Tiger Rumors Swirl

It is perhaps the most media attention a slow speed, single-car accident has ever received. After an early morning crash last Friday, Tiger Woods has refused meetings with police on three different occasions. With rumors of prescription medicine, an affair, and domestic abuse all flying  details are still at a minimum. In statement on his website, the golfer took full responsibility for the accident but failed to provide any details. It appears the Tiger camp has said as much as they are willing to divulge.

Shutting the media out after an incident of this nature typically does not work well for celebrities, but Tiger is not the average celebrity. The world’s most famous athlete guards his privacy vehemently. Something he has been quite successful with up until this point. In an incident like this in a celebrity obsessed society may be tougher to swipe under the rug. With Tiger scheduled to play, and host, in the Chevron World Championship this week it will be hard to dodge the questions and murmurs.

As of now it is a waiting game. The Florida Highway Patrol has stated the investigation will continue. It appears the media will continue to dig as well.

Tags: Chevron World Challenge, Tiger Woods accident
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Tiger Woods Injured

Tiger Woods was injured in an early morning car crash near his Florida home. According to early reports he suffered facial lacerations and has been released from the hospital. The injuries were listed as serious on the police report but details are not yet available. The car he was driving hit a fire hydrant and a tree near his Windermere home, alcohol was not a contributing factor in the collision. Tiger is scheduled to play next week at the Chevron World Championship in California.

Tags: PGA TOUR, Tiger Woods
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LPGA Slashes 2010 Schedule

This week Michelle Wie finally got her first LPGA Tour win. Unfortunately the LPGA also announced that the schedule for next year will also be cut to 24 official events. In the latest hit to professional sports, the LPGA will need all the publicity it can get from Wie and it’s other young stars. There will be just 13 events played in the United States on next years schedule and a total of 17 off weeks during the year. This will make even more difficult for young players that are not among the best in the world to establish themselves on the LPGA Tour. With 13 domestic events players will need to shine when given the rare opportunity to earn their cards. Hopefully the LPGA will be able to come out of this recession and restore a full schedule in the next couple years, there were 34 events just two years ago. With young stars like Wie and veterans like Lorena Ochoa battling out there will certainly be great battles on the course. Only time will tell if someone can fill the shoes of Annika Sorenstam, the long time world number one, and bring enough viewers and sponsors to the sport.

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Always Ask Better Players

One thing always surprises me when I am playing with amateurs and professionals in the same group. I rarely here golfers ask better players for advice or tips. Golf is something that takes years to master and often times a simple tip or piece of advice can work wonders on the course. It seems that often times people get intimidated when paired with better players. Often times they are nervous and simply afraid to come out and ask advice for a shot or how to play a hole.

The best advice is to ask away. I have never met an accomplished player that is not willing to help out another player. Golf is something they are all passionate about and more times than not they will be more than willing to help you out. So next time you are paired with someone that seems to have it all together on the course don’t be afraid to ask a few questions.

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Tiger Down Under

In the past two weeks Tiger Woods made trips to China and Australia and managed to come home with a new trophy to add to his case. Playing in the JB Were Masters in Melbourne Tiger outlasted a mostly Australian field that included Geoff Ogilvy, Aaron Baddeley, Adam Scott, and Nationwide Tour ace Michael Sim. Tiger edged Greg Chalmers by two strokes finishing the week at 14 under par. After Phil Mickelson won the previous week in China, Tiger further separated the top two ranked players from the rest of the world. Tiger and Phil seem to be doing their best to match each other going into the 2010 season. Unfortunately, due to Tiger’s limited schedule, we may not see any great battles until next spring. If things continue to pan out as they did this fall it will be well worth the wait.

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Who Should Be Number One?

For the first time in years there are questions as to who is the world’s best golfer. Tiger Woods had a great season yet still everyone seems to be talking about Phil Mickelson. In a season cut short, with the illness of both his wife and mother, Phil has been dominating on Tour. With his win in the last big event of the year at the WGC HSBC Championship in China Phil seems to have sealed his place at the top of the golfing world.

Starting this summer with yet another second place finish at the U.S. Open Mickelson has played extremely well. With wins at the Tour Championship and the WGC a showdown with Tiger in 2010 seems inevitable. A late season putting tip from Dave Stockton seemed to give Phil the extra confidence to come through with two huge late season wins. The tip was very simple, go back to using a forward press. This means that Phil leans his hands towards the target so they are ahead of the ball. This is a tactic that Phil used to use but had tried other means in the past few years. The renewed confidence on the greens has made all the difference in the world and is setting up a great duel in the year to come.

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Find a Demo Day Before Buying Clubs

Golf club manufacturers are making it extremely easy to try before you buy. With demo days, demo programs at local golf shops and courses there is ample opportunity to try multiple clubs and brands before buying. It can make a big difference in your club selection and save you strokes on the course. Too often people buy a club simply because of an ad they saw on TV promising 15 more yards or more accuracy. While club design has come a long way there is no way to know what club is best without hitting them all.

Demo days give all golfers an opportunity to test all the latest and greatest clubs out there. Local golf courses host these events to give their customers the opportunity to find the best set of clubs. They are almost always free of charge and often times offer free fittings. In order to take advantage golfers must keep an open mind when buying a new club. It is easy to buy into the advertisements and buy a club that was used to win the latest PGA Tour event. The truth is that there are dozens of companies making great clubs that get almost no exposure on the PGA Tour simply because they cannot afford to sponsor anyone. This does not mean that there clubs are low quality or that they would not be the best fit for you. Sign up next time you see a demo day at your local course, even if it is a brand you are not really familiar with. You may be surprised at what you find.

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