Sweden’s Robert Karlsson bested Italy’s Francesco Molinari by two strokes on Sunday to win the European Tour’s Mercedes Benz Championship, played in Cologne, Germany. This is the eighth European Tour win for Karlsson and his first victory in more than two years. That should give him a little momentum going into this week’s Ryder Cup competition.
Fellow Ryder Cup team member, Miguel Angel Jimenz finished third.
(photo © Newscom)
The acclaimed PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida is offering golf enthusiasts a chance to play its legendary “Champion” golf course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and home to the Honda Classic tournament. The resort’s “Champion Stay and Play” package includes deluxe accommodations (with a terrace or balcony), and one round per adult per day on “The Champion” course. The rate, good from October 1 to December 31 is $315 per person per day, based on two people sharing a room. If you’d be just as happy playing one of the resort’s other three courses, the rate drops to $227 per person per day.
In addition to golf, facilities at the PGA National Resort, opened in 1981, include a European spa, muliple swimming pools, seven restaurants and lounges, and a health and raquet club. For more information and/or to make reservations, visit the resort’s Web site.
(photo © Newscom)
I wasn’t sure we’d see this, but 18-year-old golfer, Michelle Wie has swallowed her pride and entered the LPGA’s Qualifying School to earn her 2009 LPGA Tour Card. She will compete in the qualifier this month at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California–the same course where she finished fourth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2004 at the age of 13 and rose to national attention.
The top 20 finishers at Mission Hills will advance to a December qualifier in Daytona Beach, where the top 20 will earn an LPGA Tour card. If Wie is unsuccessful at Mission Hills, there is also a qualifier in Florida next month.
Wie, now a student at Stanford University, hasn’t won a tournament since she won the US Women’s Amateur Tournament in 2003. She has been in the spotlight, however, with her repeated attempts to make the cut in a PGA Tour event.
For more about Michelle Wie, see:
The Ryder Cup is approaching, but there’s still golf on television this weekend. Televised events include the following:(all times are EDT).
Saturday, September 13
8am - 1130am - European Tour - Mercedes Benz Championship in Cologne, Germany - Golf Channel
1pm - 330pm - Champions Tour - Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn in Conover, North Carolina - Golf Channel
330pm - 6pm - LPGA - Bell Micro Classic in Mobile, Alabama - Golf Channel
630pm - 9pm - Nationwide Tour - Albertsons Boise Open in Boise, Idaho - Golf Channel
Sunday, September 14
8am - 1130am - European Tour - Mercedes Benz Championship in Cologne, Germany - Golf Channel
1pm - 330pm - Champions Tour - Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn in Conover, North Carolina - Golf Channel
330pm - 6pm - LPGA - Bell Micro Classic in Mobile, Alabama - Golf Channel
630pm - 9pm - Nationwide Tour - Albertsons Boise Open in Boise, Idaho - Golf Channel
The PGA Tour is quiet this weekend.
With the Ryder Cup competition set to begin next week, two Ryder Cup Team members–one on each team–are still questionable as to whether they will be healthy enough to participate. Europe’s Lee Westwood (pictured above) is still struggling with a bout of tonsillitis he contracted about ten days ago. He was forced to miss the European Masters last week due to the illness. Should he be unable to play, it’s likely that captain Nick Faldo would choose German Martin Kaymer as his replacement.
Also struggling is American Kenny Perry, who was forced to drop out of the PGA Tour for a few weeks in early August due to a scratched and infected cornea. He is said to be improving, but still has slightly fuzzy vision in one eye.
At this writing, both men are still planning to compete in the Ryder Cup, but the situation bears watching..
For more about the Ryder Cup, see:
It’ll soon be time to buy a 2009 calendar. (I know; already?) Plus, golf-themed calendars make great gifts for the golfers on your holiday list. Below are a few of our favorites from this year’s offerings:
Golf Resorts - This glossy wall calendar features a new spectacular golf vista for each month, in locations from Florida to Hawaii.
St. Andrews Golf Calendar - View a different St. Andrews Golf Course hole each month throughout the year and admire the place where the game began more than six centuries ago.
Scottish Golf Courses - Spend the new year admiring the beauty and grace of Scotland’s most memorable golf courses. This wall calendar includes descriptions of all of the courses features. It’s the stuff of which daydreams are made.
Tip a Day Desk Calendar - This calendar offers tips on how to improve your game, both for the beginner and the skilled player. There’s everything from tips on swings to ways to maximize the distance of your drives.
(images courtesy of Calendars.com)
The LPGA announced on Friday that it had reconsidered a portion of its proposed requirement that two members demonstrate English proficiency within two years of joining the tour or face suspension. The meat of the proposal hasn’t really changed, but the tour vows to find other ways to communicate with its members without the threat of suspension. Said LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens in a statement on Friday:
“The LPGA has received valuable feedback from a variety of constituents regarding the recently announced penalties attached to our effective communications policy. We have decided to rescind those penalty provisions.
After hearing the concerns, we believe there are other ways to achieve our shared objective of supporting and enhancing the business opportunities for every Tour player. In that spirit, we will continue communicating with our diverse Tour players to develop a better alternative. The LPGA will announce a revised approach, absent playing penalties, by the end of 2008.
During that time we will continue to provide support under the three-year-old Kolon-LPGA Cross Cultural Program. This popular program provides all LPGA members with the best cross-cultural training in the form of tutors, translators, Rosetta Stone, the official language-learning system of the LPGA, as well as assistance from LPGA staff and consultants.”
The LPGA Tour includes members from more than 120 nations and many of the Tour’s top players are not native English-speakers, including Lorena Ochoa of Mexico and South Korea’s Se Ri Pak. The proposed suspensions drew criticism from LPGA Tour members, including Ochoa, as well as players on the PGA Tour.
The golf world is gearing up for the Ryder Cup, to be held at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky from September 16 to 21 (2008). A few facts about the course:
For more about the 2008 Ryder Cup, see:
(photo © Newscom)
Thomas Henry “Tommy” Bolt, a 2002 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, passed away at his home in Batesville, Akansas on Saturday, August 30. He was 92. Bolt is best known for his 1958 US Open win and his explosive on-the-course temper. He was frequently known to throw clubs and use abusive language.
There was no denying that he could play golf, however. Bolt had one of the best swings of his era and ranked up 15 PGA Tour wins, despite not joining the Tour until he was in his 30s. Think what he could have accomplished in the game had war not occupied him during his younger years.
After the PGA Tour, he played on the Senior Tour for several years and won three tournaments.
The Ryder Cup is approaching, but there’s still golf on television this weekend. Televised events include the following:(all times are EDT).
Saturday, September 6
8am - 11am - European Tour - Omega European Masters in Switzerland - Golf Channel
12N - 330pm - PGA Tour - BMW Championship in St. Louis, MO - NBC
630pm - 9pm - Nationwide Tour - Utah Championship in Sandy, UT - Golf Channel
Sunday, September 7
8am - 11am - European Tour - Omega European Masters in Switzerland - Golf Channel
2pm - 6pm - PGA Tour - BMW Championship in St. Louis, MO - NBC
630pm - 9pm - Nationwide Tour - Utah Championship in Sandy, UT - Golf Channel
The LPGA and the Champions Tour are quiet this week.