw his arms wide in utter elation. “Yeahhhhhhhhhh,” the Ulsterman roared, before catching his caddie Phil ‘Wobbly’ Morbey in big bear hug. “Wow,” said Clarke. Wow indeed. There could have been no more spectacular conclusion to Clarke’s...read more...

Tech Tags: Irish Independent newspaper Sport

Big Break Ka'anapali - Episode 2 - The Eliminator (Not)

Well well well...wasn't that an interesting episode of The Big Break Ka'anapali ... an elimination round without an elimination. 

Here we thought someone was going home and instead, everyone started sleeping together.  Yes, it was roommate madness in this episode with each of the ladies being assigned a new surprise roommate after the luxury of having their own rooms the first few days they were on Maui.

I would not have enjoyed bunking with a stranger, but I guess beggars can't be choosers, and so you had to hope for the best and get a roommate who didn't snore and didn't back stab you in the night to improve their position in the Big Break.

Then, on top of that, the competitors had to partner with their roomies in the "safety challenges" and hope that they wouldn't pull them down when they were fighting desperately to stay in the game.  Challengers became buddies, but for how long?

I asked Big Breaker, Christina Lecuyer, who's playing a Futures Tour event in Texas this week what it was like that day...

What was with that weather!?  That doesn't look like the Ka'anapali I came to know and love when I played there last year.

You know, that was probably our 5th day on the island and the weather was awful.  One day we sat in the hotel room the whole day because everything was just wiped out.  Even the roads were closed - the weather was that bad.

How did you enjoy your first elimination challenge?

Well, I probably hit two of the worse shots I've ever hit... well maybe not ever hit... but I'm definitely not proud of the two golf shots I hit on this show, but hopefully there is more to come.

In terms of roommates, you and Lori seemed to be okay with each other.

Absolutely, we were fine.  But Lori had a big problem with Dana in the beginning.  Lori and Dana weren't getting along.  I had no problem with Dana or Lori.  Frankly, I would have probably been happy with anyone (at that time).  [Golfgal aside...something tells me that later she might not have been so comfortable with "anyone"]

But if you were asked to choose a roommate, was there one person you would have chosen over the rest?
Hmmm...If I could have chosen a roommate, I probably would have chosen Sam.  She's the one I probably talked with the most during the first few days, but I was happy to be with Lori. 

Were there any "oil and water" pairings?
I kinda thought that Adrienne and Cirbie were a little bit different, but not in the end.

So what was all the fuss about the flag?

Well, for that part of the competition, it was a race.  And they said, "On your mark... get set... go!" And I took off.  The wind was really blowing and our flags were kind of blowing together and I grabbed both of them by mistake. But I gave one to Susan when I realized I had both of them.  Then, I ran and put our flag into the ground and I thought I had it.  I'm not going to apologize for going for it. I wasn't about to say, "Oh sure, go ahead." It was a race!

When it was over, I went over and said I was sorry I grabbed her flag and said, "Hey, I didn't mean to grab your flag, but that it is the way it happened." 

But that wasn't the end of it...

Well, when I said I didn't mean it and it was just what happened, Dana said something stupid, "Just because I didn't mean to hit it out of bounds doesn't mean I didn't hit it."  She was being a smart__s about it.  Whatever... 

Lori seemed more upset about the whole thing than you did.
Lori got pretty mad about it, but it really wasn't that big of a deal.  I tried to blow it off. I think she was more upset about Dana's comment.

Do you think she hit it fat because she was upset?
They didn't show it on the air, but we had a really crappy lie [remember, Lori and Christina were at 115 yards when they were forced to give up their spot to Susan and Dana].  It was an area that wasn't really mowed down properly and it was really wet.  It just happened.

Given how competitive you are, how did you feel relying on another player to keep you out of elimination?  Watching it, it reminded me of Solheim or Ryder Cup matches.

As you can tell in this show it really helped me. In this show, it worked in my advantage.  If I was Courtney I wouldn't have been very happy. But, you know, things happen and you can't really do anything about it.  It could have been the other way around, but I'm happy that in this case she helped me.

Did you like the final elimination challenge being non-competitive?

It was okay, but as Liz who said, "This is a game and I want to see as many people as possible go home that is not me." 

Even though I didn't say it, I have to be honest...I was hoping that they'd both go home. It's a competition and the more people that get kicked out that isn't you, the better chance you've got.  So I was kinda of with Liz, to be honest.  After all, it is a game show.

Do you think that The Golf Channel are portraying the women objectively? Some of the ladies (Lori, in particular) are getting pretty beat up in the golf forums.

I don't know....I think everything will work out in the end.  Right now, I think they are using comments that will get people talking and I guess there are talking...right? :)

Yes, they are talking...

Golfgal

www.golfgal-blog.com

Lorena needs a new nickname

Jack Nicklaus, arguably the greatest golfer that ever lived, went from "Fat Jack" to "The Golden Bear".  I think it might be just a tad overdue to give Lorena a new nickname and drop the "Ochoka" forever from her resume.

The No. 1 player in the game, Lorena had been frustrated by her inability to close out a major championships until she broke her 0 for 24 stat by winning the British Open last year at St. Andrews.

Yesterday, Lorena did something even more impressive - she became the 4th LPGA golfer in 45 years to win four tournaments in as many weeks, claiming the Ginn Open title on Sunday.  "Ms. 59", Annika Sorenstam, won four consecutive LPGA titles in 2001. Mickey Wright did it in 1962 and 1963 and fellow  Kathy Whitworth followed with her streak in 1969.

So what is it with nicknames?  It you take a look at all the great golfers, they usually all have nicknames - some more than one.  But in the men's arena, even the lackluster have them as well.  Our friend at The Sand Trap did a nice job listing a ton of male golfer nicknames for us, including:

Phil Mickelson - FIGJAM (I won't share with you what this means in a G-rated blog)
Craig Stadler - The Walrus
Ernie Els - The Big Easy
Retief Goosen - The Little Easy (also called the Silent Assassin by some)
Tim Herron - Lumpy
Mike Weir - Weirzy
Brian Gay - All Day Gay
Constantino Rocca - The Italian Bandit
Fred Couples - Boom Boom
K.J. Choi - Tank
Miguel Angel Jimenez - The Mechanic
Corey Pavin - The Bulldog
Greg Norman - The Shark
Loren Roberts - Boss of the Moss (I like this one personally :))

...to name a few.  Even PGA caddies have nicknames - like Jim Furyk's caddie, "Fluff" and Phil's caddie, "Bones".

So, why don't more women golfers have nicknames?  Sure, we have the Pink Panther (Paula Creamer) and The Big Wiesy (Michelle Wie).  And JoAnne Carner was called "The Great Gundy" and "Big Mama" in her heyday.  Nancy Lopez was sometimes called Slowpez (but not to her face).  Mae Louise Suggs was known affectionately as "Miss Sluggs."  So there are some, but I really could only find a handful in my research.

To this day, Lorena hasn't been given a nickname that does her justice.  She has a Superman club head cover and her coaches in college called her "Super Ochoa", but even that doesn't seem to be enough for a women who reigns supreme in Golf Stadium.

Hey, that's it!  Lorena Ochoa doesn't need a nickname, what she needs is a respelling of her name to:  Lo-Reign-a!

Golfgal

www.golfgal-blog.com

Photo by: © Isogood | Dreamstime.com

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Ochoa simply dominant

The Vancouver Sun
21 Apr 2008

M I A M I — Wo r l d No . 1 Lorena Ochoa became the first player in seven years to win four successive LPGA titles with a three- shot victory at the Ginn Open in Orlando on Sunday. Mexican Ochoa, a stroke in front overnight at the Ginn Reunion Resort,...read more...

Tech Tags: The Vancouver Sun newspaper Sports

Will the Olympics be Golf's next major?

It's funny how a topic comes up every 6 months or so and everyone gets on a bandwagon, but nothing ever seems to get done.  Well, maybe now that PGA Tour  commissioner Tim Finchem has finally announced his support of golf being an Olympic sport, it just might happen.

Golf was part of the Olympics in 1900 and 1904, but some dorks (I'm using a Christina Lecuyer term of endearment here :)) decided all that should change and so 104 years later, we're still debating an issue which should be a no-brainer..

Last fall Phil Mickelson came forward and said “I think if golf became an Olympic sport, it would help golf on a global basis." 

Ernie Els and Nick Faldo are somewhat supportive but think it should be for the  top amateurs only.  But the Olympic Committee has made it clear they don't want golf unless the world's best players would compete and that means Tiger Woods.

Unfortunately, Tiger shares Els' and Faldo's view, making it clear he wouldn't compete, "It would be great to have an Olympic gold medal," he said, "but if you asked any player, 'Would you rather have an Olympic gold medal or green jacket or Claret Jug', more players would say the majors."

Hmmm...I wonder about that...

Look what the last Claret Jug winner Padraig Harrington said, "Some golfers say we now have four majors and that is enough. But the four majors were not the four majors 70 years ago. You never know, in 50 years maybe the Olympics will be the No. 1 major. It has to start somewhere. I would put in on my schedule now."

I like the way you think Padraig!

There are lots of arguments against golf in the Olympics and its effect on sponsors and the PGA Tour in its prime schedule.  But I agree with USGA Executive Director David Fay who, like Lefty, says we have to think globally, "Golf in the Olympics could grow the game worldwide, particularly in places where it's not that big. Take countries like Croatia or Russia. In order to jump-start interest and support of the sport in these countries, you need money. The best way to get that is through two sources —- your government or the national Olympic committee, For these countries, there's no substitute for it being an Olympic medal sport."

Anything that grows interest in golf gets my full support.  And anything that can grow interest in women's golf gets my undying gratitude!   Apparently the LPGA has previously indicated their support, so hopefully women and men will be on the Olympic greens together in 2012.

But you just never know...2010 is full of controversy over women's ski jumpers not being allowed to compete in Vancouver.  Surely the IOC wouldn't make two sexual discrimation blunders in one decade. 

Golfgal

www.golfgal-blog.com

Icon image by: © Sabri Deniz Kizil | Dreamstime.com

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Clearing hazards for an Olympic tee time
Nicole Jeffery Golf Additional reporting: Agencies
The Australian
17 Apr 2008

THE sport’s push for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games gained momentum yesterday with the endorsement of USPGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem. The co-operation of the allpowerful USPGA Tour is essential if the sport is to return to the Games after an...read more...

Tech Tags: The Australian newspaper Sport

Big Break Ka'anapali - Episode 1 - Christina's View

After waiting for weeks for this show to air, I am happy to say it finally arrived.  The Big Break Ka'anapali kicked off tonight on The Golf Channel and I was glued to the set.

I've been posting about it for a while now, so you might want to check back with some early sneak peeks into the show and one of its stars.

Meet the unforgettable Big Breaker Christina Lecuyer

Count down to Big Break Ka'anapali - more from Christina Lecuyer

It was so great watching the show knowing that I'd have a post show commentary by Christina (I circled her in this picture). I kept wondering what she was thinking as she saw it for the first time.

I'm not sure if the show started with a bang or a whimper for me.  I was so anxious to see the golf, that the first 10 minutes of the show made me impatient.  I also thought the drama and catty side of the ladies was brought on a bit too quickly.  I wanted to like all the girls to start, but it was hard because the producers/editors/directors really left you with some first impressions that weren't good. I'm not sure that was fair to the ladies. 

Anyway, enough of what I thought, let's hear from the Big Breaker herself...

I caught up with Christina Lecuyer tonight in Lafayette Louisiana where she’s preparing for a Friday tournament and we had a short chat about her thoughts on the first episode…

What were your first impressions of the show, Christina?

It was hard to watch. <chuckle> I feel like such a dork sometimes. Obviously I’ll say this over and over again, but I’m so competitive and I don’t even know the cameras are there. I’m concentrating so hard on winning and the competition. I am just playing the best that I possibly can and so I’m really focused on that and not the cameras.

When I hear myself say, “Oh man, I hope she chokes”, I realize that it’s not great.  But it’s just the competition and that’s all it is to me.  I don’t mean anything personal by it; I don’t even know these girls.  But that was kind of hard to watch.

It surprised me to see you rip your clothes off to get into the water after our last conversation where you shared that you weren’t comfortable in a bikini in front of the cameras.

<laughing> Seeing myself in a bathing suit on national television -- that was really hard.  Knowing there are guys at my country club watching and my parents and all kinds of other people watching – that was very difficult for me.  But I didn’t think about it at the time; it was just me and the competition.

What was with that first competition – digging in the sand for a clue – guessing hula moves – driving like maniacs to get to the first set of tees – seemed kind of silly to me…

It was very Reality TV-like.  One of the associate producers is a huge fan of The Amazing Race and since it is one of the most popular reality TV shows, really well produced and has won a lot of awards, The Golf Channel wanted to try something new and that was their take on that.  I don’t think we’ll be seeing too much more of that.

What was the first tee shot like on the Big Break Ka'anapali?

Obviously I didn’t know if I had the right club in that 30 mph wind and I screamed at the ball “Get Up!”  Well, the adrenalin was pumping and I hit a hybrid and I flew the circle by quite a bit.  The second time I took one quick breath beforehand and tried not to kill it, and it ended up being great.

When you said “miss it miss it miss it”, do you remember saying that?

No, I really do not remember saying those things at all and it is so embarrassing watching it now.  At the same time, what I was saying is probably what the other girls were thinking.  I’m not going to take it back, but it’s not like I want to be mean to anyone - it’s a competition and I want to win!

Drama seemed to be starting already between the ladies and they just met. For example Lori closed off the show saying Dana is tough to get along with.  I didn’t see anything on the show to warrant that.  Did I miss something?

There was a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff they didn’t show tonight, but I think as the series goes on you’ll be able to see perhaps where that was coming from.

I was surprised at the obvious differences in talent out there as well.  Cerbie and Susan seemed a bit out of place with their inexperience.

I think that was all of our first impressions when we first went out there. I think that the bets going around after the first show, and everyone’s assumptions were, the first two people to be kicked off will be Cirbie and Susan, but you just never know…

Susan doesn’t seem to take things as seriously as others.  She ended the show saying she wanted to be in the elimination challenge because then she’d get to play more games and that she likes playing games.

When you first meet Susan she comes off as a little ditzy, just ho-humming around.  Who knows maybe it will change throughout the series. <silence>

We never got to see the elimination challenge.  That really disappointed me as it is often the most exciting part.

I think they are trying to put a different mix in this show and it has thrown a lot of people for bit of a loop.  I think it will become more "mainstream Big Break" going forward.

After the first day, who did you think was your toughest competitor? 

I didn’t pick one, but I definitely narrowed it down to a few girls who had a really good chance of going far.  You can obviously tell when you look at someone’s golf swing, when you look at someone’s demeanor, when you look at someone’s attitude, when you look at how nervous someone is, you can tell a few things and see who is ready to play or who’s not.

Girls that stuck out at the beginning that I didn’t think were going to go very far were Cirbie and Susan.  Girls that I thought were good competitors -- the 3 biggest ones in my mind were:

Adrienne – she was the only girl I’d every met prior to the show and I knew she had a lot of talent.

Lori – just because she was extremely driven and competitive.  She was there to win. And like she said on the show, she’ll run you over to get there.

Kim – she’s a great player.  You can tell by her talent level, she smokes the ball.  She hits the ball soooo far.  It’s intimidating, but then it’s not intimidating. Obviously she’s not on the LPGA and there is a reason for that.  I made it just as far as she has in golf, so it’s not like I can’t beat her, but she definitely smokes it.  I think Adrienne said she hits it like a guy and she’s right.

Any other comments about the first episode filming you want to end with here?

That first episode took almost 4 days to shoot.  That last scene where all four of us had to hit different shots from different locations…that took almost a full day of shooting.  We sat on some guy’s porch the whole day.  The weather was not cooperating with rain and thunder.  It was pouring so hard you couldn’t see two feet in front of your face.  It was eally tough.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of fun, but it was a lot of work.

Thanks Christina...always a pleasure chatting with you. Same time next week?

Absolutely...see you next Tuesday, same time!

Golfgal

www.golfgal-blog.com