All posts in Players

Tiger Woods Caught on Video, Practicing at Isleworth

by James on March 27, 2010 in News, Players with 1 Comment

Well what do we have here. We all know Tiger has been hard at work, on the course and on the range getting ready with the one-and-only Hank Haney… But due to the seclusion of the settings Woods’ generally frequents, we haven’t seen much (or anything) in the way of video proof. Cue the folks at TMZ *sigh*.

Tiger Woods Caught on Camera at IsleworthYes, sadly TMZ has managed to shoot a video of Tiger prepping for the masters at Isleworth with Hank Haney close by to provide guidance and advice. I can’t imagine how the cameraman got into the situation, and I shudder to think where he was hiding to get the video. Regardless, it’s great to see Tiger on the tee, and from what I can see, he looks loose and the swing is shaping up.

I hope the folks at Augusta National are going to have security setup on a tight perimeter of the course. Otherwise we may see more videos like this taken from the bushes…practice rounds perhaps?

Good grief.

Woods and Couples to Play Monday Practice Round at The Masters

by James on March 26, 2010 in News, Players with 3 Comments
Fred Couples and Tiger Woods

Fred Couples and Tiger WoodsThe press conferences are set, and we know Tiger is going to speak on Monday, April 5th at 2PM EST. Good stuff. But I know you’ve all been wondering, who and when is he going to play practice rounds with? Sure, he’s already been on the course getting ready this past week, but I’m talking about ‘official’ practice rounds here.

The latest on the topic comes from the Golf Channel. Fred Couples let TGC know that he and Tiger Woods will play 18 on the Monday of Masters week, the same day Tiger takes to the press conference podium. Should be an interesting pairing. Freddy has been through a lot in his own personal life, and heck, he’s won a green jacket of his own… I wouldn’t be surprised if Couples requested to play with Tiger, seems to me he may have some wisdom or helpful advice to pass on to the world’s #1.

Whatever happens, hopefully we’ll get a little insight into the practice round from Tiger when he sits down with the media.

[Via: TrailingTiger]

Nike Steps Up to Sponsor Tiger Woods’ Bag at The Masters

by James on March 21, 2010 in News, Bags, Nike Golf, Players with No comments
Tiger Woods Golf Bag
Tiger Woods Golf Bag

Move on over, Frank. Nike is Coming in.

We had a little fun a few days ago speculating what sponsor’s logo would appear on Tiger Woods’ bag when he returned at The Masters. My gut told me that Nike would probably be the brand of choice… and when you consider how Nike has stuck side-by-side with Woods through his recent trials and tribulations, it seemed to be the most reasonable choice.

Sure enough, late last week word came out that Tiger’s own ‘TW’ Nike brand will be emblazoned on the bag. The brand will be front and center, so expect to see the ‘TW’ logo along with a handful of Nike swooshes adorning the equipment of the world’s #1.

If you take a look back through the years, the change to Nike will make it 4 logos to adorn Tiger’s bag. Back in 1996, Tiger started out with Titleist. From there he moved on to Buick, in a deal that lasted quite a long time until 2008 when GM filed for bankruptcy. Over the past year or so the AT&T logo had been found on-the-bag, until Tiger’s recent ‘indiscretions’.

Should be cool to see what the new Nike bag looks like. Any ideas?

Help Beatriz Recari Make the Mojo 6

by James on March 4, 2010 in News, Contests, Players with No comments

OK GolfCrunchers (or is it GolfCrunchies?), it’s time to do good by doing good again. The other day I was contacted by up-and-coming LPGA player Beatriz Recari, asking for a little help. Turns out she needs ALL of our help, which is ultimately the reason for this post. The deal? She’s trying to get as many votes as she can to qualify for the last spot in the Mojo 6.

What is the Mojo 6?

In a nutshell, it’s an event being held in Jamaica in which a field of 16 women golfers will battle it out for a cool $1,000,000. 15 of the 16 spots are already filled, and the last slot comes down to fan voting.

So how do you vote? Head on over to the Mojo 6 site, click ‘vote for me’ and enter your email address. I believe only one entry is allowed per day, so come back each day to cast your vote for Beatriz or any of the other players!

For more information follow Beatriz on Twitter @BeatrizRecari, hit up her Facebook Page, or visit her official site at BeatrizRecari.com.

Good luck, Beatriz!

Beatriz Recari

Beatriz Recari

by James on March 4, 2010 in Players with No comments

Beatriz RecariThe other day, I was contacted via Twitter by a new up-and-coming LPGA player. The Spanish-born player in question, Beatriz Recari, was busy doing some promo for a ‘Mojo 6‘ competition she was trying her best to get into. I won’t bore you with the details of that right here, after all, you probably want to know a little more about her first, right? So who is this newly carded LPGA player Beatriz Recari, anyway? Here’s a little bio from her official site:

Beatriz was born in Pamplona, on the 21st April of 1987. During her first years, she spent a lot of time with her grandmother (her mum’s mum), who gave her, as well as her parents, strong values such as religion, family values and a hard discipline. That’s why, since the beginning, she demanded herself the best out of her studies and everything she did.

At the age of 9, she began with her piano lessons, which 2 years later, would change for the golf clubs. When she asked for permission to her parents to do so, they accepted it, but only under one condition: ”when it’s raining on Saturday or Sunday, and it’s extremely cold, we are going too”. And Beatriz agreed on that. For the next years coming up, she successfully combined both studies at school (SagradoCorazon till the age of 16 and CarmelitasVedruna from 16 till 18) and her golfing career. Traveling to the tournaments with all the books and studying in airport’s tables became a routine. During those times, Beatriz won successful tournaments such as Copa de la Reina in 2004, Coupe d’Esmond 2005, part of Junior Solheim Cup team in 2005, among others. After playing her last tournament before staring her Economics degree at Universidad de Navarra in Spain, she thought it was the righ time to have another great challenge, and that was turning professional while studying at Uni. It implied an enormous effort to play consistently on the Ladies European Tour (with a full card), and pass all her exams at the same time, but the final result was exceptional, with her keeping her full card after the season, and finishing her first year of Economics. The only bad memory she might have is the amount of Red Bull and dark coffee she drunk to stay awake all those nights.

Since then, she decided to focus on her golf and bring about all her talent on the course to achieve her professional goals. Beatriz keeps on improving herself season after season (check for her best highlights in her “performances archive”) and we believe we will update that archive with a win very shortly.

Beatriz loves golf (of course), tennis, basketball, music, reading and movies. Obviously golf is her main focus these days, but it’s always cool to see a diverse range of interests.

At only 22 years old, it looks like Beatriz has a very promising career ahead of her. Everyone here at GolfCrunch wishes her the best as she embarks on this new chapter on her life. Hopefully it’s full of straight drives, birdie putts, championship titles… and… heck, lots of money 🙂

Beatriz Recari

Beatriz Winning the Finnair Masters at -11

Harbour Town Searching for Sponsor… Could Woods Be the Key?

by James on March 3, 2010 in News, Courses, Players with No comments

This is a shame…and a situation that I sincerely hope works out for the best!

News out of Hilton Head South Carolina notes that while there will be a Heritage Classic in 2011, the event may run without a title sponsor. Tournament director Steve Wilmot has commented that enough funds have been saved to run the event in 2011, and 2012 is looking doubtful at best. Last fall Verizon announced it would end sponsorship of the event, which it had been sponsoring since 1987 (when they were known as MCI). In a nutshell, a new title sponsor is needed!

If Wilmot fails to secure sponsorship, the 2012 event at the Harbour Town Golf Links could be a non-starter. Which, as I said a moment ago would be a huge shame. Harbour Town is an iconic track, with it’s small greens, wood-planked bunker faces and hazards, and of course, who could forget the harbour with the red and white lighthouse overlooking the 18th. What a track.

In my humble opinion a huge part of securing sponsorship could sit with Tiger Woods, should he choose to step up. While ratings are way down with the absence of Woods on the tour, if he were to commit to the Heritage Classic… I highly suspect title sponsors would line up to throw down their money. Forget all the troubles he’s had over the past little while. It doesn’t change the fact that he’s the #1 player in the world, and the #1 draw on tour. Just sayin’.

Your thoughts?

[Via: TheGolfChannel]

Ian Poulter is an Alien of Extraordinary Ability

by James on March 2, 2010 in Humor, Players with 1 Comment

This, at least, according to a recent immigration form the one-and-only Ian Poulter had to fill out. He posted the picture above via his Twitter feed (@IanJamesPoulter) and it gave me a chuckle. Thought I’d share it with you. Suppose option a. is the right answer… Winning the Accenture Match Play and vaulting to #5 in the world would certainly make me consider him an ‘alien of extraordinary ability’.

Funny stuff.

To keep up on what’s going on in Ian’s life, be sure to give him a follow @IanJamesPoulter. While you’re at it, give us a follow on Twitter too, would ya? @GolfCrunchLive.

Gatorade Gives Tiger Woods the Boot

by James on February 27, 2010 in News, Players with No comments

So, it’s official. Gatorade has ended all endorsement deals with Tiger Woods. I’m sure none of you see this as a surprise. Gatorade discontinued the Tiger Woods branded drinks way back in November, long before any of the recent ‘issues’ arrived on the public scene. The formal announcement solidifies what we already knew was coming.

The Gatorade deal is just the latest major sponsor to drop Woods over the past little while. AT&T and Accenture have already given Eldrick the heave-ho.

A Gatorade spokeswoman commented on the developments:

“We no longer see a role for Tiger in our marketing efforts and have ended our relationship…We wish him all the best.”

The good news here (if there is any), is that Gatorade is standing by their commitment and relationship with the Tiger Woods Foundation. Good on ’em. The Foundation does a lot of good work, and taking sponsorship monies away from such a good cause would be a huge gaffe … at least in my opinion.

There’s no doubt that Gatorade wishes Woods the best, as he’s made them a lot of money… and vice versa. Still, one has to wonder if Woods will ever regain sponsorship contracts like this one in the future. If he can get his personal life back in order, and get his golf game up to the level we’re used to seeing, maybe Gatorade will give him another look, sign him, and release a new beverage:

Redemption.

[Via: PGATour]

Natalie Gulbis’ Caddy Has Balls… In His Mouth

by James on February 26, 2010 in Humor, Players with 1 Comment

Sometimes it takes balls to stand up to your player and recommend a different shot. Other times, it takes balls to lay down on the ground, put a tee in your mouth, and let the boss stroke a drive right down the middle of the fairway.

That’s exactly what Natalie Gulbis’ caddie Greg did the other day, as I found out about via her Twitter feed. As you can clearly see in the shot above, Greg, the ever dutiful caddy submitted to the exhibition, with Natalie cranking one right down the middle.

Frankly, I’d have to close my eyes for this one. When Natalie does that little head-dip she has in her swing, I’d FOR SURE lose my cool and twitch. I know she’s a pro (and a great one at that) but yikers, I’m not sure I’d do this myself.

Wait… you know what? For Natalie Gulbis, for sure… I’d do just about anything 🙂

Tip of the cap to Natalie and Greg for sharing some humor with the world here. Greg, you’ve got balls. Either that, or Natalie has you wrapped around her little finger.

Note: Please excuse the headline, I couldn’t help myself.

One more note: Wouldn’t Natalie be penalized for this shot? I mean, her caddy has a towel underneath him. Isn’t that improving his/her lie? 🙂

I MISS the Old David Duval, But I LIKE The New One Much More

by James on February 25, 2010 in News, Players with No comments

Yeah, you heard me. I miss the old David Duval. The one that won 12 PGA titles and 1 major championship (2001 British Open). The thing is, while I MISS the old David Duval I LIKE the NEW David Duval much more.

Sure, he’s not winning like he used to, heck, is just trying as hard as he can to stick around on tour. But he seems grounded, humbled and most importantly you can really tell that beneath it all he’s always been a nice guy. When David was #1 in the world he was stoic, a rock of confidence that didn’t shed an ounce of emotion. That was his thing. He internalized and kept everything in-check to play his best.

After his fall from grace things have changed. If you watch him out on the course now you can almost ‘feel’ his effort. His desire to win. His emotions oozing out of him and his absolute desire to get back the game he lost.

Don’t get me wrong, I think David knows if he can’t work his way back to the game that put him on top of the world, the game that garnered a British Open title and even an amazing 59… He’ll be OK with it. Maybe that’s another thing I appreciate about the guy these days too. There seems to be that inner peace about him. And that’s why I’m pulling for him so much. The former #1 is now the underdog. He’s trailing by 4 with 9 holes to go. Can he do it? I don’t know, but I’m pulling for him.

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