Hitting the Links: 0% Chance of Rain on Saturday, but I’m Not Golfing?

First round recap at Colonial (PGA Tour)

Thursday highlights from the Crowne Plaza Invitational (Golf)

Round one wrap-up (PGA Tour)

First round leaderboard (PGA Tour)

Second round tee times at Colonial (PGA Tour)

After losing last week in a playoff, David Toms holds a share of the 18 hole lead (Golf)

Lee Westwood and Luke Donald both won at the Volvo Match Play (Golf)

Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie both advance in the LPGA Tour Sybase Match Play Championship (Golf)

How to play golf Pt. 3 (Golf Digest)

The five best sudden death playoffs ever (Golf Digest)

Playboy magazine (they are still publishing?) offers their take on John Daly (Wei Under Par)

Dick Ebersol has stepped down as head of NBC Sports. What does that mean for golf? (Devil Ball)

Tiger Woods is going to fall out of the Top 10 for the first time since 1997 (Devil Ball)

How Jack Nicklaus created ESPN/Sports Center tradition (Devil Ball)

The Volvo Match Play explained (European Tour)

The 10th anniversary of the Casey Martin case (Geoff Shackelford)

Apparently Sean O’Hair is the problem, but I still blame Rory Sabbatini (Geoff Shackelford)

 

Daly Smokes British, Fires 66!

 

Tiger Woods isn’t the only former champ that loves St Andrews. The mythical beast, John Daly, fired a 66 this morning to jump out to an early lead.

Does anyone expect him to hold it? Probably not. The conditions were supposed* to be much worse than they ended up being (one British paper described it as “a gloomy dartboard”), so players should take advantage of the weather and go low today. However, you can’t help but be impressed by Daly’s low number today, especially considering he’s probably had no sleep, a carton of cigs and two cases of diet coke.  He’s basically everything the Old Course isn’t, but I’ll slow clap his stellar first round.

*The conditions change at the drop of a hat. Don’t expect the same weather for the afternoon group of players today.

 

Preview: St. Jude Classic

That is my name...No I'm not

The PGA TOUR bus makes a stop in Memphis, Tenn., this week for the St. Judes Classic at TPC Southwind. Since it’s the last event before the US Open, most of the really good players will be at home watching Phil’s “Secrets of the Short Game” video and getting last-minute practice in before next week…some without a coach (had to get a Tiger reference in here somewhere).

TPC Southwind is a par 70, 7244-yard course that ranked 20th in difficulty on last year’s tour. Even though it’s not a highly anticipated event, the winner still gets to take home $1,008,000 of the $5.6 million purse and 500 FedEx points. That’s not chump change…especially when only 3 of the Top 10 in points, money list and WGR are in the field (not the same 3 dudes).

Brian Gay, defending champ, is in the field and will need to duplicate his putting performance from a year ago if he wants to repeat. Gay isn’t the longest hitter on tour (188th) but he is the most accurate so far this year and from what I hear, it is easier to find the greens if you hit from the short stuff…apparently, it’s also easier to find your ball.  TPC Southwind doesn’t require huge drives but you do need to be spot-on in other areas in order to go low on the card.   Another Gay-like performance of -18 will be needed again this weekend. And yes, I meant to say “Gay-like”…Brian Gay. Grow up.

Although I don’t have the stones to pick him in the ‘Fantasy FourFivesome’, I’ll be rooting for Team Loudmouth Pants and JD…forget the million dollars and first win since 2004, just imagine the outfit of those pants and that sweet seersucker jacket the winner gets.

 

Hitting the Links

"Anything Phil can do, I can do better."

This is our weekly look at what has been going on in the wonderful world of golf. If you think something should be put up send it over to TheTunaGolf@gmail.com.

Boobs, lynching, Congressional murder and pool boys — a comprehensive list of golf announcers’ many miscues (Devil Ball Golf)

Should Feherty be cut loose? (The Golf Blog)

How to hit left-handed…if you’re right-handed (Golf.com)

Alex Cejka needs to stop going to the public laundromat when he’s on the road. Someone must have stolen his TW red shirt out of the dryer (Armchair Golf)

Stenson jumps into the Top 5 (WGR) 

Tiger blames his swing for his recent struggles. Oh really? That makes perfect sense…that is my problem too (ESPN)

FIGJAM strikes again (Aussie Golfer)

Cristie Kerr likes Michelob Ultra (Golf Girl)

Ever want to look like John Daly? Now you can (LMG) 

Fire your swing coach and stop wasting money on instructional DVDs and training aids. This guy offers free lessons (YouTube)

If the free lesson didn’t cure your slice, check these guys out by Friday…it really does work and I’m living proof.

If none of the above links help, then you really do suck (ISUCKATGOLF.NET)

**UPDATE** Tony Romo must’ve been vacationing with Jessica in Cabo again (ESPN)

 

John Daly’s golf cart

What are the cart rules for this thing? Groundskeepers everywhere are cringing at the thought.

 

PGA Suspends John Daly

Our wonderful friend John Daly has been suspended by the PGA Tour for 6 months following his poor behavior on and off the course. As you may have heard previously, John was involved in a little drunken tirade at the upstanding establishedment Hooters, where he got so drunk he the cops were called and he spent a night to remember in jail sobering up.

On top of the drunken nights at Hooters, Mr. Daly recently got a little upset and confronted a fan he was not very happy with  and took their camera and smashed it up against a nearby tree. One could rightly assume this was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. There is no excuse for a professional athlete to act this way toward a fan who paid to see him and other golfers in a professional atmosphere. Professional athletes, a term I would use loosely with John Daly, have to be able to act with some composure while in their given field of play.  While I have to admit I found the camera incident pretty damn funny, it’s just not something people should have to worry about when they enter a stadium or golf course.

 

First Tee: I Got Some Beers, Lets Drink ‘Em!

… That one’s not beer!

 

Tuna Exclusive: Big JD Back At It

John Daly was hammered drunk at hooters again, only this time he just happened to pass out in the middle of the floor at the Winston-Salem, NC franchise.

In the latest chapter of Daly’s longtime struggle with alcohol abuse, he was held overnight in a North Carolina jail after passing out at a Hooters restaurant, according to a statement released by Winston-Salem police on Wednesday.

Personally, I love JD. He’s just an entertaining guy to watch play golf, when you know, he actually plays golf. Take the shirtless/shoeless interview he did. I mean honestly, how can you not say that’s funny. He crushes the ball and drinks beer. What’s not to like? Recently at a Pro Am we saw a great example of these two favorite hobbies combined in one. He hit a ball off of one of Kid Rock’s empty beer cans. That’s just some good old fashioned fun right there.

But seriously though, it’s time for a reality check JD. Get yourself some help and get your life back in gear so you can just continue to have fun, but not at the expense of your image and the game of golf. After all it is golf that got you to where you are now, so lets not piss it all away. I would kill to hit the ball as far as you do, but you now act like the game of golf no longer matters and the only thing that does is getting black out drunk. If that’s the case, then that’s the case, but this is getting a little out of hand. If you don’t your legacy will have nothing to do with any of your accomplishments(1991: Winner at the PGA Championship, 1993: T3 at the Masters, 1995: Winner at The Open Championship) and everything to do with your demise (see pic above), then so be it, but I for one would like to see you return to being an actual competitive golfer.

Also, don’t forget the official release of TunaGolf is going to be the week of the Dec. 17 for the Chevron World Challenge. Check back with us periodically until then, but definitely during that week.