It snows in Arizona?

The World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play Championship was postponed Wednesday due to snow. This is the second time in three years that snow affected play in the WGC match play event.

The tournament is being held at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, AZ, a place that rarely gets any snow.

Four hours into the event a storm came through and dropped two inches of snow onto the course causing play to be suspended until Thursday morning. The delay left players pretty surprised as most of them aren’t accustomed to snow. Of course, some players from the northern part of the country like Keegan Bradley played in the snow before, but never on tour.

Fortunately the delay didn’t ruin anybody’s day as snowballs replaced golf balls, caddies made snow angels, and someone even created a desert snow man. Just a weird day for golf in Arizona.

Thankfully, for some tardy fans, they still have time to fill out their bracket and catch all the action this weekend.

The tournament is set to resume at 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning and officials hope to have the first and second round matches concluded on Friday to return the schedule to normal.

 

 

Teased with 59, Mickelson falls short of PGA record

After coming so close on Thursday to shooting a 59, Phil Mickelson stood on the 18th hole on Friday needing a par to break the 36 hole scoring record.

 

In a typical Phil Mickelson melt down, he drove the ball into the water and double bogeyed the hole and failed to break Pat Perez’s record that was set at the 2009 Bob Hope Classic.

 

David Toms also matched Perez’s record of 124 strokes at Colonial in 2011.

 

A consolation for Phil “I’ll always be second best to Tiger” Mickelson however; he tied Mark Calcavecchia’s tournament record recorded in 2001.

Aces and Caddy Races

The Waste Management Open is one of my favorite tournaments to watch throughout the PGA Tour season. Even though this tournament lacks the prowess and history of other tournaments; it certainly makes up for it with its creativity.

The tournament takes place in Scottsdale, Arizona at the TPC Scottsdale stadium course. Needing the warm weather, Arizona provides a nice desert environment and climate for a late winter tournament.

The tournament does not require a high level of skill from the players, rather this week is more about how much fun you can have while playing in a professional event.

The first element of the tournament is the low scoring the course allows. As we saw this year in the first round when Phil Mickelson had a putt for 59.

The second and third elements that set this tournament apart take place because of the 16th hole at the Stadium Course.

 

WM-Aerial-of-16

As you can see, this plain par 3 is surrounded by bleachers. Varying around 162 yards in length, this par 3 gives the professionals a chance to aim at the pin and shoot for a hole-in-one. With drunk crowds in the thousands, there is no other environment like it during the PGA Tour season.

The 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale is also home to another young tradition. Caddy Races. Giving the fans a chance to bet on which caddies will reach the green first.

 

 

The combination of the thousands of fans, pin seeking shots, and flying caddies is what makes the 16th the rowdiest hole in golf and what makes the Waste Management open one of a kind.

 

Good Start for Mickelson

When his putt lipped out for a 59 all Phil Mickelson could do was keel over at the hips in disbelief. It looked good all way. 20 feet out, 10 feet out, 5 feet out the ball looked dead center and one of the greatest golfers to play the game looked to have shot the ever elusive 59.

 

It was Thursday at the Waste Management Open in Scottsdale, Arizona and Phil jumped out to an early lead. Playing incredibly well all day, Phil came to 18 with a 25-footer left for a 59. This is what happened.

The ball ran the back edge of the cup, thought about going in, then rested a few inches away from the cup. Tough luck for Phil.

Home on the Range

I woke up and it was 67 degrees so i had to go to the driving range. It felt good to put my cleats back on and hear the spikes click against the pavement. I took a blue gatorade and headed to the tee, excited to get back in the swing of things.

Of course the first few shots showed how rusty i really was. No matter how badly i was hitting the ball, you always have to practice with a purpose. After a bad shot it is very important to go through the same pre shot routine as you approach the next shot.

Although it was my first day back on the range, I felt as though it was still late summer, and my game was in full blossom. The range balls, still cold and hard from the winter, were not exploding of the golf club, and the wind gusts made it difficult to tell what the ball was doing while in the air.

I could only manage to hit 50 balls before my back told me that it was a good start but had to quit. As the winter fades to spring my body will become more adjusted and conditioned to the swing. Although i left with a blister on my hand and an ache in my back, i could not have been happier, especially when a monsoon rolled in while i was sitting in class later that afternoon.

The Tired and Useless ‘Is Tiger Back?’ Argument

It is now January 2013, roughly 26 months past Tiger Woods’ infamous car accident. Ever since then, the disgraced golfer has not achieved the same success as he did for the first decade of his career. There have been moments over the last couple years that have prompted the ‘is he back?” question.

Here, at the beginning of 2013, we are facing yet another moment in which people are asking if, indeed, Tiger is back.

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After winning the 2013 Farmer’s Insurance Open in La Jolla, California, Tiger has once again warranted our inquiries. This time it seems right. The scandal has receded into the back of our memories and the injuries that have hindered his career have retreated, so yes, there is an argument that Tiger, is indeed back.

Don’t be fooled. We’ve been here before. This isn’t his first PGA Tour win since the scandal so what makes this one any different from the others. The ‘is he back’ question is so tired. The useless debate will carry on and we will continue to scrutinize every little thing until he has regained the prowess he once possessed.

That night in November 2009 was the last weever saw of the indestructible Tiger Woods. The golfer we knew will never be back. The best we can hope for is a second coming. The only absolute truth is the fact that if Tiger does indeed return to dominant form then it is going to be fun to watch.

Ping Pong Golf

In order to cope with my desire to play golf throughout this long winter; I invented a small game to entertain myself.

Ping Golf Pong

Take whichever wedge has less bounce, for me it is my 56 degree Cleveland CG10.

Drop a ping pong ball on a mat or rug where you have enough room to make 3/4 of a swing.

Put a stack of plastic cups about 20 feet away from where you are hitting the ball. (It helps if you put them on a floor where it can bounce in, you will make more shots!)

The Bug

The bug has returned. Awakened from a brief hibernation, the bug has returned to infiltrate the matter running through my veins. As the winter draws on, the hollow cold air weakens my immune system allowing the to bug slowly fortify itself in the deepest nerves of my body.

As the new year rolls through a fresh calendar the symptoms hit. The bag in the corner becomes far more interesting. I drape sweatshirts and jackets over the bag trying to resist its tempting gravity. But the bug will ultimately feed on its prey. It becomes too much.

I turn on the television and the bug is there. Tiger Woods cruising on to a 4 shot victory at the Farmers Insurance Open in La Jolla, California. He looked so comfortable playing on familiar Torrey Pines Golf Course, a course where he has won so many times. Then the bug moves in for the kill.

I got off the couch and straight to that bag in the corner. I pulled out my beloved Scotty Cameron and dropped 3 balls onto the rug and began to hit the balls back and forth. It was over. The sickness was reinvigorated. The golf bug was fully awake, and ready to be unleashed.