Lee Westwood Misses Cut at Qatar Masters

Contributed by Alan Ewens
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

MARKUS BRIER IS THE SURPRISE leader by one stroke at the halfway stage of the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy. The 42 year-old Austrian shot a second round 66 to reach seven under par for the tournament on a day that saw several more illustrious names fail to make the cut in the $2.5 million event, the third stop on the European Tour’s Desert Swing.

(Photo: Brier celebrates a birdie.)

It was a superb round by Brier whose sixth and final birdie on the ninth—his 18th— ensured a one-shot lead over 2003 champion Darren Fichardt who carded a 68. A two-time European Tour winner, Brier had to go back to Qualifying School last November to retain his European Tour card and is playing on a sponsor’s invite.

“I got lucky on the last hole as I hit it way right off the tee, maybe 30-40 yards right,” Brier said. “I was lucky to make a birdie from a wayward drive, so that’s like a two-shot win there.”

But while it was a brilliant performance by World Number 478 Brier, for Lee Westwood, who ranks 477 places higher, there was only disappointment. Putting for eagle on the last, the Englishman missed by an inch to leave himself on four over par and out of the tournament.

“It’s early season rust. I think that’s it,” said the World Number One who finished third in last year’s event. “I’m going to go on the range the next couple of days and try to get into some kind of rhythm.”

Although Westwood is the biggest casualty, he is not the only big name to miss the cut. Former Qatar winner Henrik Stenson (+6) and Englishmen Paul Casey (+5) and Ross Fisher (+4) also missed out.

World Number Two Martin Kaymer, who can replace Westwood as Number One with a top two finish, got himself back on track with a second round 70 to put himself on three over for the tournament, right on the cut.

“I definitely played a little better today with no bogeys,” Kaymer said. “The golf tournament here is tight and no one is really running away with it and I’m only seven shots away right now.”

Experience seems to be the key over the 7,388-yard Doha course, with four former winners in the top eight. Defending champion Robert Karlsson of Sweden remains two shots off the lead on five under par alongside Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn and Englishman Richard Finch, while 1999 champion Paul Lawrie and 2007 winner Retief Goosen are on four under with South African Thomas Aiken.

(Photo credit: Alan Ewens on behalf of Qatar Masters)

Miguel Angel Jimenez: Putting Without a Putter

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ MISSED a three-footer last week at The Royal Golf Club in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The cigar-chomping veteran momentarily lost his pony-tailed head. He tossed the guilty putter at his golf bag. It broke.

Putter-less, Jimenez faced five more holes with 13 clubs in his bag. Which club did he put into service on those last five greens? The lob wedge. How did he finish? He birdied three out of the last four holes to shoot 65, giving him a share of the second-round lead at the Volvo Golf Champions. He went on to finish second.

That, my friends, is another reason why Jimenez and his tour comrades have their names on their golf bags and I don’t. If Miguel can birdie three of four holes putting with a wedge, I wonder why he even bothers with a putter.

The last time I broke a putter mid-round was a couple of years ago. It was an accident. My 20-year-old Slotline simply gave out, a case of metal fatigue. I was on the 1st hole. I putted with a long iron, but soon decided it was a poor choice. I ended up using my 3 metal. That worked OK. But I made no birdies like “The Mechanic.” And I couldn’t shoot 65 in my dreams.

I didn’t see Jimenez in action without his putter, so I wondered how he did it until I read his quote: “This is not the first time I putt with a lob wedge.”

Jimenez and a stellar European Tour field tee off this week at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters. Eight of the world’s top 20 players will be in action, including defending champion Robert Karlsson, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Paul Casey, Steve Stricker, Ian Poulter, Retief Goosen and Louis Oosthuizen.

Someone may have to putt without a putter—and could still go low.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Perez, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Strange Grass Patterns Detected at Tour Championship

MATT KUCHAR WAS THE FIRST to see them as he was walking to the 2nd hole, a 214-yard par 3. Then Martin Laird, Charley Hoffman and Paul Casey. By the end of the first round, nearly all 30 players in the field of the season-ending Tour Championship reported sightings of a bizarre grass pattern at East Lake Golf Club, sort of golf’s version of crop circles.

Oddly, no one besides the players noticed anything unusual about the East Lake turf, a combination of zoysiagrass fairways and bentgrass greens.

The grounds crew had no explanation.

“The course is certainly in pristine condition,” said a supervisor, “but otherwise everything is normal, including mowing patterns.”

(Image at left is simulated based on players’ descriptions.)

Aerial photography also failed to reveal any unusual phenomenon.

“If I had been staring at the ground since the Sony Open, I would probably be seeing things, too,” offered a spectator.

−The Armchair Golfer

Was This BMW a Clunker?

2010 BMW Championship Recap
Winner: Dustin Johnson
Score: 9 under, 275 (68, 70, 68, 69)
Quote: “To finally get it done, after all the things I’ve gone through this summer, it can’t feel any better.”
Fact: Was singing Usher song on last two holes.
Thought: Game and attitude make DJ attractive Ryder Cup partner.

WAS THIS BEAMER A CLUNKER? Certainly not for Dustin Johnson, who wheeled his way to the biggest win of his career after runner-up Paul Casey rode the bogey train for three consecutive holes after holding the lead on the final nine. Good for Dustin. I think everyone feels that way after the tough summer he’s had. It was the fourth PGA Tour title for the 26-year-old touted by many as the next big thing.

The reason I wonder if the BMW Championship was a clunker is because so much of what I read was negative and then some. (I admit I didn’t see a lot of the third leg of the FedExCup playoffs.)

Much of the negativity had to do with the course. The Cog Hill renovations by Rees Jones were ripped by the players. Jones lengthened the course to 7,600-plus yards, worked on the bunkering and rebuilt all the greens. Phil Mickelson said in his pretend diplomatic style the course was “interesting” and that there was a lot of talk in the locker room. The undiplomatic Paul Casey said there are two things you don’t want to hear as a player. One of them was “Rees Jones.” Ouch. Even Mr. Nice Guy, Stewart Cink, called the place a “wreck.” Whoa. I guess they really didn’t like the course?

Among other unhappy campers were Charlie Wi and J.B. Holmes. Wi bogeyed the last two holes to shoot 74, finish T8 and lose his spot in the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta in two weeks. Charlie was so upset he left Cog Hill without speaking to PGA Tour officials or the media.

Holmes talked, more or less calling the playoffs points system “absolutely ridiculous.” J.B., who started in 18th place and is now history, said people who have played well all year can have a couple of bad tournaments and be eliminated. (Isn’t that like other sports?) The 2008 Ryder Cup hero has yet to play in a Tour Championship.

So, is the FedExCup an unfair system? Sure. No matter what the PGA Tour brass tries, they’ll never devise a playoff system that everyone likes or thinks is fair. It just won’t happen. They’ve already tried and tried and tried. It’s a convoluted system to wring out every last bit of interest there might be in professional golf at the end of a long season.

Geoff Ogilvy agrees. “Look, there is no exact, perfect way to do it.” If guys are choking (and they are) while trying to advance and chase $10 million, then something must be working. That’s my overly simplistic observation.

Everyone should take a page from Dustin. When golf seems unfair and things don’t go your way, shrug it off. Go trim your sideburns and spend time on your boat. Another tournament is coming. Well, unless you’re outside of the top 30 in points. In that case, there’s the Fall Series. And next season.

−The Armchair Golfer

Will Padraig Produce the Goods?

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece is excerpted from his blog, Irish Golf Desk. 

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

DESPITE HIS ERRATIC FORM over the past two years and his less than stellar recent record, it was no great surprise to see Pádraig Harrington named as one of Colin Montgomerie’s three Ryder Cup wildcards. The Scot is impressed by many things but major winners come top of the list for a man who never managed to get over the line in a grand slam event in an otherwise impressive career.

“No American wants to play Padraig Harrington. I can assure you,” Montgomerie said at Gleneagles on Sunday.

Edoardo Molinari’s brilliant victory in the final qualifying event, the Johnnie Walker Championship, made him an automatic choice for the captain, who also named foursomes specialist Luke Donald as one of his picks to the detriment of Paul Casey and Justin Rose.

(Photo: Padraig in step with Bradley Dredge / Ciarán Bohane, Flickr)

Experience is key in the Ryder Cup. So is putting. And Harrington fits the bill on both counts as far as Montgomerie is concerned. The skipper warned us in May that he might need to add experience to the nine automatic qualifiers:

“It will be very interesting to see who actually comes through and makes the team on merit and that allows me, as Corey said, for the makeup of my team to see who can fit in with that; whether I have a very experienced team and I can go with some rookies, or I have a very inexperienced team and have to some experience. All depends how the qualifying system works.”

The ball is now in Harrington’s court following his jaded performances at The K Club and Valhalla, where he managed just two halved matches from nine starts. Like Ian Poulter, who was a controversial wildcard in 2008, he will be under pressure to produce the goods.

His back is against the wall, but as Montgomerie said on Friday last: “Pádraig, when his back’s to the wall, has done awfully well in the past.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

Whistling or Dire Straits for Harrington’s Ryder Cup Hopes

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh, a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times and Golf Digest Ireland, writes about the dilemma of five-time Ryder Cupper Padraig Harrington.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

PADRAIG HARRINGTON ADMITS THAT this week’s US PGA is his last chance to avoid the need for a Ryder Cup pick. The Dubliner plans to skip the final qualifying event at Gleneagles to play in the clashing FedExCup play-off tournament in New Jersey in two weeks’ time. And that means he must grab a top-four finish at Whistling Straits to ensure that he is not relying on one of skipper Colin Montgomerie’s three wild cards on August 29.

Confessing he could be in dire straits instead of Whistling Straits on Sunday night, Harrington said: “It’s very precarious. No one who doesn’t qualify automatically deserves to be in the team. If you don’t make it on merit, you are asking for a little bit of a favour.”

Ian Poulter sparked a massive controversy two years ago when he decided not to travel to Gleneagles despite the fact that he could still qualify for the team. It was alleged that Poulter had been given “the nod” by skipper Nick Faldo, who later handed him a captain’s pick.

But Harrington will have safety in numbers this time as Paul Casey and Justin Rose, who are also outside the qualifying places, also intend to skip the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in favour of The Barclays.

Harrington said: “It is a very awkward situation, there’s no doubt about it. I saw the last time round that one of the players [Poulter] didn’t come to play the last event and I thought he should have. Now I am in the same situation because I have a Special Olympics clinic at The Barclays and I don’t want to let them down.

“I have talked to some of the other guys who will be looking for a pick and they are all saying they will be playing The Barclays. So at the moment I am committing to the Special Olympics and I’m going to try and qualify this week and have nothing to worry about.”

Seventh in the race for four places from the World Points List and just over €13,245 behind Miguel Angel Jimenez in the battle for the other five places from the European Points List, Harrington knows he needs a massive week in Wisconsin.

“The goal is to get in on the world ranking points because that ends in a week’s time. Even if I pass Jimenez in the money, he can jump by me in the last event in Gleneagles so the goal is to play well this week and sort it out.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

(Image: Mike Davis/Flickr)

Shrek V Plods Along But Has Happy Ending

CONGRATULATIONS, LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN. You amazed me. If Tiger, or Phil, or Lee, or Ernie, or Rory, or (fill in the blank) shot 16 under on the Old Course and won The Open Championship by seven strokes, the world would be at his feet.

I have to ask: Did you really know it was The Open Championship? I heard you mention it several times, but I still can’t help but wonder. Few untested players drop in on golf’s oldest major and make it look like they won their fourth consecutive men’s club championship.

They call you “Shrek,” so I’m going to run with the Shrek angle because I still can’t make sense of what I saw. I just can’t. I mean you no disrespect, but it seemed like pure fantasy. 200-1 odds and all that stuff about your name. My apologies in advance.

You were an ogre. You ogre-handled the field. You made the Old Course your swamp. It looked like Prince Charming (Paul Casey) would try to steal the day but it just wasn’t going to happen. Shrek rules! Donkey (your caddie) never left your side and kept you in great spirits. You were smiling and laughing from the outset of the quest. I liked Tiger, Phil and JD cast as the Three Blind Mice because they couldn’t buy a putt.

It was a super plot. Only DreamWorks could come up with something like that. No one was expecting it, a total surprise. If I have a criticism, it’s that the show dragged in the middle. I started wondering when it would end. Here was the problem: You never looked like you were in danger. To be honest, it didn’t seem like Prince Charming (or anyone else) had a chance. It was way too easy. Someone should talk to the writers.

The animation was not up to its usual standards (except for the ball tracer on the Road Hole). Nor was it the funniest Shrek movie I’ve ever seen. Sorry. However, on the plus side, I liked the ending a lot. That closing scene where you kiss Princess Fiona (Nel-Mare) with the baby in her arms was terrific.

I give you a thumbs up, Louis “Shrek” Oosthuizen. I hope there’s a sequel for you.

−The Armchair Golfer

U.S. Open Day 1: Pebble Beach is Brutalful

SPORTSCASTER DAN PATRICK ALWAYS poses the same question at the end of his syndicated sports radio talk show: “What did we learn today?”

That’s what I’m trying to figure out about the first day of the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Probably not a lot. Course hard. Players struggle. Scores high. Maybe I’ve watched too many of these things. I’ve certainly watched a bunch. But I’m still way way behind Dan Jenkins. I’ll have to live to about 100 to catch up with him.

“This is my 57th Open,” Jenkins wrote on Twitter, “and unless something starts happening soon, this might be the most boring first round ever.”

Was that it? Was I bored? Or was I lulled into a stupor by the postcard weather on the Monterey Peninsula? Pebble Beach is distractingly beautiful.

I must try, so here goes, a few things I learned today. Sort of.

I learned Tiger Woods can still hit a fairway with his driver. On the holes I watched Tiger, he actually controlled his golf ball quite well. Unfortunately, he’s 3-over par and carded no birdies. Tiger will probably say he didn’t get much out of his round. (He’s not alone.) If his swing holds together and he gets his putter going, it could be interesting. There are a lot of “ifs” on Thursday.

I learned the golf course will be a stubborn defender of par, just as you’d expect in a U.S. Open. I would have anticipated a few scores in the 60s in the first round, but it’s not happening. (OK, now Shaun Micheel, Paul Casey and Brendon de Jonge are on the board with 69s.) The last time I checked, the average score was about 75, or 4-over par.

I learned Pebble Beach is brutalful. That’s my new word for the course, a combination of brutal and beautiful.

I learned I like watching anybody (except those crazy celebs at the AT&T) play at Pebble Beach because it’s just so gorgeous. I mean, Tiger is getting ready to hit and I find myself watching the crashing waves and ocean spray in the background. Pebble’s scenic beauty can completely take me out of my spectator game. Surely I’ll care more about the outcome of the tournament in a couple of days. By Sunday, I hope to be tense. I need to have that feeling during a major or two.

I learned of an amateur named Hudson Swafford.

I learned Ryan Moore can make bogey on the par-3 17th from perched near the sign on the cliff-like 18th tee. My daughter, who has a flair for the dramatic, asked, “Would he die if he fell from there?”

No, but four rounds on hard, dry, wind-swept Pebble Beach in the U.S. Open might kill him and a few others. It’s only going to get harder.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: Keith Allison/Flickr)

2010 Shell Houston Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

THE 2010 SHELL HOUSTON OPEN is in progress at Redstone Golf Club Tournament Course in Humble, Texas. At the moment, the leader is Bryce Molder at 9 under. Molder shot a 66 on Friday. There’s still a long way to go.

Purse: $5.8 million
Winner’s share: $1.026 million
Defending champion: Paul Casey

Inside the field
Inside the course
Tee times
Full tournament news
The live report
Photo gallery

2010 Shell Houston Open Leaderboard

TV SCHEDULE

Ten hours of weekend TV coverage are on tap for the 2010 Shell Houston Open.

Fri, 4/2:
GOLF 4p - 7p ET

Sat, 4/3:
NBC 1p - 5p ET

Sun, 4/4:
NBC 3p - 6p ET

PGA Tour radio coverage

−The Armchair Golfer

Poulter Wins All-English Match Play Final

2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship Recap
Winner: Ian Poulter
Score: 4 and 2 over Paul Casey in 36-hole final
Quote: “It’s been a long time coming.”
Fact: Moved up to No. 5 in Official World Golf Rankings.
Thought: Is a major in Poulter’s future?

YOU KNEW HE HAD game. Ian Poulter sold me at the 2008 Ryder Cup when as a controversial captain’s pick he pretty much outplayed everyone on either team. On Sunday “Poults” broke out in an even bigger way with his first win on American soil (actually, on American sand, the Sonoran Desert), a 4 and 2 victory over fellow Englishman Paul Casey in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

The color pink hasn’t had a better day on the golf course in quite some time. Which got me thinking: If Paula Creamer is the Pink Panther, can we call Ian the Pink Poulter? Probably not, I suppose. Too limiting. It’s just one fave in his rainbow-hued wardrobe.

I didn’t see much of the 36-hole match, but I did watch most of the final holes. Casey cut Poulter’s four-hole lead in half early on the final nine. Just when I thought it might get interesting, the Pink Poulter converted some exquisite par saves to stall Casey’s comeback. I guess that’s the way he played all week. About his short game, Poulter said, “The last 12 months, it’s been up there with the best of them.”

Poulter has won nine times on the European Tour, including the Barclays Singapore Open last November. But Sunday’s victory was by far the biggest moment of his career, and vaulted him to number five in the world rankings.

It was the second year in a row that Casey lost in the finals. Last year he ran into a match-play buzzsaw named Geoff Ogilvy. “He [Poulter] did a fantastic job of making putts and keeping the ball in play,” Casey said, “and he kept the pressure on.” Finishing second again must sting, but reaching the finals two years in a row is an impressive accomplishment. Don’t be surprised if Casey someday wins one of these. In the meantime, a runner-up check for $850,000 is a nice way to pad the bankroll, no?

Tour Notes

• LPGA Tour: Ai Miyazato won the season opener in Thailand.
• PGA Tour: Cameron Beckman took the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
• Champions Tour: Bernhard Langer won the Allianz Championship.
• ARMCHAIR GOLF plans to attend the Puerto Rico Open in March.

−The Armchair Golfer