Injured Tiger adds British Open to his Golf Plans

ORLANDO, Florida - Tiger Woods added the British Open to his planned golf schedule in a posting Monday on his website even though there was no update on the neck injury which has him sidelined indefinitely.

Woods could become the first player in 150 years of British Open golf to win the title three times at St. Andrews, the legendary Scottish course where this year’s edition of the championship will be staged July 15-18.

Woods, who won at St. Andrews in 2000 and 2005, kept two other previously announced events on his planned schedule - next month’s US Open at Pebble Beach and the US PGA National near Philadelphia two weeks before the British Open.

An inflamed neck joint forced Woods to withdraw from the final round of the Players Championship eight days ago. Woods said on his website that a full recovery is expected but when he would return will depend on how fast he heals.

Woods has not said he will play in the Memorial, the Jack Nicklaus-hosted June event where Woods is the defending champion.
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Golf: McDowell Wins US Open Golf Championship

PEBBLE BEACH, California, June 20, 2010 (AFP) - Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell won the US Open golf championship on Sunday, beating France's Gregory Havret by one shot to become the first European in 40 years to lift the trophy.

McDowell carded a three-over par 74 on Pebble Beach Golf Links for an even par total of 284.

Havret, a qualifier ranked 391st in the world, played alongside Tiger Woods in the penultimate group ahead of McDowell and posted a 72 for 285.

The last European player to win the US Open was Tony Jacklin in 1970. Not only did McDowell break that drought, he became just the third Irishman to win a major title, along with Padraig Harrington and Fred Daly. Daly, who won the 1947 British Open, was also from Northern Ireland.

"I've dreamed this all my life," McDowell said. "Two putts to win the US Open.

"I can't explain how I feel right now. It's amazing."

South Africa's Ernie Els finished third with a 73 for 286. Woods and Masters champion Phil Mickelson shared fourth place on 287 on a day when the lovely par-71 Pebble Beach layout showed its teeth.

Overnight leader Dustin Johnson saw his three-shot lead evaporate with a triple-bogey seven at the second hole. He collapsed to an 82.

Havret delivered an impressive performance in his first US Open. But McDowell clung to a one-stroke lead over the last four holes and Havret couldn't find a birdie that he needed at the last.

Aloha!

I'm down here in Hawaii, and I can already tell that I'll be posting fairly infrequently here for the next couple months. But, December 1st my new roommate moves in and his former job was... A GOLF INSTRUCTOR! I'm psyched. Also I'll be hitting up the Sony Open and maybe the Mercedes-Benz in January. I've been keeping up with the Fed-Ex, and even though my money is on Tiger, I love Padraig and Stricker and I'm gunning for one of them. So yeah, I have a feeling I'll be kind of absent for the next two months, but then I'm focusing on golf after that. Because, I'm going to say it, I want my career to be in the golf world. Golf all the time!

I am off to Hawaii tomorrow, and blogging about it over at KatieinKona.blogspot.com. You guys, I am going to be doing some amazing golfing. So stoked.

This picture from the first round of the Barclays made me laugh, it looks like Lady Liberty is a crowd marshall, asking New York to "Wait, please!" while Tiger putts.

Yesterday I started planning my next tournament trip! In two weeks I move to Hawaii, so I won't be able to make the JT Shriners Open in Vegas this October, but I'm going to hit up the Sony Open in Honolulu and maybe even the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Maui at the start of next season. Yeah, it's four months away, but I figure time will fly by while I'm getting used to life in Paradise.

On Player Profiles on PGATOUR.com and Adam Scott Being Hot

When my girlfriends have trouble picturing anything other than old men in argyle when I say I'm into golfers, I show them a picture of Adam. They get it.

As a general rule golfers tend to look horrible in the picture PGATOUR.com choses for their profile, average looking on camera and always, always better in person (this rule doesn't apply to Adam Scott, as you can tell from above, he looks good all the time) In person, golfers have a certain je ne sais quois about them that doesn't always translate, and I am so into it. I used to seriously have a thing for musicians. I was always dating or falling in love with some guy in a band, usually a cute boy who played guitar, and there is a certain way most musicians stand or carry themselves or something and I totally fell for it, all the time. Well now, shocker, that has completely transferred into golf. I mean, I guess it's only natural to gravitate towards men who share my passion, but the sexiest men to me right now are all golfers. Anyway, back to PGATOUR.com player profiles- I feel like the person in charge of putting them together either has some sort of vendetta against most of the golfers or just very poor taste. There's always at least one fairly bad picture and usually some strange, random fact about the player or an odd quote. I think they need someone else on the job, and I would gladly make myself available!

Ryan Finally Wins!!

If you've read through my blog or talked golf with me at all, you know Ryan Moore is one of my favorite golfers. Even my non-golf friends all know Ryan's name, and usually get an update on how his game is going each weekend. I dig him, I think he's one of the coolest golfers on the TOUR right now. I love that he isn't a walking billboard for sponsors, I love his style, and I love that he is so low key. I chatted with him for a bit at the Bob Hope earlier this year, and I got such a great vibe from him. With one exception from someone who's honestly a bit of a brat, every time his name's been brought up (usually by me) when I've been talking to other Pro's they've only ever had great things to say about him. I feel like he's really flown under the radar, but I'm sure that will change now with his first win. I'm calling that this is just the tip of the iceberg for Ryan, and he'll be one of the top players on TOUR next year. I remember reading a little blurb about him right before the U.S. Open this year, and him saying he was feeling good about this game, and clearly he's a great place right now. He jumped from 76th to 22nd in FedEX Cup standings, doubled his money for the year and is finally getting some serious validation and recognition. I'm so stoked, and if you'll look back to my previous entry- I totally called it.

I like Stadler too, he was paired with Ryan and Elky for the first two days of the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, and Jess and I followed their group for some of the time. We watched him finish up a round in Reno at the Legends a couple weeks ago, and noticed he was putting with an iron. Apparently a few holes back he was angry and broke his putter on a rock, so he had to finish up without. He was playing with McCarron, and they had a good laugh about it as they walked off the green.

My dad and I are checking out the Champions Tour this Friday, they're making a stop in Snoqualmie for the Boeing Classic. I don't think I'd ever take a special vacay just to see the Champs like I do for the regular TOUR, but Snoqualmie is close by and it will be cool to hang out around golf for a day. Also my big move to Hawaii is three weeks away, and I'm taking the opportunity to spend some time with mi padre, whose been a golf fan for decades, before I leave.