The Golf

[namron]

Yes much prefer the Bora as a value for money alternative. Harder to get a bag of walkin sticks in the boot though.

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

I am a little concerned with Rory's frame of mind at the moment...

Doesn't seem to be totally happy on the course - Sunday saw him put a shot to the middle of a par 3 green (albeit he was aiming for the pin - back left). Slammed his club into the ground (a Titleist 710 MB), then threw it down the fairway.

Lad in work also said he has tweeted something along the lines of "me and golf are in a love/hate relationship and it's more hate these days"...

Then said he also posted on Twitter a story in the belfast tele about him buying a Bugatti being utter boll0cks!

[ColinM]

Yep Rory seems to be in a bad place mentally at the minute. Just cant string together enough half decent rounds to make an impression on anything, just too hot & cold

He'll have to graft through it though and it'll be the making of him. A bit of head down low profile time will do him good, look what happened to GMAC after a few years out of the limelight in the states. (not the dodgy accent btw)

[backawaygoonahead]

Rory's probelm is straight forward- too many tweets, not enough birdies. I thank you, I'm here all week, tell your friends.

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

one club you would never sell:

go

for me its the steel shafted titleist PT 5 wood - probably about 20 years old
tiger woods formerly played with this.

small head but its a legend off the tee and off the fairway.

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

so another week and another tournament in the states in florida.

casey who i have been expecting to push on after winning in bahrain is leading the pack after day 1, shooting 7 under par.

just behind him is watney - of course you'll remember that i tipped this guy last week... apparently he has some sort of a deal going on with his caddy that neither will cut their hair as long as they are nailing top 10 finishes. think it's 7 from 7 this year so far...

martin laird - the scot living in america - again going well. i expect him to win in america this year. i reckon this guy must have gone through the us college system? can anyone confirm or deny this?

this is of course sergio garcia's first start in 7 months in the pga tour following his wee break from the game. he shot a bogey free 3 under par.

U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein is playing this week - winning the us amateurs last year gets him a few invites to tour events this season. as said before in this 'column' - watch out for him at augusta. i expect him to at least make the cut there.

lot of the big guys missing this week - with augusta (and with it the trip to MK) in just 3 weeks now, they are fine-tuning their preparation for the masters. expect to see them at next week's arnold palmer invitational tourny, and then take the following week off...

european tour in sicily this week, but, being honest, im not really that interested

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

martin laird - the scot living in america - again going well. i expect him to win in america this year...

and there you have it. the whiteknight speaketh, the scotsman with an american twang delivers...

speaks a bit like a scottish GMAC
went to america for college golf, 10 years later he's still not come home.

now attention will be turning to the masters. while ulster fans focus their attentions on a drunken ben foden, the rest of the world gets excited about a gentlemen's only club in the deep south.

i expect to see Tiger perform here. other names to consider - watney, laird, justin rose, poulter, dustin johnson.
would love to see luke donald keep up his good run but typically you need to be a big hitter at augusta. westwood could be the man...

will post more musings on this, when time allows...

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

Warning: this picture would rival Ben Foden's ladyfriend in a whipped cream bikini...

[theCloudSpotter]

Any thoughts on this weekend's golf guys? Have I stuck my neck on the line by placing a fiver on Lee Westwood to win at 16/1?

[Snipe Watson]

I'll be backing and supporting our Rory & G-Mac as usual.

lefty to win again

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

placing a fiver on Lee Westwood to win at 16/1?

then you're nuts.

I was just about to resurrect this very thread.

Firstly, there's the dilemma that this evening offers.
Do I:
a) play a bit of golf
b) watch Chelski vs ManUre
c) watch the par 3 from Augusta?

Lee Westwood won't win the Masters. He played very well last year to finish second, and indeed was only denied by Mickelson brilliance. He is a brilliant driver of the ball, and one of the very best iron players in the game today. He doesn't have the short game though, and his putting is dire at the minute.

To win at Augusta, typically you will need to be an excellent putter, an accurate driver and an excellent iron player. If you are good enough with the irons, then it could be argued that a short game isn't quite so necessary.

I find it very hard to pick a winner this week simply because there are so many potentials.

I wouldn't be surprised if any of the following were to win:

Mickelson - best short game player, long hitter, won 3 times in last 7 events here, won in Houston last week playing shots that he will be required to play at Augusta (ie played this week's course last week, and still won). He will be carrying 2 drivers in his bag - one for the par 4 holes and another, longer shafted for par 5 (gives him more distance, at the cost of accuracy and workability...)

Tiger - playing pretty gash by his standards but you can never rule him out.

Nick Watney - big hitter, in good form

Matt Kuchar - solid putter

Dustin Johnson - will turn the course into drive, pitch and putt

Bubba Watson - as above, but stupidly skillful

Luke Donald - not the biggest hitter, but not the shortest either. Very accurate with an iron or a wedge in his hand, excellent putter and excellent short game/recovery. Won big a few weeks ago and has taken plenty of time off tournament golf to properly prepare. My tip for this week

Lee Westwood - see above. My fear for Westy is that he has had his chance at the majors, and blown it. Last year he was is sublime form, all year. This year he's not. He'll need to rediscover that form again, I'm concerned that last year was the peak for Lee

Paul Casey - big hitter, accurate irons, solid putter. Not entirely sure his short game is up to scratch but i believe he's been working hard on that. He's a good all-rounder and some have suggested his game was made for this course.

Justin Rose - very very solid all round game. Has contended at Augusta in the past and is in good form

Rory McIlroy - has all the skills that are required for Augusta, save putting. Smashes the ball a mile with the driver, one of the best ball-strikers with irons, great recovery and short game, good with long putts, good with short putts... not so good with medium distances - the ones that separate the men from the boys...

GMAC - got the temperament, excellent putter. never done well here though...

Poulter - well, he believes he's gonna win. most confident man in golf, which can only be a good thing

I've highlighted my tips - mickelson, watney, rory, luke and bubba.
no money down yet but that could all change tonight.

[theCloudSpotter]

Of course I've a fiver on Rory and GMAC too Snipe but...

Mikelson and Watney are first and second favourites on PP so I didn't bother. I'd agree with you WKOTW about Luke Donald and chose Westwood instead... May regret that!

Followed Paul Casey (and Clarke of course) around the course in Bahrain in January. Can't believe the run Casey had up to that tournament without a win.

My brother-in-law is sticking money on Rose.

It should be interesting...

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

trouble is there are so many guys who potentially could win it.
then add to that the potential for a first time major winner, somebody who would be a virtual unknown outside of golfing circles

[Rooster]

Don't know one end of a golf stick from the other myself but get a feeling for an Ulster treble this weekend Ulster at the rugby and Rory and GMac on the podium at the golf

[Snipe Watson]

Don't know one end of a golf stick from the other myself


but get a feeling for an Ulster treble this weekend Ulster at the rugby and Rory and GMac on the podium at the golf

Shame on you Rooster
No podiums in golf that's the Northwest 200

but it's a good thought.