Katieshack

Best golf Halloween costume ever

The Internet was abuzz following the Ryder Cup, with the rare angle of a Tiger Woods shot that was catapulting at a photographer's face. Always good times behind a lens when you see that sort of mishit happen...kudos to the guy for committing to the shot, because I would have bailed out of the way.

Anyway, there was this guy in the background who looked slightly out of place. A massive cigar was hanging out of his mouth, and what appeared to be a turban was perched on top of his head. Best of all, he had this voluminous Hall-and-Oates-style mustache that was such a late '70s throwback, it gave me goosebumps. He was ever-so-creatively dubbed the "Cigar Guy." See him on the right?

So guess what? It's not a real guy! Well he's real, but that's not what he actually looks like. The U.K.'s Daily Mail did some investigative reporting and unveiled the truth (read the entire story and look at the photos, it's fantastic). In fact (this is so awesome), he was dressed up in a Miguel Angel Jimenez costume! It wasn't a turban at all, but a ponytail wig. We were all so gullible. His name is Rupesh Shingadia and he's from London. And he's now famous.

"I wanted to do something to show my support for the European team, and I thought of Miguel," Shingadia told the Daily Mail. "These days sportsmen have become devoid of character. But Miguel does his own thing and I love the way he walks around the course with a cigar clamped between his teeth."

I really adore Jimenez and his entire demeanor. He's very intriguing and thought-provoking. And so is this guy who dressed up like him. Golf claps for both.

U.S. Open spectator jerks: Just don't come.

I haven't felt much like blogging during the U.S. Open because quite honestly, I'm not there and I'm not going to say anything that likely can't be said better than someone who is (insert plug for Ventura County Star golf writer and SCGA contributor Bob Buttitta's U.S. Open coverage on scga.org!). However, one particular article really got me fired up. So this is not a blog, rather a major rant.

GOLF Magazine online published a story that talked about three particular hecklers that made sassy, negative and quite loud comments directed at Tiger Woods while he was playing yesterday. One so loud, in fact, that playing partner Ernie Els turned and glared. 

Why does this irritate me, might you ask? I mean, it's not like Tiger hasn't brought it on himself. The fact is, I just can't stand people like that. Spectators who are just genuine jerks (and probably are in their personal lives also). Who are so uncreative that they have to yell what everyone else would be too mortified to say, even though we may all be thinking it. Who are so self-absorbed that they want to take the attention off of the players, which the other thousands of spectators paid quite good money to see. Why do you even come? You're just embarrassing yourself.

We all knew Tiger was going to get heckled out there. Everyone's a funny guy when they're out there behind the ropes drinking beer and acting privileged. But look, if you're going to be a @$%&(*$, just don't go. You're not being funny, you're not being cute. This is golf, a game of etiquette and class. 

The end. Oh, and keep it up Ernie, you got this!

Hey, good lookin': Being a best-dressed golfer can't hurt your game

As I always say, if you look good, you play good. Or play better, at least. That being said, I'm waiting for that theory to work for me, but in general, it's not a bad rule.

So of course, being the golf fashion junkie I am, I always have my feelers up when new lines and brands are unveiled. This week in particular, I was excited to see that adidas Golf is putting out a women's line of its popular, formerly gents-only adiPURE series, a less sporty and more classy collection than its traditional lines. The adiPURE sweaters, peg pants and fitted polos are as much for off the course as on, and given that I typically wear my nice work dress pants to play golf in, that fits me pretty well.

It also got me thinking about golf fashion as a whole. I'm a firm believer that few could design a better golf clothing line than I could. I've yet to find the perfect combination of class, fabric, patterns, fit and variety that I'm really happy with or that could appeal to both the fashion-forward female golfer and the classy woman (many have come close, however). Heck, I even have a vision for the fellas, too. Perhaps one day I will have my own line of golf apparel but if not, as part of my own golf empire I will build after becoming independently wealthy from golf writing (ha!).

But I digress.

I was sort of inspired to write this after the display that Mr. Fashion Plate Rickie Fowler put on at the Memorial, specifically on Sunday (although the mint green on Saturday was also noteworthy). Because while I'm all for color, there was a legitimate weird glare -- a glow, even -- on my LCD TV that his orange jumpsuit was causing. It was affecting the contrast. My eyes were bothered.

He obviously wears orange thanks to Oklahoma State affiliations; he's been doing it since he was accepted to the school. I like orange, it makes me look tan. But how much orange is too orange? An orange shirt and white pants would have been sharp. Throw some orange shoes in there for fun. But if people are likening your outfit to a prison inmate jumpsuit, traffic cone (mine) or, my personal favorite, a Creamsicle, maybe it's time to re-evaluate.

So to prove that I'm not all that picky, and do admire the fashion sense of more than one modern-day player, I've put together a little list of sorts. I stress "modern-day" because I'm leaving Payne Stewart off my list, even though he was second-to-none. And because I'm not the world's biggest fan of loud wardrobes, I left Ian Poulter off. As well as John Daly. Although I completely appreciate what they're doing with their style. I do.

I'm also leaving all of the women off. One too many of them have hit crappy golf shots because they're worried about how short their skirts are and they don't want to show too much while in awkward stances (true story). I can say that because I, too, wear golf skirts. Quite honestly, it's a topic worthy of a whole other rant. Later though.

Here's my top five, in no particular order after No. 1:

1. Fred Couples. Classiest hands down, by far. Love love love the fact that he's not afraid to rock a nice heather-gray v-neck and some wool pants. And the Ecco street shoes he wore that caught everyone's eye? He wore them well. Freddie's a silver fox in my book.

2. Ricky Barnes. It helps that I think he's eye candy no matter what he's wearing. But I was really liking the plaid pants and neutral shirt at the Memorial. Understated, and a nice tribute to the classic touches of the game. Ricky, shoot me an email if you want to hang out sometime. I'm a fun gal.

3. Ryan Moore. OK, I'll admit: When I saw Ryan wearing the cardigan, dress shirt and tie at The Masters, on more than one day, I was a little thrown off. I mean let's be honest, it's not a look that you see every day (or any day, really) on the Tour. Players wear the performance fabrics, the boring slacks, the blah standard polo. But here, here was a young man adding some class to the game. And it clearly worked, because he scored a hole-in-one while wearing it. It's very Jasper-Parnevik-via-J-Lindeberg-circa-1997. Kudos for stepping outside the box a bit, without using gag-worthy colors. And shame on the people who said your outfit wasn't an "ace." You looked good.

4. Adam Scott. I photographed Adam at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He was wearing a fabulous black and white argyle sweater and looked the epitome of style and comfort. He wears a lot of Burberry, a brand that always maintains a classic, yet contemporary look. I'm a massive Burberry fan myself, so we share a kinship there. There's a reason all the ladies love this guy, no lady more important than myself.

5. Camilo Villegas. I don't adore his style, but I appreciate the simplicity. Nice lines, clean fit. Very Euro. And he's on every other best-dressed golfers list, so clearly there's something wrong with me if he's NOT on here.

I could go on and on, but the moral here is that it's not hard to look good while on the course, and it can make you play well to boot. What do you have to lose by looking dapper?

U.S. Open Sectionals produce hopefuls and disappoint Tour veterans

Today was a somewhat surprising day as far as U.S. Open qualifying is concerned. Across the country, hundreds of hopefuls teed it up at 12 sites to earn a coveted spot in the U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links (two international sites saw action in May). Many advanced. Perhaps the larger story, however, are those that didn't make the cut.

Fresh off their one-two finish at the Memorial, neither Justin Rose or Rickie Fowler actually made it through sectional qualifying. A little jaw-dropping that someone can win a PGA Tour event and the next day not top a field of U.S. Open hopefuls? Definitely. But that's the allure of golf: You never know what a particular day on the links will bring.

It's a feat in itself to even make it to a U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier. This year, the USGA accepted 9,052 entries, the second-most entries in the event's 110-year history. After that, those golfers enter 18-hole U.S. Open Local Qualifying at one of 111 sites. Make it past that, and the last thing standing in a golfer's way is that pesky Sectional, a 36-hole day that produces the final players in the U.S. Open field.

I've attended some of these sectional qualifiers, and it's both an amazing and weird cross-section of players. You have your young outstanding amateurs, like a Rickie -- circa 2008 -- and Joseph Bramlett, with their dad or buddy (or nobody) on the bag. In the same group you may have a Vijay Singh or other pro who fell below the top 50 mark (Vijay, incidentally, earned a coveted exemption to avoid qualifying this year) with his PGA Tour caddie complete with white jumpsuit and bib. Don't forget your Tony Romo or other famous athlete, setting aside their lifeblood for a moment to pursue their passion for the sticks.

Here's some names you definitely know who teed it up in Sectionals today (click here for the full list of sites and qualifiers):

Tom Kite (Colorado): DID NOT QUALIFY. Kite tied for third at his qualifier today, shooting 69-68--137, 7 under par. Kite actually won the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble. It's unfortunate they only took two from this site, Kite would've been fun to watch.

Corey Pavin (Illinois): DID NOT QUALIFY. The 2010 Ryder Cup captain and 1995 U.S. Open winner secured a Second Alternate standing with his fourth-place finish (70-71--141), but fell three strokes short of qualifying.

Jason Gore (Maryland): QUALIFIED! The 1997 California State Amateur champion, current PGA Tour pro and Valencia resident  tied for medalist honors at his qualifying site, shooting 72-64--136. Truly nice guy to boot. He's one to root for.

Tony Romo (Texas): DID NOT QUALIFY. The Dallas Cowboys go-to withdrew after a second rain delay at his site pushed the qualifier to tomorrow. He gave it a great shot.

Colin Montgomerie (England): DID NOT QUALIFY. Wonder why, karma perhaps? No comment.

Eric Axley, Stuart Appleby, Bo Van Pelt, Tom Lehman, Ben Curtis, Aaron Baddeley, Davis Love III, and John Mallinger (Ohio): QUALIFIED! This motley crew of big names (including Long Beach native Mallinger) are going to the open. In their wake include (among many other known names) Rocco Mediate, Kevin Sutherland, Jonathan Byrd, Tim Petrovic, D.J. Trahan, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose, Kevin Streelman, Bill Haas, Charley Hoffman, Rickie Fowler, J.B. Holmes, Jeff Maggert, Woody Austin, and Jay Haas. Wow.

Spencer Levin, Charlie Wi and David Berganio (Sacramento): DID NOT QUALIFY. This California trio collectively missed the boat, and were really not even close to qualifying. It happens.

In the amateur circuit, the No. 2 amateur in the world, Nick Taylor, failed to qualify in  Portland, while Saratoga's Joseph Bramlett did make it through at the Sacramento site (go Joseph!). Bakersfield's Bhavik Patel lost in a playoff at that Sacramento site.

After seeing all of the golfers that missed the cut, it gives a little different appreciation for the talent that did make it to the Open, doesn't it?

Rickie Fowler tops Memorial; CIF wins remembered

 

As the PGA Tour's Rickie Fowler tops the leaderboard at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio, I'd like to take a moment to remember the high-school prodigy Rickie Fowler, the Murrieta wonder kid who broke pars, set records and won the CIF Championships like it was no one's business, and all before he was 18. 

All of us SoCal golf folks knew this kid was going to be something. He had the look. He had the hair. He had the fan club that attended every championship (including an adorable entourage of little girls who wore Rickie t-shirts and carried poster board signs). 

In 2004 as a freshman, Rickie shot a 64 at what is now the Golf Club at Rancho California, taking his first CIF-SCGA Southern Regional High School Boys Championship title. Come 2006, he won his first CIF-State title at Santa Maria CC, which he shyly told me afterward, "The win feels good." 

One year later, as a senior at Murrieta Valley High School, he won what would be his last CIF-SoCal Regional title, before embarking for Oklahoma State University. Not before he earned the 2007 SCGA Player of the Year title, however, thanks to strong finishes in many national junior and amateur invitational events. 

Apart from the image and the talent, which many players have, he clearly had the confidence to make this all happen, and it's fun to see the results. Puma loves him. Golf writers love him. Girls love him. He's a brand now.

Rickie will go down with a number of other notable Southland CIF-winners-turned-PGA-Tour-players who never won the SCGA Amateur Championship (like Phil Mickelson, a fellow CIF winner) and the California Golf Association State Amateur at that (ahem, Tiger Woods, although he did take the 1994 SCGA Amateur). Yet unlike most of the winners of those events, his success in his young Tour career has been impressive...will the Memorial be his first Tour title?

Here's a couple favorite photos I took during Rickie's 2007 CIF win. Gotta love the braces. I have a few I took from the 2008 U.S. Open also, that will be posted later.

And in the words of '80s singer Toni Basil, and with the words changed from Mickey to Rickie, I think the following lyrics/sentiments are appropriate to root him to Memorial victory: 

Oh Rickie you golf so fine/You golf so fine you blow our minds/Hey Rickie/Hey Rickie.

Jordan Spieth's not playing like a teen amateur

Guess what? The HP Byron Nelson Championship is also being played this weekend in Texas, and the most talked-about player barely has a license to drive. 

This Jordan Spieth kid is only 16, but he's good. Very good. Three-consecutive-rounds-under-par good, including a 67 today to put him in a tie for seventh, only six shots behind leader Jason Day. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur last year, one of the many national junior events he's teed it up in. The best part, though, is that given Spieth's amateur status, he's not taking home any money, which as it stands is $180,000 for seventh place. P.S., kudos to Southern Californians Tom Pernice, Jr. (T4, 203) and Corey Pavin, the 2010 Ryder Cup Captain (T7, 204), who are up there in the running also.

I'm going to yield to a great column by ESPN Dallas' Richard Durrett, who profiles the teen and his escapades during the Byron Nelson Championship. It's funny, it's honest, and it's a nice look into this kid's rapidly increasing popularity.

Random thoughts on the Sybase Match Play Championship

The LPGA's inaugural Sybase Match Play Championship has been going on this week at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in New Jersey. I paid tribute to the Garden State today by watching the Style Network's Jerseylicious marathon...good God it's terrifying.

Anyway, I'm a big fan of match play for many reasons, the main one being that unlike stroke play, every hole is a new chance to redeem yourself. Mentally that's a huge benefit to a player, as it's the way we should all be approaching stroke play or any format of the game: One shot, then one hole, at a time. It's my main problem.

So today was the quarterfinals of the Sybase, where among others, Michelle Wie went down 2 & 1 to Jiyai Shin, the No. 1 ranked player in the Rolex Rankings. Also moving on to tomorrow's semis are Angela Stanford, Amy Yang and Sun Young Yoo. Quite honestly, the latter two had zero interesting things to say afterward in the press conference, so I'm not going to write about them. Not a fan of one-word answers. Blah. 

I like Angela Stanford though, the 32-year-old Texan who's ranked 10th by Rolex. She's as good of a speaker as a golfer, and sort of slaughtered Catriona Matthew 5 & 3. Not that being a good speaker has anything to do with playing well, but I appreciate people who are well thought-out. And my favorite answer to a question about City Field? "I'm a Ranger fan, I'm from Texas. Yeah, I'm cheering for the Mets tonight, plus David Wright's kind of cute. You know, if they would let me have some time with him, I probably could (straighten him out)." 

Hehehe, boy crazy.

Now I don't normally make picks, but I'm actually rooting for Jiyai Shin tomorrow. If you're not familiar with the Korean, at the age of 22 she already has six LPGA Tour victories and 23 international victories. Because Jiyai's matches have all ended early, she actually hasn't played the 18th hole all week. Color me impressed. Additionally, Jiyai has only played in match-play competition three times, including this event. I'd like to see this be her 30th victory.

The one thing I'm again miffed at though is that here's this really accomplished woman golfer, and the big news is that Michelle Wie lost. Let's tally Wie's victories, shall we? One. One LPGA Tour victory, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. End of story.

Rumor has it that rumblings in the tournament media room weren't thrilled of a predominately Korean semifinal, and they're equally not thrilled of writing about it because they don't think the general golf fan base will be interested. Does this warrant any merit? No comment, but I do have the answer for those people who don't like who's coming out on top: Start playing better, everyone! There's lots of players who aren't Korean, step up and win. Lorena's gone, Annika's gone. It's everyone's for the taking. It's not like it's a popularity contest. Play better golf and win. 

So the pairings for tomorrow? Amy Yang vs. Angela Stanford, and Jiyai Shin vs. Sun Young Yoo. Let's hope for a Stanford vs. Shin final tomorrow afternoon. 

Congrats to Se Ri Pak, first win since 2007

A random thought on a lazy Sunday as I wait for the the extended Hank Haney interview on the Golf Channel: Hey, did anyone know that the final round of the Bell Micro LPGA Classic was being played today? Yay for Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak for winning her first event since 2007. At a final score of 13 under par, she won with a birdie on the third playoff hole to defeat Brittany Lincicome. On an interesting note, Se Ri is unbeaten in six career playoffs. Think about that: undefeated. I'm impressed.

Now, here's what I thought was weird. Not one story I read, including AP and Golfweek, actually mentioned the fact that the winning score was 13 under par. Some noted that third place was 11 under, but isn't it sort of -- oh, I don't know -- standard to note the score of the winner? I was disappointed that there was a lot of golf news out there, but little on the tournament AND little coverage online now that it's over. 

I'm stepping gracefully off my soap box now. Hank's on. 

SCGA alum Rickie Fowler signs with Puma

He's Southern California's current boy-wonder, and now Murrieta's Rickie Fowler has a pretty cool sponsorship deal with one of golf's hippest apparel companies.

Puma Golf has signed the 20-year-old, a former CIF high school standout, Oklahoma State player, and two-time U.S. Open participant and Walker Cupper who turned professional immediately following the U.S. Team's victory in this year's matches.

Currently playing in his second professional event, the Nationwide Tour's Soboba Classic at the Country Club of Soboba Springs, Puma surprised RIckie during the event with a tricked-out, off-road golf cart, complete with roll cage, off-road tires, a push bar and a state-of-the-art stereo system. Fowler will use the cart during the Sept. 30 pro-am, where he'll play with dad Rod Fowler and famed motocross racers Jeremy McGrath and Brock Glover.

Earlier in September, Rickie signed a multi-year equipment deal with Titlist. In October, Rickie will join Justin Timberlake and other celebrities in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open in Las Vegas. He's a busy guy, so keep up with him by checking out his website.

Bob Hope Classic has a new website

In poking around online this morning I ran across the snazzy new website for the Bob Hope Classic -- the event will celebrate its 51st anniversary on Jan. 18-24, 2010. Pat Perez took the crown last year, and many SCGA alums have recognized victory in the past, including former high school standouts Phil Mickelson (2002 and '04) and Charley Hoffman (2007) as well as Corey Pavin (1987 and '91) and Craig Stadler (1980).

In addition to providing event updates, the site hosts volunteer sign-up for the Classic, photo galleries from past events, history and more from the iconic tournament. Visitors will also have the chance to win tickets and other prizes by entering a variety of contests online, including a haiku contest, photo caption contests and trivia.

In keeping with the ever-expanding social networking options out there, fans can also follow the Classic on Facebook and Twitter, both before and during the championship. Want tickets to the event? While they can be purchased on the Classic website, the SCGA Foundation will be selling tickets to this, and all other Southern California PGA Tour events, with proceeds benefiting the Foundation and its many great programs.

The host course will be the Palmer Private at PGA West, which joined the Classic rotation in 1988. Other courses in play in 2010 include La Quinta Country Club, a Classic course since 1965, SilverRock Resort, which debuted in 2008, and the Nicklaus Private Course at PGA West, which returns to the rotation for the second consecutive year.

Keep an eye out for the January 2010 issue of FORE Magazine, which will feature its annual Spotlight on Desert Golf, and make it out to La Quinta in January to take part in all the fun that the Bob Hope Classic has to offer!