The Golf Watch

Tiger Woods continues to win two weeks before a major

What a great Sunday for watching golf.  On CBS, Tiger Woods beat out the red-hot Hunter Mahan and Anthony Kim to win his first AT&T National. 

And over on ESPN2, Morgan Pressel holed a 70-yard eagle shot on the par-5 17th to force a playoff against Eunjung Yi.  Pressel lost in the playoff. 

I was switching back and forth the entire day between the two tournaments.  One statistic that continues to amaze me:

-- Tiger has now won 46 of 49 tournaments (94%) when leading/co-leading after 54-holes.

That's about as close to automatic as you can get.

American women need to step up on the major scene

I spent the day Sunday at the McDonald's LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock making my way from group to group and eventually following Paula Creamer for 18 holes.

The fans came out in impressive numbers Sunday, but I found something alarming: hardly anyone was following the last six or seven groups.  Most of the larger packs of fans were following four players who teed off much earlier in the day: Creamer, Michelle Wie, Natalie Gulbis, and Lorena Ochoa.

It was clear that few people cared enough about Anna Nordqvist and her stellar week-long performance to follow her around the course. 

It's a good sign that the Americans are getting fans excited, but we need these golfers and others like Morgan Pressel to start winning on the major scene--and soon.  As great as it is that we are growing the game abroad with new players being introduced each week, we need strong American players to keep fans interested until the end of telecasts.

I'm not writing this to offend players like Nordqvist or Kraft Nabisco winner Brittany Lincicome, but without household names like Creamer and Wie battling it out it out late in the day Sunday, what will keep fans from switching the channel and potentially never turning back?

(photo courtesy of Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun)

Pressel wakes up with swollen right ankle

According to Jay A. Coffin of golfweek.com, Morgan Pressel woke up Wednesday morning with a swollen right ankle.  Coffin writes, "The culprit: a spider. The 19-year-old was bit by the arachnid during the night and it resulted in a right ankle that looked like the size of a golf ball."  Pressel limped during her practice round earlier today and said that she wasn't able to be as aggresive with her swing.  Her grandfather, Dr. Herb Krickstein, expects her to be fine for Thursday's tee time.

Pressel returns to Pine Needles, where she debuted at age 12

Six years ago, Morgan Pressel made her U.S. Open debut at Pine Needles.  At age 12, Pressel had become the event's youngest qualifier.  This week, Pressel returns to Pine Needles, and is now ranked fifth in the world.  Ron Green Jr. of The Charlotte Observer writes, "It was during her Open experience six years ago, Pressel said, that she realized golf was her future. Between the news conferences, autograph sessions and posing for photos with other girls her age, Pressel discovered she craved the competition and the challenge."  12-year-old Alexis Thompson will make her debut at Pine Needles this week, becoming the youngest player to compete at the Women's U.S. Open (breaking Pressel's record by seven months). 

Pressel tries to protect her title

Beth Ann Baldry writes on The Tour Blog of golfweek.com that "Morgan Pressel is looking to do more than win the second leg of the Grand Slam. She’s out to protect her title of youngest player to win a major."  With a win at the McDonald's LPGA, third round leader Na On Min could set a new record for the youngest player to win a major and the same goes for Angela Park.  After six holes, Min is tied for first with Suzann Pettersen at 10-under-par, while Pressel trails by four as she heads to the 9th hole.