Andrew's World Vol. V

Well here we are a week after the Masters and the great triumph of Trevor Immelman, who became the first wire-to-wire winner since Seve in 1980. Every year the Masters somehow manages to create great drama and this year was no exception. At the start of Sunday's round Brandt Snedeker, Steve Flesch and Paul Casey were all in position to make a run for their first major victories and the green jacket. By the back nine all the aforementioned wilted under the pressure of claiming their first professional major, leaving the great Tiger Woods as the only golfer standing in Trevor's way. Well you know how the story ends, Tiger suddenly can not make a putt, and the dreams of his grand slam evaporate into thin air!......

Big props to Billy Payne, the Augusta National Chairman, who agreed to televise the Par-3 Tournament for the first time this year. Watching the cute offspring caddy for their dads at the Masters warmed this television viewers heart. I also liked the addition of past major champions who Augusta National invited to fill out the field for the Par-3, Charles Coody who made a hole in one, Paul Azinger and Wayne Grady.

Last column I commented on Brad Bryant who went 514 events without taking home any hardware. Well I did some more research and discovered that Bobby Wadkins went 713 tournaments in a long career on the PGA Tour without ever winning. Mike Mccullough went 405 events and Jim Dent went 403 to round out the top three...

Ever wonder who the iron men of professional golf are? Well I have and here are the top 5 to have played in the most PGA and Champions Tour events: Miller Barber 1,292, Dave Eichelberger 1,210, Arnold Palmer 1,053, JC Snead 1,033 and Jim Colbert who teed it up in a even 1,000 tournaments...

The most underrated golfer in the modern era is Billy Casper who had the misfortune to play in the era of Hogan, Nicklaus, Palmer and Gary Player. In his illustrious career Casper played in 556 events and won an astounding 51 times. Billy also placed in the top-ten an impressive 236 times! Maybe the lack of respect stems from the fact that Billy marched to the beat of his own drum, openly embracing his Mormon faith and carrying a lot of weight on his beefy physique. I would like to see this impressive player get his due props, but I will not hold my breathe waiting for the acclaim Billy Casper deserves...

The P.G.A. Tour returns to South Carolina to the Harbour Town links for the Verizon Heritage Classic. Harbour Town is a 6,973 yard par 71, designed by Pete Dye with extensive consultation from Jack Nicklaus. In years past, Harbour Town was a must play event for the top professionals, but with the absence of Tiger, Phil and Vijay, the tournament has been reduced to secondary status on the circuit these days. This is a shame considering what a great golf challenge Harbour Town presents and the impressive list of past winners: Jack Nicklaus, Payne Stewart, Nick Price, Greg Norman and Davis Love; all Hall of Famers who have captured the title and worn their red blazers with pride...

I love to watch golf but get annoyed with the commentary provided by the talking heads of the Golf Channel, CBS, and our good buddies at NBC. I am fed up with announcers and their lack of research. Time and time again we are reminded of the same stories and facts regurgitated ad nauseum for our supposed benefit, to increase our viewing pleasure. Next time you see Shingo Katamaya do not be surprised if the analyst lets us know for the 10,000th time that he contended at the 2,001 PGA Championship. Please tell me anything else but that... Maybe he recently won a Japanese four ball event! Any time Dean Wilson appears on television they always remind us that he was paired with Annika Sorenstam in Texas a few years ago. Ryan Palmer, Bob Burns, Rich Beem, Darren Clarke all beat Tiger to win a event, but surely they have done other things while maybe not as significant, but would still enlighten us to know. I do not mean to be too critical but c’mon guys do some reading of Golf Weekly or spend some of your precious time on PGATour.com...

Well fans it is always fun to write these columns, I hope you learned some more knowledge of the game we all love!

Andrew's World Vol. IV

Golf fans rejoice, I am back and have a lot to talk about. I've had software problems and was hoping that the editor would pen an article previewing the Masters, but alas the said piece never materialized as my editor spent the weekend in the dentist chair….The Masters begins with the annual par 3 tourney today and TV cameras make their debut in what should be a very interesting 9 holes. The winner of the par 3 has never gone on to capture the Masters. In 1990, Raymond Floyd had a three shot lead with four holes to play, but lost in a heartbreaking playoff to Nick Faldo.

This writer's favorite Masters occurred in 1987, the year Larry Mize hit the chip shot which a stunned Greg Norman can only watch as he dream is denied one more time…….What do Aaron Olberholser, Lee Janzen, Rocco Mediate, Lucas Glover, and Fred Couples have in common? They prefer to play golf a-natural, which is gloveless. Bob Estes was in this group until last week in Houston, he donned a glove for the first time in his professional career…..
I am a big fan of opposite tournaments on the P.G.A. tour, which allow veteran pros the opportunity to compete on the big circuit. In Puerto Rico, longtime journeymen Joel Edwards, Phil Taturangi, Mike Heinen, Dan Forsman and Willie Wood all made appearances in what has become a rarity for older non-exempt professionals….

I have been watching a lot of the European Tour this year and have enjoyed seeing our overseas brethren ply their trade. The commentary is quite different in comparison to the often extremely chatty talking heads we have become accustomed to listening every weekend on the PGA Tour. During a telecast, the announcers often lapse into intervals of silence which sometimes last for as long as 30 seconds! The European Tour players have a very bold style of fashion unlike the majority of bland cookie cutter fashions favored by there PGA Tour counterparts. Argyles and plaids are commonplace, as are brightly colored trousers featuring bold hues: orange, canary yellow, and fuchsia!

Commenting on fashion, I have to mention Woody Austin who must be color blind or he never looks into the mirror prior to leaving for the golf course. Woody, the former bank teller, used to sport those hideous Tabasco shirts featuring what seemed like hundreds of little Tabasco bottles. At the Zurich, I noticed he had a tri-color shirt with palettes that didn’t quite match. Other players who have committed fashion faux paus include Craig Barlow who wears high-water khakis and Duffy Waldorf's shirts with colors patterns that hurt the naked eye!....

Greg Kraft captured the Puerto Rican Open in his 378 event on tour, which must have seemed like an eternity to the veteran touring pro. Dr Dirt a.k.a. Brad Bryant broke through in his 515th professional event at the Disney Classic. I did some research on PGATour.com and complied a list of the top 5 pros who have made the most starts without a win: Skip Kendall 394, Marco Dawson 353, Brett Quigley 315, Jay Willamson 302, and Harrison Frazer 282……

Chris Couch, the former golf prodigy from the University of Florida, has fallen on hard times. In 2006 he won the Zurich Classic and some $1,356,731 and the following year he made $355,386 and fell to 153rd on the money list. In 2008, he has made 1 cut and banked a whopping $1,693 in official money and Chris was not given a sponsor's exemption in New Orleans. Well Chris I hope things improve for you in 2008, looks like things can only get better for you.

I hope everyone enjoys The Masters this week. You can follow the tournament and watch live coverage at www.masters.org