MIAMI, FL. – Last year’s Masters was the first tournament where PGA Tour players competed against those who defected to the LIV Golf League. The LIV guys got the better of that one. Four current LIV players finished one -two-three and a tie for fourth. That spoke well for the Saudi-financed circuit that…
Uncategorized
Malnati’s win at Valspar was a lifestyle-changer
PALM HARBOR, Florida — “Cinderella Story’’ is a term used way too much in the sports world. Peter Malnati certainly fit that description when he won the Valspar Championship on Sunday, however. Here was a 10-year member of the PGA Tour getting his second victory nine years after capturing his first. In seven previous Valspars…
Walters’ `Gambler’ is about a lot more than Mickelson
This, most recent, book that merits your attention had some unusual pre-release promotional literature. “Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk’’ by Billy Walters with Armen Keteyian (Avid Reader Press) hinted that it was more about golfer Phil Mickelson than it was about Walters, who created his own autobiography. If that was intention it worked…
Streelman stays in the hunt after Round 1 at the JDC
SILVIS, IL. – Kevin Streelman, Chicago’s most prominent PGA Tour player, isn’t having one of his best years on the circuit, but the veteran from Wheaton wasn’t bothered by his 2-under-par 69 in Thursday’s first round of the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run. “I’m not happy with how I hit it. My swing…
No Ryder Cup captaincy for Donald, but his game seems on the upswing
These are trying times for Luke Donald, the Englishman who starred on Northwestern’s teams before eventually enjoying a long run as the world’s No. 1 golfer. Now 44, Donald’s best days as a player are probably over but he is still a force in the game both in the Chicago area and world-wide. Though now…
GOLF TRAVEL NOTES: Two long-time favorites are changing course
First of all, HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all of our traveling golfers from our place in Florida’s PGA Village. We are now in the heart of the holiday season and we hope that all our friends will enjoy these days to the fullest. Golf travel wasn’t so easy in this pandemic year, but we’re…
Palmetto Traverse isn’t your usual putting green
Putting courses aren’t exactly new. Many golf facilities – even storied St. Andrews in Scotland – are adding them as a extra amenity at their facilities. The one that we played Monday in Santee, S.C., is one of the better ones. It’s called Palmetto Traverse. Santee is a town of barely 1,000 residents but its…
John Deere Classic is canceled; its 50th anniversary is moved to 2021
John Deere Classic canceled; its 50th anniversary is moved to 2021 Illinois won’t have its longest-standing PGA Tour stop this year. The John Deere Classic was cancelled on Thursday. The JDC, the only PGA Tour event held annually in the state, was to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a July 6-12 playing of the $6.2…
Trio of Palm City, FL., courses are poised to bring in more golfers
PALM CITY, Florida – With many restrictions lifted on Florida’s golf courses this week, some encouraging developments in one south Florida community came into focus. Palm City, a town of about 25,000 located off Interstate 95 between the PGA Golf Club – the “winter home of the PGA of America’’ – to the north and…
Cheers to Caddyshack on the movie’s 40th anniversary
If ever a movie – especially a sports-themed one – merited an anniversary celebration it’d be “Caddyshack.’’ This movie didn’t really have a plot. It was just a series of memorable scenes with actors Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield the lead characters. Still, over the years its fan base grew and the movie…