Sports Illustrated» Golfer Shoots 56 In Pro-Am|Sports Illustrated

Golfer Shoots 56 In Pro-Am

gareth rosslee — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:36:07 +0000

Trevor Murphy nearly withdrew from the Nationwide Tour event before going on to post an unbelievable 56.

Even now, a week since shooting 56 during a Nationwide Tour pro-am, former Charlotte 49ers golfer Trevor Murphy has trouble getting his head around what he did.

“When you say 56, it doesn’t really register,” Murphy said before teeing off Monday in another Nationwide Tour pro-am in Omaha, Neb.

“People don’t throw around the number 56 unless it’s for nine holes. It really doesn’t register to me as a round of golf.”

SHORT COURSE

It was the lowest score ever posted in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event, though it came during a pro-am. If there’s an asterisk beside the score, it’s that the Gray Course at Ohio State where Murphy shot 56 plays less than 6,000 yards long. That’s approximately 1,000 yards shorter than courses the pros typically play.

Even Murphy acknowledges the short yardage was a significant factor in the score he posted. He reached all of the par-5 holes in two shots and five of the par-4s played under 330 yards.

Still, 56 is 56.

“You still have to hit good shots and make the putts and deal with what’s going on,” Murphy said.

CLOSE CALL

And it almost didn’t happen.

Murphy spent the night before at a friend’s house, sleeping on an air mattress. During the night, the mattress went flat and Murphy awoke tired and sore.

Before teeing off, Murphy spent an hour in his car with his seat laid back, trying to get some rest and get comfortable. He considered withdrawing but decided to play, focusing on making sure his amateur partners had a good time.

“It was just strange. (The 56) was the last thing I expected to happen,” Murphy said.

9 HOLE BLAZE

Murphy parred the first two holes then entered the twilight zone. During one nine-hole stretch, Murphy made eight birdies and an eagle. In all, he played his final 16 holes 14-under par – and he missed a 6-foot birdie putt on his final hole for a 55.

“I made everything,” Murphy said. “I’d hit a putt, look up and say, ‘That’s going in.’ It was very cool.”

It earned Murphy instant recognition around the golf world. He’s in his first full season on the Nationwide Tour, where he ranks 40th on the money list with $82,311 in earnings. The top 25 earners at the end of the year will advance to the PGA Tour.

He’s been on the road for 16 of the past 19 weeks, with four more weeks of travel before going home to Scottsdale, Ariz. Murphy said it’s been more of a grind than he imagined, but he’s getting more comfortable each week.

People know who he is when he tees it up now, too.

“I don’t know if I completely acknowledge” the 56, he said. “It was such a short course that it’s hard for me to feel like that stacks up with a 59 on a normal tour course.

“That’s my thought, anyway. But it’s still cool.”

Courtesy of Charlotte Observer

Golf’s Best Sideshow Still Entertains

jaya — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:37:14 +0000

John Daly and Anna.

John Daly’s scorecard was the only thing getting more attention than his pants.

Golf’s most entertaining sideshow was at it again, tying his best round at the British Open with a six-under 66 on the Old Course. It put him atop the leaderboard, a spot that, regardless how brief the stay, would have been unimaginable during the latest chapter in his pulp fiction life.

“I’ve never ran from my mistakes. I’ve always kind of been the man that you’re supposed to be when you screw up – and I’ve screwed up an awful lot, not just on tour, but in other aspects of life,” Daly said.

“I think it’s how you come back and deal with it. I don’t know if it’s motivation for fans or if it’s helping them. Whatever it is, as long as it’s a positive, to me that’s all that matters.

“When you have so many ups and downs in life, like everybody does, some smaller and bigger, it makes it so much more gratifying when you do something special.”

Daly birdied seven of the first 11 holes, and he might have challenged early leader Rory McIlroy if not for four putts that lipped out. One, on 17, led to his only bogey of the day.

That Daly is a spectacular talent has never been in doubt. You don’t go from last alternate to major champion, as he did at the 1991 PGA Championship, without considerable game. And you sure don’t win a second major – the British Open here at St. Andrews, no less – by being lucky.

Daly is Everyman.

Fans can’t help but be charmed, seeing a little bit of themselves in him. Or maybe a little bit of who they would like to be. He hits driver when he should hit irons. He goes for shots that inevitably end badly. He believes “grip it and rip it” is more than just a cute slogan.

Daly’s nickname was “Wild Thing,” and he more than lived up to it.

Among other things, he trashed a hotel room in 1997 during The Players Championship and once did a TV interview to promote a golf course wearing only blue jeans. No shirt, no shoes. The PGA Tour has put him in timeout-mode five times (his disciplinary file was a hefty 456 pages as of the fall of 2008), fined him $100,000 and ordered him to attend counseling or alcohol rehab seven times. He’s also lost part of a considerable fortune to four ex-wives, gambling and bad loans to friends.

But at 44, even Daly has had enough of his high-wire act.

He’s lost almost 100 pounds since having Lap-Band surgery in February 2009, and said he quit drinking and eating as much junk. The rib and back injuries that made it painful to get his game back in shape have healed.

“I feel like I’m getting healthier,” Daly said. “Being able to work on my game and get some confidence built up, (winning) would be just the most gratifying victory I could ever have.”

There’s still a long way to go. Daly has three victories worldwide since winning the British Open 15 years ago, and has dropped to 455th in the world rankings. He has just one top-50 finish this year, a tie for 24th at the Puerto Rico Open, and sounded as if he was ready to quit after missing the cut at Torrey Pines earlier this year.

After turning back the clock with a first-round 67 at the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills that left him two strokes off the lead, he followed it up with a 73 and ultimately wound up tied for 32nd.

“I’m not out of it. I’m in it, even if somebody goes out and shoots 7- or 8-under,” Daly said. “I feel the game is coming around, and when I’m hitting my driver the way I am right now, it brings confidence.”

Gives the fans a thrill, too.

There were appreciative whoops and hollers with every thwack of his driver, and encouraging shouts of “Go get ‘em, JD!” As Daly strolled up the 18th fairway – smoking a cigarette – one fan in the crowd held up a sign reading, “John Daly the Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment.” Another carried a poster that said, “John Daly Living Legend.”

“He’s a role model,” one of the men said.

Even with the wacky wardrobe.

Dress Sense

Daly may have ditched that shaggy mullet he sported back in 1995, but now he’s wearing pants that can only be described as garish. Thursday’s choice was lavender paisley (his girlfriend wore a matching miniskirt).

“All of these pants, the good thing about them is you get dressed in the dark, any shirt is going to match,” Daly said.

Not really. Daly’s sky-blue sweater, peach shirt and turquoise hat were cringe-worthy, more acceptable for a 3-year-old dressing himself.

But as Daly is trying to prove, it’s his game that matters.

“It’s just a great course and I just love it. I don’t know why, it just suits my game,” he said. “It’s, to me, my favorite course all over the world that I’ve ever played. When you’ve got that going for you, you don’t feel disappointed when you don’t play so well.

“But you feel even better when you do.”

Courtesy of stuff.co.nz

Tiger To Return Next Week At Memorial

ernie4bogey — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:32:56 +0000

Tiger Woods will play at the Memorial Tournament next week, giving him a chance to defend his title from last year, the Golf Channel has reported.

The world’s best golfer withdrew from the final round of the Players Championship three weeks ago due to niggling neck injury. He has since recovered and has been seen practicing and hitting balls at his home in Isleworth.

Woods had broken his mold of the past by committing to tournaments earlier this year, something the PGA Tour asked him to do for planning purposes. He committed to The Players several weeks before the event and he’s already said that he’ll play in the AT&T National in early July.

Woods will then take a week off before playing at the US Open at Pebble Beach.

With thanks to Golf Digest SA

Tiger’s Coach Quits

ernie4bogey — Tue, 11 May 2010 10:41:18 +0000

Tiger Woods won 31 PGA Tour events and six major championship titles while working with Hank Haney, who said it was his decision to sever ties with the golfer.

“I have informed Tiger Woods this evening that I will no longer be his coach,” Haney said in the statement released to Golf Channel. “I believe that there is a time and place for everything, and I feel at this time and at this place in my life I want to move forward in other areas.”

The announcement came the same day as Woods told a news conference he was not sure when he would return to the game after a painful neck injury forced him to quit the Players Championship in Florida during last Sunday’s final round.

Woods will undergo tests this week to determine the full extent of the problem.

Returning from a self-imposed, five-month exile at last month’s US Masters after revelations of a string of marital infidelities, Woods tied for fourth at Augusta National but missed the cut at Quail Hollow before pulling out at Sawgrass.

Calling his opportunity to work with Tiger “a dream come true,” Haney said Woods had achieved “a level of greatness that I believe the game of golf has never seen before”.

“I will always appreciate the opportunity that I have had to contribute to his successes,” Haney said.

“However, I believe at this time that it is in both of our best interests for me to step aside as Tiger’s coach.

“Tiger has been through a lot in the last six months, and I really believe that given the chance, mind free and injury free, we will all see Tiger Woods play once again like we all know he can.”

With thanks to timesonline.co.za

VIDEO: Sawgrass’ Hazardous 17th

jane smith — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:04:39 +0000

The iconic 17th hole at the TPC at Sawgrass.

The Players Championship is often referred to as golf’s ‘Fifth Major’ because it’s pretty tough to win – and part of its challenge is one of the most famous par-threes in golf, the island-green 17th.

There’s nothing quite like watching seasoned pros hit into a water hazard to make unseasoned amateurs (read hackers) feel a bit better about our dodgy golf games. And one of the best places to see golf balls find a watery grave is the 17th hole at the TPC at Sawgrass, venue of this weekend’s Players Championship on the PGA Tour.

Since the first time the Players Championship (then called the Tournament Players Championship) was staged at the Pete Dye masterpiece in Florida in 1982, the 17th hole has captured the imagination of both players and fans.

What makes it so unique is that the hole can play as both a great birdie opportunity, or a treacherous bogey maker. Take yesterday’s round – only six players found the water (one player, Greg Owen, found it twice), and the 17th green played as the easiest green to hit of all 18 holes, with 91% of the field finding the putting surface on the first go.

But it’s not always that easy – take the first round back in 2007. On that tricky day, 50 balls found the water surrounding the iconic island green at 17. The cumulative figures vary – from only 30 over four rounds last year, to a massive 93 back in 2007.

For some of the best action from the 17th over the years, watch this PGA Tour’ video of magic moments