December 2007 Archives

The Mark Christopher Charity Classic in Rancho Cucamonga will not be on the Nationwide Tour schedule next year because it failed to obtain a title sponsor, the tournament director said. The press release follows.

Here's the monthly newsletter Tiger Woods writes on his Web site. You have to sign up - it's free - to take a look, so I've pasted on this blog for you. As always, there's a golf tip at the end.

Joe Buttitta, a pro at Westlake Golf Course, just sent me this...Bring a new, unwrapped toy this week, and he'll give you a free lesson...

This is from Joe...
Here's what I'm doing this Christmas re golf and needy kids: anyone bringing me a new, unwrapped toy worth at least $15 Thursday, Friday or Saturday (Sat. til 1 pm), Dec. 20-22, can schedule a FREE half-hour lesson
with me for anytime after the holidays. Toys will be delivered to the Ventura County Fire Dept. Station #44 in Wood Ranch as part of their annual
Christmas Spark of Love Toy Drive for Kids. This is being done in honor of USMC Col. William G. Harris, a CSUN grad and an avid golfer who died in November. Toys can be brought to me at Westlake GC. If I'm not there, just leave the toy in the pro shop with a name and phone number attached.

Rory Sabbatini has done it again, managing to again Tiger Woods. This time, he withdrew from Tiger's tournament. He told the PGA Tour that he was withdrawing for personal reasons. The Associated Press reported that he withdrew because of shin splints, according to his agent.
But Tiger Woods said Sabbatini never informed tournament director Greg McLaughlin. Woods didn't look happy when asked about it but said he was going to figure out exactly what happened before making a judgment.

Tiger Woods shot a 4-under 68 on Sunday to win the Target World Challenge. He tied a tournament record by shooting 22-under par for the tournament. Davis Love III shot 22-under to win in 2000. Woods won by seven shots over Zach Johnson and eight over Jim Furyk. He started the day with a six-stroke lead.
Woods will donate his $1.35 million to the Tiger Woods Foundation and Tiger Woods Learning Center.

After opening with an 8-over 80, Colin Montgomerie posted rounds of 67, 69 and 66 to finish at 6-under 282 for the tournament.

Monty birdied the final two holes Sunday.

Jim Furyk parred the par-3 12th and the par-5 13th holes to remain four strokes behind Tiger with five holes to play.

Both Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk birdied the par-5 11th hole.

That moved Woods back to 20 under, with Furyk four strokes back.

Jim Furyk, who had pulled within two strokes of Tiger Woods through nine holes, three-putted from less than 5 feet on the par-4 10th hole.

Woods, meanwhile, sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the 10th to move to 19 under and take a four-stroke advantage.

Jim Furyk shot a 4-under 32 on the front nine Sunday, cutting Tiger Woods' lead from six strokes to two.

Furyk equaled the best front-nine score of the week, set by Woods in Friday's second round on the host's way to a course-record 62.

Woods shot an even-par 36 on the front Sunday, with two birdies and two bogeys. Furyk had five birdies and one bogey.

Tiger Woods' six-stroke advantage heading into the final round has been cut in half.

Jim Furyk birdied both the par-4 seventh and the par-3 eighth to move to 16 under and pull within three shots of Tiger.

Furyk has five birdies and one bogey through the first eight holes.

Tiger Woods three-putted the seventh hole for a bogey, dropping back to 19 under.

Jim Furyk, playing in the final twosome, birdied the same hole, cutting Tiger's lead to four strokes.

With Rory Sabbatini having withdrawn before the final round, Brett Wetterich teed off alone at 9:45 a.m.

Wetterich made it around in 2 hours, 22 minutes, shooting a 3-under 69.

"I just wanted to go out and play a good round," said Wetterich, who was informed he was going solo Sunday morning.

Wetterich said it wasn't the first time he'd played alone, having finished in 2:10 at Hartford, Conn.

"The back side (at Sherwood Country Club) is a little hilly," Wetterich joked of the extra 12 minutes.

Tiger Woods reached the par-5 fifth in two and two-putted for birdie to move to 20 under.

Jim Furyk also birdied the hole to remain six strokes back.

Jim Furyk bogeyed the par-5 second hole to drop into a second-place tie with Zach Johnson, seven strokes behind TIger.

On a flashing highway sign just before reaching the Westlake Boulevard exit northbound off the 101, there was a sign that read, "Golf Tourney, Dec. 13-16."

The sign would then flash to its other message, which read, "Go Tiger Go!"

Rory Sabbatini, who made headlines this spring when he said Tiger Woods was "more beatable than ever," withdrew before Sunday's final round with what perhaps was a bruised ego.

After opening with a 69, Sabbatini shot rounds of 81 and 76 to drop into last place in the 16-player field at 10-over 226 _ 28 strokes behind Woods, the tournament host.

Officially, Sabbatini withdrew because of "personal reasons."

Jim Furyk, playing in the final pairing with Tiger Woods, birdied the first hole Sunday to reach 13 under.

Of course, Woods also made birdie to maintain his six-stroke lead.

Tiger Woods shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday and leads Jim Furyk by six shots and Zach Johnson by seven. Woods has the largest 54-hole lead in the Target World Challenge history.
``Seven shots is too much behind Tiger Woods, just because of what he’s done,’’ Johnson said. ``Freakish things can happen. Anything is possible. But the guy, if he’s in the lead, the gap seems to go the other way.’’
Woods has won the tournament three times but always came from behind to win.

Trailing by three shots, Jim Furyk put his tee shot on the par-3 15th into the water in front of the green.

He had to hit his next from the drop zone on the women's tee, known to golf writers as the circle of shame because it's marked by a painted circle.

Furyk's third shot hit just past the pin and spun back about 10 feet below the hole. His bogey putt lipped out, giving him a double bogey and dropping him five behind Tiger Woods.

After opening with an 8-over 80, Colin Montgomerie has posted rounds of 67 and 69 to get to even-par 216.

Rory Sabbatini has gone in the other direction. He shot a 69 in the first round, but has followed that with an 81 and a 76 to drop into last place at 10-over 226.

Sabbatini led Monty by 11 shots after Thursday's round, but now finds himself 10 behind the Scotsman.

British Open champion Padraig Harrington started the day in fourth place at 6 under.

But he had a bogey on the first hole, managed only a par on the reachable par-5 second hole, then put two balls in the water on the par-3 third on his way to a quadruple-bogey 7.

Harrington shot a 41 on the front nine to drop back to 1 under. It equaled the worst front nine score of the week, by Colin Montgomerie in the opening round.

Tiger Woods birdied the first two holes Saturday to increase his lead to five strokes over Jim Furyk.

The conditions are tremendous, with the temperatures in the low 60s under sunny skies, with little wind.

Tiger's 62 is not only a Sherwood Country Club course record, it's a tournament record. It's also the third round of 62 or lower in 2007. Brandt Snedeker had a 61 at the Buick Invitaitonal in San Diego and Zach Johnson had a 60 at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Tiger Woods just finished a 10-under-par 62 in the second-round of the Target World Challenge. He has shot 69-62--131 - the lowest 36-hole total in tournament history. Woods made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for the 62.

Tom Hoffarth forwarded this Tiger Woods bit in the Onion. If you didn't alread know, this is a spoof Web site.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/71245

Jim Furyk is leading the Target World Challenge at 4-under-par 68 after the first round. Tiger Woods, Zach Johnson, Henrik Stenson and Rory Sabbatini are all one back at 3-under 69. Woods led for most of the tournament.

The following is a transcript of Tiger Woods' press conference today, courtesy of the Target World Challenge.

Tiger Woods won the PGA Tour player of the year award, an award voted on by his peers. Brandt Snedeker was named rookie of the year, Jay Haas the Champions Tour player of the year, Steve Stricker the comeback player of the year and Nick Flanagan the Nationwide Tour player of the year.

Tiger Woods did his press conference this afternoon for the Target World Challenge. People asked customary questions about his swing, offseason, PGA Tour player of the year award and then came the tabloid stuff. A Britain woman who is believed to be from a British TV station or a dating Web site - it was unclear which - asked Tiger some offensive questions. She asked his opinion on her sex life and after several tasteless questions, the microphone finally was pulled from her and a Tiger Woods Foundation official tore off the bottom portion of her media pass to invalidate it. Woods handled the situation well, at one point saying, ``You'll have to figure that out.''
The woman, who was unfortunately sitting next to me, was dressed like she was going to a Hollywood club afterward. She said before the press conference that she ``got dressed up just to ask Tiger one question.'' She was clearly not a legitimate reporter. It's doubtful she'll ever get within a driver's length of Woods again.

Here are the pairings for Thursday's first-round of the Target World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club.

Tiger Woods is in Los Angeles. He played nine holes at Sherwood Country Club by himself this morning, then attended a Tiger Woods Foundation board meeting. Woods was also spotted at the Floyd Mayweather fight on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
The Target World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods, is Thursday through Sunday at Sherwood Country Club. Woods is the defending champion.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the Target World Challenge, there will be an open house on the Sherwood golf course. The open house is to benefit the Good Samaritan charity. There will be refreshments provided, along with a band, silent auction, etc. The house will be open during tournament hours.
Good Samaritan helps needy people in the community.
Golf fans are encouraged to come by to volunteer money or time to the organization.
The house - on sale and valued at somewhere around $10 million - was donated for the event. The location is at 232 West Stafford.
For more information, contact Shawn Miller at 805-268-3659.

Anna Rawson (USC) has qualified for conditional status on the LPGA Tour. I wrote a column on Rawson in today's Daily News. For the column, go to http://www.dailynews.com/golf/ci_7636764

Jason Allred (Pepperdine) has earned his PGA Tour card for 2008. Allred, who finished fifth in the PGA Qualifying School Tournament on Monday, played on the PGA Tour in 2005.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Former UCLA star Jane Park completed a wire-to-wire victory
in the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament on Sunday, topping the 17 players who earned full 2008
playing status.
Park, the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur winner, had a 17-under 274 total.
“I was playing great, so I knew I had a good chance to win,” Park said. “Just being able to
pull it off was just a great confidence booster. I just proved to myself that I can go pretty
deep under par. It’s a great feeling.”
Su A Kim (66) was second, followed by Hee Young Park (70) at 10 under.
Kelli Kuehne (67) was another stroke back at 9 under, and Carolina Llano (70, 8 under) also
earned a full tour card along with Yani Tseng (72, 7 under), Jacqueline Yang (69, 6 under),
Russy Gulyanamitta (70, 6 under), Sarah Kemp (68, 5 under), Becky Lucidi (69, 5 under),
amateur Shanshan Feng (70, 5 under), Louise Friberg (72, 5 under), Meredith Duncan (73, 5
under), amateur Sandra Gal (69, 4 under), Danielle Downey (70, 4 under), Liz
Janangelo (72, 4 under) and Sophie Giquel (73, 4 under).
The next 35 players received conditional status.