My Eyes Are Bleeding

Memo to John Daly's pants:

I applaud your valiant effort, but nothing can cleanse the mind of the memory of the 1999 Ryder Cup uniforms.






For more of golf's worst fashion atrocities, check this out. If your eyes start bleeding, seek help immediately.

Rickie Rainbow

Rickie Fowler prevailed over Peter Hanson of Sweden in today's matchplay, so we'll see another color of the rainbow tomorrow when he takes on Phil Mickelson. Will Phil be in pinstripes or his shiny, shiny pants? We kid because we love, Phil.

Accenture Match Play 2011

Five days of match play start today and there are several interesting matchups right out of the gate with Poulter (the reigning champion) vs. Cink being the most compelling. Other matches I'm looking forward to this Wednesday - and ones that just might trip me up in my brackets - include Harrington vs. Ogilvy, Holmes vs. Villegas and Z. Johnson vs. Rose.

The big boys, Kaymer, Westwood, Mickelson and Woods (based on his career as opposed to anything he's shown of late) would seem to have relatively easy first rounds ahead of them. Still, there's always some early upsets to make things more interesting. For instance, some writers are predicting Rory McIlroy will go down early. I don't know, I just don't see it.

If you want to get in on the action, you can download the brackets here.

Play moves fast, and it's already underway, but you can still sneak in your picks assuming you've been working this morning and haven't been tuned into the action yet.

Awesome Aussie Prevails in Texas

Congratulations to Adam Scott, winner over the weekend at the Valero Texas Open. It's been two years since Scott won a PGA tournament and I missed seeing the Aussie (always so resplendent in the attire of his sponsor, Burberry Golf) in the hunt (or even above the cut line, for that matter). With this victory and some recent fine finishes, perhaps Scott is regaining the form that sent him, at one point, all the way to #3 in the world golf rankings. Time will tell, but for this weekend at least, Scott was once again golden.

Pretty (and Perfect) in Pink

Englishman Ian Poulter dispensed with the rest of the field during Accenture Match Play this past weekend while resplendent in shades of pink. In dress, personality and perhaps most importantly, play, Poulter is not shy about making a statement. Congrats to Poulter, who moves to third in the world golf rankings and scores his first match play victory and PGA victory on American soil!

Tiger Booed - It's a Cal Thing

So Tiger got booed during the past weekend's big Cal-Stanford match - and apparently was caught off-guard. I suppose that's understandable. Everywhere he goes, huge adoring galleries follow. And why not? He's been the world's number one golfer seemingly forever. But what I've learned from my time here in Northern California is that Cal takes precedence over everything. The Bears trump the Tiger. I'll often wear my Cal baseball cap to the golf course and inevitably I hear a chorus of "Go Bears!" from the pro shop to the driving range and around the course.


Thus, when that famous fairway 'furd stood midfield in his Stanford scarlet to be inducted into the Stanford Hall of Fame after earlier having performed the coin toss (on Stanford's home turf, not that it mattered), he was just another Cardinal rattling the bear cage. And so it goes on any given Saturday in Bear Country (or anywhere Bears fans congregate). Was it the classiest move? Definitely not. But I believe that many of these boo-Bears followed Woods recently when he was at San Francisco's Harding Park for the recent President's Cup and showed him the respect and admiration he deserves and has come to expect on the golf course.

On the football field, however, to some fans, he's fair territory in Bear Territory.

Book Review: Tales from Q School: Inside Golf's Fifth Major

John Feinstein's "Tales from Q School: Inside Golf's Fifth Major," isn't a new book; it was published in 2007, but it was my first read - and compelling enough that I would encourage anyone to who hasn't read it to take a look. Feinstein has written a number of golf-related books and he writes like an insider, sharing small but fascinating details that perhaps only a golfer could love.

"Tales from Q School" follows the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (otherwise known as "Q School," where veterans and hopefuls grapple through six rounds of golf for 30 slots available on the PGA Tour. Upstarts and college stars battle it out with Tour players who have slipped backwards on the money list (the top 125 retain their cards for the following year) and must rely on sponsor exemptions to get a pass to play.

Because the book is a few years old, it's almost more fascinating to read because you know where some of these individuals are today. Steve Stricker did not qualify in 2005, yet today he's number two in the world behind Tiger Woods, who he successfully paired with in the recent President's Cup. Other stars of Q-School that year included Hunter Mahan and the winner, J.B. Holmes, who both are currently solid players on tour.

You could almost picture a movie being made from these player accounts - as for some, their dreams are realized while others are crushed. Nerves take over for many players who appear to have a lock on a spot, balls suddenly spraying into water hazards, traps, etc. There is also interesting commentary from current tour players who now seem light years away from Q-School, and names like Casey Martin, who once dominated the headlines when he challenged the PGA for the right to use a cart due to a degenerative leg condition.

The Golf Channel will cover the 2009 Q-School Finals in just a few weeks (and their coverage irks many players who feel like their golf lives are at stake in this tournament and the coverage isn't welcome). Now that I truly have a good understanding of how Q-School works, how players make it to the PGA and lose their standing on the PGA, sponsor exemptions, the Nationwide Tour, the mini tours, and so many other pieces of information that I've heard tossed around but never fully grasped, I'm really looking forward to watching it.

For a fascinating read about the many players whose names you might not recognize (along with some you definitely will) and their journey to golf's big leagues, pick up a copy of Feinstein's book. You'll be glad you did.