Don’t ban anchored putters!

The PGA Tour has finally shut the door on the anchoring question, but I’m not okay with it.

I’ve never been one to question Commissioner Tim Finchem’s decision-making (insert sly smile here), but I’m strongly opposed to the PGA Tour’s final decision to ban anchored clubs beginning January 1, 2016. Yes, it’s true that four of the last seven major championship winners – Adam Scott (2013 Masters), Ernie Els (2012 Open Championship), Webb Simpson (2012 US Open), Keegan Bradley (2011 PGA Championship) – have won using some form of anchored putter, but why are fellow pros, media jockeys and fans making such a big deal about it? It’s just one club!

While putting statistics may show that Ernie Els and Adam Scott have putted better since they switched from standard length putters, let’s not forget that both golfers were world-class players beforehand. Granted, Els and Scott were in the midst of respective slumps when they turned to their own forms of anchored putting, but I give them props for working their tails off to become confident enough to put anchored putters in play at tournaments.

Tiger Woods, who, in my opinion, has all but been the Tour’s biggest opponent of anchored putting, is one of the best putters of all time. Of that, there is no question. He has never used an anchored putter in competition and probably not even in practice rounds at home, so should he be that outspoken about banning anchored putters? I say no, but then again that’s not me. I’d rather here from a guy like Phil Mickelson. Unlike Woods, Mickelson sported a belly putter for a few competitive rounds a couple of years back. Did it look strange to see him use it? Absolutely. Did he putt better with it? Not a chance. The belly putter wasn’t for Mickelson, just as it will never be for Woods, but at least Lefty knows what he’s talking about if asked to compare an anchored putter to a non-anchored putter.

And as for me, when I played collegiate golf I was pretty solid putter. I mean, other than the occasional four-putt, which entailed that I buy a round of drinks for the rest of my teammates (always a little pricey). Overall, however, I was confident in my ability to wield the flat stick and make clutch putts when I needed to. But I digress. I’ve experimented with a belly putter. Is it tough to get used to? Most definitely. Does it feel weird, especially for the first little while? Without a doubt! Was it for me? Heck no!

My point is that PGA Tour players, and for that matter professional golfers everywhere, should be able to use whatever putter, putting method or putting stroke they so choose to help them improve their putting. It just so happens that the majority of recent major champions use anchored putters.

Big deal. Get over it.

Upsets galore at Wimbledon

In the midst of tennis’ grandest fortnight, it has been more than apparent that many of the top players in the world – men and women – have struggled to find their championship form on the lawns of the All England Club. Yes, it’s true that I’m a huge Roger Federer fan, and likewise not that big of a Rafa Nadal enthusiast, but to see two of the greatest Grand Slam performers over the past 10 years suffer extremely early exits at this year’s Wimbledon tournament is definitely odd. And strange. Granted, Britain’s Andy Murray and the reigning champion, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, are still on course for what should be an electric championship finale, but with Federer and Nadal both failing to make it to the second week, is it safe to say that the tennis is world is undergoing a small transformation? Again. And that’s just on the men’s side.

Remaining on the men’s side of the draw, early tournament losses or retirements by other top-flight players, most notably Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stanislas Wawrinka, were also very surprising. On the bright side of all of these upsets, viewers have had the opportunity to watch other players weasel their way through the draw and into the quarterfinal round. The biggest surprise of any of the men’s quarterfinalists, in my views, is Poland’s Lukasz Kubot. The 31-year-old has only played one seeded player in his first four matches (no. 25 Benoit Paire in Round 3), but he is in a position to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal – two days after reaching his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. In his way is fellow Pole Jerzy Janowicz. They are the first two men’s Polish players to make it to the last eight at Wimbledon since Wojtek Fibak did it in 1980. The winner of the match will be the first Pole ever to reach the semifinals at any of the four Grand Slam events.

However, quarterfinal and semifinal appearances, are no stranger to fellow Pole Agnieszka Radwanska. The 24-year-old from Krakow, also the no. 4 seed at this year’s Wimbledon, is seeking a return trip to the women’s final. She has made it through to her third quarterfinal in as many grand slams this year, but Radwanska is looking to get back to a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since last year at the All England Club. She probably has the toughest quarterfinal match, as she faces the no.6 seed and 2011 French Open champion, Li Na. Mind you, a win over Na would keep the young Pole in position to claim her first Grand Slam title. And with five-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams having been ousted on “Manic Monday,” this might be Radwanska’s best shot yet to win her first major.

Williams, like a handful of other top players on the women’s side of the tournament, lost earlier than anyone expected. Former champion and third seeded Maria Sharapova lost in Round 2. Victoria Azarenka, seeded second, withdrew before her second round match even started. No. 5 Sara Errani didn’t even make it out of Wimbledon’s opening day. A semifinalist a couple of weeks ago at the French Open, Errani lost in straight sets in her Round 1 match.

Even though only one unseeded woman advanced to the quarterfinals, like the men, there aren’t a host of big names among the final eight. Other than Na and Radwanska, Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, is the only other top-10 player who survived the first four rounds of the tournament. Could there be a changing of the guard in women’s tennis too? No Williams. No Sharapova. If I’m picking a winner of the ladies title this year it’s either Radwanska or Kvitova, with a slight nod to the Czech. After all, she is the only women left standing who has a Wimbeldon title to her credit.

Upsets or not, Wimbledon is still the greatest tennis tournament to watch, and I’m sure both singles champions will, over their final few matches, prove why they left the All England Club a grand champion themselves.

Not golfing in the Hawaiin rain

Constant wind and rain have wrecked havoc with the 2013 PGA Tour season opener at Kapalua. Scott Stallings is one player who has tried to weather a lengthy early season delay. Photo by PGATour.com.

Two days into the 2013 PGA Tour season and there still has not been one shot struck at the 2012 winners only Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, HI. To be fair, however, most players began their opening rounds Friday, but after a pair of weather suspensions Tour officials decided to scrap the scores compiled by every player in the field. The difficult windy and rainy conditions haven’t been seen at Kapalua for the Tour’s opening event in some time, but they have cause havoc with the players, officials and fans alike.

First time participant Jonas Blixt didn’t seem to be too fazed by the less than fair weather conditions. On Saturday – a day players were supposed to play 36 holes on the water-logged Plantation Course – the Swede was rumoured to have played a few holes during the third weather delay of the event. It was later discovered that Blixt was only hitting golf balls on the practice range and not any part of the lengthy par-73 layout. Had he actually been playing on the actual course I think he would have been disqualified, but to be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure that is correct. Guess I need to read up on my rules.

But I’ll do that another time, althought that might be some other time this weekend … should the championship fail to get off the tee for the third straight day.

For now I’m left to speculate as to whether or not the season-opening event will go down in the record books as an official PGA Tour event. And of course I’m still left wondering who will win at Kapalua – official or not. I’m sticking with my Friday pick of Dustin Johnson. The big-hitting South Carolina native is due to make a huge splash this season, and starting the season with a victory is quite likely. That is especially true now that the
Plantation Course will play much longer than its 7,452 yards. Oh, and the fact that DJ Long Ball has previously won a rain delayed PGA Tour event (2009 AT&T Championship at Pebble Beach).

Rain or shine, here’s hoping we finally have some golf to watch on Sunday.

Tiger turns cat-trick

Tiger Woods won his third PGA Tour title of 2012 Sunday at the AT&T National. It was his second victory at the event, and marks the first time since 2009 that the former #1 has won this many times in a season. Photo courtesy Scott Halleran/Getty Images.

Tiger Woods claimed his third victory of the 2012 PGA Tour season at the AT&T National on Sunday. Although he didn’t climb from his fourth in the world rankings, the win vaulted the former world no. 1 to first in the FedEx Cup standings, 103 points ahead of Jason Dufner. The win at Congressional was the second for Woods, who won the AT&T National, which he hosts, back in 2009.

With the win, Woods also became the first three-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2012, and climbed ahead of legendary Jack Nicklaus for second all-time with his 74th career victory. If Woods is able to capture nine more titles, he will pass Sam Snead for the most PGA Tour victories. I don’t think the question is if Woods can pass Snead, but when. He’s only 36 years old.

But the question of whether or not Woods can tie, or even pass, Nicklaus’ mark of 18 major championship wins is the question golf fans and media members alike will continue to ask and attempt to answer. He has 14 on his resume thus far, but none since he stunned the sports world by winning the 2008 United States Open at Torrey Pines – in a 19-hole playoff over journeyman Rocco Mediate – on one leg. In my mind that performance was the greatest accomplishment in sports history.

His three wins this season marks the first time since 2009 that he has recorded that many victories on the circuit. He won six times that year and had three runner-up finishes. His play this year has, to be fair been inconsistent, but with two of those wins coming in his last three starts, Woods seems to have found something in his mental game that is just working like it did back in his glory years.

Down the stretch on Sunday, Woods went toe-to-toe with Bo Van Pelt. Now Van Pelt only has one PGA Tour title to his credit, but through 15 holes of the final round the two men were tied at nine-under par as they headed to the par-5 16th, which had played as the easiest hole on the course throughout the course of the tournament. After two shots apiece, they were each sitting pretty. Woods had a wedge shot from just inside 100 yards from the right fairway, and Van Pelt had, despite an awkward stance, a chip and run from about 30 yards underneath the hole. Woods unexpectedly sent his approach shot over the green to a mown area about eight feet below the surface of the green, which meant Van Pelt had a clear advantage. It looked for sure like Van Pelt would head to the 17th tee with at least a one-shot lead, but then he mishit his chip shot and ended up making bogey. Woods also made bogey (his first in 41 holes), and they made their way to the 17th tee still tied, but at eight-under par.

Both men missed the fairway off the tee, but Van Pelt’s ball was below his feet and in the heavier rough. He caught a huge flier lie and airmailed the putting surface. He would make bogey as he watched steely-eyed Woods drain a clutch six-foot par putt to collect a one stroke advantage heading to the home hole. Woods was in the zone and piped a 345-yard drive off the 18th tee before throwing a crisp approach shot 12-feet below the hole, which all but sealed the win.

In his first two wins of 2012, Woods relied more on his ball striking to get the job done, but at Congressional, the wily veteran’s short game, especially his putting, earned him the trophy and the winner’s cheque.

He will be teeing it up at this week’s Greenbrier Classic, his first appearance at the famed West Virginia resort spectacle, looking to add to his trophy case in his last start before the season’s third major: the Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St. Annes. Woods finished T-25 in the last Open played there in 2001, and he will be looking to score a 15th major championship win in three weeks time.

Lastly, on the question of whether Tiger Woods is back or not … I think his play the last few weeks tells the tale of what state his game is in right now.

2012 CFL Season Preview: Lions will roar again, Bombers to finish last

The B.C. Lions celebrated winning the 99th Grey Cup on home turf last November. Will they be doing the same at the 100th edition of the big game in Toronto this coming November? Photo courtesy Mark Blinch/REUERS.

Just going to throw this out there: I’m an Edmonton Eskimos fan, but that doesn’t mean I think each of the seven other teams in the Canadian Football League are brutal. In fact, they aren’t. They have all put together talented rosters this year, and they each have rich histories full of championship glory.

Anyways, I digress.

The 2012 CFL season kicks off this weekend, and does so in a major way. The opening night doubleheader features a pair of intriguing games. Getting the season underway is a battle between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in The Hammer. Both teams enter with new head coaches – Cory Chamblin for the green Riders and George Cortez for the Tabbies – and looking to improve on last season’s performances. For the hometown Ticats, they’re looking to reach the Grey Cup for the first time since they hoisted it in 1999, just a year after losing 19-3 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East Final. Despite knocking off the heavily favoured, and two-time defending champion Montreal Alouettes in the East Semi-Final. In trying to improve on their dismal 8-10 record from a season ago, the organization also brought in a pair of acclaimed veterans from out west. Former Stampeders pivot Henry Burris is the new starter in Steeltown, and his new favourite target will likely be ex-Rider Andy Fantuz, who is sure to ready to line up against his old teammates.

The Riders, though they brought in a new – and very young – head coach, made significant offseason changes across the board. Their most notable acquisitions, however, were along the offensive and defensive lines. Former Blue Bomber Brendon LaBatte was signed to fill a big hole at guard, and University of Saskatchewan product Ben Heenan was made the first overall pick in this year’s CFL Draft. He will likely line up opposite LaBatte at the other guard position. The Riders also brought in another now former Blue Bomber in pass rushing specialist Odell Willis. The Meridian, Missisippi native is coming off a 13-sack season ago, in leading Winnipeg to a Grey Cup appearance. It was the third consecutive season in which Willis collected at least 10 sacks. Saskatchewan will be looking for Willis to replicate those numbers in 2012 as the team looks to return to the playoffs a year after missing them for the first time since 2001.

The second half of the opening night doubleheader features a Grey Cup rematch. On November 27, 2011, the British Columbia Lions outlasted the Blue Bombers 34-23 to win their sixth championship, and second one on home turf (1994). On June 29, 2012, the Lions will look to continue where they left off the 2011 season, with a win at home over Winnipeg. The biggest change for the defending champs from the offseason is that Wally Buono stepped down from his role as head coach to focus solely on his responsibilities as the team’s general manager. Stepping into the shoes of the five-time Grey Cup-winning coach is the Lions’ defensive coordinator and linebackers’ coach from 2008-2011: Mike Benevides. With last season’s Most Outstanding Player, quarterback Travis Lulay, returning with his familiar downfield receiving threats in Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce, the Lions are a real threat to repeat as Grey Cup champions.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers surprised a lot of people in 2011 with their run to the Grey Cup, especially after losing starting running back Fred Reid to a torn ACL mid-season and seeing QB Buck Pierce nursing some kind of injury virtually every week. Oh, and Pierce’s TD:INT ratio wasn’t worthy of a pivot playing in the Grey Cup. It was 14:18. Nonetheless, it was Winnipeg’s dominating defence and opportunistic special teams units that paved the way for the Bombers to win the East Division’s regular season crown and make it to the big game in Vancouver. Their sack master from a season ago, Willis, is not back with the blue and gold, and neither is defensive tackle Doug Brown, who retired in the offseason. The pressure off the defensive front will need to come from other players for the Bombers in 2012. Guys like Brandon Collier and Fernand Kashama have some big shoes to fill along Winnipeg’s defensive line this season. The Bombers also open the season with four straight road games (B.C., Montreal, Edmonton, Toronto), and I don’t see them escaping this stretch with better than a 1-3 record.

The weekend’s third contest is all about the return of Ricky Ray to Edmonton and the stadium he called home for nine seasons. The 32-year-old, two-time Grey Cup champion (2003, 2005) was dealt to the Toronto Argonauts last December in a deal which brought the quarterback he will oppose in both teams’ Week 1 opener: Steven Jyles. The trade came out of nowhere, but with the Argos hosting the 100th Grey Cup this November, the organization knew it needed to make a splash. By acquiring Ray and wide receiver Jason Barnes, his former Eskimos teammate, the Argos instantly improved an offence that struggled mightily to throw the ball downfield in 2011. New Argos head coach Scott Milanovichis an offensive-minded coach and he will be sure to let Ray air it out early and often versus his former team, and over the 18-game regular season schedule. The Argos look like a real threat in the East with their offence, but the play of their defence will dictate how far they go in the CFL’s centennial season.

I said this in January and I will say it again now. The Edmonton Eskimos will struggle this 2012 CFL season. Their struggles will result in a 6-12 record, which will get them last place in the CFL West Division standings and no trip to the playoffs. With one of the game’s most prolific passers no longer sporting the green and gold, the Eskimos offence is sure to have more off nights than on nights this season. And even though the Blue Bombers made it to the 2011 Grey Cup primarily as a result of the play from their defence, it’s highly unlikely Edmonton can duplicate that this year. Not that second-year head coach Kavis Reed has a bunch of misfit toys under him this year, because receiver Fred Stamps is the best player at his position in the league, but it’s going to be tough for Esks fans to support a team without a pedigreed quarterback under centre. The question I have, is when will Reed turn the quarterbacking duties over to former University of Oregon standout Jeremiah Masoli?

Canada Day weekend in the CFL concludes with a game actually being played on our national holiday. The Calgary Stampeders host the Montreal Alouettes in a battle between teams who both lost in their respective division semi-finals. The Stamps begin this season with Drew Tate as their number one QB, after longtime chart topper Burris was dealt to Hamilton for fellow pivot Kevin Glenn and offensive lineman Mark Dewit last January. Head coach John Hufnagel is putting all his eggs in Tate’s basket, hoping he’s the next coming of Jeff Garcia and/or Dave Dickinson, who is Hufnagel’s offensive coordinator. Tate kind of reminds me of Lulay, but with more of a chip on his shoulder. For the Stampeders’ sake hopefully he pans out, but I have my doubts about the University of Iowa product.

The Alouettes, although not entering this season as Grey Cup champions like they did each of the last two seasons, bring back the league’s most impressive and veteran roster. Future CFL Hall of Famer Anthony Calvillo will turn 40 years old on August 23, but he can still throw the pigskin like a 30-year-old in the prime of his career. A three-time Grey Cup winner, Calvillo owns a few worthy CFL records, including most career passing yards (73,412), most career touchdown passes (418), most career completions (5,444), most career passing yards in Grey Cup games (2,470 yards) and most completions in a regular season game (44). Even at age 39, Calvillo is still the premiere quarterback in the league and as he goes, so goes the Alouettes. Montreal’s defence has lots of questions to answer after surrendering 52 points in last season’s home playoff defeat to the Ticats. Should those questions be answered early in the season, especially on the road against an explosive Calgary offense, the Alouettes should return to the perch atop the East Division standings by the end of the regular season. However, the Argos might have something to say about that.

Predicted Standings:

East Divison

Montreal Alouettes 11-7

Toronto Argonauts 10-8

Hamilton Tiger-Cats 8-10

Winnipeg Blue Bombers 5-13

West Division

B.C. Lions 13-5

Calgary Stampeders 10-8

Saskatchewan Roughriders 9-9

Edmonton Eskimos 6-12

100th Grey Cup: 

B.C. Lions 32  Toronto Argonauts 28