Dustin Johnson almost took out the camera guy on top of the tower today at the WGC event in Doral. If that guy wasn’t paying attention before, he is now.
WGC
Oh yeah I almost forgot… eventually the media types did get around to talking to Adam Scott on Sunday. I mean all he did was walk around the course and hit all the shots. It’s not like he had to carry a bag or wear a caddie bib or anything. You can check out his interview after the jump.
Adam Scott played some incredible golf this week with Steve Williams on his bag. While still live on the air after the tournament was finished, CBS sent David Feherty over to grab Stevie for an interview.
Still fuming due to “wasting two years” of his life, he made sure to mention several times that he’s been caddying for over 32 years, has over 140 wins and this was the best week of his life. In other words, “Screw you Tiger. You fired me and my new loop kicked your ass this week.”
I don’t have any particular problem with the comment because I’m sure that right now, given that fact that he was at a professional low point a few weeks ago, he really does feel like this is the best week he’s ever had on the bag. He may not feel that way a few years from now, but hindsight is always 20/20.
Stevie went on to give an impromptu interview session with reporters at the tournament and provided this gem among others: “like I said, there’s a lot of expectations on Adam, not just myself. I mean, it’s hard to explain, but he’s under pressure a little bit, too”. Yep, Stevie definitely doesn’t have an ego [sarcasm alert].
I’m sure Stevie’s not too upset that he took home about $140k this week as his cut of Scott’s purse while Tiger won about $70k.
You can check out the video of Stevie’s interview with Feherty here and the transcript from his Q&A session with reporters after the tournament after the break:
The Economist posted a very interesting article discussing the financial model behind the PGA Tour and how they’re preparing themselves for a “post-Tiger” world.
Tiger may yet roar back. His knee and head may mend, and he is only 35, which is still young for a golfer. But just in case, golf is preparing furiously for the post-Tiger era. The sport is globalising: to the three internationally sanctioned World Golf Championships, a fourth event in China was added in 2009, and a fifth in South Africa will follow in 2012. The PGA Tour plans to open 180 retail shops around China, and golf will return to the Olympics in 2016 in Brazil.
The PGA Tour has also weathered the recession remarkably well overall:
Last year, Bubba Watson was all that stood between Martin Kaymer and his first major. Kaymer defeated Watson in a 3-hole playoff to claim the PGA Championship. Yesterday, Watson was all that was standing between Kaymer and the #1 world ranking.
It took just a little bit longer (a full 18 holes), but after Kaymer won the 16th hole to go dormie, he seemed destined to displace Lee Westwood on top of the world golf rankings, a spot that Westwood has held since Oct 31st.
I’ve stated a number of times that I think Martin Kaymer is currently the best player in the world. Nobody else has matched his performance over the past year and now the rankings have finally caught up to reality.
Kaymer will now face Luke Donald in the final match of the WGC-Accenture. The number 1 spot is secure, but I’m sure that Kaymer would love to put an exclamation point on it with a win. That’s going to be a tough task, as Donald has birdied 13 of his last 27 holes. But he can’t stay that hot forever can he?
Not only did Ben Crane give Rory McIlroy a serious beatdown today, he also played the fastest round of his life. Looks like his workout and pre-round rituals are legit.
OK, so I don’t actually know how long it took for Crane and McIlroy to play their match, but since Crane won 8 and 7, that means they only played 11 holes. So it couldn’t have possibly taken more than… I don’t know… 4 hours?
For Ben Crane, that’s like playing speed golf.
Defending champion Ian Poulter wasn’t feeling to good about being knocked out in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play yesterday. Given that he wasn’t the only upset, he proposed a match with Tiger this weekend, and suggested that Paul Azinger could provide commentary. Steve Stricker might want in on this thing too.
Honestly a Poulter/Woods grudgematch would probably draw ratings as high as any other match left to play this weekend.
And on a side note, how good did Martin Kaymer look yesterday? If he keeps playing like that, it’s only a matter of time before the world #2 finds himself in the #1 spot.
