SportsXchange: Johnson holds second-round lead at Genesis Open
By Art Spander
SportsXchange
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — The men who play the PGA Tour do some remarkable things.
You know the slogan: "These guys are good."
Copyright 2017 SportsXchange
SportsXchange: Rain suspends second-round play at Genesis Open
By Art Spander
SportsXchange
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Tree limbs were falling as well as putts. What was being called "The storm of the decade" hit the Genesis Open just before noon local time Friday, forcing officials to call off play without first-round leader Sam Saunders — Arnold Palmer's grandson -- even hitting a single shot.
Jhonattan Vegas did play 14 holes, went 3 under par, and with his 4-under 67 Thursday at Riviera Country Club was at 7 under, moving into a tie with Saunders, who on Thursday had a 7-under 64.
Copyright 2017 SportsXchange
SportsXchange: Saunders takes early lead at Genesis Open
By Art Spander
SportsXchange
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — He's Arnold Palmer's grandson, and that would be difficult enough — the attention, the questions — had Sam Saunders not become a professional golfer.
But Saunders, 29, who Thursday took the first-day lead of the Genesis Open (the former L.A, Open) handled himself beautifully, appreciative of his heritage, someone who not only accepts who he is but relishes it.
Copyright 2017 SportsXchange
SportsXchange: Spieth vies for California double at Riviera
By Art Spander
SportsXchange
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — This is a place of stars, Riviera, far out Sunset Boulevard, a country club where Hollywood's greatest stars would hang out and play, Humphrey Bogart, Howard Hughes, Dean Martin, Katharine Hepburn.
A place a golfing star named Jordan Spieth understands and appreciates.
Copyright 2017 SportsXchange
S.F. Examiner: Spieth, Pebble deserve each other in best way
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
PEBBLE BEACH — It’s a party, a picnic, a weather forecast, a comedy routine, a study in history and — not incidentally — a golf tournament. One, that thanks to a man’s love of the game and a bit of property described as “the most felicitous meeting of land and water in creation,” is one of a kind.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the derivative of the Bing Crosby Pro-Am, has been raising umbrellas and money for about a zillion charities on the Monterey Peninsula ever since Bing Crosby hauled it up the coast in 1947, probably before many of you were born. Golf, of course, was born 600 years ago, give or take a century.
©2017 The San Francisco Examiner
SportsXchange: Spieth strolls to four-shot win at Pebble Beach
By Art Spander
SportsXchange
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — The 12th hole at Augusta? The two balls in the creek last April? Ancient history now. For Jordan Spieth, for his fans, and not the least for golf.
He may have lost on one of the sport's biggest stages, but Sunday, in the sunshine, alongside the crashing surf, he won on another big stage.
Copyright 2017 SportsXchange
SportsXchange: Spieth surges into six-shot lead at Pebble Beach
By Art Spander
SportsXchange
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — It's a cliche, but also an unavoidable fact of the game, that in golf one drives for show and, yes, putts for dough. A two-foot miss counts as much — if not more psychologically — as a 300-yard tee shot, one stroke.
So when Jordan Spieth, who even at the young age of 23 is one of golf's brilliant putters, said his game on the greens hadn't met expectations, others could only shake their heads.
Copyright 2017 SportsXchange
SportsXchange: Three tied for rain-interrupted Pebble Beach lead
By Art Spander
SportsXchange
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif -- Bad weather struck the Monterey Peninsula on Thursday midway through the opening round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, turning some putting greens into small lakes and forcing officials to suspend play.
Rich Lamb, Seung-Yul Noh and Joel Dahman were among a few golfers to finish before the rainstorm arrived, each shooting a 4-under-par 68 at Spyglass Hill, one of the three courses used the first three days -- along with Monterey Peninsula, and Pebble Beach.
Copyright 2017 SportsXchange
Rain for Safeway Open — what else can go wrong?
By Art Spander
NAPA, Calif. — All right. We surrender. What else can go wrong? The Niners are awful. The Giants disintegrate. Tiger pulls a fast one. And now Mother Nature has decided to punch us around.
We wanted rain, we've been complaining about a drought that’s lasted, what, 50 years? But not this weekend. Not for the first PGA Tour event of the new season.
When it was the Frys Open, weather for the tournament the last two Octobers at Silverado Country Club was exactly as autumn is supposed to be in Northern Cal, warm and most importantly dry. Then Safeway takes over and splish, splash, we were taking a bath.
When does it rain in Napa in the fall? When does it rain in Napa ever? But stage a golf tournament, and the place turns into Scotland. More umbrellas than birdies — and there were dozens of birdies. Not enough fans, certainly, but who wants to spend a Saturday getting soaked?
Johnson Wagner spent it taking the lead in a third round of the Safeway that came to an abbreviated end with darkness encroaching, greens being squeegeed and starting times for Sunday’s scheduled final round moved up some two and a half hours to escape yet another storm.
This has turned into one of those to-be-continued episodes of not so much hand-wringing drama but towel-wringing ennui. The second round, which started on Friday, finally finished on Saturday morning, Scott Piercy playing six holes to stay in first at 15-under-par, a shot in front of Wagner and Paul Casey. It was dry. But not for long.
And so the third round began — and so did the rain and wind. Wagner, 36, a three-time winner on Tour, was on Silverado’s par-5 16th hole when play was suspended.
He was at 15-under-par after going 12-under for the first 36 holes. Piercy, also through 15, and Patton Kizzire, through 16, were 14-under. Casey was 13-under through 15 holes.
The main man for attention, not competition, Phil Mickelson, did finish 54 holes, if hardly the way he or the fans — his gallery was three times the size of anybody else’s early on — had wished.
Phil did come in with a third straight 69, and his round included an eagle three on the par-five fifth. But he closed with a bogey-six on the 18th, also a par-five. His three-round total of 207 is a tentative eight shots out of the lead.
“I did hit a lot more good drives,” said Mickelson. “The last couple of holes, when it got wet, I got stuck. I didn’t match up my speed on the greens. They’re in perfect shape and rolling true, and you can get hot on the greens. I just haven’t done it yet.”
If he doesn’t do it Sunday, he won’t do it at all. Not at the Safeway, at least. And not for a while. His next scheduled tournament is the Career Builder Challenge in February in Palm Desert, the former Bob Hope tournament. There shouldn’t be rain there.
Wagner, along with the others, had started the week on a course that was fast, the ball flying. Then came the downpour.
“It was primed to be a firm, fast, awesome event,” said Wagner, “and Friday I hit my first shot to the green and it plugged out of the rough. I couldn't believe how much water we had had overnight.”
Those who have been taking quick showers or were hesitant to water the back lawn surely are pleased with all that water. The golfers, while recognizing California’s situation, would have preferred the rain didn’t arrive until, say, Monday.
“It was so brutal out there the last few holes,” said Wagner, “I was hanging on, hitting balls to the green ... getting up and down and making par putts and really just trying to survive and make as many pars as I could — just tick them off hole by hole, okay, two more to go, let's just get this thing in."
Which they couldn’t.
“So I think it had an effect on the other players. I don't know how anybody else played, but it was difficult.”
And very, very wet.
No Tiger, but plenty of Phil — and Scott Piercy
By Art Spander
NAPA, Calif. — So he’s not here. That’s the way it goes. Sport isn’t always what we would wish. Tiger Woods withdraws. The Giants blow a ninth-inning lead.
You can’t always get what you want, the Rolling Stones lyrics advise. Life goes on. The games go on.
Woods was one of a kind. Still is, although he hasn’t played a tournament round in more than a year. In a sport dependent on personalities, Woods was a transcendent personality.
He reached the ultimate status, known by people who don’t know much — if anything — about golf. The way Pavarotti was known by those who didn’t know anything about opera.
The method of Woods’ withdrawal, pulling out the three days after making a formal commitment, was vexing to some, irritating to others. Too much about someone among the missing? Probably, but that complaint was lodged back in the ‘70s and ‘80s when the issue dealt with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
“Why are you always writing about people who aren’t playing?” wondered unhappy executives from the PGA Tour. “Write about the others, then people will want to watch them.”
As we know, that’s a false hope. It’s the Steph Currys and Buster Poseys — and Tiger Woodses — who, through success and charisma, draw the fans.
That said, the first Safeway Open is under way at Silverado Country Club. (First, because the event previously was sponsored by Frys). And in the opening round Thursday, Scott Piercy, who if he’s not Tiger also isn’t anonymous, shot a record 10-under-par 62 on the North Course.
The slogan, “These guys are good,” is an understatement. The guys who play the Tour are great — even though Silverado isn’t Oakmont or Olympic, a 62 is a 62 — and in a way Tiger’s fame helped others come to the understanding.
If the fans bought tickets because of Woods, well, they were privileged to watch somebody else, Piercy, go seven-under-par on his first 10 holes and finish with 12 birdies out of the 18 holes. Remarkable.
The Safeway is the first tournament of the Tour’s rather confusing wrap-around season. The calendar may read 2016, but the schedule says 2017. The idea is to make the autumn tournaments seem important, even if they’re lost somewhere among the baseball playoffs and college and pro football.
“Oh man,” said Piercy of his spectacular round, “I think I made more feet of putts than I did all last season.” Last season, of course, ended only two weeks ago, as if it matters. There’s a course. There’s a tournament. Play on.
Phil Mickelson has his own schedule, but fortunately the Safeway is on that schedule. This is Phil’s farewell until the Career Builder Challenge, the former Bob Hope Desert Classic, in January. Maybe there’s no time off for the Tour, but there will be for Mickelson, now 46.
He began the Safeway with consecutive bogies but came in with a three-under 69 and, although it was 5:21 p.m., with the day’s largest gallery. And why not? As Tiger has, Mickelson earned the following. Five majors and a lot of smiles gain anyone a high degree of respect and approval.
“I have to be careful energy-wise,” said Mickelson of his slow start, “because it’s been a very emotional and long year, ending and culminating with the high degree of the Ryder Cup.”
Mickelson led the British Open at Troon in July, then finished second behind Henrik Stenson. Two weeks ago, he was the de facto leader, and as a competitor he was a major factor in America’s first Ryder Cup victory since 2008. His presence at the Safeway should not go unappreciated — and it hasn’t been.
“I didn’t have much time off,” said Mickelson after the Ryder Cup triumph, ”so I’ve got to maintain energy. I got off to a slow start. I wasn’t as focused as I need to be, but I put myself in position where (Friday) I can get hot on the greens, get perfect greens in the morning, get it going, shoot six, seven, eight-under-par and get right back in it for the weekend.”
No Tiger at the Safeway, but plenty of Phil and Scott Piercy. It could be worse. Much, much worse.
Global Golf Post: Palmer's Memory Infuses Ryder Cup
By Art Spander
Global Golf Post
CHASKA, MINNESOTA — The signature, with the oversized "A" and "P," was as familiar as that lurching swing, which finished with the club almost over his head.
There it was, that autograph, reproduced, huge on a billboard near the practice tee, and below the signature and the familiar umbrella logo were the printed instructions, "Please pay tribute to Mr. Palmer."
Copyright 2016 Global Golf Post
Los Angeles Times: U.S. wins Ryder Cup for first time since 2008
By Art Spander
Los Angeles Times
CHASKA, MINN. — It was a Sunday of laughter and tears, of success and relief. It was an afternoon on the prairie when America’s golfers stood up to anxiety and knocked down the criticism.
It was the day the United States finally won the Ryder Cup.
Copyright 2016 Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times: Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson spark U.S. to three-point lead in Ryder Cup
By Art Spander
Los Angeles Times
CHASKA, MINN. — It was golf, and it was played in Minnesota. But to Phil Mickelson, very much a man in full — and loving it — it was just like basketball, in the Bay Area.
He had holed a long birdie putt on this beautiful autumn Saturday afternoon when the United States zoomed into the Ryder Cup lead at Hazeltine National Golf Club, and Mickelson, after doing a shimmy — at age 46, no less — had a hoops analogy.
Copyright 2016 Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times: Europeans rally to cut Americans' lead to 5-3 in Ryder Cup
By Art Spander
Los Angeles Times
CHASKA, MINN. — Day One of the 41st Ryder Cup began with a video tribute to Arnold Palmer and a song — “Let’s Go Crazy” — by hometown guy Prince blasting from loudspeakers.
By the middle of the day, the United States had a stunning 4-0 advantage.
Copyright 2016 Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times: Phil Mickelson is the center of attention at the Ryder Cup
By Art Spander
Los Angeles Times
CHASKA, MINN. — He’s one of 12, a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team. In truth he’s one and only, a chance-taker, a champion, a right-hander who plays left-handed.
Phil Mickelson will take a swing at anything, literally with a club — it’s only 230 yards across the water — or figuratively with his suggestions.
Copyright 2016, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times: Oh, brother: The trash-writing starts early at the Ryder Cup
By Art Spander
Los Angeles Times
CHASKA, MINN. — A school teacher in England, Peter Willett, or P.J. Willett in his Twitter feed, is known both as the brother of Masters champion Danny Willett and a bit of satirist.
Also an antagonist, depending on one’s sense of humor.
Copyright © 2016, Los Angeles Times
S.F. Examiner: Golf world loses Arnold Palmer, ‘The King’
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
His triumphs, the four Masters, the British Opens, and his sporting tragedies, like blowing a seven-shot lead in the 1966 U.S. Open at San Francisco’s Olympic Club, are the stuff of legend and history.
Yet the most telling statement about the great Arnold Palmer, who died Sunday at 87, was made by one of his fellow golf champions, Curtis Strange.
©2016 The San Francisco Examiner
Global Golf Post: Club Pros Relish Moment On The Big Stage
By Art Spander
Global Golf Post
SPRINGFIELD, NEW JERSEY — Bubba Watson has been chided occasionally for some of his comments, an inescapable part of being a star in modern society. But his approach to the game of golf, and those who teach it as well as play it, is commendable.
Copyright 2016 Global Golf Post
S.F. Examiner: Local teaching pro mixes with stars at PGA Championship
By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — There’s a difference between a professional golfer, someone like Jason Day or Jordan Spieth, someone who plays golf for a living, and a golf professional, someone like Mitch Lowe, who teaches others how to a play and now and then has a chance to compete with the big boys.
The PGA, Professional Golfers Association, is the group of teachers and club pros, but starting nearly a century ago it created a tournament that, along with the Masters and U.S. and British Opens has become one of the four majors. The PGA Championship saves a few places for people such as Lowe, who does his instructing at San Francisco’s Harding Park.
©2016 The San Francisco Examiner
Global Golf Post: It's Harder Than Ever To Win Majors
By Art Spander
Global Golf Post
TROON, SCOTLAND — Thomas Brent Weekley, better known as "Boo," understands golf far better than most, that is if anyone, pro or amateur, star or hacker, is able to understand golf. A while back Weekley told The Wall Street Journal — yes, Boo, the alligator wrestler, and The Journal seem an odd combination — that if you win a major "all you get is more hype."
Copyright 2016 Global Golf Post