Other Stuff

There is other stuff going on you know, even an actual tournament in Phoenix.

She Was Just Seventeen - Fooled you there, didn't I?  Does my girlfriend rock, or what?

OCALA, Florida (AP) Lydia Ko is 18 holes from history.

Can somebody explain Aimpoint to me?

The 17-year-old New Zealander birdied five consecutive holes and shot a 7-under 65 in the third round of the Coates Golf Championship on Friday to take the outright lead in the LPGA Tour's season opener. 

If she hangs on Saturday, she would become the youngest golfer - male or female - to be ranked No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings.

I'm coming to grips with the no-glasses look, though I'll likely always miss them.  Just a couple of points that I want to make, none of them particularly deep.  The five birdie run was amazing in and of itself, but consider that she had just bogeyed Nos. 10 and 11 my missing very short par putts.  The 5-bird run is quite thhe bounce back, no?

Obviously everyone focuses on her age, or lack thereof.  But she's still a very short hitter, and she's beating these girls from thirty yards back in the fairway.  Wow!  Now she does need to perform in the majors before we consider her the best player on the planet, but she's got time to work that out.

Phoenix On My Mind - I loved yesterday's coverage, as watching the best players in the world (plus Phil, I know that was harsh) mange their games in difficult conditions is endlessly fascinating.  The choreography between player and caddie is modern dance at its best, and their ability to find the sweet spot while wearing more layers than I ski in is quite amazing.  Your leader right now is Martin Laird:

Once the rain stopped, Laird played his best golf and he doesn't think that was a coincidence. He ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch until making his first bogey of the tournament on his final hole for a second straight 5-under 66. 

That gave him a two-shot lead over Daniel Berger (69), with Justin Thomas (68) another shot behind. Both 21-year-old rookies received sponsor's exemptions. A trio of Masters champions - Bubba Watson (71), Zach Johnson (70) and Angel Cabrera (69) were in the group four shots behind.

The announcers of course noted Laird's Scottish pedigree as an explanation of his good play, but he's the Scottish Rory McIlroy with a sub-orbital ball flight.  We'll just note that he's playing well, and it should be a fun weekend even without the two headliners.

Did you catch Phil yesterday?  He looked lost out there, constantly changing putting grips, stubbing chips and popping up drives.  The rain gloves were on and off repeatedly, and the combination of two rain gloves with a visor provided comedy relief.  In fact, there were some unflattering blimp shots of a hairless line across the top of his head that was truly a regrettable image, mostly because a Google image search came up empty.  Not a good look, as I'm sure Amy has let him know.

Compare and Contrast - I awoke just in time to see the young lad get up-and-in to save par on the 18th:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Rory McIlroy extended his lead to four shots with

a 6-under 66 in the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday. 

The top-ranked McIlroy, who led by a stroke overnight, made just one birdie on the back nine of Emirates Golf Club's Majlis course after five birdies in his first eight holes. 

With an overall 20-under 196, McIlroy can challenge the tournament winning record of 22 under, set by Stephen Gallacher in 2013 and Thomas Bjorn in 2001.

He seems to like the place, though the rest of us quite detest it due to the Omega commercial that's on endless loop.   The word of the day was effortless, which provided quite the contrast with the Tioger Woods impersonator in the other desert.

TV News - The BBC has long been the gold standard in golf broadcasting, and their all-day coverage of the Open Championship is, or shall we say was, the stuff of legend.  So certain folks are not happy about this:

Sky Sports will pay more than £10 million a year to snatch exclusive live rights for Open

Say goodnight, Alliss.

Championship golf from the BBC. 

The contract will be announced by the sport’s ruling body, the R&A, early next week and will end the BBC’s 59-year ownership of the rights after the next tournament at St Andrews in July. The BBC are likely to keep a highlights deal but that is a consolation prize. 

They have been resigned to losing The Open to Sky for some time and prioritised saving Match of the Day, for which they will pay £204m — a 13.5 per cent increase on their current deal. That was seen as better value for licence-fee payers than golf’s flagship event, which costs the BBC £7m a year.

That's a pity, but it's how things go these days.  Unlike the USGA's FOX deal, Sky has been covering golf for some time, including my new friend Gary Murphy.  Who knows, maybe we'll see more of Peter Alliss on ESPN now, which would be a good thing.

Do They Get Many Regrets? - This is in the things that amuse me category.... Met Golfer sent out their latest e-mag yesterday, including a small bit on Morgan Hoffman.  Included was his Masters invite, pictured below:

So what tickled my funny bone?  Of course it's the request for an RSVP... Have they ever been turned down?

RIP Kel Nagle - We lost a good player and better guy a few days ago.  Nagle is not widely known in the States because he didn't play here much, but his greatest accomplishment was quite noteworthy.  It was 1960 and Arnold Palmer came roaring back in the final round of the U.S. Open to win with a final-round 65.  Having previously won the Masters, thoughts of reviving or, more accurately, creating a modern Grand Slam came to mind, and that induced Palmer to journey to St. Andrews for the centennial Open Championship.  

He lost to Nagle by a single stroke, though returned in the following two years and won both at Birkdale and Troon.  Thus did the Open Championship return to its deserved prominence, with increasing number of American pros following the King's lead and making the journey.  From Martin Blake's tribute:

Kel Nagle, one of Australia's all-time great golfers, has died.

Nagle and Thompson.

Nagle, 94, winner of the centenary British Open Championship in 1960 and a record 61 tournaments at home, passed away in Sydney's Mona Vale Hospital after battling poor health.

It’s understood Peter Thomson, his lifelong friend and partner in two Australian victories at the Canada Cup (now known as the World Cup), made the trip to Sydney to pay Nagle a bedside visit last week. 

As much as his monumental collection of golfing feats, Nagle was known for his humble and gentlemanly ways. Thomson once said of Nagle: "Of all the people I have met in the world of golf, this fellow is the finest.''

 He was a good one and very well liked.  RIP.

Instructional Advice - I usually ignore the instructional columns in the golf mags and online, as I don't want to clutter my mind and look like Tiger.  But when a professional provides advice on an aspect of the game over which he has total control, attention must be paid.

The subject is looking cool in sunglasses and the author is none other than Adam Scott:

My advice: Save your Wayfarers for non-golf days. Go with a modern frame style that's both lightweight and wide enough to provide full protection. I wear several models from Oakley, mostly the Flak Jacket [left]. When trying on a pair, make sure the bottom edge of the frame or lens doesn't cut off your view of the ball when you look down at address. And ask if the lenses are polarized. Some lenses are so good they can actually increase depth perception, making it easier to read greens. 

Oh, and never rest your shades on the bill of your cap when you take them off. Wrap them around the back instead. That's the Tour way. It looks cool, and it avoids covering your cap's logo—critical for keeping sponsors happy.

No need to thank me, I'm just happy I could help.

 Drones Are Nothing - Adidas thinks they're cool in posting this video of jason Day hitting a golf shoe foam insert suspended from a drone:

Not bad...but friend and loyal reader Mark W. sent me this video, which is slightly more impressive:

Now Mark suggested that he couldn't verify the authenticity of the video, but we all know they couldn't post it on the Internet if it wasn't true.