Golf News

The Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village GC  ∙   Dublin,  Ohio, Purse: $6,200,000, Winning Share: $1,116,000, FedExCup Points: 500 Early odds on the exchanges Tiger Woods 3/1 There’s absolutely no fun betting on Tiger at miserly odds of 3/1 but it would be remiss of me not to mention him. He’s a five time champ at Muirfield Village stretching from 1999 to 2012. And in case you’ve been orbiting Earth all year and missed it, Tiger has already won four times in 2013. Nicklaus courses are that bit more generous off the tee, and get tougher at the greens, hence Tiger’s dominance.   Kevin Streelman 90/1 Missed the cut last week at Colonial and has slipped out in the betting exchanges, but with three consecutive top 10’s at The Players, Wells Fargo and RBC Heritage in his previous three outings, I wouldn’t write Kevin Streelman off this week. He has a recent best of tied seventh here in 2011.   Matt Kuchar 30/1 Another runner up spot at Coloni...

also check out my 2013 Memorial Tips here Ross Fisher 32/1 It has been a torrid season for Ross Fisher with six missed cuts on the PGA Tour and just one top 10 at the Wells Fargo (T10). Returned home to Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship where he tied 32 nd and hangs around for the Nordea Masters this week. After a good week in Wales, Fisher played great here last year, finishing second behind Lee Westwood. He would have been closer too were it not for one bad hole on the back nine. Hard to fathom how Ross hasn’t won since the 2010 Irish Open. Mikko Illonen 34/1 The flying Fin is on a great run of form with four top 17s in his last five starts, which includes a tied second in Morocco and a solo second in China. Played well at Wentworth too tying 12 th . Mikko sandwiched a solo third here between missed cuts at the Wales and US Opens and given that he comes into the event this time around in super form, you have to fancy his chances. A previous winner in Arlandastad in 2007. A...

Congrats to Simon Khan and Eddie Pepperell who made through to the US Open at Merion via today’s 36 hole qualifier at Walton Heath. 2013 US Open Qualifiers Simon Khan Paul Casey Jaco Van Zyl Morten Ørum Madsen Peter Hedblom Marcus Fraser Eddie Pepperell Playoff between José María Olazábal, Estanislao Goya,Chris Doak, Rikard Karlberg, John Parry and David Howell. Rikard Karlberg eliminated. Others qualified. Full report from European Tour Simon Khan put his play-off defeat in the BMW PGA Championship behind him to secure one of the 12 spots on offer in the US Open qualifier at Walton Heath. Khan admitted he had a sleepless night after losing to Italian Matteo Manassero on the fourth extra hole at Wentworth in The European Tour’s flagship event on Sunday. But he showed few side-effects in the wake of that disappointment as he lead the 94 hopefuls competing in the 36 hole qualifying event for next month’s US Open Championship at Merion Golf Club. The 40 year ...

Name: Peter O’Keefe Age: 31 Nationality: Irish Home Club: Douglas Golf Club Attachment: Muskerry Golf Club Turned Pro: 2008 from Southeastern Louisiana University, +3 handicap Tour: European Challenge Tour   What’s In Peter’s Bag Driver: TaylorMade (TM) R1 Tour 8 deg, with a Miyazaki 56X shaft. Irons (3-PW): TM Forged MB blades with NS modus x flex shafts. Wedges: Cleveland CG15 54 and 58 deg wedges Putter: TM Ghost Spider 41" 3 Wood: TM RBZ stage 2 with Project X 6.5 shaft. Hybrid: TM RBZ stage 2 Rescue 16.5 deg with project X 6.0 shaft Getting To Know Peter What would you say are your greatest achievements in golf to date? As an amateur my biggest win was the Road Runner Classic at the University of San Antonio. I beat Keegan Bradley in a playoff! I’m now progressing through the Tour ranks on the European Challenge Tour, I’ve played in the Irish Open in 2008 and my aim is to earn my main European Tour card this year.   What’s on your ipod when pract...

Since I started this site a few years ago, the betting tips section has been a readers favourite. But I have to admit that when I’m doing my weekly research I have a little help from www.golfpredictor.com . It’s a site with details of form, stats, charts and other information for every player and course on both PGA and European Tours. Not only that, but for every event, GolfPredictor produces a predictive top 10 using a complicated mathematic algorithm. Using a player’s current form, previous course form, cut streak and more, the program produces a set of predictions with a calculation of every player’s percentage chance of winning any given event!   I was using GolfPredictor for years before I found out the man behind it is actually Irish. He’s Aidan Reilly, a Galway based software developer and NUIG graduate originally from Mayo. Aidan got the idea for Golf Predictor initially from reading about computerised stock market predictors. He decided to combine his coding sk...

By Ron for golfcentraldaily.com. Once one of the busiest members in American celebrity life, Tiger Woods’ willie today celebrated three years on the straight and narrow at a low key party with family and friends. The shrivelled weiner, which was almost unrecognizable behind a thick beard and helmet and has remained largely inactive since 2010 told reporters it thinks it’s ready to start working again. “Obviously I’ll never hit the heights of the noughties when it was a seven nights a week pumpfest but I’m hoping now that Lindsey Vonn is on the scene, the dog might see the rabbit a bit more,” said Tiger’s snake. “You know Tiger isn’t just the best golfer in the world. He needs other things, like love, companionship and a beautiful naked woman jumping up and down on him for 15 minutes at least once a fortnight.” “Don’t get me wrong, Tiger loves nothing more than to pit his wits against Rory McIlroy in a Major, or battle down the stretch with Phil Mickelson,...

Tim Clark may be tiny, but he’s not going to take the anchoring ban, lying down, hunkered or even standing up. According to the PGA website, Clark says he and "a fair number" of players are getting legal advice on the matter.  Cue legal team Harvey Spector and Mike Ross. "We do have legal counsel, We're going to explore our options. We're not going to just roll over and accept this," Clark says. Clark went on to pillory the comment period provided by the authorities, calling it  "all smoke and mirrors." But that most steely of foes, R&A chief Peter Dawson, says he’s been studying, saying “We are not so sure of ourselves that you can always be sure you're going to be right, but we have certainly done our homework on this one, far more than anything else in my time at the R&A.” So it’s looking good for Tim Clark then? ''Obviously, now I guess, our tactics have to change,” the South African  said.  We're just t...

So there is Sergio Garcia on the stage have a laugh with his Ryder Cup teammates at the European Tour Player of the Year awards.  Two seconds later, he is branded a racist for insulting Tiger Woods. So what happened? Host Steve Sands asks Garcia (light-heartedly), if he would be inviting for Tiger when they next meet up at the US Open. Without thinking, Garcia replies: ‘We’ll be having him round every night... and serving him fried chicken.’ Cue a few sniggers but mostly awkward silences from the crowd. For the uninitiated, the last reference you want to make to a black man is “fried chicken.” It’s a highly insulting reference and one that Fuzzy Zoeller made when Woods won the 1997 Masters.  He advised Tiger on the following years Champions Dinner menu, telling him ‘fried chicken or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.’ Garcia later said sorry through the European Tour.  “I apologise for any offence that may have been caused by my comment on ...

When a player is not quite striking the ball properly, maybe slicing or hooking, the first thought he or she often has is to examine the stance and swing. But oftentimes it’s something as simple as grip tension that’s causing the problem. Bobby Jones himself remarked “You swing your best when you have the fewest things to think about” and it remains as true today as it did then. Practice swings are often nothing like the real swing in players that struggle with grip tension. That smooth free practice swing is replaced by a vice like grip and jerk. Tension might be best suited to wires, but far too often it finds its way into the golf swing. That sudden tightening of the muscles is often called Death Grip. Suffers say your mind takes over just before you hit the ball. The fear of hitting a bad shot tenses up the arms, hands and fingers and this actually causes the bad shot. The place to work on this is on the driving range. Focus on your grip pressure in both good and bad shots....

also check out my 2013 BMW PGA Championship Tips here . Charl Schwartzel 16/1 You could hardly call 22 nd or 25 th bad results but if you were on a run of big top 10’s like Charl Schwartzel you might have been disappointed by them. The South African took a 4 week break after The Masters and didn’t ever threaten at The Players before kicking right back into gear last week with a solo third at the HP Byron Nelson. Lack of course experience could cost him, but certainly the form dog.   Ben Crane 55/1 Ben let us down last weekend at TPC Four Seasons throwing away a good first two rounds with a pair of 73’s. Still Golf Boy Ben has two top 10’s in his last five starts (T8 The Players, T5 Houston) and three more top 10’s since 2008 at Colonial, including a best of tied third in 2010.   Zach Johnson 18/1 Won in bizarre fashion last year after receiving a two shot penalty on the final hole for replacing his ball in the incorrect spot. Only TV analyst Peter Kostis spotted it ...

It is with a heavy heart and heavy putter that I bring you this news today.  It’s back to knee trembling four footers from 1st January 2016. Here’s the official wording: USGA AND THE R&A ANNOUNCE FINAL APPROVAL OF RULE 14-1B  THAT PROHIBITS USE OF ANCHORED STROKES Governing Bodies Issue Report Explaining Their Decision Following Comment Process New Rule to Take Effect on January 1, 2016, Allowing for Transitional Period Belly-Length and Long Putters Remain as Conforming Clubs Far Hills, N.J., USA and St Andrews, Scotland (May 21, 2013) â€" The United States Golf Association (USGA) and The R&A, golf’s governing bodies, today announced the adoption of Rule 14-1b of the Rules of Golf that prohibits anchoring the club in making a stroke. The new Rule will take effect on January 1, 2016, in accordance with the regular four-year cycle for changes to the Rules of Golf. Rule 14-1b, which was proposed on November 28, 2012, has now been given final approval by the USGA a...

2013 BMW PGA Championship, Wentworth, England Early odds on the exchanges also check out my 2013 Crowne Plaza Invitational Betting Tips here   Branden Grace 55/1 Nothing was ever going to match last season’s four wins for Branden Grace but a good run all the way to the semi finals last week at the World Matchplay, might just instil some confidence. Notched up three top 10’s on the Tour’s African and Eastern swing and since then has concentrated exclusively on the PGA Tour, without success. Finished fifth last year and seemed to have the measure of these difficult greens.   Justin Rose 12/1 Rose’ missed cut at Sawgrass was his first since September 2012, during which time he never finished outside the top 25 in 12 strokeplay events. Having come second twice already this season in Abu Dhabi and Bay Hill, he surely deserves a win soon. Tied for second here last year with a greens in regulation clip of 73.6%. Needs one good putting week.   Lee Westwood 14/1 Anot...

A big shout out to all the team at the Slieve Russell Hotel Golf and Country Club who are gearing up for their big Pro-Am in a couple of weeks. Here’s the presser.  Slieve Russell Pro-Am 2013 â€" One of Ireland’s most celebrated Pro-Ams for Irish PGA Professionals returns with new weekend dates. The Slieve Russell Pro-Am, a flagship event for the PGA in Ireland, will chalk up a 21 st anniversary in 2013 and take place over a weekend for the first time ever. Pic: Left to right: Paudge Tobin â€" Slieve Russell Golf Club President 2013, Brian Cunningham â€" Slieve Russell Golf Club Captain 2013, Michelle McGreevy - Slieve Russell Hotel, Golf & Country Club - Director of Golf,Tony Walker â€" Slieve Russell Hotel, Golf & Country Club - General Manager The pro-am, which always attracts a top quality field, takes place on the 8 th & 9 th June 2013, at its traditional home of the Slieve Russell Hotel Golf & Country Club and remains one of the highe...

Pro’s on Tour have a lot of evenings to pass and have been known to devour box sets of TV shows. I’ve canvassed several and compiled their top 3 favourite series. 1. The Wire The most popular TV show watched by the pros is The Wire. Over five seasons, The Wire focuses on the drugs trade, port, Mayor’s office, school system and print media in Baltimore. Key characters include Marlo Stanfield and Omar Little.   2. Breaking Bad Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad centres around high school chemistry teacher Walter White, who, faced with hospital bills for cancer treatment, turns to a life of crime, producing and selling methamphetamine with a former student, Jesse Pinkman. The series is currently in its fifth and final season.   3 .House of Cards Set in present day Washington, D.C., House of Cards features Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood a South Carolina democrat and the House Majority Whip, who after getting passed over for appointment to Secretary of State, de...

Since this picture emerged of Jason Dufner looking like a big sad teddy bear, it hasn’t taken long for Bubba, Rickie, Luke and Rors to take the mickey!  So who’s the best at Dufnering?  Here’s our compilation. (Make sure to click read more to open all the pics) Jason Dufner The Original Bubba Luke Rory Rickie     Technorati Tags: Bubba Watson funny pic , rickie fowler funny pic , jason dufner funny pic , dufnering