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SPORTS/tEl(ie Charlotte $o0t
Thursday, October 26, 2006
IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR GAME
Bermuda grass
is no vacation
By T.J. TOMASI
Universal Press Syndicate
Bermuda grass is famous for “eating up”
clubhead speed, which is why the vast majority
of pitches and chips from Bermuda roughs fall
woefully short of target. It gives new meaning
to the phrase “short game.”
Bermuda is a very difficult grass to pitch out
of because it grows straight up, and the ball
can either sink to the bottom, stay on top of the
grass or settle somewhere in between. The
player is forced to adjust the stroke, depending
on which situation is in play
To combat this, always take a practice swing
or two in grass of a similar texture near the
ball to figure out how hard to swing.
In the first photo below, Futures Tour player
Jee Hee “Pony” Lee uses her left arm to judge
the length of her backswing. For this shot it
points to about 8:30 on the clock. When the ball
lies at the bottom of the grass, it will require a
much harder swing to cut a path to the ball. In
that case. Pony would probably swing her guide
arm (her left) back to 10:30 to provide enough
force to pop the ball out.
Whatever distance her guide arm swings
back to, she must take care to match that dis
tance on the follow-through in order to pre
serve her acceleration through impact.
Otherwise, Pony will fall prey to the dreaded
“deceU shot,” where the ball falls well short of
target.
The opposite lie, where the baU sits on top of
the grass, looks easy but it isn’t—in fact, it’s
one of the hardest shots in golf. You should use
your sand wedge for maximum loft, but since it
has a large flange on the bottom, it flattens out
the grass behind the ball as you approach im-'
pact. This can cause the baU to ride up the face
of the club too much and—you guessed it—
the baU faUs weU short of target.
To prevent this, hover the club over the baU
instead of soling it behind the baU as you nor-
maUy would, then make sure your swing is a
bit flatter (more around) than usual.
Jee Hee “Pony” Lee judges the length
of her backswing with her left arm —
about 8:30 on the clock here. She
figures out how hard to hit the ball by
eyeballing the distance of the pitch and
evaluating her lie.
Note here how low Pony’s clubhead
stays through impact — no trying to lift
the ball in the air with this swing. And
the back of her left hand is firm with the
left arm and shaft in a perfect straight
line, indicating that her core is moving
the clubhead rather than her hands.
Golf^ Insider
Exemptions ease
money list worries
By CRAIG DOLCH
Cox News Service
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Question: What do Nick Price,
David Duval, John Daly Mark
Calcavecchia, Paul Azii^er, Mark
Brooks, Steve Elkington, Larry
Mize, Lee Janzen, Steve Jones and
Bernhard Langer aU have in com
mon?
Obvious answer: They’re for
mer major champions on the PGA
Tour.
More appropriate answer:
They’re aU outside the top 125 on
this year’s money list. And with
just two fuU-field events remain
ing, that’s not a great place to be.
But it’s not the worst place, either.
Even though it’s becoming
harder to finish in the top 125 be
cause more international players
are competing on the PGA Tour,
being outside the top 125 isn’t as
scary as it used to be for these vet
erans because there are other
ways to get into future events.
Daly (192nd on the money list)
is so unconcerned about his sta
tus, he didn’t even enter the Funai
Classic at Disney World or this
week’s Chrysler Championship.
You can blame his absence ei
ther on a hand injury a season in
which he’s posted ordy one top-25
finish or general indifference
(he’s already said he won’t go back
to the PGA Tour’s Qualifying
Tournament).
“It’s just been one of those
years where nothing has gone
right,” Daly said.
But Daly has a safety net. Since
he has won a PGA Tour event
(he’s won five, including two ma
jors), he’s considered a Tour mem
ber and can receive as many spon
sor’s exemptions as he wants. •
With his popularity, Daly figures
to get more than enough exemp
tions to fiU out his schedule, and
he’s also free to take appearance
fees by playing overseas.
Calcavecchia (128th) doesn’t
have to worry about next year’s
status because his victory in last
summer’s Canadian Open carries
a two-year exemption. The only
drawback is he’s not currently ex
empt for The Players
Championship.
Duval’s five-year exemption for
winning the 2001 British Open ex
pires this season, but he can take
a one-time exemption for being in
the top 25 on the tour’s career
money list (he’s 24th with $16.6
million).
Because he’s guaranteed of fin
ishing in the top 25, he’ll be eligi
ble to take a future exemption for
being in the top 50 in career earn
ings.
Price also can take a one-time
exemption for being in the top 25,
but he turns 50 on Jan. 28 and will
play some on the Champions Tour
as he continues to cut back on his
playing schedule. Bob Tway
(175th) also can use his top-50 ex
emption to keep playing a full
schedule next year.
Azinger (122nd), Janzen (147th)
and Mark O’Meara (197th) used
their top-50 career money status
to keep playing this year, so they
don’t have that option again.
O’Meara won’t need to—he turns
50 on Jan. 13.
Langer (145th) also turns 50
next year, but not until Aug. 27.
That explains why he’s played the
last five weeks.
BEN GRAY / Cox News Service
Although he’s outside the
top 125 on this year’s money
list, John Daly, shown above
during the 2006 Masters, can
fill out his golf schedule
through exemptions.
Lehman puts focus back on his game
STAN AWTREY
Cox News Service
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
If s been weeks since Tom
Lehman walked away from The K
Club, a plot of soggy Irish soil
soaked by rainfall and the celebra
tory champagne sprayed by the
victorious European Ryder Cup
team.
With his U.S. Ryder Cup captain
cy behind him, Lehman is ready to
resume his most successful season
as a player on the PGA Tour since
2001.
“It’s been a very hectic last cou
ple of months,” Lehman said last
weekend during the Funai Classic.
“It’s nice to be out here playing
again.”
Lehman has won $1,681 million
on tour this
year, ranking
40th. He’d like
to qualify for
the Tour
Championship
next month. He
has not partici
pated in the
LEHMAN season^Jn(img
event since
2001, when he won $1.9 million and
ranked 20th on the money list.
Looking rested and relaxed, he
acknowledged that the adjustment
from Capt. Lehman to citizen
Lehman wasn’t easy to make, not
that he believed it would be easy to
walk away from an event that con
sumed him for two years. He took
two weeks off after the Ryder Cup
before deeming himself ready to
return to competition. And he has
purposely kept a low profile since
the Ryder Cup.
“It took a couple of weeks to get
everything all sorted out,”
Lehman .said. “Get back home, get
reorganized, that sort of thing.
“It definitely took a little while.
You put so much into it for so long,
it’s not like you can just turn it on
and off and move on. It took a little
bit of an adjustment.”
Lehman’s game has been good
this year. He lost to Dean Wilson in
a playoff at the International and
nearly played his way onto the
Ryder Cup team. He still drives
well and is among the top one-
third in greens in regulation.
“Now I’ve got to get ready to play
and work on my own game,” he
said.
Vi^ds won’t claim
7th Vardon Trophy
When Tiger Woods didn’t enter
thte week’s Chrysler
Championship, that made it offi
cial; He won’t win his seventh
Vardon Trophy for low scoring
average because he’ll fall one
round shy of reaching the mini
mum 60 rounds.
Woods was asked last month
how much the Vardon means to
him. “Not much,” he said.
“Overall consistency... yes. I’ve
had a good year. But if you don’t
play enough rounds, you don’t
play enough rounds.”
With Woods (68.11) out of con
sideration, Jim Furyk likely will
win his first Vardon Trophy He’s
at 68.94, which should keep him
in fiont of Adam Scott (69.03).
Annika Sorenstam also missed
out on the Vare Trophy two years
ago when she didn’t play enou^
rounds on the LPGA Tour.
— Craig Dolch, Cox News Service
PGA Tour aligns with NASCAR
RICK MINTER
Cox News Service
Atlanta
Golfer Davis Love III took a
few fast laps around Atlanta
Motor Speedway with
Denny Hamlin earlier
this month, and the
PGA Tour jumped on
the NASCAR bandwag
on by announcing that
Hamlin’s No. 11 Chevy
will carry a FedEx Cup
logo during Sunday’s
Bass Pro Shops 500.
Love, who first rode
with Hamlin then
drove himself, likened
the PGA’s new four-
tournament playoff
format, which begins
next year, to
NASCAR’s Chase for
the Nextel Cup.
In both, points are
earned by competitors
during the regular season, then
the points are reset for the play
offs. In NASCAR, the Chase be
gins after the first 26 races of the
season and is run during the
final 10 events. On the PGA Tour,
the FedEx Cup begins after the
first 36 tournaments and is
played over four
events, ending with
the Tom-
Championship at East
Lake (^If Club in
Atlanta.
Love, a longtime
NASCAR fan and
friend of driver Kyle
Petty, said he believes
golf fans will learn to
like the new format.
“We’ll have our play
offs, we’ll have our
Cox News Service Chase for the Cup, and
Davis Love III
hits some balls
at Atlanta Motor
Speedway.
it’ll be an exciting fin
ish,” Love said.
Love also gave
Hamlin a few golf tips.
Hamlin said he’s not
about to try to switch
sports. “I’m going to stick with
what I know how to do,” he said.
SCHEDULE
All Times Eastern
PGA TOUR
Chrysler Championship
• Site: Palm Harbor, Fla.
• Schedule: Thursday-Sunday
• Course: Westin Innisbrook
Resort, Copperhead Course
(7,340 yards, par 71).
• Purse: $5.3 million. Winner’s
share; $954,000.
• TV: USA (Thursday-Friday 4-
6 p.m., Saturday, 3-6) and ABC
(Sunday 2-5 p.m.).
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Charles Schwab Cup
Championship
• Site: Sonoma, Calif.
• Schedule: Thursday-Sunday
• Course:' Sonoma Golf Club
(7,111 yards, par 72).
• Purse: $2.5 million. Winner’s
share: $440,000.
• TV: The Golf Channel
(Thursday-Sunday, 5-7:30-p.m., •
9-11 p.m.).
LPGA TOUR
Kolon-Hana Bank
Championship
• Site: Kyungju, South Korea.
• Schedule: Friday-Sunday
• Course: Mauna Ocean Golf
& Resort (6,381 yards, par 72).
• Purse: $1.35 million.
Winner’s share: $202,500.
• TV: None.
NATIONWTDE TOUR
Miccosukee Championship
• Site: Miami.
• Schedule: Thursday-Sunday
• Coiu-se: Miccosukee Golf
and Country Club (7,200 yards,
par 71).
• Purse: $500,000. Winner’s
share: $90,000.
• TV: The Golf Channel
(Thursday 1:30-4 p.m.; Friday
1:30-3 am., 1:30-4 p.m.;
Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 am.,
1:30-4 p.m.; Monday 1-2:30
am.).
PGA EUROPEAN TOUR
Volvo Masters
• Site: Sotogrande, Spain.
• Schedule: Thursday-Sunday
• Course: Valderrama Golf
Club (6,952 yards, par 71).
• Purse: $5.01 million.
Winner’s share: $835,200.
• TV: The Golf Channel
(Thursday-Saturday 9 a.m.-
noon; Sxmday 8-11 a.m.)
WORLD RANKINGS
1. Tiger Woods
22.30
2. Jim Furyk
8.66
3. Phil Mickeison
8.26
4. Adam Scott
7.20
5. Vijay Singh
6.65
6. Relief Goosen
6.38
7. Ernie Els
6.04
8. Luke Donald
5.63
9. Sergio Garcia
5.56
10. Geoff Ogiivy
5,45
MONEY LEADERS
PGATOUR
Player Money
1. Tiger Woods $9,941,563
2. Jim Furyk $6,483,316
3. Vijay Singh $4,325,406
4. Phii Mickeison $4,256,505
5. Geoff Ogiivy $4,228,869
6. Adam Scott $3,808,858
7. T. immeiman $3,562,546
8. Stuart Appieby $3,258,242
9. Luke Donaid $2,911,408
10. David Toms $2,764,287
LPGATOUR
Player Money
1. Lorena Ochoa $2,342,872
2. A.Sorenstam $1,906,126
3. Karrie Webb $1,889,613
4. Cristie Kerr $1,539,366
5. MiHyunKim $1,290,910
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Player Money
1. Jay Haas $2,315,227
2. Loren Roberts $2,207,395
3. Brad Bryant $1,655,292
4. Gil Morgan $1,482,050
5. Tom Kite $1,389,348
THE GOLF DOCTOR
Low hands in high grass
When your baU is buried in the grass,
your clubhead should rest on its heel, with
the toe of the club off the ground. By set-
tii^ the club on the heel, the bounce of the
club is increased along with the potential
hitting surface. This increased surface
area helps your clubhead plow through the
grass, giving you the best chance to make
solid contact.
When you stand farther from the baU to
do this, your hands hang lower, presetting
your wrists and creating a steeper angle of
attack so that the grass behind the ball has
less effect on the shot. Also, by lowering
your hands, your shoulders tflt more as
they swing, producing a more upright
backswing that adds to the cutting action
of the swing, just what you need to carve
your baU out of the grass.
When your club is on its heel, be sure to
position the ball in the middle of the club
face to avoid any possibility of catching it
on the neck of file club (aka shank).
There are two additional adjustments in
deep grass:
(1) Since deep grass tends to grab the
neck of your club, it can twist your club-
face into a closed position at impact. This
causes a pulled shot left of target, so aim to
the right (left for lefties) to compensate for
thepull.*
(2) And of course, because of the resist
ance of the grass, you have to swing harder
than you normally would with a firmer
grip pressure that helps you retain control
of your club.
— T.J. Tbmasi
ASKTHE PRO
Q: I took up the game two months ago and
don’t know much about the water and sand
that I always seem to be in. What do I need
to know?—Dora B., from the Web
A: Dora your question is about “hazards,”
which include permanent water areas such
as ponds, brooks and ditches, whether filled
or dry, and the exposed sand or soil in a
bunker.
Water: The boundaries of regular water
hazards are defined by yellow stakes. When
your ball is in a water hazard, you have
three options; (1) play it as it lies, (2) take a
one-stroke penalty and drop a ball behind
the hazard in line with the hole and the
point at which the baU last crossed the mar
gin of the hazard, (3) take a one-stroke
penalty and replay the shot from where
your original ball was hit. If it was from the
tee, you may re-tee.
Lateral water hazards are defined by red
stakes.
GeneraUy a lateral hazard runs paraUel
to the line of the hole. In a lateral hazard,
you may choose any of the options for a reg
ular water hazard plus two additional: You
may drop a baU within two club lengths of
the point where the baU last crossed the line
of the hazard, or drop a baU within two club
lengths on the opposite margin of the haz
ard at a point that is equidistant from the
hole.
Bunkers; Sand bimkers are also consid
ered hazards, and you must play the ball as
it lies in the bunker without touching your
club to the sand when you address the baU.
In fact, when your baU lies in any hazard,
you can’t touch the ground (sand or water)
with the club untU you are makii^ a for
ward swing.
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate for Cox News Service. (800) 255-6734. ‘For release the week of October 23, 2006.