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Saturday, July 4, 2009

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Sports :: Outdoor :: The Golf Club :: Parker Ranks 45th PGA Tour Money List

Parker Ranks 45th PGA Tour Money List

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Waikoloa’s Parker McLachlin is doing exactly what he did last year – starting off strong!

In just three starts in his 2008 season, McLachlin has earned $233,955, ranks 45th on the PGA Tour’s official money list and he has 1,059 FedEx Cup points. He’s 46th in the FedEx Cup point standing. If he keeps this up, he won’t have any problems keeping this PGA Tour card and he’ll be invited into all the limited field events.

That’s something he didn’t do last year. Last year, McLachlin, who is the Waikoloa Resorts’ PGA Tour professional, had a very disappointing mid season, frequently missing the cut and locked out of the money earning weekend play. He knows he has to keep coming on strong.

At this writing, McLachlin ranked sixth on tour with a 69.81 scoring average. Of course, as of this point Tiger Woods had only played in one event. Once Woods starts to play, the average will have top go down!

At the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am, McLachlin recorded rounds of 70-74-70 and 70 to finish at 4-under par and took 14th place.

Kaneohe’s Dean Wilson is having a tough start this year, missing the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro AM.  Wilson is up two strokes this year in his scoring average compared to last year. Last year’s 70.47 earned him 18 cuts made and his 2008 PGA Tour card, no sweat. At this point, Wilson is up to 72.45 strokes per round and that’s earned him only one cut made in five starts. That’s gotta be hurt. I wish I could talk with him about what is going on. I bet he’d like to know what’s going on!!!!!

Wilson, 75-73-73 ended up tied at 121st with Phil Mickleson, who probably also wants to know what’s going on in his game. And he’s got Butch Harmon coaching.


17-year-old Tadd Fujikawa, left, of Hawaii, smiles after making
par on the fourth green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during
the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
golf tournament in Pebble Beach, Calif., Friday, Feb. 8, 2008.

Also missing the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro AM, Tadd Fujikawa. He had three days to make it, giving him a one-day advantage over the normal Thursday and Friday play with the cut going into the weekend.


Tadd Fujikawa lines up a shot with his caddy on the 10th hole of
the Poppy Hills golf course during the third round of the AT&T
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament in
Pebble Beach, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008.

But Fujikawa had such a rough round on Friday, an 81, even with his strong play on Saturday, he hardly had a chance. He finished Saturday with a 75, coming up with 72 81 75 228, tied for 164th with, among others, Craig Stadler who also had a very tough Saturday score of 80.

The cut was even but the event is played on three courses, making it difficult to get into a groove.

Most certainly the last 9 holes at the AT&T was sweetest of all, for the television viewer, the gallery and most of all, for Steve Lowery.

Lowery won his first PGA Tour title in 1994 in a playoff with Rick Fehr at the International. He forced a playoff with a 45-foot birdie putt from fringe at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic in 2000 and now, at the age of 47, he became the oldest to win the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am by catching Vijay Singhs’ three stroke lead.

You could say Vijay stopped himself from winning when he bogeyed three times on the back 9. Regardless, Lowery played the playoff hole on the 18th at Pebble Beach perfectly. A drive to the fairway, laying it up, a wedge that spun the ball back to 7 feet and a putt in.  ``It's not a matter of him giving it to you, it's a matter of are you going to go out there and win it,'' Lowery said. ``I knew that going out there. He's a tough competitor.''

THE 2008 PEARL OPEN AT THE PEARL COUNTRY CLUB


Tadd Fujikawa lines up a shot with his caddy on the 10th hole of
the Poppy Hills golf course during the third round of the AT&T
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament in
Pebble Beach, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008.

Instead of defending champion at the 30th Pearl Open, 17 year old Tadd Fujikawa was playing at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am. Fujikawa was 16 when he made the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii last year.


Ryo Ishikawa, from Japan, leans on his club during the first round
of the 30th Hawaii Pearl Open Pro-Am at Pearl Country Club in
Aiea, Hawaii, Friday Feb. 8, 2008. Ishikawa became an overnight
celebrity last May when he won the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup
at age 15, making him the youngest winner of a Japanese tour event.
AP Photo/Ronen Zilberman

But there is a new 16-year-old “phenom” to grab the international headlines and the press at the 30th anniversary of The Pearl Open. Mr. Honda, who started the Pearl Open to bring Japan players to Hawaii to compete with local players and professionals from the mainland, would be proud.

His name is Ryo Ishikawa and he’s called the “shy prince” in the Japanese press and the considered the person who’ll bring the JGTO, the Japan Golf Tour Organization, back into prominence.


Pearl Open players warm up before the second round on Saturday

It was a beautiful weekend at the Pearl Country Club. The day before, heavy rain delayed the start of the first round, forcing a double start Saturday morning.  That put a lot of pressure on Director of Golf David Ishii and his staff, including the newest member, Operations manager Guy Yamamoto.


Pearl Country Club Operations Manager Guy Yamamoto joins us in the
clubhouse after the first round gets finished and second round begins.

Six time Pearl Open winner Ishii was planning on competing until it became clear that he was needed running the event, with more entrants than ever before.

There were close to 200 players entered plus over 100 showed up for Monday qualifying! Ishii, still ranked sixth all-time in career money winnings, knows how important Ishikawa is to the JGTO. With the sponsor pool shrinking with the economy, excitement is key and Ishikawa brings that to the course.
That was obvious by the number of media present from Japan. The fans and the media swamped Ishikawa and he loved every minute of it.

  
Ryo Ishikawa, top, from Japan, smiles as he is surrounded by
photographers during the first round of the 30th Hawaii Pearl
Open Pro-Am at Pearl Country Club in Aiea, Hawaii, Friday
Feb. 8, 2008. AP Photo/Ronen Zilberman

I’m not so sure “shy” is the right descriptive. But he certainly is a “Prince” – more like in charming. He got an early Valentine’s Day gift from golfer Kelcie Kawano. It was probably given in the spirit a traditional Hawaiian floral gift, given to all visitors, but this one was in the form of a heart-shaped balloon. "I thought that he was just good-looking," giggled the 17-year-old Kawano, blushing after receiving a hug from Ishikawa. "But I was really surprised to see what a great player he is."


Ryo Ishikawa, from Japan, tees off on the 11th hole during
the first round of the 30th Hawaii Pearl Open.
AP Photo/Ronen Zilberman

He is a good player.  He has already won a Japanese tour event the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup, and he did it at the age of 15.  But he also knows the lows. He arrived in Hawaii after a trip to Sydney, Australia, where he was playing in the British Open qualifying. He lost his game at the close, dashing any hopes the dapper young man may have had of playing in The Open this year. 


Ryo Ishikawa, from Japan, reacts after missing a put on the 16th
green during the first round of the 30th Hawaii Pearl Open Pro-Am
at Pearl Country Club in Aiea, Hawaii, Friday Feb. 8, 2008.
AP Photo/Ronen Zilberman

“The Golf Club” camped out above the practice green next to the Pro shop and just took in the glorious conditions Pearl Country Club superintendent Howard Hamada had grown over the past year. The Pearl Country Club is in excellent condition and you should get out and play a round there. (Howard was not so talented with his cell phone on Saturday. It slipped under the mower and was immediately out of contention!)


The conditions are beautiful at the Pearl Country Club.
Go out and play a round!

With 44 players still aching to finish their first round, including Kapalua’s Jerry King, 2 time winner Lance Suzuki, junior golfer David Fink, Norman Ganin-Asao - (saw you on the stairs but didn’t want to distract you from your mission, Norman!) - the action was all around the course.

But once the golfers were back on the course, Guy Yamamoto had a chance to drop by. Yamamoto is the 1994 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion. He became the third Hawaii golfer to do it, after 11 attempts. (Never give up your dream!)

Yamamoto was 32 when he beat Matt Gogel, Notah Begay and Chris Riley. They’re all PGA Tour players so why didn’t he turn professional. Yamamoto says he was a lot older than those fellows were and he had plans with his wife to start they’re family, something that’s not easy to do on the road!

I did miss seeing and talking with Gregory Meyer, who just had his best year on the Japan Tour. He finished 37th on the money list. He has The Pearl Open 4 times and came in 2nd last year with the winners paycheck since Tadd Fujikawa was still an amateur and couldn’t accept the money.

Kevin Hayashi was also in the field, along with Cassey Watabu, Chad Saladin, Joe Phengsavath, Jarett Hamamoto, Pierre-Henri Soero, Andrew Feldmann, Brandon Kop, Bradley Shigezawa, Regan Lee and so many other great golfers including Stephanie Kono in her first “men’s” event. 


Stephanie Kono

Here’s a list of all of the players who did.

30th Hawaii Pearl Open
Hosted by: Pearl Country Club
Gross Scores
Rank Player Name  Overall Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Total Code
1 Azuma Yano  -12 66 69 69 204 JP
T2 Kiyoshi Murota  -10 68 69 69 206 JP
T2 Hidemasa Hoshino -10 69 71 66 206 JP
T4 Steve Schneiter  -9 72 69 66 207 P
T4 John Ellis  -9 68 70 69 207 P
T6 Kevin Hayashi  -8 67 71 70 208 P
T6 Bradley Shigezawa -8 71 69 68 208 A
T8 Yoshinobu Tsukada -7 68 71 70 209 JP
T8 Jesse Mueller  -7 70 68 71 209 P
10 Ryo Ishikawa  -6 72 67 71 210 JP
T11 Dan Kupfer  -5 69 68 74 211 P
T11 Jumpei Takayama  -5 72 70 69 211 JP
T11 Chris O'Connor  -5 69 67 75 211 P
T11 Pierre-Henri Soero -5 70 68 73 211 P
T15 Yasumasa Suzuki  -4 71 70 71 212 JP
T15 Dinesh Chand  -4 73 71 68 212 JP
T17 Hideki Kase  -3 71 71 71 213 JP
T17 Gregory Meyer  -3 71 72 70 213 P
T17 Yoichi Shimizu  -3 75 68 70 213 JP
T17 Issac Weintraub  -3 68 72 73 213 P
T17 Shunta Maeawakura -3 69 70 74 213 JP
T22 Chad Fribley  -2 77 69 68 214 P
T22 Jarett Hamamoto  -2 70 71 73 214 P
T22 Masaaki Kato  -2 69 71 74 214 JP
T22 Se Woong Park  -2 73 67 74 214 P
T22 Joe Phengsavath  -2 69 73 72 214 P
T22 Akira Endo  -2 72 70 72 214 JP
T22 Billy Hurley III -2 67 75 72 214 P
T29 Makoto Tomoyoshi -1 74 71 70 215 JP
T29 Jacob Low  -1 71 68 76 215 P
T29 Brian Grone  -1 71 70 74 215 P
T29 Barry Schenk  -1 70 72 73 215 P
T33 John Hearn  Even 69 72 75 216 P
T33 Kalani Kiaaina  Even 72 72 72 216 P
T33 John Lynch  Even 72 67 77 216 P
T33 Nick Mason  Even 71 70 75 216 P
T33 Jerry Mullen  Even 72 73 71 216 P
T33 Hatsuo Nakane  Even 73 71 72 216 JP
T33 Takuya Ogawa  Even 74 69 73 216 JP
T33 Kasunori Hanaoka Even 75 69 72 216 JA
T33 Tory Edwards  Even 74 72 70 216 P
T33 Mark Micale  Even 73 69 74 216 P
T43 Brandan Kop  +1 71 70 76 217 A
T43 Takeharu Koike  +1 75 70 72 217 JP
T43 Takaki Ono  +1 72 70 75 217 JP
T43 Stan Souza  +1 72 71 74 217 P
T43 Casey Watabu  +1 69 72 76 217 P
T43 Will Yanagisawa  +1 75 69 73 217 P
T43 Hideki Tochihara +1 75 69 73 217 JP
T43 Toshiaki Uetake  +1 72 72 73 217 JP
T43 Ryoma Yamagata  +1 70 74 73 217 JP
T52 Koki Furuta  +2 73 70 75 218 JA
T52 Yurio Akitomi  +2 71 71 76 218 JP
T52 Norman Ganin Asao +2 70 73 75 218 P
T52 Don Berry  +2 73 73 72 218 P
T52 William Conroy  +2 75 71 72 218 P
T52 Satoshi Shimouchi +2 73 70 75 218 JP
T52 Tatsuo Takasaki  +2 69 71 78 218 JP
T52 Shunsuke Sonoda  +2 73 73 72 218 JA
T52 Koichi Sugimoto  +2 72 72 74 218 JP
T61 Andrew Feldmann  +3 71 73 75 219 P
T61 Eiichiro Hiyama  +3 74 72 73 219 JP
T61 Toshiaki Ito  +3 76 69 74 219 JP
T61 Yuji Kato  +3 70 72 77 219 JP
T61 Tatsuya Kodai  +3 73 71 75 219 JP
T61 David Fink  +3 76 70 73 219 A
T61 Tomoya Tokunaga  +3 70 76 73 219 JA
T61 John Colyar  +3 69 71 79 219 P
T61 Masaki Sakurai  +3 70 73 76 219 JP
T61 Scott Diel  +3 73 72 74 219 P
T61 Masamichi Ito  +3 72 74 73 219 JA
T72 Andy Barnes  +4 73 72 75 220 P
T72 Norihiko Furusho +4 74 70 76 220 JP
T72 Ron Castillo Jr. +4 72 72 76 220 P
T72 Tatsuya Takamatsu +4 74 72 74 220 JP
T76 Chad Saladin  +5 69 77 75 221 P
T76 Ed Tischler  +5 72 73 76 221 P
T76 Mark Chun  +5 72 74 75 221 A
T76 TJ Figueroa  +5 76 70 75 221 P
T80 Phillip Chun  +6 77 69 76 222 P
T80 Tommy Kim  +6 72 74 76 222 P
T80 Motohiro Kimura  +6 74 72 76 222 JP
T80 Minoru Hatsumi  +6 73 72 77 222 JP
T80 Matt Deschaine  +6 73 71 78 222 P
T85 Alex Chu  +7 75 73 75 223 A
T85 Yusuke Iyama  +7 75 73 75 223 JA
T87 Gregory Engall  +8 72 74 78 224 P
T87 Takashi Miyazaki +8 72 74 78 224 JP
T87 Joey Tadeo  +8 73 73 78 224 P
T90 David Gerken  +9 75 71 79 225 P
T90 Masato Takada  +9 77 73 75 225 JA
T90 Jim Carson  +9 73 70 82 225 P
93 Morihiro Nakanishi +10 75 74 77 226 JA
T94 Andrew Kam  +11 72 74 81 227 P
T94 Neal Takara  +11 76 74 77 227 A
T94 Lorens Chan  +11 73 75 79 227 A
T94 Stephanie Kono  +11 73 74 80 227 A
98 Yoshinori Watanabe +15 73 73 85 231 JP
99 Yukiyasu Okunobu +17 74 76 83 233 JA


Azuma Yano, from Japan, swings his club while he watches the
ball after teeing off during the final round of the 30th Hawaii Pearl
Open at Pearl Country Club in Aiea, Hawaii, Sunday Feb. 10, 2008.
Yano won the tournament by two strokes.
AP Photo/Ronen Zilberman

Yano is a 30-year-old pro from Japan who went from wire to wire, 66-69-69-204 and who came in the winner, walking away with the $12 thousand dollars. It was just difficult to tell it was wire to wire since the first and second rounds weren’t finished until the next day!

At the Saturday press conference, Yano said his biggest concern was JGTO veteran Kiyoshi Murota going into the final round. Darkness forced officials to end play for the second day.

Finishing his round on Sunday morning, Yano birdied the 17th Hole and parred the 18th to take a one-stroke lead over 30-year-old Chris O’Connor of Arizona heading into the final round. O’Connor was in second place at 8-under-par 136. O’Connor faded with a 3-over-par 75 and a tie for 11th place.

Sure enough, on Sunday, it was the 52-year-old Murota who shot a 3-under 69 to put pressure on Yano and finish at 10-under-par. Murota was tied for second place by 30-year-old Hidemasa Hoshino, who fired a sizzling 6-under par 66 final round to move to 10-under as well. Steve Schneiter, a Nationwide Tour player out of Utah, matched Hoshino’s low round with a 66 of his own. Schneiter and John Ellis tied for fourth at 9-under 207.

The charismatic Ishikawa, meanwhile, managed a respectable 1-under par 71 to finish at 6-under and in sole possession of 10th place in the tournament. He was outdone by another 16-year-old, Punahou sophomore Bradley Shigezawa, who turned in a solid performance with three rounds under par. Shigezawa’s 71-69-68—208 performance landed him low amateur honors and a tie for sixth place with Hilo pro and two-time HPO champion Kevin Hayashi at 8-under-par.


Ryo Ishikawa from Japan, walks on the fifth green during the second
round of the 30th Hawaii Pearl Open at Pearl Country Club in Aiea,
Hawaii, Saturday Feb. 9, 2008. Ishikawa last month became the
youngest player to turn pro in the history of Japanese men's golf. T
his tournament marks his US debut as a pro at the Hawaii Pearl Open
AP Photo/Ronen Zilberman

Ishikawas’ decision to turn professional last month is predicted to net him close to $10 million in the next five years. As for the responsibility of turning around the JGTO, through an interpreter, Ishikawa said he wasn’t sure that was fathomable "However, even if one person believes I can do it, I will try my best," he said through an interpreter.

Last year, he played in The Pearl Open as an unknown with no gallery in sight. This year he was mobbed by Hawaii standards.


Ryo Ishikawa before the start of the second round of the
30th Hawaii Pearl Cpen.

In Japan, his galleries are always the largest. At the Dunlop Phoenix in November, defending champion and British Open winner Padraig Harrington played in relative obscurity while Ishikawa had a huge following.

Shoichi Ito, editor for Japanese golf magazine Par Golf, said it's more than his golf that makes him so popular.

"It's his personality. He's fresh, well-liked, very polite," Ito said. "He's good at answering questions. In a way that's hard to believe he's only 16. It's also his looks. He's very popular and so the media keeps highlighting him."

Ishikawa said the best part of being famous is bringing attention to the sport of golf. The worst part is, he can't go shopping any more without being mobbed by fans.

He has a big, fluid swing and shows maturity on the greens. His golf game is much developed than his English, which he is also working hard at.

"I think that media is very important because thanks to them, golf is known in the world more," he said in his only full sentence in English.

I like this kid. He knows the score. I’m so tired of celebrities complaining about all the attention they get.

THE LAST MASTERCARD / TURTLE BAY CHAMPIONSHIP

The Champions Tour followed the PGA Tour with the kick off its season here in Hawaii. The MasterCard Championship played at the beautiful Hualalai on the Big Island.

Then it was the full field Turtle Bay Championship at Turtle Bay.

Coincidentally, both of these events will have different names next year. MasterCard will not be the title sponsor next year and Turtle Bay Resort is pulling the plug as well

The Champions Tour president is busy searching for replacement sponsor and has given himself until June to have the final schedule in place. That would mean nailing down a sponsor for the season opener at Hualalai. He told reporters he was in talks while in Hawaii on just that quest – finding sponsors to keep the events in Hawaii.

One of the key elements to keeping those events in Hawaii is how much the players want to come to Hawaii. From what we heard in the locker room, through our friend Bob Bubka, the players are already putting pressure on both Tours to keep the beginning of the golf season and these two events here.

I know a representative from the PGA Tour is also actively talking with potential sponsors for the winners only Championship at Kapalua.

TURTLE BAY CHAMPIONSHIP


A young lady laying in the grass on the ninth greens claps as golfers
approach the hole during the final round of the Turtle Bay Championship.
AP Photo/Marco Garcia

The weather conditions were brutal, on Sunday in particular. The wind simply wouldn’t quit. As one person put it, the players were huddling with their caddies trying to figure out which club to use.

But out of the pack, the winner emerged. Jerry Pate played the final 18 holes 2-under 70 for a two-stroke win over Jim Thorpe and Fulton Allem. Pate went into the final round four strokes behind leader Gil Morgan!


Jerry Pate holds the Champions trophy after winning the Turtle Bay
Championship golf tournament on Sunday, Janurary 27th, 2008 in
Kahuku on Oahu’s North Shore.  AP Photo/Marco Garcia

Pate said he knew he was going to win when he woke and the first thing he saw was a beautiful rainbow outside his hotel window. Pate said it was “perfect from tip to toe. I said, ‘that’s a great omen. I’m going to win today.’” Pate dedicated the victory to his trainer’s 26-year old son.

Justin Wilk was found dead in Florida at the beginning of January. Pate visited with the Wilk family before coming to Hawaii and wanted to win one in their honor. Justin and his father Kevin Wilk helped rehabilitate Pate after several shoulder surgeries and got him back to golf.

Allem (73) and Thorpe (74) each birdied the final hole to tie for second. "Pate is a good champion. He survived three days of very, very tough conditions and he deserved to win," Thorpe said.

With everyone blowing their chances, Pate went up by two strokes over Bernhard Langer heading into the home stretch. It became a fight for second when Langer bogeyed 15.

Pate earned $240,000, his biggest paycheck yet. Pate won the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in 2006. Then the shoulder injury and the surgery took him out of action. That Outback win was his first in 23 years. Before that he won the 1982 Players Championship.

Defending champion Fred Funk, who ran away an 11-stroke victory last year, had a final round 81.


Wind gusting to 30 mph, Fred Funk walks past the flag on the sixth
green during the final round. AP Photo/Marco Garcia

But Funk had his win at the MasterCard Championship in Hawaii the week before and he’d been playing for his fourth consecutive week, after the Mercedes Benz Championship, the Sony Open in Hawaii and the MasterCard.

The roaming “The Golf Club” clubhouse gathered in the Turtle Bay Resort lobby with a gorgeous view of the Pacific Oceans’ waves breaking on the rocks and the rather ominous sky on the horizon. Looked like a storm was coming but it was just the wind howling.

Mark Rolfing sat at the table for most of the show.

We were talking about everything from the question of the cut on the PGA Tour, to the future of the Tours’ starting their seasons in Hawaii in the future, to the condition of the golf infrastructure in Hawaii as other tourist destinations vie for the traveling golfer with newer hotels, better infrastructure, and less traffic!

You can catch all of Mark Rolfings’ TV shows on “The Golf Channel” where he talks with the players, gives you great tips for your game and doesn’t hold back when he thinks something needs to be changed!

BUICK INVITATIONAL

Tiger Woods tackled Torrey Pines at the Buick Invitational with a packed four-deep gallery but it was hardly a great contest especially with his 60-foot birdie putt. Woods won the tournament by 8 strokes, the ninth time in his career to win by that many.

Audio Clip (.swf)
Click here to listen to Tiger Woods opinion of the new Tour cut number

He won his fourth straight title at Torrey Pines and it’s his third win in a row. To top it off, he got congratulations from Arnold Palmer. This was Woods’ 62nd win, tying him with Palmer for fourth on the Tour list of career victories.
Palmer said, “I’m sure that there are many, many more coming in the future.”

Woods says he is at yet another level with this golf – even better than he was in 2000 and that there is stillroom for improvement.

"I'm starting to get better," he said. "I'm hitting shots that I never could hit before, even in 2000. People think, 'Yeah, you played great.' But I made everything. I'm actually hitting the ball better now than I did during that stretch."

Audio Clip (.swf)
Click here for Rory Sabbatini's latest take on how beatable Tiger Woods is

Ryuji Imada won the B-flight. He matched the best score of the final round with a 67 and was the runner-up. "My goal going into today was to finish second," Imada said. "That's almost like winning the golf tournament to me."

Audio Clip (.swf)
Ryuji Imada got his wish! Click here to listen


Ryuji Imada at the Buick Invitational

Woods returns to Torrey Pines in June for the U.S. Open. I’m sure this performance by Woods will just fuel the fires of those on the USGA to make the course ridiculously difficult. Or as Fred Couples put it, “ "What he's going to do is screw the U.S. Open up for everyone else. If he had shot 10 or 11 under, the USGA would have said, 'Well, maybe we have it in the right spot.' Now, they may have to regroup a little."

RETAKING DUBAI

Tiger Woods was down in the third round but by the final round on Sunday Woods was in the lead and winning the 2008 Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament. Woods had a great opening round and then slumped on Saturday with a 73. But Woods came back on Sunday matching his opening round 65 at the Emirates Golf Club. He had 9 birdies in the round including 6 on the back 9. That was enough to beat Martin Kaymer by one stroke. Ernie Els looked good until he found the water on the 18th and slipped to third place.

Audio Clip (.swf)
Reporters in Dubai asked Woods if he was sending any messages?

LIVING QATAR

Adam Scott clinched the victory in the Qatar Masters. Scott finished 11-under-par-61 with a total 268 20-under par.  That was three shots ahead of second place Henrik Stenson.

Who is Tiger Woods former coach Butch Harmon talking about as Woods real challenge?

"You may get an argument for Luke Donald or Sergio Garcia but I just think Adam Scott is above them. He's a truly great talent. He is the only one who can challenge Tiger Woods in the next four or five years. He's the only one I see of the young players with all the things it takes to get close to Tiger Woods," Harmon told Sky Television's “Golf Night”.

WOMEN’S GOLF

Chief officials from the Chinese Golf Association (CGA) and the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) have promised to further the exchanges of women's golfers after cooperation over the past year has produced such impressive development in China. "It was a great year for China's women's golf. Since we started cooperation with KLPGA last year, the number of pro golfers in China is increasing quickly and the performances of our players are encouraging," said Zhang Xiaoning, vice president of CGA. KLGPA is considered as the world's third best women's pro golf tour after the LPGA and JLPGA and has developed many of its players into some of the LPGA's elite. China's women's golf, however, is just beginning and most of the players are not yet good enough to compete in the KLPGA, not to mention the JLPGA or LPGA.

LPGA IN HAWAII

The first full field LPGA event was held right here in Hawaii at the Turtle Bay resort with the SBS Open. SBS is the Seoul Broadcasting System and by playing final round on Saturday in Hawaii, the viewers in Korea can see the final round Sunday their time.

For the one-time Number One female golfer in the world, it felt very good to be back on top and finishing with the trophy in her hands.
Sorenstam started off slow, took the lead after the second round and never looked back despite a little bunker play!


Annika Sorenstam hits out of the bunker on the 9th hole.
AP photo/Ronen Ziberman

Momoko Ueda of Japan. You’ll be hearing more about her. She is the latest to sign with the Sony Corporation, just like Michelle Wie, who started her 2008 season at the Fields Open at Ko Olina.


Momoko Ueda walks off the green of the 15th hole during the SBS Open.
AP photo/Ronen Zibereman

Congratulations to Annika Sorenstam for coming back from injuries that would have ended the career of  the less dedicated.


Annika Sorenstam celebrates after winning the LPGA SBS Open
golf tournament at the Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku, Hawaii, Saturday,
Feb. 16, 2008. This was Sorenstam's 70th LPGA Tour title and
first since September 2008

We had a great time at the Turtle Bay Resort, meeting with the LPGA officials and a chat with Jane Park. She’s a lot of fun. Check out our conversation at http://www.radiogolfclub.com/. Click the listen button and go to the February 16th show. She’s right at the beginning.


Jane Park shot a bogey-free 68. Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

PGA TOUR CUT COMPROMISE? YOU”LL KNOW BY NOW!

In what could amount to a compromise over the PGA Tour's divisive cut policy, players have recommended that the policy be changed to allow for a 54-hole cut when the field gets too big. A tour official said Wednesday that the 16-man Players Advisory Council, which met this week at Riviera Country Club, wants to return to the traditional 36-hole cut of the top 70 and ties. If that results in more than 78 players, another cut on Saturday to the top 70 and ties would help reduce the field for the final round. The policy board will vote on the proposal at its Feb. 25 meeting at the Honda Classic in Florida. Because it relates to competition, the vote must get majority approval by four players on the nine-member board.

INDIA GOES GOLFING

Yes, they were known for their cricket frenzy. Now there are dress codes and etiquette columns for wannabe golfers.


Indian Shiv Chowrasia after winning the $2.5 million EMAAR-MGF
Indian Masters, the first European Tour event to be played in
the country, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008. Unheralded
Chowrasia shot a 5-under 67 in the final round Sunday to clinch
the Indian Masters title at the Delhi Golf Club.
(AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi)

The first Indian Master was a big step for those in India looking to the future. Ernie Els came out to show his support. While he said he wanted to win the event, it was kind of fitting that an Indian national should be the first, particularly the son of a one-time caddy!

WENDY'S SKINS

I’ve got to run. Getting ready for a lovely stay at the Westin Maui at Kaanapali and the Wendy’s Champions Skins game. I keep my weight down following the LA Weighloss method. Check them out in Pearl Ridge. I keep my skin healthy with the excellent advice of Gigi at Permanent Elegance in Moiliili. And the glow is from her Avi P. Cosmetics line of mineral makeup, which she will match to your skin color and maybe even add a little “get out the red” ingredient that makes me look like I have flawless skin! Plus there’s a little thing called the Galvanic Spa. Some people aren’t using it right. You’ve got to learn the right technique to help tone you up. Check in with Mimi, Gigi and me!

In the meantime, thank you for your Mana and may you hit the sweet spot everytime.
Aloha,
I’m Danielle Tucker and this is “The Golf Club”.


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Comments

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tiger — Saturday, March 1, 2008
reportreply
Great Stories. go Parker! Nice piece on Pearl Open and all the new stars on the scene. LPGA Coming on strong. Thanks for all your hard work.


User Graphic
CKUNIOY — Thursday, March 6, 2008
reportreply
Great articles. Looking forward to next month.



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