Graeme McDowell in Four-Way Dubai Dogfight

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

GRAEME MCDOWELL RECKONS THE Race to Dubai has become a four-way dogfight following Francesco Molinari’s wire-to-wire win in Shanghai. The Ulsterman goes into this week’s megabucks Barclays Singapore Open €531,806 adrift of German ace Martin Kaymer in the battle to become Europe’s No. 1.

But with Molinari seeing off Lee Westwood in the WGC-HSBC Champions to go fourth behind in the world No. 1 in the money list, McDowell knows he’s got a battle on his hands. Disappointed to finish in the pack in the WGC event in China, he’s hoping for better against Kaymer and the in-form Italian in this week’s $6m (€4.3m) battle at Serapong Golf Club.

A poor 34th last week, McDowell groaned: “World Golf Championships are massive events and unfortunately I didn’t take advantage of that with a good week in Shanghai. I hoped to catch Martin a bit more but it wasn’t to be. And with the excellent performances from Francesco and Lee we have a real race on our hands.”

The top four in the Race to Dubai are separated by just €1m with an incredible €11.5m in prize money up for grabs at the last three events in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai. The winner of the season-ending Dubai World Championship will take home more than €800,000. But with the runner up set to pocket over €550,000, McDowell knows he will have to cut Kaymer’s half a million euro lead in half over the next two weeks.

GMac said: “There is still a lot of money to play for so anything can happen. All I can do is try and play my best and if that means I still have a shot at winning the Order of Merit, great. I want to get to the Dubai World Championship knowing that if I were to win that tournament I can also win the Race—that’s the chance I want to give myself.”

While Westwood is resting this week, McDowell will be keeping a close eye on playing partner and world No. 14 Molinari. But there are other big fish looking to gobble up the €713,165 top prize with Masters winner Phil Mickelson and defending champion Ian Poulter also teeing it up.

Ireland has 10 men in action with Padraig Harrington gunning for his second win in the space of a month after ending his two-year drought in Malaysia just three weeks ago.

Harrington said: “The form is good. I’m looking to win. If I hole the putts, I’ll be competing on Sunday.”

The Race to Dubai - Top 4

1. Martin Kaymer €3,207,229

2. Graeme McDowell €2,675,423

3. Lee Westwood €2,362,143

4. Francesco Molinari €2,201,614

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

How Pete Dye’s Dog Killed Herb Kohler’s Sheep

Editor’s note: This tale originates with Monte Burke at Forbes.com. Visor tip to John Strege at Local Knowledge.

HERB KOHLER LOVED HIS black-face sheep that wandered Whistling Straits, the Wisconsin golf course that hosted the 2010 PGA Championship won by Martin Kaymer in a sudden-death playoff against Bubba Watson. (And, of course, the home of the bunker controversy that ruined Dustin Johnson’s bid for his first major.)

The sheep made the Kohler property on the edge of Lake Michigan seem more like Scotland. They also provided photo-ops for golfers. They even trimmed the rough.

(Photo: The black-face sheep of Whistling Straits /
Dan Perry, Flickr)

In advance of the 2004 PGA Championship, famed course designer Pete Dye was summoned to Whistling Straits to build an ambulance road. Dye brought along one of his Belgian shepherds for company as he mapped the road. It was a habit of his. Apparently, Pete loved his dogs. But a problem arose.

“I wasn’t paying attention to my dog,” Dye told Monte Burke. “And the next thing I know, that dog is chasing the sheep.”

Desperate to escape the canine, one of the sheep plunged into Lake Michigan. The dog jumped in after it! The sheep swam out farther. The shepherd followed.

“I ran down and jumped into the lake and grabbed the dog, but by that time, the sheep had gone upside down,” Dye said.

Uh-oh.

Steve Friedlander, general manager of Kohler’s golf courses, descended a hill and made a beeline for the course architect. You are in big trouble, he told Dye. Dye: I know. I’ll tell Mr. Kohler. But that wasn’t what Friedlander meant. An editor for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was playing the course and saw the entire dog-sheep episode.

Dye trailed the editor and approached him on the 14th. He asked the editor not to make a big story about what he saw, otherwise Dye could write the following day’s headline: “Herb Kohler shot Pete Dye.”

The editor smiled and returned to his mediocre golf game. The anecdote ran as a small item the next day, and Dye surely breathed a sigh of relief.

−The Armchair Golfer

Bill Pennington: 9 Ways to Putt

ARE YOU AN EXPERIMENTAL player? When you’ve struggled with your putting, have you tried a different technique or switched putters?

I’ve always been a decent-to-good putter who has never made a drastic change in terms of technique or equipment. The only thing I’ve tried on the below list was left hand low at a time when I was twitchy on the short ones. I can’t say it helped much. I only made the change for a round or two before abandoning it.

A friend of mine who was an accomplished collegiate golfer went to the long putter in his mid 30s and never looked back. I’ve tried one on the practice green just for kicks and felt like I was swinging a heavy broom.

I’m always surprised when I see a veteran tour player doing something new. I think, “Wow, what’s that guy doing using the claw grip? He used to be so good.”

Shaky 47-year-old Johnny Miller putted with his eyes closed at times when he won his last PGA Tour event at Pebble Beach in 1994. That sounds odd, but then I read that people with the yips have rapid eye movements, which interferes with brain/muscle control. That would be a good reason to take the eyes out of the equation, especially on knee-knockers.

Here are nine ways to putt shown in the video:

1. Lefty.
2. Belly putter. (Fred Couples)
3. Left hand low. (A lot of players)
4. The claw. (Mark O’Meara)
5. Eyes closed. (Johnny Miller)
6. Listen for it to go in.
7. Side saddle. (K.J. Choi)
8. Long putter. (Rocco Mediate)
9. Look at the hole.

How many have you tried? Was it thought out or an act of desperation? As mentioned in the video, whatever technique you use, it’s all about feel and confidence.

−The Armchair Golfer

On Par with Bill Pennington is a video feature of the New York Times.