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Sports Outside the Beltway

NBC’s idiotic golf coverage or where in the world is YE Yang?

Rory McIlroy has a 10-shot lead at the moment in the 2011 U.S. Open. South Korean YE Yang is tied for second. NBC, who is televising this year’s U.S. Open, acts like Yang isn’t even playing in the tournament.

On the 3rd hole we see Yang’s tee shot but nothing else. When he was putting for birdie, NBC showed a short piece on former Open winners.

On the 5th hole, none of Yang’s putts are shown.

The 6th hole after McIlroy tees off, you’d think NBC would show Yang’s tee. Nope, they don’t. Instead we get a fluff piece on McIlroy.

There was an earlier lapse in NBC’s coverage of Yang on either the 1st or 2nd hole but I didn’t take notes.

Hardcore LPGA followers have been noting for a long time the way Korean golfers are covered on television. Or call it lack of coverage. Just a month ago NBC had no problem telling us David Toms had a very poor record at The Players Championship while he dueled KJ Choi. NBC didn’t mention that Choi’s record at the TPC of Sawgrass is even worse.

Yang just made birdie at the 6th hole to pull to nine shots behind. NBC also issued an apology for editing out part of the pledge of allallegiance in a opening segment of today’s broadcasts.

 

Hat Trick- Florida Panthers NHL Team fails to live up to free Yarmulke Promise

Oi Vei

SUNRISE, Fla. – Sunrise Sports & Entertainment announced today that the Florida Panthers Hanukkah Celebration presented by The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 7 during the Cats-Avalanche game at the BankAtlantic Center. Prime Time Stubs, Inc. is an associate sponsor for the event.

Fans are encouraged to join the biggest Hanukkah party in South Florida through a number of initiatives including:

- A giant menorah lighting on the JetBlue Tarmac at 6:45 p.m.

- Jewish music provided by Avimagic Entertainment

- Kosher food available throughout the game in select locations

- Panthers yarmulke given to all ticket-buyers

The Panther website clearly says all ticket-buyers. Fans arrived for tonight’s game and were told it only applied to group ticket buyers. I got wind of it at The Litter Box where one commenter let everyone know. George Richards of the Miami Herald has also confirmed it in his live feed of the game.

The Panthers don’t have a very good rep in South Florida and this sure isn’t going to help it. It is Hanukkah after all and this region has one of the biggest Jewish populations in the nation.

On a side note this particular Panther game isn’t supposed to be broadcast because it is NHL night on Versus. They have exclusive rights on these nights. Well, I’m watching a video feed with Florida Panther radio announcers doing the audio. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is in Sunrise tonight. Maybe he would be interested in knowing all of tonight’s screwups but he’s a screwup himself so I bet he’d shrug it off.

 

Michelle Wie wins the CN Canadian Women’s Open

She shot a final round 70 to finish three shots ahead of Kristy McPherson, Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen, and Jee Young Lee.

Wie opened Sunday tied for the lead at minus ten with Shin. Both golfers made an early bogey to fall back to minus nine.
This allowed Pettersen, Lee, and a red hot Kyeong Bae to get within one of the lead.

On the 8th hole, Wie got the lead to herself and never was tied again. She made a birdie putt from less than ten feet as Shin couldn’t get it up and down from a bunker. Michelle was up by two with ten holes to go.

Wie birdied holes 13, 14, and 15 to open up a four-shot lead. The 13th and 14th holes were par 5′s. Shin and Wie both made birdie from less than ten feet. On the 14th Wie hit her second shot into a greenside bunker and made a mediocre sand shot. No problem- Wie ran in a twenty footer for birdie as Shin scrambled for par. Her third birdie was a chip-in from just off the back of the green. She made a great par on 16 after a bad drive and an approach shot into a bunker. She did make a three-putt bogey on 17 but 18 was a safe walk in the park for her. A good drive and approach, two putts for par and the victory. Wie now has two LPGA Tour wins, but neither happened in the United States. Her first win was the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico last enough.

Curiously enough my family ate the exact same dinner, Chicken Parmesan served with Penne pasta, when Wie won both her tournaments. I make this dinner on average about every six weeks, but usually not with Penne. If Michelle Wie reads this, she may ask me to make of this food when she’s in contention. Cue the sarcastic laughter.

Today’s win was as impressive as her first. She played steady golf and made timely birdies. A television announcer said the win will put Wie at #7 in the Rolex rankings which are already a crowded fight for #1.

Other comments

*- Will Golf World magazine put Wie on its cover this week? Ai Miyazato has won 5 LPGA tournaments this year, Yani Tseng won two major championships, but GW never once put them on the cover. Instead we the magazine’s subscribers got to see Anthony Kim and Arjun Atwel featured.

I think Golf World won’t take a pass on a Wie cover but its editors and writers have proved to be dumb and clueless before and they could do it again.

*- At no time during the golf broadcast was a mention made of the cheating controversy I blogged about today and yesterday. This is a little surprising because announcer Judy Rankin has been known to check the internet and make mention of something she read.

*- Suzann Pettersen again couldn’t make birdie putts when in contention. She had four or five good to very good chances at least for birdie today.

*- LPGA’s live scoring had Jee Young Lee making an eagle on ten and pulling to one behind Wie. It was a mistake, Lee only made a birdie. Lee’s run at the title was spoiled by back to back bogeys on 11 and 12.

*- *- Will Jiyai Shin retake #1 in the Rolex rankings? She, Ai Miyazato, and Cristie Kerr are closely grouped and Shin finished 2nd today where as her rivals finished T15 and T8 respectively.

Shin remains #4 in the world rankings behind Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr, and Suzann Pettersen.

Also blogging about Wie’s win- Hound Dog and The Constructivist at Mostly Harmless

 

Breakdowns- Martin Kaymer wins the PGA Championship

The German golfer made a 18 to 24-inch putt for bogey on the third playoff hole to defeat Bubba Watson. This was Kaymer’s first ever victory in the United States.

Before Kaymer’s win today, he had six career wins on the European circuit and two top ten finishes in major championships. His win wasn’t something out of the blue. A lot of people would have had him in their top 50 picks or even top 25 this week.

What will have people talking about this PGA won’t be Kaymer’s win but what happened to Dustin Johnson at the 72nd hole. Johnson was -12 for the tournament and one shot ahead of Kaymer and Watson when he hit his final tee shot.

Johnson, a long and wild driver, hit his tee shot into the gallery to the right of the fairway. His ball ended up on a sandy piece of ground where members of the gallery had been walking all week instead of in the deep rough. He played his 2nd shot and eventually missed a seven-foot par putt. A three-way looked to be in the making.

But not so fast.

The sandy piece of ground was actually a bunker and while preparing to hit his 2nd shot, Dustin Johnson grounded his club in the bunker. That’s a two-stroke penalty.

Here’s the local rule or supplementary rules in question. These were posted in the clubhouse and player’s locker room-

1. Bunkers: All areas of the course that were designed and built as sand bunkers will be played as bunkers (hazards), whether or not they have been raked. This will mean that many bunkers positioned outside of the ropes, as well as some areas of bunkers inside the ropes, close to the rope line, will likely include numerous footprints, heel prints and tire tracks during the play of the Championship. Such irregularities of surface are a part of the game and no free relief will be available from these conditions.

Note 1: The sand area in front, left and behind No. 5 green in the later water hazard is NOT a bunker (do not move stones).

Note 2: Where necessary, blue dots define the margin of a bunker.

The sand area wasn’t raked and had footprints in it.

After his round was over, Johnson conferred with rules officials. He was assessed a two-stroke penalty and fell from a tie for first to tie for 5th.

2010 has been a heartbreaking year for Johnson. He led the U.S. Open going into the final round before shooting a final round 82. Will he be able to mentally recover from his two disasters. Off the top of my head the last time a golfer had these kind of chances to win a major in one year and come up dramatically short twice, is Mike Reid in 1989. Radar never won another PGA Tour event after nearly winning the 89 Masters and PGA Championship.

The bunker Johnson hit it into has already been labeled ‘Dustin’s Dustbin’ by Jason Sobel of ESPN. Today’s 18th hole finish has also been compared to Robert DeVicenzo’s incorrect scorecard signing at the 1968 Masters. A golf historian like myself, will also recall Jackie Pung being disqualified at the 1957 U.S. Women’s Open after signing for an incorrect score. Otherwise Pung would have won.

How about Mark Roe’s disqualification at the 2003 British Open? It happened after the 3rd round after he and his playing partner Jesper Parnevik signed for the right scores but on the wrong scorecards. If not for the DQ, Roe would have opened the final round two or three* out of the lead.

My opinion- Johnson broke the rule inadvertently, but the penalty is legitimate. A player needs to be aware of where he is on the golf course. What happened is unfortunate, but the rule about grounding clubs in a hazard has a purpose. Bunkers and water are there to penalize a golfer either with a penalty or a more difficult shot than if he had placed it on the fairway or green.

A couple of people think Johnson got screwed. First Jason Sobel writes-

What I hate about this is the inconsistency of it. If Johnson had the same situation take place on his third hole of the second round, chances are no cameras would have picked it up and/or cared, so DJ would have unknowingly kept going without assessing himself a stroke.

It’s not fair. It’s just not.

No Jason it would have been unfair if Johnson got away with a rules violation and went on to win the tournament. He broke the rule. Do you understand the concepts of integrity and honesty?

Ryan at Waggleroom screams in a headline that Johnson got screwed. I already said he didn’t but will take aim at something else that blogger wrote-

Where were the blue dots for Dustin Johnson? There didn’t appear any on TV.

Oh Ryan they were probably wiped out by all the people in the gallery who walked through the area. Every golfer in the field had to play without the dots, not just Johnson.

Other notes-

Bubba Watson played the final playoff hole disastrously but almost got away with it. He hit his 2nd shot in the water, then his next(and 4th) shot in the sand trap. Needing a miracle bogey holeout from the bunker, Watson nearly got it. His blast hit the flagstick but didn’t go in the hole.

1995 PGA Champion Steve Elkington pulled into a tie for the lead but played the last two holes bogey-bogey to finish tied with Dustin Johnson and Jason Duffner for 5th. Elk who is 47 years old and hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since 1999, comes up with strong PGA finishes even if he doesn’t do much else in that particular year. Like in 2005 when he finished second to Phil Mickelson.

Nick Watney had a three shot lead going into today before shooting a final round 81. He made double bogey on the opening hole and never recovered.

Zach Johnson and Rory Mcilroy also had legit chances to win today. The finale of this year’s PGA reminded me some of the 1996 version when 3rd round leader Russ Cochran also came apart on Sunday and at least six people(Steve Elkington being one of them.) had legit chances to win it on the back nine. That year’s tournament went to a playoff, which was won by Mark Brooks over Kenny Perry. Like Bubba Watson, Perry butchered the 18th hole in the playoff.

As Bubba Watson putted for birdie on the 2nd playoff hole, CBS had its on screen log right over where the hole was. I really hate obstructions placed on the screen by broadcasters when live sports action is taking place.

*- I’ve read conflicting reports about how close Roe was to the lead after 54 holes. The article I link to says three shots, but I’ve found another that said two.

Update- Here’s a video of Johnson’s golf ball in the sand.

Two interesting things

1 An official is standing near the golf ball when the video starts. Where did they go as Johnson went about playing the shot like it wasn’t in a bunker? Mark Wilson of the PGA explains what happened, including who the official was. I still hold to the opinion Johnson was at fault for not being aware. He had ample opportunity to know the rules, and to ask for a ruling if he was unsure.

2 CBS Announncer describes the location as being in one of ‘those thousand plus bunkers’. Nantz and company then got amnesia after Johnson played his shot and stayed that way as the ruling was made.

former USGA Executive Director, Frank Hannigan is very critical of CBS-

Another sin on CBS was not having a bona fide rules official in the booth to speak for the committee immediately. The USGA has the now familiar bow-tied image of its David Fay in the main TV booth. Had the Johnson sadness happened at a US Open the world would have known about it instantly. Moreover, in the USGA mode of operations Fay might very well have interceded by warning a rules official on the spot by radio that Johnson should be warned he is in a bunker.

Nick Faldo hemmed and hawed, not willing to tell Nantz, Feherty and Co. to get on with it. I saw Faldo win six majors. I have no doubt that in the same position Faldo would have sought out an official and asked “What is this thing I am standing in?”

The stakes were high and Johnson didn’t ask for help. It is his own darn fault.

Hat tip- Geoff Shackelford

 

The U.S. Women’s Golf Open is underway

It is being played at the Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania today through Sunday. The defending Champion is Eun Hee Ji.

The third Women’s golf major of 2010 is being played on one of the toughest golf courses in the world. Oakmont doesn’t just feature small greens and tight fairways, the norm of any USGA professional championship, but treacherously fast greens. I first watched a major played on this golf course in 1978. In 32 years of golf viewing, I’ve never seen a tougher course for pros to putt on.

Ji is the defending champion, but she isn’t playing very well coming into the tournament. Cristie Kerr has won the last two LPGA events she competed in, including a romp at the LPGA Championship. Which was the last major championship played. Many are naming Kerr the favorite this week and I won’t say that’s a bad choice. Still blogger The Constructivist has some valid points about Kerr coming into this week.

Um, dude, Kerr had chances to win 2 majors last year and let them slip through her fingers. Nobody stepped up to challenge her in the LPGA Championship for any serious length of time. Kerr still has to prove she’s a closer in majors. That and the fact that she won at Locust Hill with a leaky driver–something that Oakmont will penalize much more severely–are the doubts that any knowledgeable writer should be emphasizing about Kerr’s chances to get her 2nd Open, 3rd major, and 15th career victory on the LPGA.

Hound Dog, Mike, and Sal Johnson also have done previews for this week. Sal has put together an excellent guide on all the players in the tournament. Why can’t the USGA or LPGA do this kind of work? Sal is about the only person besides this person(and his not perfect golf memory) who tries to uphold the LPGA’s stats and history prior to the Annika Sorenstam era.

The Women’s Golf Open isn’t getting a tenth of the attention the recently passed Men’s Open at Pebble Beach got. This is normal, and has nothing to do with the lack of American winners or the Asians overrunning the tour complaints so often heard till you become nauseous. Four South Koreans won golf tournaments in 2007, and I was one of the few to notice. Golf World’s Ron Sirak is in attendance this after his golf publication in a gross act of golf reporting dereliction of duty, didn’t cover the LPGA Championship in its magazine or even preview this week’s major. Would you believe Golf World didn’t put out a magazine at all last week? Check it out yourself.

Golf World isn’t alone. Ryan Ballangee at Waggleroom is too busy writing a post wondering if Arnold Palmer is looking at someone’s boobs. The state of reporting on the LPGA is just horrendous.

My picks this week. Inbee Park, the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open champ, has been quietly playing some of the best golf in 2010. It wouldn’t at all surprise me if she won again on Sunday. Jiyai Shin, Cristie Kerr, Na Yeon Choi, and Hee Kyung Seo would be other top five choices.

 

Sun Young Yoo wins the Sybase Match Play Championship

The player nicknamed ‘Course Clown’ won for the first time on the LPGA Tour. From AP-

Sun Young Yoo won the Sybase Match Play Championship for her first LPGA Tour victory, beating Angela Stanford 3 and 1 on Sunday at Hamilton Farm.Sun Young Yoo

Yoo, the 23-year-old South Korean player in her fifth LPGA Tour season, won the 13th and 14th holes with pars and took a 2-up lead with a 15-foot putt for her first birdie of the match on the par-3 16th.

The match ended when Stanford missed her birdie putt and conceded Yoo’s birdie.

Yoo’s victory was the eighth straight by a foreign player and the 25th in the last 26 events. Michelle Wie in- the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in November — is the lone American winner since Cristie Kerr won the Michelob Ultra Open last May.

*****

Yoo, who earned $375,000 from the $1.5 million purse, also beat No. 32 Karen Stupples, No. 5 Kerr, No. 12 Song-Hee Kim and No. 4 Yani Tseng.

Shin won the third-place match, beating Yang 3 and 2.

In the final on a cloudy, muggy afternoon, Yoo won the par-3 third with a par, then halved the next seven holes, with the players both bogeying the par-4 ninth.

Stanford took the lead with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 — her only birdies of the match — before handing Yoo the 13th with a bogey.

Ironically the two golfers Yoo beat in the finals and semi-finals- Jiyai Shin and Angela Stanford, took part in a 3-way playoff with her last September. Shin was the winner then.

Shin will maintain her #1 standing in the world. The next official LPGA is in two weeks. It is almost every week mode for the tour now.

Yoo was a deserving winner who had a very difficult path to the tournament title. The Golf Channel stuck to repeating cliches and information anyone can find on Angela Stanford out of the LPGA guide book, rather than tell us something original about the players today. Why is Yoo nicknamed ‘Course Clown’? What makes her funny?

At last year’s pro-am in Danville, Chuck Rydell, an employee of the tournament sponsor Longs Drugs, was paired with a young South Korean who spoke little English. He said he spent an enjoyable round teaching her American curse words.

This year, his pro partner was Sun Young Yoo, a 21-year-old who is known among the South Koreans as the course clown. She made Rydell laugh when the windshield in her cart flew off. Without missing a beat, Yoo said, ”Maybe we are going to lose tires next.”

Not a peep about it from the television announcer instead we heard about how competitive Stanford is and how she doesn’t quit etc. Like quitting non competitive people play the LPGA every day. When you hear someone say the Korean golfers have personality, the real meaning is- ‘The golf media can’t be bothered looking for players with a personality.’

Also writing on Yoo’s win- Hound Dog

 

Se Ri Pak wins the Bell Micro LPGA Classic

The Korean Golf Queen notched her 25th career victory today. She defeated Suzann Pettersen and Brittany Lincicome on the third hole of sudden death. It was Pak’s first win since 2007.

Today’s finish wasn’t what anyone expected when play ended yesterday. Oh Lincicome, Pak, and Pettersen began the day tied for the lead but they were expected to play 18 holes. Their rounds began but thunderstorms came through Mobile Alabama area shortly after 10 a.m. local time. Play was suspended and eventually the decision was made to shorten the tournament to 54 holes.Se Ri Pak

Which meant sudden death would decide the winner. As has been the LPGA’s custom for 3 or 4 years, a playoff is conducted on the 18th hole only. The 18th at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Magnolia Grove, The Crossings, is a uphill par 4. Due to the heavy rains, which began Saturday night, the hole played long. Pettersen, Pak, and Lincicome are all above average in driving distance, so it could be said had an advantage. Except that Se Ri Pak was a career 5-0 in LPGA playoffs before today.

The first time around 18 saw all three players make par. On the 2nd hole of sudden death after each player hit a good drive, things began to deviate. Pettersen missed the green left, Pak flew the green into the back bunker, and Lincicome put her ball on the green but well right.

Pettersen did not hit a good 3rd shot at all. Pak’s bunker shot went about 6 feet past the hole, Lincicome missed her birdie putt. Pettersen missed her par putt but Pak made a clutch putt. Lincicome got par, so she and Se Ri went back to the 18th for a 3rd time.

Pak didn’t hit a good drive. She actually found a fairway bunker. Lincicome found the fairway and again Se Ri looked to be in trouble. Totally unfazed, she hit her approach to about 10 feet. Brittany on the other hand, had her approach shot find the front bunker. She blasted to 25-30 feet past the hole.

You got to give Lincicome credit. She made the long par putt. That put the tournament squarely on Se Ri who now faced almost the same putt she had on the second hole of sudden death, except it was a few feet longer in length and for a birdie now. Pak made it.

A few assorted notes

*- Is Se Ri Pak revving up for next month’s LPGA Championship? She’s won that tournament in 4-year intervals starting in 1998. She won it again in 2002 and 2006 and next comes…..2010. If you believe in that hocus pocus.

I still think Se Ri will become the first LPGA golfer to win the same tournament six times. That is as long as the Jamiie Farr continues to be played. It’s contract with the LPGA ends this year.

*- Who will be on Golf World’s cover this week- Se Ri or Adam Scott the winner of the Texas Open? When Pak won the Michelob Light in 2004 and garnered the last point needed for HOF induction, GWorld put Joey Sindelar on the cover. Only last month the magazine the winner of the Kraft Nabisco(Yani Tseng) for Houston Open winner Anthony Kim when it came time for their cover. When Ai Miyazato won for the 3rd time this year and Lorena Ochoa retired, Golf World elected to put Hunter Mahan on the cover as part of its Players Championship preview. So I’d bet on Scott or some feature story. Like Ted Schulz’s hopes for the Champions Tour. Golf World’s coverage of the LPGA is pathetic.

Someone might point out that Golf World puts men on their covers for sales purposes. Golf World is not a news stand publication.

*- Pettersen has another ‘just missed’ chance at a LPGA win. Since winning 5 times in 2007, the Norwegian has only been able to notch one win. In the process Pettersen has had over a half dozen excellent opportunities but hasn’t been able to get it done.

A win today by Pettersen would have knocked Ji Yai off the top of the Rolex Rankings. Maybe I missed the Golf Channel announcers explanation., but I assume it would have been Pettersen at the top then. There is a very slim margin separating the top four women golfers in the world at this moment.

*- For the sixth time in six tournaments this year, an Asian golfer has won on the LPGA Tour. Lincicome’s finish today is one of three second place finishes American golfers have this year.

*- Golf Channel’s announcers in order to build up Lincicome(who I like by the way) emphasized her brilliant shot to win the Kraft Nabisco last year and that her three LPGA wins, includes a Match Play event, and that her victories all came in prestigious events.

As brilliant as Lincicome’s shot was, Se Ri Pak hit an even greater one to win the 2006 LPGA Championship. She hit a 3-utility club on the first hole of sudden death to 3 inches. That trumps Lincicome’s approach to 18 which was inside of five feet for eagle.

I’m not really surprised that Pak’s shot isn’t remembered. When golf writers talked comeback player of the year in 2006, Pak was universally forgotten. Se Ri hit one of the greatest shots in LPGA history but no one seems to remember, and that’s sad. Golf Channel’s announcers had no problem remembering the details of Lincicome’s Match Play win, which was played exactly one week after Se Ri won the 2006 LPGA.

How prestigious can a tournament be if it only exists for three years? That’s how long the non-majors, the Ginn Open and the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship lasted before going belly up. They were nice wins for Brittany, but should a tournament with so little history be considered a prestigious win?

Also commenting on Se Ri’s win- Hound Dog, The Constructivist, Brent Kelly, and my fellow South Floridian Randall Mell. Randall hasn’t forgotten Pak’s winning shot at the 2006 LPGA.

Photo by Dave Martin/Getty Images

 

Hee Kyung Seo wins the LPGA Kia Classic

The Super Model of the Fairways(her KLPGA nickname) made it look easy today. She shot a 2-under 70 to win by6 shots over 2008 U.S Open Champion Inbee Park. Other than a tee shot in the water Seo was nearly flawless on the day. She entered the round with a 5 shot lead and saw it shrink to four shots early on. Back to back birdies on three and four pretty much stifled the idea of a final round collapse.Hee Kyung Seo2.

Seo was the 40th ranked player in the world but will move up after this win. She did not have LPGA playing priviliges before her victory. She was playing in the tournament on a sponsor’s exemption. Now Seo faces a decision, to play the LPGA full-time in 2010 or not. It may depend on her Korean commitments. Seo has expressed her desire to play the LPGA.

For those of you unfamilar with Seo, she won 11 KLPGA tournaments in 2008 and 2009. In 2009 she won 3 KLPGA majors. This player could have a big impact on the LPGA. In fact she may be one of the ten favorites at next weekend’s Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA’s first major of 2010.

Other assorted notes about the tournament.LPGA Tour Golf

*- From the I’ve never seen that before department. Seo’s tee shot on 14 hit some wires overhanging the fairway. She got to replay her shot. That’s the rules and I’ve never seen anything like this happen in 32 years of television golf watching.

*- Seo is very attractive. She could change the view of the Asian players on tour but she’ll have to drop those dark shades she wears when playing. It hides her beauty. Photos in this post are courtesy of AP Photo/Denis Poroy and the website Seoulsisters.

*- Asian golfers have won all 3 LPGA events this year. In fact the Kia leaderboard was dominated by Asian golfers, eight of the top 10 finishers were either born in Asia or Asian-American.(Four of the top 5 were South Korean. Seo, Park, Jee Young Lee, and Jiyai Shin. The other was Candie Kung, a naturalized United States citizen born in Taiwan.) Of the top 20 finishers, only 6 golfers didn’t have at least one Asian parent(Stacy Prammanasudh’s Dad is Thai, Pat Hurst’s mother is Japanese). If another wins the Kraft Nabisco(Only Asian golfer to win it ever is Grace Park in 2004), we may hear again ugly and hateful talk again similar to what was written in this column, which I then took apart in this post.

*- Michelle Wie’s play on today’s 11th hole is going to be the subject of lots of talk the next few days. The hole is a par-5 and Michelle’s 2nd shot came up short in the water. Wie tried to play it, but barely budged her shot. After completing her swing, Michelle inadvertently grounded her club. She was assessed a 2-stroke penalty, which dropped her out of a tie for 2nd to a tie for 6th.

Wie told a rules official that she only grounded the club because she worried she was going to lose her balance. She did have a unsteady stance because of having to hit from the water. I agree with the officials, Wie put the club down and didn’t need to do so to steady herself. When she was told of the penalty, Michelle called it unfair.

*- Inbee Park looks to be playing well again. She struggled after winning the U.S. Open two years ago, but has started 2010 strongly. in addition to this week, she finished 2nd or 3rd in a JLPGA event.

*- The #1 play in the world, Lorena Ochoa, continues to play poorly. She finished T-52.

*- Golf Channel cut away from the customary bathing of the winner in beer after walking off 18 to show Wie talking with rules officials. A dumb and unnecessary move by GC.

Update- Hound Dog is also blogging on the final round.
2nd Update- Also blogging on Seo’s victory or the Wie ruling- The Constructivist, Geoff Shackelford, and Jeff Skinner.

 

Where in Canada?- Florida beats Toronto 4-1

Today’s sports media screwup-

FL-Tor

Do headline writers actually read the first word of an article? Do editors just post anything given to them? If you need proof of that, look at this piece of garbage written by a sports writer last year.

Florida is winning meaningless games to close out the 2009-10 NHL season. How nice of them. Forward Rostislav Olesz scored his first point since the Harding administration in 22 games too. How nice of him to show up.

Boston beat Atlanta last night. That gives the Bruins a 3-point hold on the last playoff spot. Don’t punch their ticket yet. Boston has two games left with Washington.

Even should they make the playoffs, Boston, Atlanta, or whoever will get steamrolled by the Caps. The only Eastern Conference teams up to beating Washington are New Jersey, Pittsburgh, or Buffalo.

 

Miami Dolphin RB Ronnie Brown arrested for DUI

He isn’t the first Miami Dolphin to get in off the field trouble this off season. From the Miami Herald-

Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown was arrested late Friday night for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol during an offseason trip to his hometown outside of Atlanta this weekend, two sources told The Miami Herald.

Brown, who has no previous arrest record, was arrested after an officer pulled him over for making a lane change without signaling, sources said.

He was released from jail early Saturday morning.

The Dolphins are aware of the situation, and they are continuing to monitor the legal process.

Brown is coming off a foot injury suffered late last season. He is also a restricted free agent but expected to stay with Miami.

Is the author of this article, Jeff Darlington, doubling as Brown’s Public Relations person? Read the following and make your own decision.

They are not believed to be overly upset with Brown because of his impeccable past as a player and a citizen.

*****

Brown is distraught over the arrest, and he has hired an attorney to help defend him in the case, the sources said. He did not perform well during the field-sobriety test, which contributed to the officer’s decision to arrest Brown, sources said. It remains possible the charges soon could be reduced to a traffic violation in the coming days.

Impeccable past as a player and a citizen. I thought this was a news article, not a press release by friends of Ronnie Brown. Jeff you are the leading candidate for this year’s kiss up award among the South Florida news media.

 
 


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