It's tempting to focus on Michelle Wie at the Fields Open but the meat of my newsletter focuses on the 2006 Hawaii Pearl Open at the Pearl Country Club. It's one of those behind the scenes stories that tells more about the game of golf and the people who play it. It's about honor.
The person I'm talking about is Gregory Meyer, a local boy who has become a regular on the Japan Professional Tour and a four time winner of the Pearl Open. Meyer, known to his friends and fans in Japan as "Gorigori", once won the Pearl Open with a borrowed set of golf clubs. His clubs had been stolen the day before.
Gregory Meyer
This year, Meyer opened the first round of the Hawaii Pearl Open with a 66, 6 under par, and tied for first with another very good local professional, Kevin Carll.
On his way to his Saturday tee time, Meyer stopped by "The Golf Club" broadcast. Our booth was set up right in front of the pro shop with an incredible view of Pearl Harbor and the golf course.
Pearl Country Club
After Saturdays second round, Meyer was still in the hunt, just a few strokes behind the leaders. Then came Sunday, the final round and day of the Pro Bowl at the Aloha Stadium. Maybe you were there when the skies opened up over Halawa, dumping rain all over the stadium, Pearlridge and the Pearl Country Club course.
I'll let Hawaii Pearl Open media coordinator Arnold Hiura tell the story. He didn't see it happen but it sure was the talk of the day on Sunday.
"Greg Meyer, David Ishii and Dave Eichelberger - the second to the last group to finish - had just marked their balls on the 18th green when, to the chagrin of the gallery, they suddenly all turned, left the green, and started walking back up the fairway. Without the benefit of a play-by-play TV commentator, the perplexed spectators did not know what was happening at the time.
As Honolulu Star-Bulletin writer Cindy Luis reported, Greg Meyer had mistakenly hit the wrong ball from out of the right rough. Then, when he couldn't find his ball, Greg went back to hit a second tee shot, which went into the trees and couldn't be found, forcing a third tee shot. Greg, the first-round co-leader, ended up with a birdie on the hole but, with six penalty shots, took a nine to finish at 77--213 (3-under-par) and tied for 23rd.
We all know that this is not the kind of story that grabs headlines, but it is the story I think I will always remember from this tournament. At 8-under-par, Greg would have been putting for birdie and a 9-under finish (tie for sixth place with Eichelberger). No one other than Greg Meyer knew that was not his ball resting on the green. With so much at stake, the fact that Greg called the infraction upon himself immediately and without hesitation is a testament of his character.
Then, when the nightmare kept compounding itself with the two lost balls, Greg somehow managed to carry himself through to the end with class and composure. According to one of the tournament volunteers standing close enough to hear, Greg approached a rules official, managed a smile and said, "You get one calculator? I think we're going to need one to sort out the mess I just made of this hole." Then, quietly but firmly, Greg added. "I got myself down for a nine." The rules official nodded."
Congratulations to the winner of the Pearl Open this year, who has been here many years working hard to be at the top of the leaderboard for the last ten years or so.
Tomohiro Maruyama, 2006 Hawaii Pearl Open winner
Tomohiro Maruyama won the 28th annual Hawaii Pearl Open after catching the second round leader Andy Barnes. Maruyama closed with a 67, five under par and the lowest score on Sunday. His earlier 65 on Saturday was the lowest of his career. Maruyama takes home the $12,000 winners check.
David Ishii
David Ishii, probably the most recognized local golfer and Japan Tour player, the first golfer from Hawaii to go off to a major tour, Ishii wasn't even going to play this year. At the last minute he joined the final group. Turned out there were be plenty of volunteers on hand to do the work and wouldn't you know it, he had his best finish in years. As Ishii put it, "I expected nothing." That's the best way to go into a tournament, with no expectations.
Thank you to all the volunteers who make the Hawaii Pearl Open happen plus the first two LPGA Tour events of the year, held here in Hawaii!
Two Ladies Professional Golf Association full field events are back in play in the islands starting this year. The SBS Open, Seoul Broadcasting System sponsored event, is in it's second year and The Fields Open. Fields makes pacinko machines in Japan. In it's inaugural year, The Fields Open is enjoying all the hoopla that goes with being the new "guy" in town.
Michelle Wie was given a sponsors exemption last year, finishing the SBS Open in second place. Even though Wie is now a professional player, her play on the LPGA Tour is limited because she is not an LPGA member. She can play in six regular Tour events. With her school schedule in mind, her father told the media she would make the Fields Open her 2006 opening event. Some say she ought to play both, but I suppose if you're going to choose, it's only fair that the newcomer get her attention just like SBS Open did last year.
Michelle Wie
Speaking of Michelle Wie, it's time for a complete update. There is talk Wie will have to make her home base either Nevada or Florida, for tax purposes and/or for ease of commuting between continents. It seems the first home base has been purchased but not in Nevada. It is close to what many call Hawaii's 9th island, Las Vegas. The house is a large luxury home at the Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert California. As B.J. Wie put it to a "Golfworld" magazine reporter, the desert provides plenty of opportunities for training and vacation. The purchase price wasn't disclosed. The development is known for multi million dollar homes. Palm Desert is close to Rancho Mirage for the Kraft Nabisco and that's also the site of Michelle's pro debut.
Now to Michelle's debut debacle and what could be known forever more as the "Michelle rule". Her disqualification from the Samsung could go down as the foundation for a change in the rules of golf: players who unknowingly violate a rule only to learn of their infraction after the round would not be DQ'd for failing to take the necessary penalty strokes and thus sign an incorrect scorecard. Members of the USGA rules committee, meeting in Atlanta, discussed the issue last week. According to "Golfworld", citing multiple sources, the USGA is set to approach the R & A about amending the rule in such circumstances.
Now to the "T" word, that is training, just as difficult to contemplate as the "P" word, as in practice, for most of us but both are key if you want to improve your game.
My friend and physiologist Paul Gagné, got another mention in a major publication, acknowledging his work with Wie on her game. This time it was "Golfweek" magazine. Gagné been on "The Golf Club" radio show several times and I got a chance to work with him in a mini session. He has an uncanny ability to size up your body's weaknesses, like in knees, hips, shoulders and provide you with easy exercises to help to get you back in balance. Gagné is with the David Leadbetter team. His mission is to add twenty yards to Michelle's drive.
What's his overall assessment? Her lower body is extremely powerful while her upper body needs work. Wie says one recent workout left her so sore it hurt to wash her hair. Her new year's resolution: cut out the sugar and not be lazy, which means going to the gym more. Wie has increased her ball speed to 161 mph and Leadbetter figures she's about 18 months from adding that 20 yards.
All of that applies to you and me, not the swing speed or adding yards to our drives. I'm referring to the not being lazy and cutting down on the sugar in our diets. Plus if you are trying to add strength and length, don't expect it to come overnight. The best golfers in the world don't either.
IF YOU WANT TO MEET WITH PAUL GAGNÉ TO HAVE YOUR PHYSICAL GAME ASSESSED, HE'LL BE IN THE ISLANDS IN APRIL. CALL 524 2400 AND LEAVE A MESSAGE.
Also in "Golfweek", columnist Jeff Babineau dedicated an entire page to Wie suggesting "patience" is the key word in her life.
Natalie Gulbis is switching to Octagon for management and Paula Creamer is moving to Precept for her golf balls, plus there are a couple of interesting side notes we don't usually see in a golf magazine.
There's a beauty queen in "Golfweek", Miss Minnesota, featured on page two with her tiara. Karyn Stordahls says her ultimate goal is to play on the LPGA but she's going to go for the Miss America crown first.
And the profile in the January 21st issue of "Golfweek" was on Mary Armstrong, a 6 handicap and golf course architect who, after gender reassignment surgery, says she is now finally content with her personal and professional life. I love this game.
POIPU KEEP THE PGA GRAND SLAM OF GOLF
Poipu Golf Course during the 2005 PGA Grand Slam of Golf
It's finally official. After considering Las Vegas and the Caribbean, The PGA Grand Slam of Golf will be played on Kauai next year at Poipu Golf course.
Craig Sasada
Poipu Director of Golf Craig Sasada was very happy to make the announcement after weeks, months, of negotiations. The purse has gone up from 1 to 1.25 million.
ERNIE ELS DESIGNS HAWAII GOLF COURSE
Hawaii is going to have an Ernie Els signature golf course. The course will be part of the new "Hoakalei Country Club" that's being built in Ocean Pointe in Ewa Beach. It's a partnership between the landowner Haseko, Ernie Els and ClubCorp.
Ernie Els is playing some pretty amazing golf after seriously injuring his knee, undergoing knee surgery and rehabilitation. His physical therapist still breaks up the scar tissue every day, and he says his body is recovering faster than his mind.
Els had an opportunity to test his mental game when it was down to a playoff in Dubai with Tiger Woods. For Woods, it was back to back playoff weekends, first with Jose Maria Olazabal then Els.
The first playoff was at the Buick Invitational. Woods was lucky to be there. He was wild off the tee through most of the tournament but as usual he was able to recover and then win. He never gave up. He managed to hole an 8 foot birdie to get into a three way tie. Then his competition melted down. First it was the Australian rookie Nathan Green, who had been playing beautifully, who took himself out first. Then two time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, wearing the most handsome shoes, missed a short five foot putt and all Woods had to do was make par to win. His first reaction wasn't a smile. He closed his eyes and had a look on his face you'd expect to see on Olazabal. It wasn't the way he likes to win a tournament. He'd rather fight for it because playoffs are like match play and Tiger loves match play.
Now to the "King" in this columns title, Arnold Palmer. I had a chance to talk with him while he was on Maui for the Wendy's Champions Skins at Wailea. Before you listen in on our conversation, you've got to know I was very nervous.
Arnold Palmer blasts from a bunker on the Wailea Gold Course's third hole Sunday, Feb.. 5, 2006, during pro-am play of the Champions Skins golf tournament in Wailea, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Matthew Thayer)
This year the Wendys Champions Skins was turned into a team competition with the addition of four players. Peter Jacobsen was teamed with Palmer, Jack Nicklaus with Tom Watson, Gary player with Hale Irwin and Raymond Floyd with Dana Quigley. Both Palmer, the oldest in the group at 76, and Nicklaus, 66, were hoping their partners would elevate their game. By the way, I wasn't the only one awed by their heroes. Quigley admitted to being just a bit intimidated before the event adding "You get out there inside the ropes and I'll be just fine." Wasn't that an under statement. The team of Floyd and Quigley walked away the winners with the biggest paycheck in Skins history.
Dana Quigley, left, and playing partner Raymond Floyd pose with the winners' trophies at the Wailea Gold Course following the Champions Skins Game golf event Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, in Wailea, Hawaii. (AP photo/Matthew Thayer)
Jacobsen, recovering from knee surgery, was also on "The Golf Club" radio show on February 4th. You can check out his advice for improving your game at and click on the "listen" button.
Peter Jacobsen shares a laugh on the Wailea Gold Course's fifth hole Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006, during pro-am play of the Champions Skins golf tournament in Wailea, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Matthew Thayer)
The final results:
Raymond Floyd/Dana Quigley (10 skins) $510,000
Jack Nicklaus/Tom Watson (8 skins) $260,000
Gary Player/Hale Irwin (0 skins)
Arnold Palmer/Peter Jacobsen (0 skins)
We'll have more on the LPGA and "SONIC GOLF" coming to Hawaii in my next newsletter. The "Sonic Golf" clinic is at the Dunes at Maui Lani on March 11th. Call Bill Greenleaf for more information on this latest tool to help you improve your game.
Until next time, listen to win your dozen Titleist golf balls every Saturday morning during "The Golf Club" radio show, find us at www.radiogolfclub.com, and if you are in the market for a new car, ask TJ about a three day executive test drive at Pflueger Acura. It's a special deal for "The Golf Club" listeners. I've been driving my husband's Acura out to Turtle Bay and Ko Olina. I'm very impressed with how this car handles the road and sits comfortably for long distances. Check it out.
Thank you for your Mana and may you hit the sweet spot every time.
Aloha,
Danielle Tucker
