Everyone who is a golf fan was eager to see how Tiger would do in his return to competition at the 2017 Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, where he shot 3-under and is three shots behind the leader. PGATOUR.com posted this video of his round 1 highlights:
Here is a golf joke I received in my e-mail today.
Recently I was asked to play in a golf tournament.
At first I said, “Naaahhh!”
Then they said to me “Come on, it’s for handicapped and blind Kids.”
Then I thought… “$#&! – I could win this!”
Ariya Jutanigarn knocked in a 23 foot birdie on the final hole to win the CME Group LPGA Tour Championship by a shot over Lexi Thompson and Jessica Korda. Thompson missed a less-than-two-foot par putt on the 18th that would have forced a playoff.
Ariya won the tournament, but Lexi won the Race to the CME Globe and the million dollar bonus. Sung Hyun Park and So Yeon Ryu tied for Rolex Player of the Year with 162 points each. Go to LPGA.com to get the full story of who won what.
Here are highlights of Ariya’s final round:
It all came down to the final putt and @jutanugarn comes out on top at the @CMEGroupLPGA!
Watch highlights from her final round: pic.twitter.com/y3xTacstoL
— LPGA (@LPGA) November 19, 2017
Here is Lexi’s missed par putt.
Lexi Thompson with less than two feet to win LPGA player of the year 🙈🙈🙈 golf is so mean pic.twitter.com/jKRkBVBBpq
— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) November 20, 2017
Here is Sung Hyun Park and So Yeon Ryu on being co-Rolex Players of the Year:
.@1soyeonryu and Sung Hyun Park talk about becoming co-Players of the Year & ending their season on a high note after the final round of #CMEGroupLPGA
>> https://t.co/nFpcQYlA4D pic.twitter.com/KBMx2FUEuD
— LPGA (@LPGA) November 19, 2017
I found this article on Golf DIgest.com where Butch Harmon give his “greatest driving lesson“. It is actually a series of lessons and an interesting read.
I would say that this was the best lesson from the article (but that’s just my opinion):
LONG HOLES: HIT IT BETTER, NOT HARDER
…First, realize that the best way to turn speed into distance is to hit the ball with the middle of the clubface—and that comes from staying in control. Be deliberate on the backswing; give yourself time to wind up before you start down. Your instinct might be to go harder from the top, but that’ll cause you to waste your speed too soon. Make your downswing from the ground up: Shift your lower body toward the target, keeping your shoulders turned, and let the club fall to the inside. Then you can accelerate through and get the distance you need.
Emphasis added is mine.
Be sure to read the whole article as it includes tips related to Greg Norman, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland.
Australian pro golfer and commentator Alison Whitaker demonstrates an unconventional training aid that she swears by and believes will help all amateurs take strokes off their scores.
This should work exactly as she says, creating width in the backswing which should improve both ball striking and distance.
Saw a link to this lesson in my e-mail this morning and thought it would be a good tip to post, as the low, spinning wedge shot is something everyone would like to be able to hit.
Golf Channel Academy’s Devan Bonebrake teaches his keys to pulling off this shot.
The 2017 Solheim Cup is about to start in Iowa, so here are the Power Rankings for the two teams.
The table below has all of the players on each team. Each player has their current power index number followed by their power ranking position in parentheses, as of August 13.
| Europe | USA |
| Georgia Hall 14.92 (9) | Lexi Thompson 18.17 (4) |
| Carlota Ciganda 14.46 (11) | Michelle Wie 13.13 (15) |
| Caroline Masson 10.04 (34) | Angel Yin 10.29 (30) |
| Anna Nordqvist 8.46 (47) | Cristie Kerr 10.00 (35) |
| Jodi Ewart Shadoff 7.54 (60) | Stacy Lewis 9.38 (42) |
| Charley Hull 3.08 (203) | Lizette Salas 7.71 (58) |
| Emily K. Pedersen 3.00 (208) | Gerina Piller 6.96 (72) |
| Karine Icher 1.25 (324) | Brittany Lincicome 4.83 (131) |
| Suzann Pettersen 0.96 (339) | Paula Creamer 4.50 (141) |
| Madelene Sagstrom -0.42 (654) | Danielle Kang 3.83 (168) |
| Mel Reid -2.29 (1812) | Austin Ernst -1.88 (1735) |
| Florentyna Parker -3.54 (2342) | Brittany Lang -2.29 (1812) |
Based on the most recent results, it looks like the U.S. should have the edge.
Golf Channel’s Michael Breed has a quick fix to help straighten out your ball flight by focusing on the lead forearm rotation in your backswing.
I am usually not a big fan of Michael Breed (he always seems like he’s yelling) but I think this is a great and simple idea that can help players who fight both slices and hooks.