Golf Course Digest

Danny Lee on US Amateur Championship

Golfer Danny Lee shot a one-over par 71 in the first round of strokeplay at the US Amateur Championship today, putting him in a tie for 36th.
Playing on the No 4 course at the Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in North Carolina, the world No 1 amateur stumbled with a pair of bogeys on the front nine. He carded three more at the 11th, 12th and 13th holes.

Lee made the turn at one under with birdies on the 7th, 8th and 9th holes but added just one more on the back nine, at the 17th.

South Carolina’s Wesley Brian and Washington’s Andrew Putnam with three-under par 67s, jointly lead by one shot over a group of six players.

Only 20 players from the field of over 300 carded red figures today. (more…)

Tiger Woods said he’s begun riding a stationary exercise bike, can’t move fast enough to catch his 13-month-old daughter, and won’t start swinging his golf clubs until next year.

Woods said things are getting a “lot better”, seven weeks after surgery on his left knee. He’s also regained some weight after dropping 10 pounds since his June 24 surgery to reconstruct his torn anterior cruciate ligament.

“I’m a lot more mobile, which is really nice”, Woods said in a monthly newsletter. I can’t catch Sam yet, but I’m getting close. As far as swinging a club, that’s not going to happen until next year. I just don’t have a choice. We simply don’t know what type of swelling there would be. Everyone’s body reacts differently.” (more…)

Kenny Perry

American Kenny Perry, one of the hottest players in the game, withdrew from the U.S. PGA Championship on Thursday because of an eye problem.

The 47-year-old pulled out of the final major of the year after carding a nine-over-par 79 in the opening round at Oakland Hills Country Club.

“I have had Lasik (laser eye) surgery and have been wearing lenses which have a hard centre and flatten out at the end,” Perry said in a statement.

“I had some infection in there and my doctor said that I needed to let my eyes rest by keeping the contacts out. (more…)

Ryder Cup

Kenny Perry arrived at Oakland Hills Country Club, site of this week’s PGA Championship, as soon as possible, perhaps eager to get preparations under way for what will be, amazingly, his first major championship appearance of the year.

He didn’t recall The Monster being as long or as difficult as it is now. The last time he traversed these hallowed fairways, however, things did not work out so well. Perry was part of an embarrassing 18 ½-9 ½ United States loss to Europe in the 2004 Ryder Cup, matches in which he went 0-2.

That and the fact that next month’s Ryder Cup is in his home state of Kentucky fueled Perry’s desire to make the U.S. squad, despite the fact that he’ll be 48 when the first ball is struck at Valhalla.

That goal has been accomplished despite his not playing this year in a single major championship, where Perry could have earned double points to help in his quest to qualify for the Ryder Cup team. Perry also did not compete in a World Golf Championship event — where the purses are higher, thus offering more points — until the Bridgestone Invitational, where he tied for 66th on Sunday. (more…)

Michelle Wie

Michelle Wie’s career missteps have been many yet she still commands crowds and interest from tournaments seeking a boost in attendance.

It was announced on Monday that Wie, 19, would play the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, her first PGA Tour appearance of the year. The event is on the schedule against a World Golf Championship tournament, the Bridgestone Invitational, which will draw the world’s top-ranked players.

“This is another step in the process of making me a better player,” Wie said in a statement acknowledging the invitation.

Yet there have been questions whether playing against men serves any purpose for her now that her career arc has levelled off. After a terrible 2007, she made another public misstep at the LPGA’s State Farm Classic.

The part-time Stanford student was disqualified on Saturday for failing to sign her second-round scorecard in the scoring area. Wie was one stroke back of the leader headed into the final round.

Playing in LPGA tournaments on the limited number of sponsors’ exemptions available to her, she will make her final appearance on the women’s tour in August at the CN Canadian Women’s Open in Ottawa. (more…)

One hears it from every player competing in the 137th Open Championship: that Royal Birkdale is a “fair” course. This means, I think, that balls do not bounce off sideways, or roll playfully into steep-sided pebbly brooks; and that a player standing on the tee is generally able to see all the way down to the green. Phil Mickelson said yesterday that the Birkdale course uses “every club in your bag” - and I’m sure he meant that as a compliment. But what is it like for the spectator? (more…)

Kim - The Best Young Golfer

Fresh off his second victory of the year, at the AT&T National, Anthony Kim was quick to swipe aside questions of where he ranks in golf’s under-30 crowd.

Adam Scott? Sergio Garcia? They are all well ahead of Kim, at least according to the 23-year-old two-time winner. Although those longer-tenured players do rank in front of Kim on the Official World Golf Ranking, it doesn’t look as though the former Oklahoma Sooner will be in the back of that pack for very long.

So is Kim gaining ground on his higher-profile 20-something competitors? Our experts give their takes in this week’s edition of Fact or Fiction. (more…)

Rocco Mediate on British Open

As Rocco Mediate put the finishing touches on his tie for 18th at the AT&T Championship on Sunday, he heard the chant, “Roc-O … Roc-O” at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

“I don’t know how I’ve done any of this the last two weeks,” said Mediate, who finished six shots behind winner Anthony Kim. “It’s been an amazing trip.”

Mediate didn’t get the news until later, but his playoff loss to Tiger Woods in the U.S. Open last month, plus his performance in the Buick Open (tied for 28) and the AT&T earned him an exemption into the British Open. (more…)

Woods Rating after Kim Wins AT&T Tournament

The 23-year-old’s victory at tournament Tiger Woods hosts, the AT & T National, is his second this year and raises hopes that he could emerge as a challenger to the world No. 1.

Tiger Woods got lucky over the weekend. No, he didn’t toss aside his crutches and start practicing again, but he had a good winner at the tournament he hosts, the AT&T National: Anthony Kim.

The 23-year-old Kim, who was born in Los Angeles but moved to La Quinta when he was 16, is a star in the making. Or it could be that he’s already achieved star status. (more…)

Worthy Rival of Woods is No. 14 in the World

Anthony Kim won the AT&T National on Sunday, his second victory of the season, and moved up six places to No. 14 in the world rankings.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson held onto the top spots, followed by Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy and Stewart Cink to round out the top five. (more…)