PGA teams with Nature Conservancy, Lexmark, Monsanto, St. Louis County Parks

PGA teams with Nature Conservancy, Lexmark, Monsanto, St. Louis County Parks











PGA.COM May 20, 2013 3:18 PM

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(The PGA of America)


BALLWIN, Mo. -- Thirty volunteers from Greater St. Louis grabbed a shovel, wiped the sweat from their brows on a humid Missouri Sunday and gave something back that generations will value decades from now. Such was the teamwork to help restore native forests emanating from a partnership between The PGA of America, Lexmark International Inc., The Nature Conservancy Missouri, The Monsanto Company and St. Louis County Parks.

Together, the participants planted more than 200 native bottomland trees and shrubs to offset the impact of printing and paper products generated for the 74th Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid, May 21-26, at Bellerive Country Club. The environmental project is part of The PGA of America's commitment to benefit the host communities that support its Championships. The PGA and Lexmark partnered for a similar event prior to the 2012 Ryder Cup near Chicago, by planting 50 large trees. The teamwork will continue in August prior to the 95th PGA Championship in Rochester, N.Y.

"This project is especially important to us because the plantings are alongside a freshwater stream, which ultimately flows into the Meramec River," said Betsy LePoidevin, associate director of philanthropy for The Nature Conservancy Missouri. "It's benefiting the health of an entire community. It's not just about nature for nature's sake. It's about people getting fresh drinking water. It's about people getting educated about the environment that affects them. This simply is not just a tree planting, or The Nature Conservancy would not be a part of it. It goes far beyond that, to benefit an entire community."

The tree planting featured Gateway PGA Section President Joe Schwent of St. Charles, Mo., representing the 324 members of the Section. Schwent was joined by his wife, Laura, in the volunteer corps. "I was honored to be part of this event; nothing but good things going on all day," said Schwent. "This is one great example to how we all can give something back to the environment, the community."

The roots of the new trees in Queeny Park serve as a filtering system for ground water, and help prevent a clogging of the banks. "This tiny stream system will lead into the Meramec River and provide 250,000 individuals with drinking water in St. Louis County. It's a small part, but you have to start somewhere. It will magnify positive effects for so many."


Tom Ott of Spanish Lake, Mo., acting director of St. Louis County Parks, said the partnership helps enhance the ongoing campaign to benefit what he calls "one of our jewels of the country." Edgar M. Queeny Park opened in 1974 and is named after the famed industrial-conservationist Edgar Monsanto Queeny. It is a 570-acre site and one of 70 similar sites encompassing 12,700 acres that are managed by St. Louis County Parks.

"It is great to see this partnership develop and help those who want to make the most of this park and many more like this," said Ott. "The trees and shrubs planted today will help us eradicate bush honeysuckle, which grows like wildfire and doesn't give anything else below a chance to grow under a tree canopy."

The volunteers ranged in age from 9 to over 50, and were guided on proper planting methods by Angie Webber of Crestwood, Mo., community conservation planner for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "An event like this is so important today, considering the limited resources that state and governments are able to supply," said Webber. "It is so important for volunteer support."

Lexmark International, headquartered in Lexington, Ky., is the Official Printing Technology Provider of The PGA of America. Lexmark also is a founding member of The Nature Conservancy's Corporate Sustainability Council.

"We had a great day and some outstanding support from those in the St. Louis area," said Lee Ann Disponett, Lexmark's global sustainability analyst. "We are encouraged by the effort being demonstrated in all host communities, beginning near Chicago last fall during the Ryder Cup and here. The Boys and Girls Club of America helped form our team prior to the Ryder Cup, and it was fun to see some youngsters on the team today. It all sets a great example."

About The PGA of AmericaSince its founding in 1916, The PGA of America has maintained a twofold mission: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. By establishing and elevating the standards of the golf profession through world-class education, career services, marketing and research programs, The PGA enables its professionals to maximize their performance in their respective career paths and showcases them as experts in the game and in the multi-billion dollar golf industry. By creating and delivering world-class championships and innovative programs, The PGA of America elevates the public's interest in the game, the desire to play more golf, and ensures accessibility to the game for everyone, everywhere. As The PGA nears its centennial, the PGA brand represents the very best in golf.

Colonial in 2003: The Missed Cut that Defined the Annika Sorenstam Brand

Colonial in 2003: The Missed Cut that Defined the Annika Sorenstam Brand











Ryan Ballengee May 20, 2013 9:09 PM


COMMENTARY | A decade ago, Annika Sorenstam stood on the 10th tee at Colonial C.C., about to hit an historic tee shot.



She hit her 4-wood down the chute before smiling and feigning a pair of buckling knees under the pressure of being the first wom
an to tee it up on the PGA Tour in 58 years.





Sorenstam didn't make the cut that week at Ben Hogan's tournament, but she did represent herself well in two rounds at his Alley. She shot 5 over par (71-74), beating 13 players in the field, 11 that finished 36 holes.



In the remaining 104 tournaments of her LPGA Tour career that followed those two days at Colonial, Sorenstam missed the cut just once. Once. But it is arguably her missed cut in Ft. Worth, Texas, that is the most important in her career.



As she said that week, Colonial was a chance to test herself against the best players in the world. It wasn't a statement about taking on male golfers, gender equality or anything of the sort. Annika got her one-time answer in taking on the men. She could hang around, teeter on the cut line and give herself a chance to compete. With more cracks at it, she might even be able to prosper.



Would she ever be able to dominate on the PGA Tour like she did with her female cohorts? No. But that wasn't the point.



Sorenstam stepped away, in her words, from competition a little over five years after that week at Colonial, but that Thursday-Friday in May 2003 was the week that defined the Annika Sorenstam brand.



That week may have influenced her two greatest seasons which immediately followed. The University of Arizona product would win 18 LPGA Tour titles in 2004 and '05, including three of her 10 major titles. In her final three years, Sorenstam would log 11 more LPGA wins and three more majors.



The pressure -- self-imposed and externally applied -- Sorenstam felt, embraced and dealt with at Colonial allowed the Swede to ratchet up her LPGA domination to another level. It made her show a side of herself the public rarely saw, and the public liked it.



The experience also proved to her something every superior athlete sometimes needs to know.



"That I love what I do," she said.



A passion. A passion for winning, being the best she can be. After she retired in 2008, Sorenstam again followed her passion into business. She started an academy in Florida, a wine label and a clothing label, maintains a foundation, and runs a financial group in addition to a course design business. And, yes, she's a mother of two.



Sorenstam is so busy following her passions that she cannot yet take the captain's role for the European Solheim Cup team. It's hers when she wants it.



At Colonial, Sorenstam wept tears of joy after playing because she was doing what she wanted to do. The week at Colonial is one that anchors her approach to the world: Take a risk and, win or lose, learn as much as you can from it to get better.



After she missed the cut at Colonial 10 years ago, Sorenstam was asked if another woman should be allowed to play the PGA Tour in 2013 -- if she could hang with the boys.



"If she qualifies, yes," Sorenstam said.



That "she" does not yet exist right now, which is why what Sorenstam did for two days at Colonial grows in importance with each passing year. She didn't reach the peak of her personal Everest, as she described it, but she planted a stake with her expedition that may never be passed.



"I've climbed as high as I can. And it's worth every step of it," Sorenstam said in 2003. "And like I said, I won't do this again, but I will always remember it."



Ryan Ballengee is a Washington, D.C.-based golf writer. His work has appeared on multiple digital outlets, including NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Follow him on Twitter @RyanBallengee.

No reconciliation between Tiger, Sergio

No reconciliation between Tiger, Sergio










The Sports Xchange May 20, 2013 10:20 PMThe SportsXchange



Tiger Woods provided a one-word answer on Monday as to whether he has tried to clear the air with Sergio Garcia in after their Players Championship disagreement.

"No," Woods told reporters at Congressional Country Club outside of Washington, D.C.

Woods smiled after making the remark during media day for the June 27-30 AT&T National.

Woods and Garcia were involved in a spat at the TPC Sawgrass May 11-12. Garcia was annoyed by a distraction he felt Woods could have avoided when they were in the same playing group in the third round.

After the final round, Garcia said he was glad he wasn't in Woods' group that day.

"He isn't the nicest guy on tour," Garcia said.

Later Monday, Woods told USA Today, "Obviously the matter has been put behind me. The truth came out. As I was saying the entire time, I told people what I had heard and what had happened."

Neither seems bothered by the incident.

"He doesn't make a difference to my life and I know I don't make a difference to his life," Garcia said Monday, according to ESPN.com. "This is not just one thing. This has been going on for a long time."

While speaking at an event in London on Monday, he insisted he would not back down from Woods.

"He called me a whiner," Garcia said, according to ESPN.com. "That's probably right. It's also probably the first thing he's told you guys that's true in 15 years. I know what he is like. You guys are finding out.

"He can and will beat me a lot of times but he is not going to step on me. I'm not afraid of him."

Rory McIlroy’s Misses Not Getting Smaller, but Silver Lining is on the Horizon

Rory McIlroy’s Misses Not Getting Smaller, but Silver Lining is on the Horizon
McIlroy Shoots His Worse Opening-round Score on the PGA Tour at the Memorial











Chris Chaney May 30, 2013 9:43 PM

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Rory McIlroy watches a shot during the first round at the Memorial Tournament. (Getty Images)




COMMENTARY | Golf is not a game of perfect; golf is a game of misses and for Rory McIlroy in 2013, those misses have simply been too costly.

"My misses this year have been too wide," McIlroy said the Wednesday before the Memorial when asked wha
t's the reason he hasn't won yet this season. "Last year if I missed a fairway or missed a shot, it wasn't by much. This year it seems the misses have been big and have cost me… Sometimes in golf it's not about how good your good shots are, it's about how much damage your bad shots do to you."



Those misses continued to plague McIlroy as he opened Jack Nicklaus' tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio with a 6-over par 78, his worst opening-round score on the PGA Tour.

"The game just isn't all there at the minute," McIlroy said following the round. "I'm pretty frustrated. I'm trying not to let it get to me. I don't have any explanations for it."

Here's an explanation for it: not only were McIlroy's misses with his woods and irons as equally off target, but they've crept onto the putting surface. McIlroy slapped it around the pristine and pure Muirfield greens 33 times on Thursday, including a four-putt on the 12th hole (his third of the day).

The usual suspects have come up in conversation about what's wrong with Rors: the new Nike clubs, the tennis-star girlfriend, the management company split. The excuses are as numerous and wild as the hairs on McIlroy's head.

Perhaps the biggest culprit of McIlroy's latest slump is that it's been too long since his last one, which came just about a year ago this month.

Ever the streaky player, McIlroy jettisoned off to a hot start in 2012 finishing in the top-3 (including a win at the Honda) in four of his first five tournaments of the season. Then things went a bit sideways. He missed the cut at the Players, then again at the Memorial. Two weeks later, he missed the cut at the US Open. And remember, at this point McIlroy was the top-ranked player in the world.

The same questions were brought up during that slump. Is he spending too much time with Caroline Wozniacki? Can he handle the pressures of being one of the most sought-after commodities in the sports world? Does he have the drive to be great or did success come too easily?

Then what did McIlroy do amid a cloud of doubt? Top-fived at the WGC-Bridgestone, won the PGA Championship by eight strokes, won two of the four FedEx Cup Playoff events and captured the money list titles on both the PGA and European Tours.

Gone were the doubts about his stability, his resiliency and his relationship status. We forgot about the drop off in May and June. Slump? What slump? This is the guy who's going to challenge Tiger Woods for the next 10 years, we said. We were certain of it.

Yet, here we are again, questioning what is going on with an admittedly streaky player.

"It feels like I'm waiting for that week where everything sort of clicks into place and I can get some momentum from that," McIlroy said later in that same Wednesday press conference. "A bit like last year where I got the top‑5 at Akron before the PGA and that gave me a little bit of momentum and I was able to kick on from there. I'm just waiting for one of those weeks."

It will be tough for this to be the week that everything clicks, especially given the hole he dug himself through one round.

However, with McIlroy, he is always one round away. One round away from knocking down every flagstick on the course with his irons and rolling in every putt he looks at.

So instead of trying to diagnose what's wrong with McIlroy, maybe we should just consider the player and his history. This isn't a new phenomenon; we have the scouting report on Rory: amazing highs with questionable lows, but all the talent in the world.

Right now, McIlroy is floundering in one of those lows, but his ascension back to the top of his game could come as soon as his next range session.

Chris Chaney is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based sportswriter. He has written for multiple outlets including WrongFairway.com, Hoopville.com, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and The Clermont (OH) Sun.

Follow him on Twitter @Wrong_Fairway.

Is Guan Tianlang Actually Hurting Professional Golf?

Is Guan Tianlang Actually Hurting Professional Golf?











Adam Fonseca May 30, 2013 11:21 PM




COMMENTARY | In his first round of the Memorial Tournament on Thursday, 14-year-old Guan Tianlang fired an even-par 72 on one of the toughest courses on the PGA Tour schedule, Muirfield Village.

For those keeping score at home, Guan's score was better than that
of 10 former major winners also playing that day. Tiger Woods shot a 71; a mere shot better than a player 23 years his junior.



This kid has serious game and he isn't afraid to compete against the best players in the world on the grandest of stages. But is Guan Tianlang inadvertently shining a spotlight on what is wrong with professional golf in the process?

When Guan exploded onto the golf scene in November 2012 by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur - thus qualifying for The Masters five months later -- his success was met with as much criticism as accolades. Not only was a player who can't legally drive himself to the course beating golfers twice his age, he also managed to take away one of the most coveted invitations in all of sports from those same players.

PGA Tour players Charlie Beljan and Matt Every complained about Guan's inclusion at Augusta National, stating they were more deserving of an invitation to the year's first major. Most golf fans brushed away their comments as sour grapes… but did the PGA veterans have a point?

Watching Guan play in a professional golf tournament goes exactly how one would suspect. He will usually hit driver off the tee when not playing a par-3, swinging as hard as his adolescent frame will allow. Guan's approach shot usually requires a hybrid or fairway wood, which he again attacks with free-swinging abandon. A chip and a putt or two later, Guan escapes with par or bogey and moves on to the next hole.

How is a 14-year-old able to accomplish this with the relative ease of any tour journeyman? By the miracles of modern golf technology! That's how.

Professional golf is a sport once defined by unparalleled precision and pinpoint-accurate ballstriking. In the days of persimmon drivers, balata golf balls and butter knife-esque blades, players were literally surgeons on the course. Distance came at a premium for only the strongest players while shorter players were forced to excel in the art of shot shaping.

As golf clubs and equipment have evolved over the years, so has the margin of error for today's players. Driver clubheads more closely resemble car hubcaps in both size and material. Cavity back and forged irons blast shots further than any fairway wood dreamed to achieve decades ago. Wedges are milled with grooves that literally grab onto today's multi-layered golf balls, generating spin rates and ball flights that would make Isaac Newton blush.

In other words, today's equipment allows professionals to swing as hard as they want with minimal uncertainty of where their ball will end up.

Of course, this is not to suggest that today's professional golfer is by any means less talented or dedicated to his craft as those of yesteryear. Furthermore, what Guan Tianlang is accomplishing in 2013 is both inspiring and historic. He has made two consecutive PGA Tour cuts and is well on his way to a third. I will be the first to admit I am excited and anxious to see what this young man will accomplish next.

But let's not fool ourselves by overlooking the obvious: today's golf equipment has made the game substantially easier for the world's best players, and Guan Tianlang is doing his best to capitalize on a golden opportunity.



Adam Fonseca has been covering professional golf since 2005. His work can be found on numerous digital outlets including the Back9Network and SB Nation. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife. Follow Adam on Twitter @chicagoduffer.

Tiger Woods Should Suck it Up and Put Steve Stricker on His Payroll

Tiger Woods Should Suck it Up and Put Steve Stricker on His Payroll
The World No. 1’s Putting Leaves Something to Be Desired











Chris Chaney May 31, 2013 4:56 PM

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Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker. (Getty Images)




COMMENTARY | Tiger Woods has always been a great putter.

The flat stick has been the one facet of his game that has consistently been the saving grace for the majority of his career (save for the dark ages, between late 2009-2010 when everything was off). Different swings, big misses and even altering brands of putters have come and gone, but his buttery stroke has remained in tact.

With his new Sean Foley swing now ingrained into his muscle memory, Woods has been able to really go to work on his
short game. Never one to seek out professional help with his putting in his formative years because his father had a keen eye for the stroke, Woods has enlisted only friendly advice since Earl Woods' passing in 2006.



That friendly advice has come more often than not from close buddy and Ryder/Presidents Cup partner Steve Stricker.

Stricker gave Woods his most famous lesson ahead of the World Golf Championships Cadillac Championship earlier this year en route to Woods' best putting week of his career. That would be his entire career, not just his post-hydrant career.

It would seem that Woods has begun to misremember or improperly incorporate the tips "Stricks" -- as Woods calls him -- gave him nearly three months ago.

Take the first two rounds of this week's Memorial Tournament for example. Over two rounds at a course he owns, Woods is 1-over par and has jacked it around the greens 60 times already. And he's hitting the ball well -- 24/28 fairways; 23/36 greens in regulation.

So the question has to be raised: why doesn't Woods put Stricker on his payroll? Woods' notoriously tight-knit inner circle wouldn't be compromised with an already indoctrinated member joining the ranks and realistically, it wouldn't have to be too much of a time drain on either party. A la Jack Nicklaus and his swing coach Jack Grout, Woods and Stricker would need to only meet a few times a year to brush things up, refine the fundamentals that have gotten a little loose and watch the results and money roll in.

Woods had already won once on Tour in 2013 prior to Stricker giving him some refreshers on his posture, but since the lesson, Woods has won three of the four other tournaments he has teed it up in (the only non-win was a T4 at Augusta).

That is to say, Woods is going to win tournaments simply because he's Tiger Woods. But with a practiced eye focused the most impactful part of the game, Woods could reach heights that perhaps even he hasn't seen before.

Woods ball-striking is the best it's been in years; his wedge game is on point, hitting the ball to an average of 16-feet-3 inches from the hole from inside 150 yards and his driving accuracy is giving him more opportunities than ever. As the poster boy for recovering from trouble, the only thing keeping Woods from blowing out fields is a putter that isn't always clicking; he's still winning, but not by the margins you or I know he is capable of.

Perhaps it's a matter of principle keeping Woods from reaching out to Stricker. Although semi-retired, Stricker is still ranked 12th in the world and arguably playing some of the best golf of his career despite his reigned in schedule.

More than likely, however, Woods' decision not to throw Stricker on his payroll has to do with pride and the memory of his father. Woods has never been one to ask for help, nor believe that anyone knows his game better than himself. Yet, the outside perspective from a friend like Stricker is something that could transform the 2013 Tiger Woods into an even better version of himself.

All he needs is a little help from his friend.

Chris Chaney is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based sportswriter. He has written for multiple outlets including WrongFairway.com, Hoopville.com, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and The Clermont (OH) Sun.

Follow him on Twitter @Wrong_Fairway.

Miller Barber dies at 82

Miller Barber dies at 82










The Sports Xchange June 13, 2013 12:50 AMThe SportsXchange



Miller Barber, whose 1,297 combined starts on the PGA Tour and Senior Tour are an all-time record, died Tuesday at age 82.

His son, Richard Barber, told the New York Times thatBarber died in Scottsdale, Ariz., of lymphoma.

Barber earned 11 wins on the PGA Tour, then won 24 times on the senior circuit. He was noted for his unorthodox swing, in which his right elbow moved away from his body.

"We are saddened by the passing of Miller Barber," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem wrote in a statement. "He was a wonderful player who made his mark on the PGA Tour with 11 victories and then really excelled onChampions Tour, becoming one of its best players in the tour's formative years. Miller and the Champions Tour's other early stars helped establish the tour and make it the tremendous success it has become. Golf has lost a great man and competitor."

Known by the nickname "Mr. X," Barber won five majors on the Senior Tour. He captured the 1981 PGA Seniors' Championship, the 1983 Senior Players' Championship, and the U.S. Senior Open in 1982, 1984 and 1985.

His best result in a major on the PGA Tour was tie for fourth in the 1971 PGA Championship. He had six other top-10 finishes, two of them in the PGA Championship, and one each in the U.S. Open, British Open and the Masters. Barber finished in the top team in each of those events in 1969.

Pro golfer Ricky Barnes wrote on Twitter, "Just got bad news in the golf world. Lost a great player, but a better man. U will be missed Miller Barber"