The Golf Slice

Ninety-nine of the most high ranking male golfers of the United States will battle on Sedgefield’s exclusive greens in the Footjoy Invitational.

Recently completed, the historical golf course underwent a $3 million project to restore its Donald Ross design that its well known for.

This exciting battle will be held this year between June 9 and June 13. Many aspiring young teens that are between the ages of 12 and 18 will be bringing their best play to the greens during this event. It is only one highlight of many that are expected to be held during the summer season of the popular American Junior Golf Association.

During the summer season many miles will be covered as more than 5,000 junior golfers make their way across the United States to compete in other events of the American Junior Golf Association. It is a known fact these talented teens will undergo a couple months of highly intense pressure and entertaining action as they go head-to-head in some serious competition.

Later in the year, the historical golf course is planning to host PGA’s Wyndham Championship. There will of course be several well-known names attending.

Tiger Woods has every intention of making a great comeback next week for the US Open. Even though he may not be completely ‘up to par’ yet, he still feels that he will be in good enough shape to attend.

It has been quite a long time since the golf champion has been able to play the game competitively, since he under-went surgery back in April of this year. Rehabilitation and the recovery from surgery has kept him occupied and off the courses.

Many people feel confident that Tiger will have no problems at all in jumping right back in the game and pulling off another win. He has been down this road once before, when he had a previous surgery on his knee back in 2002. He wasted no time after that surgery to come back and win the Buick Invitational.

It is no small surprise to hear that Tiger plans to attend the US Open, many are aware that Torrey Pines is one of his favorite courses.

He has been taking Rehab nice and easy, perhaps he has healed enough to make a big win again on the 12th.

Last Thursday, Lorena Ochoa was asked if she would ever consider playing in a PGA Tour event.

“No,” she said. “My idea was first to play on the LPGA and dominate here and just try to do my best and achieve my goals.”

She’s been approached to play in Mexico on the PGA tour but has said that she has no intentions whatsoever of attending. Lorena hasn’t discounted the possibility of her playing against men though. She did say that there was the change of an exhibition. So let’s hope that does happen since co-ed golfing is always interesting to see.

On another note, it’s good to see that she isn’t giving in to media pressure, and isn’t bending over backwards to make everyone happy by playing some PGA events. By doing this, she is remaining a solid role model for all the young female golfers out there, and believe me, there are a ton of them.

She’s also probably doing a lot more to help her career than someone like Michelle Wie. Her stints playing against male competition have so far totally backfired.

I read a news story the other day about Tiger’s caddie, Steve Williams, getting into another confrontation over his “uniform” while at the Masters. Sometimes I think the tradition of the game of golf can get in the way of people’s common sense. Here’s the full details of the story so you can be the judge.

According to various other caddies at the event, Williams was asked by an Augusta representative while on the back nine about his hat. He was told to put his official Master’s hat back on, after he had taken it off for several holes. Williams cooperated with the request by the official and wore the hat for the entire final round on Sunday.

Even though he cooperated, some of his peers have been criticizing his actions, and felt that they were arrogant, and full of disrespect. One caddie said, “If I’ve got to wear the cap, everybody’s got to wear the cap.”

This isn’t the first time that Williams has failed to follow dress code. At the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan, he peeled his required Master’s styled white overalls down to his waist.

I’m a pretty unabashed Tiger Woods fan. Normally the teams and athletes I cheer for are perennial underdogs but my loyalty to TW is an exception.

So I’m naturally a bit bummed out today that Tiger couldn’t pull out a win at this year’s Masters.

I think it says a lot about not only Tiger’s game but that of his competition that now a days we almost inherently expect him to win every tournament he plays in.

That’s not particular fair to Tiger or the other players on the Tour but that’s the way it’s going to stay until someone puts up a consistent effort at stopping Tiger from winning.

For a long time people were hoping someone like Phil Mickelson or Sergio Garcia would step up to the plate but it hasn’t happened. I’m probably not going out on much of a limb when I predict no one will ever come along to give Tiger a run for his money for many years to come.