October 16, 2019

• “Back” will be the first-ever memoir authored by Tiger Woods, and according to a statement published on the 15-time-major champion’s website, the memoir is “a candid and intimate narrative of an outsize American life.”

• “The first and only account directly from Woods, with the full cooperation of his friends, family, and inner circle, “Back” covers Woods’ life from his growing up a celebrated golf prodigy through to his stunning 2019 Masters victory.”

• “Speaking on the upcoming release of his memoir, Woods stated… “I’ve been in the spotlight for a long time, and because of that, there have been books and articles and TV shows about me, most filled with errors, speculative and wrong. This book is my definitive story.”

• “It’s in my words and expresses my thoughts. It describes how I feel and what’s happened in my life. I’ve been working at it steadily, and I’m looking forward to continuing the process and creating a book that people will want to read.”

Full piece.

• “But if there was ever a place to grind – and that could be the LPGA Hall of Famer’s middle name – it’s here at French Lick, where Inkster said it’s sometimes better to miss big than a little bit.”

• “The seven-time major winner has played the last 27 holes in 7 under to lead a field of familiar faces by two strokes.”

Full piece.

• “Spieth was elite – and then he wasn’t. At times his putting, especially from short distance, was his nemesis. Other times his driver was awry, or his iron play was amiss, or his setup no matter what club was in hand was askew.”

• “One thing, however, remained constant – his steadfast manner to fix the problem…”I know what I need to take care of, what parts of my game I need to take care of, to have those opportunities to contend each week and I’ve been trying to address those,” Spieth said. “Each part of my game at different points in my career has been towards the top of the PGA Tour at different times and sometimes at the same time. I know that I’m capable of doing it, it’s just a matter of the normal ups and downs of the game and addressing them and quickly turning the downs to ups and then maintaining when those parts of the game are on top.”

• “Speaking to Reuters, rules official, Brian Claar said…”When a ball on the putting green accidentally hits any person, animal or immovable obstruction, this stroke does not count and the ball must be replaced on its original spot.”

• “Jesper tapped it in. In that situation he’s played from the wrong place. Unfortunately he gets a two-stroke penalty for playing from the wrong place, and the one where he tapped in counts but the original stroke does not count.”

• “According to Claar, when he called the USGA for assistance, the governing body asked him “Did that really happen out there?”, before adding that they had never heard of an incident like it occurring before in tournament play”

• PGATOUR.COM: What about the wedges? Are those stampings something you helped come up with?

• GRIFFIN: “Jim Ohlsen came up to the range on Tuesday and he was watching me hit some balls, and I said, “Man, you must be busy.” He was like, “Actually, I got everything done for the day, so I’m just hanging out watching you hit a few shots.”

• …I told him he had free reign to stamp whatever he wanted.

• “So he took my four wedges and he came back about an hour later. He threw two quotes from Talladega Nights on there. Then we had an inside joke throughout the year with Dino and Nathan and Brad from Titleist, that every time I’d ask for some help, or ask to borrow a Trackman, they’d say, “Yeah, we’ll be right over. We’re working with so-and-so.”
• “As an inside joke, I’d ask them, “Well, where is he on the money list?” Just being sarcastic and joking with them. That was when I was first or second on the money list, so at the end of the season, I asked Dino one time, I was said, “Can I borrow a Trackman for a couple minutes?” And he said, “Sorry, someone’s using it right now and he’s a little higher on the money list than you (laughs).”

Full piece.

Full piece.

• “The first Monday Night event came in 1999 and was billed as the Showdown at Sherwood in California, where Woods met David Duval in a match between the top two players of the time. Woods won 2 and 1 to collect $1.1 million. The event drew a 6.9 Nielsen rating, making the TV execs at ABC ecstatic.”

• “The event shifted to the mountains of the Palm Springs area in California the following year, and Sergio Garcia was Woods’ opponent.”

• “Billed as the Battle at Bighorn in Palm Desert, Woods won 1 up. The Nielsen rating was a whopping 7.6.”

• “The second Battle at Bighorn brought a change of format, as Woods was paired with Annika Sorenstam and David Duval was paired with Karrie Webb. Woods and Sorenstam won with a par on the first playoff hole.”

Full piece.

• Knox’s…”wife Andrea had a pretty good back-up plan just in case Russell was available. She had arranged a trip for the couple, along with fellow PGA TOUR pro Brian Stuard and his girlfriend, to Peru.”

• “The highlight of the vacation was a trip to Machu Picchu, a 15th century Inca citadel painstakingly constructed 7,970 feet in the air on the top of a mountain ridge, then abandoned a century later. Knox calls it the crème de la crème of Peru.”

• “The ancient fortress was built using a technique called “ashlar,” where the stones are cut to fit together without mortar. And those stones either pushed up the mountain or chiseled out of it – no wheeled carts were used to transport them.”

Full piece. 

• “Any golfer who tuned in to the first two rounds of the Senior LPGA, they would have been treated to the silliness that is legends and other former LPGA greats trying to navigate a mountaintop mess in rural Indiana. On top of French Lick Resort’s “intense” Dye course, the overall look would make no one want to play this distance-fueled iteration of the game: a dearth of spectators, players taking carts kept on the paths, caddies sending them off with a couple of clubs (because who needs broken ankle?), and no shortage of ridiculous sidehill stances leading to drop-kick hybrids. There was even defending champion Laura Davies taking a tumble in round two…”

• “Here’s the worst part: the resort features a charming, lovingly restored Donald Ross course that would seem more fitting than the 8,102 yard (80.0 Course rating/148 Slope) Dye course that was built in hopes of attracting a modern-game major…Why aren’t these LPGA greats playing the walkable Ross?”