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PGA Tour golfers tweet it away on Twitter

2009-07-03T20:01:00.003-04:00

If it wasn't before, the micro-blogging service Twitter is officially a phenomenon. I have been on something of a "tweeting" spree lately, so I figured I would do a post about professional golfers who have embraced Twitter.

By the way, in case you haven't enjoyed Twitter yet, a "tweet" is a message (between 0 to 140 characters in length) that your "followers" can read on the site. If you haven't tried it yet, you might want to check Twitter out. It isn't everyone's cup of tea, but as this post suggests some people really enjoy it.

My favorite three professional golfers and Twitter users are:

1. John Daly - Long John has posted 2,318 updates on Twitter so far. He follows almost all of his followers. I will admit to being a little thrilled when I received a message that said John Daly was following my tweets.

2. Ian Poulter - He is the best European golfer/Twitter user on the PGA Tour right now, in my opinion. His posts are only in the 300 range, though.

3. Stewart Cink - Cink currently has 888 updates on his Twitter account. I have been following him since the US Open, and I enjoy Cink's recaps of his rounds.

4. Davis Love III - Don't let his age fool you. DL3 is a fan of Twitter, though he doesn't have the zeal of Cink and Daly at 96 updates so far.

5. Chris DiMarco - DiMarco is sort of a sporadic Twitter user, but his profile is worth checking out.

6. Natalie Gulbis - Possibly the most famous member of the LPGA Tour, Gulbis is a frequent user of Twitter. She posts a lot of pictures and other gems, so this is another user to follow.

7. Michelle Wie - She is playing great golf this week, and she is keeping up updated along the way.

Are there any other professional golfers who use Twitter that I am missing? Leave a comment, and I will update this page to reflect a more complete list of golfing tweeters.

Golf Travel: Disney's Osprey Ridge

2009-06-30T13:38:00.004-04:00

Golf in Florida has always been a favorite among players across the U.S. However, when most think of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida , few envision one of America's top golf resorts. In fact, to complement the world's most famous theme parks, the folks at Disney have built several great golf courses which may be some of Orlando's most affordable when played at the right times. Somewhat surprisingly, the Walt Disney World Resort was placed in "The Top 100 Golf Resorts" by Golf Magazine. Recently, I was fortunate enough to get a shot at two of these courses on my Floridia vacation.

Disney has hosted professional golf events for over thirty years. Among the champions of Disney golf events are greats such as Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. This year's US Open champion, Lucas Glover, won his first PGA Tour event at the FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney World.

Disney continues to host a PGA Tour event, now known as the Children's Miracle Network Classic. That event will be one of the closing championships of the PGA Tour season, and it will run from November 9th to November 15th. This tournament is played on two of Disney's premier courses: Disney's Magnolia and Palm courses.

The other two major eighteen hole golf courses are Osprey Ridge and Eagle Pines. The two courses share the same upscale, contemporary style clubhouse, which features a restaurant, fully stocked proshop, and locker rooms.

The atmosphere at Osprey Ridge is just like any other golf resort, but with some Disney presence. Golfers may take pictures next to a humorous Mickey Mouse golf cart while Mickey is away on the links. Outside of the Disney logo, the presence of the Disney parks is hardly felt. Many golfers will find the courses a welcome respite from the tremendous crowds, high noise, fast pace, and high priced atmosphere located in the Disney parks.

Golfers may utilize the several large putting greens, or hit balls upon arrival. However, for those golfers on tight budgets who absolutely must hit balls, watch out for the $7.50 price for 45 range balls. There are several other courses and driving ranges in the Orlando area if golfers are looking to hone their swings.

Once you are ready to play, you will have access to the cutting edge Uplink GPS technology in Disney's golf carts. On a small screen inside the cart, the system offers electronic score keeping, yardages from basically everywhere on the course, and graphic overviews of all eighteen holes.

The course was designed by Tom Fazio, who was also the chief re-designer of Augusta National, in their effort to modernize the course. Fazio's work on Osprey Ridge is quite similar to his other famous tracks. Osprey Ridge features great risk reward golf , proven by many accessible holes if players can clear or stay away from major trouble. On the third hole, a 193 yard par three from the tips, a massive bunker lines the entire hole and wraps around the right side of the green. The course's number one handicap hole, the par four 14th, features an extremely tough approach shot with a long iron to a green which rolls toward a large body of water. Laying up is hardly an option with the best landing area threatened by more water as well as a large, deep bunker.

While the first hole at Osprey Ridge is relatively tame, the eighteenth is gorgeous lined by seven fairway bunkers down the right side, water lining the entire hole, and another tough bunker on the left side for players attempting to avoid the right side's trouble. Golfers must fire into an extremely narrow green, again lined by bunkers on both sides and water. The last hole plays at a massive 454 yards considering the danger which could potentially wreck many good rounds.

Overall, the course features may tough par 3's, several long par 4's, and rewarding par 5's. Any golfer can have fun at this course, but spraying shots will never yield good results. While the course is nicely manicured, some of the sand in the bunkers may be a bit too hard, and the greens are somewhat slow, even for a southern course. Also, for golfers who are easily disturbed by loud noises, the train at the Magic Kingdom blasts its siren-like horn constantly, audible for the entire back nine and most of the front nine. If frequent loud noises bother you, your round may be difficult. Luckily, it makes a great excuse for why you shanked that last shot.

From the four different tees, the yardages at Osprey Ridge are as follows:
1. Talon- 7101 Yards (3548/3553)
2. Crest - 6680 Yards (3324/3356)
3. Wings - 610

3 Yards (2982/3121)
4. Feathers - 5402 Yards (2598/2804)

Unless you are planning to play several days, I would not recommend bringing your own clubs. Disney offers rentals with an inventory of Titleist and Cobra sticks. However, the rentals are pricey, so if you do plan playing several days, it is probably worth lugging them down.

If you are planning a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort, the Disney courses are definitely a "must play." It is no secret that Orlando will provide spectacular weather, and any golfer should take advantage of the great courses on location.

US Open 2009: Blogging the Final Round

2009-06-21T19:50:00.014-04:00

The final round will span Sunday night and Monday morning. I will provide a timeline on this post over the course of the final 18 holes.

7:50 PM - Ricky Barnes chunks his chip shot on the 1st hole of his final round. The nerves may be kicking in. He will need to make a long putt to save par. In the end, he makes bogey. His lead drops to -7, putting Barnes in a tie with Lucas Glover.

7:56 PM - Barnes tees off on the 2nd. His lead has disappeared, and he faces a tie with his playing partner, Lucas Glover. He snap hooks his drive into the fescue far left of the fairway. Yes, the wheels are off. On the bright side, play could be suspended as early as five minutes because of darkness.

7:58 PM - Play is suspended. Some players have elected to remain on the course to finish their holes. Tiger chooses to finish the 7th. His 213 yard approach shot lands several feet away from the hole. If Woods could work his way back into contention, this birdie will be a big step in the right direction.

8:07 PM - Tiger birdies the seventh hole while putting in near darkness. He is back to even par. With 11 holes left, Tiger trails the Glover/Barnes group by seven strokes.

***Sorry for the delay! I will keep track of the final holes as several golfers contend for the title.

12:52 PM - Lucas Glover drains his birdie putt on the 16th to move to -4, which gives Glover a one stroke lead over David Duval and a two stroke lead over Phil Mickelson and Ricky Barnes.

1:10 PM - David Duval finishes his round with a par for a +1 score of 71. Duval and Mickelson are tied for second, and Glover faces his approach shot on the 18th with a two shot lead. Glover sits on the right side of the fairway.

1:13 PM - Glover's approach shot finishes on the small green. He can three putt for the victory.

1:18 PM - Glover's lag winds up a few feet away from the cup. Ricky Barnes has a birdie putt, which would put him within a stroke.

1:20 PM - Glover taps in for a two stroke victory over Barnes, Mickelson, and Duval.

US Open 2009: Round 3 Complete

2009-06-21T17:11:00.004-04:00

After a rain delay, the players took the course again to finish the third round of the 2009 US Open. Once again, Bethpage Black was in rough shape. Three days of rain have made the course extremely soggy, and players like Tiger Woods struggled to move the ball in the swampy rough.

Though the remaining players will begin the fourth round today, the leaders will almost certainly finish few holes in the evening.

The highlights:

*Ricky Barnes shoots an even par 70 to end the day with a one stroke lead over Lucas Glover. Though a 70 under US Open pressure is nothing to laugh about, Barnes, at one point, was -4 on his round. Are the wheels falling off? We'll see. At the very least, the other contenders should be optimistic about the possibility of Barnes coming back to the field.

*Lucas Glover is one stroke behind Barnes, but he is four strokes behind the other leaders. Glover hasn't won since the FUNAI Disney Classic in 2005. Glover will have to continue to hit fairways if he wants to hold on and eventually beat out the leader.

*David Duval is back. He is tied for third place at -3 for three rounds with Ross Fisher. A Duval surge on Sunday/Monday would be unbelievable. This US Open is calling for a Cinderella story, and a Duval win would provide the biggest of them all. He has to make up some ground. Another even par round will almost certainly not do with the other leaders so far ahead.

*Phil Mickelson is playing solid golf. He is tied for fifth at -2 right now. His final birdie came after a monster putt on the 18th. He has the momentum, and he is a fan favorite with the New York crowd. There's no doubt, however, that Lefty needs a stellar round to scale the leaderboard.

*Tiger Woods played one of the strongest rounds of today by shooting a -2 score of 68. He still has a mountain to climb if he wants to spar with the leaders on Monday. He is at +1 for 54 holes, which places Tiger nine strokes behind Barnes. If any player could make up that type of deficit, it probably would be Tiger. Nevertheless, it is hard to believe that it could be in the cards given his struggles with his short game this week.

Hang onto your hats, folks. We are in for a crazy one.

US Open Challenge won't be seen today

2009-06-21T11:48:00.004-04:00

NBC originally planned to air the "US Open Challenge," which featured Justin Timberlake, Ben Roethlisberger, Michael Jordan, and an amateur golfer/police officer, after play finished today.

There was another weather delay at the 2009 US Open, and NBC has decided to push programming back. Sadly, the US Open Challenge will not be broadcasted today!

Apparently NBC plans to release it at some point in the future. It is a 90 minute show, and it will follow the amateur's attempt to prove a 10 handicap could break 100 at a US Open-quality golf course.

Spoiler alert: He doesn't, but he gets close in the end...

Blast from the past? Day 1/2 of the US Open is completed

2009-06-19T22:38:00.004-04:00

The entire US Open field has finished the first round of the tournament play. Many players are now well into their second round (which, of course, was pushed back because of the tremendous storm that shut Bethpage Black down on Thursday).

As the title suggests, this US Open, like so many others, has been nothing short of wacky. The evidence?

Lucas Glover is on the top of the leaderboard. His first round resulted in a stellar 69, and he rocked the first 13 holes of his second round. He is at -5 for his second round alone, and he is well ahead of Tiger's mark from 2002. Glover's only victory on the PGA Tour was at the Funai Disney Classic back in 2005. He went through sectional qualifying to make it to this year's open.

Ricky Barnes is in second place at -5 after his first 9 holes in the 2nd round. After a great amateur career, Barnes has found little success on the pro circuit. Is his fortune about to change?

Mike Weir began the day with a superb 64. Weir is a former Masters champion whose professional career since the victory has been uneventful. After 9 holes in his second round, he is +2 to put him at -4 for the tournament. Can he get the spark back tomorrow?

Todd Hamilton is also back in the mix. The former Open Champion, who rose back to prominence (sort of) with a great finish at the 2009 Masters is in fifth place at -3. He

definitely is making an effort to return to the PGA Tour in 2010 after his exemption runs out.

David Duval is at -1 after dropping two shots in his second round following a stellar 67. Duval is another player fighting to make it to the PGA Tour. A battle between Hamilton and Duval would make for an interesting storyline...

Phil Mickelson (pictured left) is 11 holes into his second round. He, too, is at -1, and he is

definitely in the mix if can make some birdies tomorrow.

On the other hand, Rocco Mediate resembled his play last year by firing a -2 68 in his first round. In his second round, he ballooned to +2 for the tournament after going four over par through 11 holes. He certainly can play Bethpage Black. It will be intere

sting to see if he can rebound to save his second round.

Tiger Woods is not in such a comfortable position. He hasn't started his second round yet, but he sits at a damning +4 through 18 holes. To make the cut, Tiger will need to put on a much better performance tomorrow. On the bright side, he has a full 18 holes to come back. And, of course, it is Tiger Woods.

Not to pat myself on the back, but I think I called Golf Digest out before for their prediction that Ernie Els had a shot at winning the US Open. See it here. Els is currently in 155th, otherwise known as second to last place. He sits at +12 for the tournament, and it doesn't look like he will be a threat to make the cut.

Biggest surprises of the US Open

2009-06-19T14:12:00.004-04:00

It might be a little early to start discussing the most surprising results of this year's US Open, but we have had a couple of gems so far. I couldn't resist naming my favorite runs of the tournament so far, even if there is a lot of golf to be played. 'Tis the season.

5. David Duval (pictured left) exists. As this blog has noted before, Duval made it to Bethpage Black through sectional qualifying. A long way from being the world's best player, eh? Nonetheless, Duval is -1 after 13 holes. If he keeps this up, Duval will not only play the weekend, but he may even appear near the top of a leaderboard at a major championship for the first time in a decade. That would be a good way to begin his fight for a PGA Tour card.

4. Phil Mickelson battles, and he moves to -2 after 12 holes. He hasn't played much, since his wife, Amy, was diagnosed with cancer. He had a rough time last week at the St. Jude Classic in Tennessee. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that Lefty is playing quality golf as he commands waves of cheers from the New York fans.

3. Drew Weaver posts a 69. He qualified as an amateur by dominating at the British Amateur. The Virginia Tech graduate will lead the amateurs in the field, as he certainly has the opportunity to contend for the title. His round was played in the morning, which put the American in tougher conditions than many of the players who posted low scores in the afternoon.

2. Mike Weir (pictured right) has game, again. The former Masters champion has struggled in major championships since, but he has occasionally popped up on leaderboards. The Canadian s

howed that he may still have what it takes by shooting a -4 front nine. With that score alone, Weir jumped to the very top of the US Open leaderboard. He still has the back nine to go, but it looks like Weir will be in the mix. O Canada!

1. Tiger Woods posts a +4 score of 74. As of 2:14 PM EST, Tiger is at T90, which means he will have to fight tomorrow to make the cut. Tiger, unlike much of the field, didn't get the memo, I guess, that Friday would end up being a scoring day. Woods needs to get on his horse, or this will definitely be a blemish in his otherwise nearly impeccable record in major championships.

Tiger's group heads to the clubhouse

2009-06-19T10:58:00.004-04:00

The "supergruppe" of Tiger Woods, Angela Cabrera, and Padraig Harrington has limped back to the clubhouse after a rough (albeit delayed) first round.

Paddy posted a 76 after a +6 front nine of 41. He returned in even par following a solid birdie in on the 18th hole. Harrington will have an uphill battle if he wants to contend for the championship, or at least make the cut and play on the weekend.

Angel Cabrera and Tiger Woods posted rounds of 74 after bogies on the 18th. Woods missed a short par putt to finish his round. Like we have seen many times this year, Tiger will have to fight to scale to the leaderboard following a rough Thursday (and, in this case, Friday).

Despite the group's star-studded cast, it looks like they will have to make major changes to their games before tomorrow's second round.

Who is Ben Martin?

2009-06-19T10:46:00.003-04:00

A lot of people are wondering who the amateur is at the top of the US Open leaderboard. Well, for one, he is a youngster with a lot of game. That is usually necessary to lead a major championship (not to mention the fact that Tiger Woods is trailing Martin by five strokes already).

Ben Martin is a student at Clemson University in South Carolina. He just completed his junior season at the golf powerhouse, and he was named first-team all-ACC in the process. In February, Martin was named ACC "Player of the Month." His stroke average for 2008-2009 was 73.00, which made Martin the second best player on his college team.

Martin made it to the US Open through the sectional qualifier at Woodmont Country Club in Maryland. He lost a playoff the year before at that qualifier, which prevented Martin from taking a shot at the US Open at Torrey Pines.

To say the least, Martin's lead is a Cinderella story. As we have seen many times, keeping up the strong play is usually a challenge.

US Open is back in action

2009-06-19T10:20:00.003-04:00

Despite the consistently bleak conditions at Bethpage Black, the first round of the US Open is back in action.

The course is very soggy. 1" of rain fell on the New York state park yesterday, and players are certainly facing rough conditions.

Tiger Woods has not produced the hot start his fans were hoping for. He left the course with a 10' par putt left, and he narrowly missed to begin the day with a bogey. Nevertheless, Tiger was at +2 after 15 holes, which places the world's top player in the top 15.

Ben Martin, an amateur, holds onto the lead after 12 holes. He is at a stellar -2. Can he keep it up though? An amateur victory would be something else in this day and age.

Drew Weaver was the first to post a score under par. A solid 69 will leave the Virginia Tech graduate near the top of the leaderboard.

More updates to come. Kenny Perry, Rocco Mediate, Phil Mickelson, among others, have not started their opening rounds yet.

2009 US Open: Thursday Tee Times

2009-06-17T14:22:00.001-04:00

Here are the tee times for Thursday of the 2009 US Open. All times are EST.

Round 1 Groupings & Tee Times

GROUP

TEE

TIME

PLAYERS