Posted by Richard at 11:38 PM in PGATour.com | Permalink
29-year-old D.J. Gregory has been to all 44 PGA Tour events this year and has walked 72 holes each week. What makes this that much more impressive is that Gregory suffers from cerebral palsy.
Steve Elling of CBSSports.com files this report about how the idea blossomed:
Gregory is a hopeless golf addict to the point that despite his malady, he plays the game one-handed. Before he hatched the plan, he was attending a half-dozen events per year as a paying customer. Last year, tour standout Aaron Baddeley agreed to let Gregory shadow him for the week at nearby Bay Hill, and Gregory, who has a degree in sports management, took copious notes about his experiences.
A few weeks later, he was introduced to CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz, who read Gregory's writings and discussed whether it would work over the arc of an entire season. Nantz was so impressed by what he saw, he suggested Gregory discuss the idea with commissioner Tim Finchem.
Yeah, right, Gregory said. Then Nantz offered to hand-deliver a proposal in which Gregory would cover every inch of terrain for an entire year. The tour, after a trial run last year, agreed to make it happen. The tour and a handful of key sponsors including Southwest Airlines and Accusplit pedometers have helped him defray travel expenses.
I ran into Gregory at the second round of the AT&T National as he was following the same group I was--Stuart Appleby, Brandt Snedeker and Arron Oberholser. Despite some steep hills, Gregory kept up with the group. Gregory's perseverance and love for the game of golf is truly inspiring.
Posted by Richard at 11:52 PM in PGA Tour, PGATour.com | Permalink
Whenever I speak with friends about the most exciting holes in golf, the par-3 16th at the TPC Scottsdale comes first to mind. Although there are several other holes on the PGA Tour where fans are known to get rowdy (17th at Warwick Hills for example), the 16th at the FBR Open is one of the greatest spectacles in all of golf. After all, how many other holes on the PGA Tour have 20,000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs before and after every shot? Where else do fans boo a player off the tee box if he decides not to be aggressive and hit it toward the middle of the green? Dave Vest of The Arizona Republic writes,
The event's signature hole, No. 16, has been modified to accommodate the record crowds that are expected what with Super Bowl XLII being staged concurrently across the Valley in Glendale. Thirty additional sky boxes have been added to the notorious par-3 hole.
'I don't think it's a stretch to say there will be 20,000 people on that hole,' FBR Open chairman Tim Louis predicted. 'It will be a wild scene.'
PGATour.com will have extensive coverage of the 16th hole with their popular Live @ feature from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. ET on Thursday/Friday, and 12:30-5 p.m. on Saturday/Sunday.
Posted by Richard at 11:27 AM in FBR Open, PGATour.com | Permalink
Below is a caption from the article, "Been there, done that; Goosen ready to do it again," on PGATour.com. Note the misspelling of Canada's hometown favorite Mike Weir.
Posted by Richard at 11:05 AM in PGATour.com | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
In preparation for the FedEx Cup playoffs, PGATour.com is exhibiting a new look. Instead of the standard template with the the latest headlines of the PGA Tour, Champions Tour, and Nationwide Tour on the front page, readers will now see an entire page dedicated to the FedEx Cup playoffs. In order to see stories for the Champions Tour and the Nationwide Tour, the reader must scroll down. Just as it had earlier in the year, PGATour.com will have Live@ coverage for each tournament.
Posted by Richard at 04:49 PM in PGATour.com | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Similar to The Players Championship and Memorial Tournament, PGATour.com will have live coverage this week from the 17th hole at the Buick Open. The 17th hole is a 197 yard par-3 with an energetic crowd surrounding the green. Live coverage begins on Thursday and Friday from 8:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. ET on PGATour.com and weekend coverage goes from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Posted by Richard at 05:16 PM in PGATour.com | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Due to a lack of consistency, Bill Kratzert suggested during Live @ on PGATour.com that Jack Nicklaus should have official designated workers raking bunkers at the Memorial rather than caddies. Kratzert explains that caddies are sometimes in a rush when raking bunkers and that they rake in different ways. Therefore, in order to develeop consistency in the sand, the same workers should be raking the bunkers throughout the day.
Posted by Richard at 12:08 PM in PGATour.com | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Similar to The Players Championship, with live coverage from the 17th hole, PGATour.com will be presenting more than 25 hours of live coverage online from the par-3 12th hole at The Memorial. The 12th hole is a challenging 184 yard par-3 where water and sand can be found if a player misses the green. Live coverage begins on Thursday and Friday from 10:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. ET on PGATour.com and weekend coverage starts a half hour earlier from 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Posted by Richard at 05:33 PM in PGATour.com | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
PGATour.com Senior Correspondent Dave Shedloski provides a preview of The Memorial Tournament in the TOUR Insider. Click here.
Posted by Richard at 10:39 AM in PGATour.com | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)