Tommy Two Gloves Gained Ground

As I arrive at the University of Maryland Golf Course for the Nationwide Melwood Prince George’s Melwood tournament, I can’t help but relive Tommy Gainey’s breakthrough win here last year.  It was a tight race down to the finish, but Tommy Two Gloves prevailed and won for the 1^st time on the Nationwide Tour.  That win legitimized Tommy’s game and reminded all of us how important heart and determination are in deciding who will make it and who won’t. 

Three years ago Tommy graduated to the PGA tour via Q-school.  He was an unlikely member who climbed his way onto the top tour and surprised many who are unaccustomed to seeing non pedigreed players with home made swings make it to the ranks of the elite.  Tommy was not a product of the AJGA or a Division l golfing powerhouse.  There have always been late bloomers, self taught naturals and players who honed their games at public courses without the assistance of top ranked teachers and a country club life.  But when Tommy Gainey popped onto the scene known only for his Big Break win, a lot of people thought he was a joke and had no shot.  That said, just as many or more people took an immediate liking to Tommy.  They liked his no nonsense attitude, his truthfulness, his sincerity and genuine gratefulness for everything.

Last year, at this event, Tommy told me that he was downright embarrassed by his play in 2008, his first year on the PGA tour.  That year he only made 6 of 24 cuts and ended up in the horrible 126-150 status that doesn’t guarantee you getting into all the tournaments.  He felt like he let his family, friends and sponsors down.  He analyzed his game and determined that he had to improve inside 100 yards.  His short game, particularly his wedge game was weak.  He focused his energy on that part of his game over the winter and came to the 2010 season ready to score.  And score he did.  Tommy 2 gloves held 2 trophies over his head and earned his way back to the PGA tour finishing #4 the Nationwide Tour money list.

This year on the PGA Tour Tommy has already made enough money to secure his card for next year with 4 top 10 finishes.  I will miss watching Tommy this year on the Nationwide Tour and I will especially miss his candid interviews while on the course in the heat of competition.  There are never any excuses with Tommy.  He’s just a real man playing a sport with the determination of someone who has a lot to prove.  Go get ‘em Tommy.  I can’t wait to see you get your 1^st PGA win and play on the Ryder Cup!

Nationwide BMW Celebrity Pro-Am

I have a great job.  Today my duty was to head out onto the course and follow Wayne Gretzky as he finished his second round.  #99 was teamed with Nationwide pro Chris Nallen.  They have played together several times and actually won the tournament together back in 2008.  Chris is a huge hockey fan, specifically a Rangers fan, and needless to say is delighted to play alongside The Great One.

Wayne is one of the nicest celebrities I've ever met.  He is low key, friendly, conversational and interested in what's happening to those around him.  He's not egocentric at all.  He has that wonderful ability to make you feel important and comfortable.  Wayne also has a very respectable golf game.  He carries a 12 handicap and has a very nice touch around the greens.  He told me that he plays golf 3-4 times a week and truly enjoys the sport.  His putting tends to be his weakness.....at least when I've watched him play.  I think that the rhythm of his stroke gets short and quick instead of remaining fluid.  Sound familiar??

After I interviewed Mr. Gretzky on his final hole, I headed to the 2nd hole to pick up Josh Kelly's group.  Josh is a highly talented musician who has a great stage presence.  He hasn't quite hit the big time like his brother Charles who is enjoying a successful career with Lady Antebellum--he's the cute blond who sings duets and creates such beautiful harmony with Hillary Scott.  Josh's wife happens to be Katherine Heigl, the beautiful, brainy actress of Grey's Anatomy, Knocked Up,  & 27 Dresses fame.  Josh has a lot of charisma--I hope his new album Georgia Clay catches on and brings him loads of accolades.
BTW, Josh is a fabulous single digit golfer who played college golf for Ole Miss.  Not bad!!

Our show tends to focus on the Celebrities the first 3 days, with fewer shots of the pros being shown.  Come Sunday, however, we focus on who is going to win the tournament.  As of Friday afternoon, Greg Owen had shot a 63 to back up his first round 65 and had caught first round leader Travis Hampshire (who posted a personal best 60 in round 1).  Travis cruised to a solid 68 in round two that probably felt like 78 after yesterday's round.  There are 10 guys within 5 shots of the lead and considering the winning score the last 3 years here as been -20 or -22, the players know they have to keep the pedal down to have a chance come Sunday afternoon.

Let's see.....who will I follow tomorrow?  How about Greg Kinnear??  I loved him in As Good as it Gets, Little Miss Sunshine and Baby Mama.  Other Celebs that we'll be watching are-- singer and The Voice contestant Javier Colon, Michael Pena, Gary Valentine and Rob Morrow among others.  It will be another day full of actors and singers antics and performances.  Can't wait!!

Rookie Reveal

On the eve of the first full field event on the PGA Tour, I'm excited about checking out the rookie class tomorrow and seeing how they will fair. There are 35 rookies on the PGA tour this year. 26 of them will tee it up tomorrow in the Sony Open. 13 of those rookies qualified by finishing top 25 on the Nationwide Tour money list. In fact, 22 year old Jamie Lovemark finished top dog on the Nationwide money list and was the youngest to become the Player of the Year on that tour.  In addition to being fully exempt all year long, Jamie will also tee it up in the Players Championship as the big perk for finishing #1.

There are a lot of young, talented rookies this year on the PGA tour.  It's going to be hard to predict who will have the best season.  Will it be one of the pedigreed players like Chris Kirk who was the Hogan Award recipient (given to top collegiate player) from Univ. of Georgia and who played on the 07 Walker Cup? Will it be Keegan Bradley who comes from a golfing pedigreed family? He is World Golf Hall of Fame member Pat Bradley's nephew. Jamie Lovemark made his mark in college quickly by winning the NCAA individual title as a Freshman.  Or, will the best rookie be a surprise?  Maybe the top rookie will be 31 year old William McGirt who has toiled around on various mini tours for the last 9 years before finally making it to the big show.  Perhaps 20 year old Bio Kim will make his mark as the first Korean to become Rookie of the Year on the PGA tour.

What I love about the beginning of a season is all the possibilities.   I have a few favorites that I will be rooting for and think will play well. One is fellow Bruin Kevin Chappell and another is Nate Smith, who hails from my old stomping grounds of Santa Cruz. However, my gut feeling right off the bat is that Jamie Lovemark and Jhonattan Vegas will make big impressions on the PGA tour.  Both of these guys are tall, strong, physical players.  They hit it a long way, are fearless and seem to have the required mental game to match.  Jhonattan is the first player from Venezuela to earn his tour car and he has a wonderful personality with a smile as big as his game. Jamie is a cool customer who wears his confidence on his sleeve.

Let's wait and see how the 26 rookies who play this week at the Sony Open handle Waialae Country Club and the exctiement and pressure that comes along with teeing it up alongside the best in the world. Everyone will be efforting to achieve that coveted great first start of the 2011 season.

World Series Trophy Tour

As the World Series trophy is touring Northern California, I can't help but think back to the first leg of its travels in the wee hours of the morning Monday, November 1, 2010 on the Delta charter from Dallas, TX to its permanent home of SF, CA.  While we toasted and celebrated the Big Win alongside the players, coaches, operations and front office staff, and family members, the trophy was passed around the airplane cabin.  Everyone on board held, admired, hoisted, kissed and took a picture with the gorgeous shining Tiffany beauty.  I will never ever forget the sheer bliss and euphoria of that moment and being able to share and experience everything with my best friend and true love.....my husband Danny.

Announcer Lite Saturday in Boise

This Saturday in Boise, Idaho, the Golf Channel will televise an announcer free telecast of the Nationwide Albertsons Boise Open. Will this departure from the "normal" show be a success? A huge failure? Interesting? Boring? Those are all the questions that we are asking ourselves as the day approaches.
Keith Hirshland, our producer, came up with the idea based on the fact that he loves the natural sounds of the game and conversational interaction of player and caddie. With GC's Executives Jack Graham and Tom Stathakes in full support, the idea went forward . Golf Channel prides itself on "listening in" on the banter between player and caddie better than any other network. Nothing irritates him more than having announcers interrupt and talk about what the player might do or what are they thinking instead of being quiet and listening to the actual conversation. I wholeheartedly agree! What could possibly be better than hearing first hand what the player faces? Yes, even the GC commentators have interrupted from time to time, but we're cognizant of it and effort to not get in the way.

Well, this Saturday, we won't be given the chance to get in the way. After Jerry Foltz introduces the show and what is going to transpire, there will be no more play by play commentary or on course commentary. No more announcer taking you in and out of commercial. Phil Parkin, Stephanie Sparks and I will do a few interviews during the 2 1/2 hour show and Jerry Foltz and Curt Byrum will answer viewers questions and comments via Twitter and/or e-mail . Word on the street is that a couple of PGA players who are at home being couch potatoes will contact us.

GC's graphics and audio team are going to have to go above and beyond and really excel to make up for the lack of commentary. Fortunately, we have a top notch team in place and that shouldn't be an issue.

What will be interesting to find out is whether the public misses the announcers voices. What happens if, heaven forbid, it becomes apparent that we commentators are not missed or needed? Can our egos handle that?? Is the audience going to have a better or worse experience? How will hearing more natural sound and less created sound affect the viewer?

Regardless of whether the telecast is a huge success or failure, I admire the GC for taking the chance on something new. It's good to experiment and try something different. And who knows, maybe the other networks will learn from our show and it will ultimately make all telecasts better! Tune in on Saturday 4:30-7 pm eastern time on Golf Channel to join in on the fun!

2010 USGA Girl's Junior

Can I just say how WONDERFUL it is to be back in cool SF where it's currently 62 degrees, some 36 degrees cooler than it was last week in hot, humid, oppressive Pinehurst, NC! I was there watching the 62nd US Girl's Jr. Golf Championship, one of 13 National Championships the USGA conducts each year. Winning a match play championship is a true endurance test. After 36 holes of stroke play, 64 players advance to match play. One must make it through five 18 hole matches before making to the 36 hole final. Of course, some matches end early, but others go to extra holes like the Victoria Tanco vs Kristen Park round of 16 match that went 24 holes. Tanco won that match and immediately headed right back out to face Ally McDonald in the afternoon, only to lose in 19 holes! Remember, as I mentioned earlier temperatures were in the 98-99 degree range with the heat index well over 100. The local news was warning people to avoid outside activities! When I think back to my winning 2 Women's Amateur titles, it's no wonder I accomplished those feats in the cool climates of Santa Cruz, CA and Barrington, RI. I don't know how those young girls played as well as they did last week.

The two juniors that came to Saturday's finals arrived via two very different paths. Doris Chen, 17, was born in NYC, grew up in Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) but has spent the last 3 + years in Florida at the IMG Leadbetter Academy and attending the Pendleton School there. She is under the tutelage of David Whelan, the Academy's director of golf, who also happens to coach current Women's US Open Champion Paula Creamer. Katelyn Dambaugh, 15, is from Goose Creek, SC a small suburb north of Charleston. Just saying Goose Creek makes you laugh and conjure up an image of a typical small southern town. Katelyn is a natural athlete who excels at many sports including basketball, softball and soccer. It's only been in the last couple of years that she has focused more on the game of golf.

Doris is stoic. She demonstrates no emotion during the course of play. Her facial features at times appear catatonic. Some might dub her "dull Doris". Her outward demeanor of course is a response to conceal nerves and unsureness on the inside. Actually, Doris is quite funny and much different once you get her away from golf and competition, according to David Whelan. In fact, we saw some of her personality as she walked to the 34th hole on Saturday, goofing around with her caddy Charlie MacInnes, calling him a polar bear. Doris also opened up in her interview with Steve Burkowski saying that she most looked forward to the next USGA event because of all the ice cream they provide on site. She is determined and focused. That, combined with her cool exterior, enabled her to keep plugging along and eventually wear down her competitor in the humid southeast.

Katelyn is all energy, enthusiasm, strength and personality strutting down the fairway. Katelyn

is the daughter of Cindy and Eric Dambaugh. She has an older sister Brooke who is a cheerleader. Katelyn got her athletic talents from her mom who was a very competitive softball player. Katelyn is naturally right handed, but swings the bat and the golf club from the left side. During the last 4 years, she's been coached by Koll Farman who teaches at Coosaw Creek CC. Katelyn doesn't play AJGA events and this was her first USGA Championship. Mostly, she plays tournaments on the South Carolina Junior Golf Association schedule. Last year, she finished second to Katie Higgins in the Beth Daniel Azalea Junior for one of her best finishes. Katelyn still plays HS basketball as a shooting guard who specializes in 3 pointers. Her personal best is 7 three pointers in one game! Katelyn has a great golf swing and as she gets more experience she'll keep improving and hopefully one day will reach her goal of playing for the Duke Women's Golf team. Besides being a big Duke fan, she's got Bieber Fever. Yes, she's in love with Justin Bieber and is going to see him in Charlotte on August 8, coincidentally right before the Women's US Amateur at Charlotte CC, for which she is now exempt!

I thought the different demeanor and games that these two teenage players brought to the US Girls Jr at CCNC was fabulous. Either junior could have won the championship. It was a slug fest with changes in lead happening 4 times and neither player ever going more than 2 up at any point. It was an even, well played match. Katelyn came into the championship just hoping to make match play and who had no expectations. She has to be delighted with the way she played and how she opened a nation's eyes to her talent. For Doris, who lost in last year's semi-finals, this has to be a sweet end to her USGA junior career. She is verbally committed to play golf at USC (Southern Cal) in 2011 but first we'll see if she can become the only player to win the US Girl's Junior and Women's Amateur in the same year. A tall order, but one I'm looking forward to watching in two weeks.

Monday Thoughts

Ahhh.....I love, love, love the first Monday morning at home after a long road trip. I lounge in bed as long as I can, watching the news, surfing the internet, reading the Chronicle while sipping green tea. I purposely don't plan much for the day so that I can piddle around the house and just enjoy being home. Usually one of my cats is laying next to me, purring that loud amazing song only cats can. Hmm, should I get up and eat, or maybe I'll just remain here and look back on the week's golf highlights:

-Because I was there, my main thoughts are of the US Girls Junior Championship at Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst. Surviving 36 holes of stroke play and 5 rounds of matches, Doris Chen and Katelyn Dambaugh were troopers playing each other in a 36 hole final. They did all this, mind you, in 99 degree humid, oppressive heat! No wonder they were semi catatonic at the end. Doris prevailed down the last 9 holes w/ birdies on two of their last 3 holes, winning 3 &2 . Doris is a stoic, unemotional (at least outwardly), consistent, straight hitting putting machine. Her consistency outdid Katelyn's naturally athletic, long hitting, emotional game. Each were very different in their approach to the game and their journey to this Championship. In the end we were treated to a wonderful match and a glimpse of the future talent of this game.

Two other girls made me look twice--Stephanie Liu who just turned 13 and stands nearly 6 feet tall is going to be a force in the near future. She has a beautiful swing, strength and a maturity that belies her age. She and her 2 brothers are Chinese/Canadian Americans. What?? A very interesting mixed race amazing talent. Look for Stephanie. The other player is Megan Khang who is all of 12 years old from Massachusetts. She not only made match play, but won her first match and took her second opponent, Cali Hipp, to extra holes after birdieing the last 3 holes in a row. She is articulate, cute as a button and just out to try and play her best! Love it!

-Congratulations to Jiyai Shin for winning the Evian Masters. Her nickname, appropriately, is chalk line (always hits the dead center of the fairway) and more importantly Final Round Queen! Jiyai played a brilliant back nine (-2) and took the Evian away from Morgan Pressel who shot +1 on the second nine. Huge congrats to Lexi Thompson who tied for second in her 3rd event as a pro and took home $242,711. Nice chunk of change and a statement to all that she appears to be the real deal!

-Way to go DJ Brigman in winning the Nationwide's event at the venerable Ohio State Univ Scarlett Course shooting a stellar 64 to win by one. This win takes DJ from #47 on the money list to #6 and basically assures him of getting his PGA Tour card for 2011.

-Langer wins British Senior. Great player, but it doesn't move me at all. Would liked to have seen fellow Bruin and Ryder Cup cap't Corey get the win!

-Pettersson's win was amazing considering he barely made the cut, then shot 60 on Saturday to put him in position to get it done on Sunday. Now there's a good lesson to grind all day Friday b/c you don't know what may transpire on the weekend.

Well, I suppose I'll get my butt out of bed and do a little laundry and put away the suitcase for two weeks. Now, that is music to my ears!