Golf Empire

After a couple of amazing days, Steve Stricker sits in second on the leaderboard at fourteen under. His back to back 63s have given him a one stoke lead (amazing) in this tournament which is looking to have uncharacteristically low scores. Despite his amazing play, as of right now, Tim Clark has the lead at sixteen under through fifteen holes. This is unbelievable play from the field right now. I wonder what the cut will be when it has to be made. Stricker has been playing well in his third round, but even a bogey free, one under back nine is not enough to keep him in the lead. What a day!
Unfortunately for Chad Campbell, his calf cramped up so badly that he fell to the ground and had to be helped off the course. After coming in second in the Masters, Campbell hopes to be well enough to play in the US Open in three weeks. Look for post round coverage and a look to tomorrows final round to come.

Big news from the video game community have recently come to my attention. EA Sports, makers of games like the Madden and Tiger Woods series, have announced an online golf game to be made available to the public later this fall. When I initially heard this I was sort of confused as I associated the Tiger Woods name with the traditional console game (created for the big three systems and usually a computer game as well). The future of gaming, however is in online play and EA Sports is looking to revolutionize the industry. Instead of playing with a disk that you purchase from a store, you purchase the game through a console like PS3 of XBOX 360. This eliminates any type of extra hardware and requires little to no extra waste (EA is thinking green, people). Additionally, it will automatically connect you with the rest of the world playing the game, making online play even easier to connect to.

You may be thinking, what’s the big deal? It just saves you the trip from your house to the store. But the implications toward a new type of videogame industry are astounding. Imagine a console that has no slot for hardware, but only a connection to the internet. That would be cool. Additionally, this could make games more consistent and would be a great way for developers to fix any problems and improve the overall gaming experience. Instead of going in year after year to buy a small fix in a game, you could just buy the upgrade through the online shop. This is huge and personally I think this is a great way to look to the future. Nintendo already has a similar system to this as Wii owners can purchase old games (from NES, SNES, N64, etc.) and store them directly on their new console. When I first heard of this, it seemed a little gimmicky and I didn’t like the idea of having to pay for these games twice (even if I did buy it 15 years ago). However, if they were to market new games this way, it would be a great way to bring videogames to the next level. I wonder what Tiger thinks about this…

Interesting stuff from day one down in Texas. After not competing in this tournament since 2003 and his famous bad move, Vijay Singh shot a 68 and is one shot back of the leader. When asked about the reaction from the crowd, who jeered him back in ’03 when he decided to withdraw, Singh said the support he received was, “no more than I had last week.” Personally, I have not forgotten how ignorant Singh was and have not really seen him in the same light. That being said, if I were to see him on the street, I would definitely go and talk to him (hahaha). Regardless, Singh has not been having a good year, and it is good that he seems to be playing well here. Paired with Singh for the opening round was Kenny Perry, who also shot a 68 and is looking to capture his third title here at the CCC. Look for Perry to be hanging around all weekend.

Other big news in golf is John Daly’s return! After a six month long suspension for going Randy Johnson all over some guy’s camera, Daly looks to be returning to golf a changed man. Apparently he has lost some weight and has tuned up his game. Daly realizes that his days of competing on the PGA are numbered and he must make the most of them while he still has his health…I wish Daly the best of luck because who doesn’t love overweight golfer who can just mash the ball off the tee. Hopefully he isn’t completely changed and can still dazzle America with his interesting brand of humor and paradoxical golf game.

This weekend is the Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth Texas. The Colonial Open is regular event on the PGA Tour schedule and is only one of four invite-only events. It is also the longest running event on the Tour to play at the original course, starting way back in 1946. Some people may recognize the name because it was famous for allowing Annika Sorenstam to play in a PGA event since Babe Zaharias back in the forties. This was also when Vijay Singh complained about playing with a woman, exposing his chauvinistic tendencies and giving golf fans around the world one more reason to like Tiger Woods.

Due to the exclusive nature of the event, the only guaranteed spots are given to the top 80 players on the previous years money list. However, many decline the invitation, so others are given a chance to step up and make a run at the million dollar winning prize (1.6M to be exact). Another cool tradition that the club has is the Champion’s Choice. This tradition gives the previous year’s winner the choice of any two young deserving golfers the chance to compete in the tournament. Notable choices of the past have been Mark O’Meara, Paul Azinger, and Davis Love III.

Last years champion was Phil Mickelson, who is unfortunately unable to compete due to his wife’s health, so this year, there will be a new champion at Colonial. A few golfers to watch are Kenny Perry, Rory Sabbatini, and Paul Casey. Kenny Perry is a two time champion at Colonial and looks to get his third victory in six years. Rory Sabbatini is fresh of a win last week and looks to continue his streak by playing well in this tournament. Finally there is Paul Casey who won the BMW Open in England last week and now has the number three ranking in the world, behind Tiger and Phil. Look for him to step his game up to live up to his high ranking.

Despite my usual troubles on the links during the start of the season, this year seems to be different. After a relatively quick start, I am hoping that the golf that I played down in Florida can help me to make my game better than it has ever been. And it was not just myself, but my friends also improved scores over the four days. I think this could be the way to discover the problems in one’s game, as repetition of this nature forces the golfer to adapt by playing so much golf, there is no way it could get any worse. My own example would be my putting. The first day I played, my putting was miserable. I three putted more than I would like to admit, and because of that, my score suffered. I knew that I would not be able to continue this way, and after the second day, the number of three putts dropped dramatically. I don’t know if it was the practice that came from all the rounds or the state of mind I found myself in, but I feel like this trip permanently changed my game. For people who are looking to improve the way they play, I think playing multiple days in a row (like three or four) is really the way to discover how one truly plays.

Furthermore, I find that the attention one pays to coping with a part of the game that is failing, can often lead to a sloppier round. Instead focus on other parts of your golf game that just seem to be working. When my putting was off the first day, I relied heavily on my short game to save my round. I often found myself thinking about how important a certain chip might be, because if I did not hit the ball close, there was a strong possibility my putting would not be able to come through. It was in this was that I was able to learn a lot about golf and my own game in particular. To sum everything that I have been thinking up, just allow yourself enough time to play the game because no one becomes a golfer overnight. It take practice and experience to build a well rounded golfer. I hope my thoughts help in improving the way you think about the game.