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Ed Rodgers has acquired a wealth of golf knowledge and experiences from working at a variety of courses and properties in Southwest Florida for more than 35 years.
Still, that didn’t fully prepare him to be a golf course owner. He can relate to the obstacles faced by Ed Lockard and Drew Donnelly, owners of the newly named Sanibel Island Golf Club.
Rodgers owned Jefferson Landing in Jefferson, N.C. from 2005-2010. While he thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the pressure of keeping staff employed during a lagging economy wore on him.
“It was everything I hoped it would be,” said Rodgers, now the general manager of Cypress Lake Country Club. “It’s different being an owner and a golf pro. You don’t lock the doors and walk away and come back the next day. It’s yours 24-7.”
After being an assistant golf pro, head golf pro, general manager and later a vice president for one of Bonita Bay’s properties, Rodgers thought he was well-equipped to own a course. When a realtor told him about Jefferson Landing, he took a shot.
Many of the people who lived at Jefferson Landing had that as their second home. The biggest businesses in the region were furniture and Christmas trees.
When the economy went south in 2007, less people were playing golf while paying his course’s 40 employees became increasingly more difficult. “I was OK with that responsibility,” said Rodgers, now 62. “But you’re the one making payroll and you’re the one responsible for every single aspect of the club.
“Realistically, it was my one shot. I’m at an age where I can’t imagine a set of circumstances that would take me that way again.
“The hardest piece was that responsibility to those 40 people. It’s like I adopted 40 more people to my family. When I worked at Bonita Bay, I knew (chairman of the board) David Lucas but you have different assumptions when the other guy is the owner.”
www-news-press-com/article/20130106/ENT10/301060043/Golf-course-ownership-vastly-different-from-life-pro
Still, that didn’t fully prepare him to be a golf course owner. He can relate to the obstacles faced by Ed Lockard and Drew Donnelly, owners of the newly named Sanibel Island Golf Club.
Rodgers owned Jefferson Landing in Jefferson, N.C. from 2005-2010. While he thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the pressure of keeping staff employed during a lagging economy wore on him.
“It was everything I hoped it would be,” said Rodgers, now the general manager of Cypress Lake Country Club. “It’s different being an owner and a golf pro. You don’t lock the doors and walk away and come back the next day. It’s yours 24-7.”
After being an assistant golf pro, head golf pro, general manager and later a vice president for one of Bonita Bay’s properties, Rodgers thought he was well-equipped to own a course. When a realtor told him about Jefferson Landing, he took a shot.
Many of the people who lived at Jefferson Landing had that as their second home. The biggest businesses in the region were furniture and Christmas trees.
When the economy went south in 2007, less people were playing golf while paying his course’s 40 employees became increasingly more difficult. “I was OK with that responsibility,” said Rodgers, now 62. “But you’re the one making payroll and you’re the one responsible for every single aspect of the club.
“Realistically, it was my one shot. I’m at an age where I can’t imagine a set of circumstances that would take me that way again.
“The hardest piece was that responsibility to those 40 people. It’s like I adopted 40 more people to my family. When I worked at Bonita Bay, I knew (chairman of the board) David Lucas but you have different assumptions when the other guy is the owner.”
www-news-press-com/article/20130106/ENT10/301060043/Golf-course-ownership-vastly-different-from-life-pro
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Australia’s leading amateur players along with several others from around the world face a busy month of tournament play in January with significant events being staged on the East Coast.
The Lake Macquarie Women’s Amateur Championship at the Belmont Golf Club south of Newcastle in NSW and the Master of the Amateurs played at Royal Melbourne get things underway this week.
The Men’s and Women’s Australian Amateur titles will be decided next week at the Commonwealth and Woodlands Golf Clubs in Melbourne while the Lake Macquarie Men’s Amateur Championship will be played from January 24th.
With several of our leading amateurs having turned professional in recent months and another, Oliver Goss, embarking on a collegiate career in the US, the door is now open for several emerging players to step up to the plate.
The Lake Macquarie Women’s Amateur Championship begins on Tuesday 8th January and will be played over 72 holes. The would be defending champion, Whitney Hillier is now a member of the Ladies European Tour and will not be in the field.
Su Hyun Oh is expected to start as the woman to beat although she will face strong challenges from the likes of Grace Lennon from Victoria, Hayley Bettencourt from WA, Ellen Davies Graham and Ali Orchard from Queensland and New Zealand Amateur Champion Munchin Keh.
Oh is the current Australian Junior Champion and in 2012 made it to the Quarter Finals of the US Women’s Amateur Championship, finished runner-up at the Callaway World Junior Championship and is currently the 5th ranked amateur in women’s golf worldwide.
The Master of the Amateurs has developed into one of the most significant amateur events in Australia. That is now played at the famed Royal Melbourne is a reflection on its growing standing in Australian golf.
In 2012 the winner was local golfer, Nathan Holman, who defeated the then in-form Daniel Nisbet by five shots. Other previous winners of the event have included Brendan Jones and Jason Day.
Holman is back this year to defend his title but he is up against it in terms of the quality field he faces. The world’s number 4 ranked amateur Peter Williamson is in the field this year as is another talented American Patrick Rodgers who in October of 2012 won the US Collegiate Championship.
The brilliant Chinese 14 year old Guan Tianlang will tee it up, the Asia Pacific Amateur Champion now gearing his game towards a debut appearance as the youngest player ever to compete at the Masters in April. Guan’s narrow but impressive win in Thailand in November signalled him as a future star of Asian and World golf and a second round of 70 at the Australian Open further highlighted his talent.
Other Australians expected to do well at the Master of the Amateurs include the Keperra Bowl Champion and runner-up to Oliver Goss at the West Australian Open Brady Watt, Todd Sinnott, Brett Drewitt and Jordan Zunic while New Zealand Amateur Champion and that country’s best amateur Vaughn McCall gets a chance to show his class over the great Royal Melbourne.
Busy month for Australian amateur golf | iseekgolf-com
The Lake Macquarie Women’s Amateur Championship at the Belmont Golf Club south of Newcastle in NSW and the Master of the Amateurs played at Royal Melbourne get things underway this week.
The Men’s and Women’s Australian Amateur titles will be decided next week at the Commonwealth and Woodlands Golf Clubs in Melbourne while the Lake Macquarie Men’s Amateur Championship will be played from January 24th.
With several of our leading amateurs having turned professional in recent months and another, Oliver Goss, embarking on a collegiate career in the US, the door is now open for several emerging players to step up to the plate.
The Lake Macquarie Women’s Amateur Championship begins on Tuesday 8th January and will be played over 72 holes. The would be defending champion, Whitney Hillier is now a member of the Ladies European Tour and will not be in the field.
Su Hyun Oh is expected to start as the woman to beat although she will face strong challenges from the likes of Grace Lennon from Victoria, Hayley Bettencourt from WA, Ellen Davies Graham and Ali Orchard from Queensland and New Zealand Amateur Champion Munchin Keh.
Oh is the current Australian Junior Champion and in 2012 made it to the Quarter Finals of the US Women’s Amateur Championship, finished runner-up at the Callaway World Junior Championship and is currently the 5th ranked amateur in women’s golf worldwide.
The Master of the Amateurs has developed into one of the most significant amateur events in Australia. That is now played at the famed Royal Melbourne is a reflection on its growing standing in Australian golf.
In 2012 the winner was local golfer, Nathan Holman, who defeated the then in-form Daniel Nisbet by five shots. Other previous winners of the event have included Brendan Jones and Jason Day.
Holman is back this year to defend his title but he is up against it in terms of the quality field he faces. The world’s number 4 ranked amateur Peter Williamson is in the field this year as is another talented American Patrick Rodgers who in October of 2012 won the US Collegiate Championship.
The brilliant Chinese 14 year old Guan Tianlang will tee it up, the Asia Pacific Amateur Champion now gearing his game towards a debut appearance as the youngest player ever to compete at the Masters in April. Guan’s narrow but impressive win in Thailand in November signalled him as a future star of Asian and World golf and a second round of 70 at the Australian Open further highlighted his talent.
Other Australians expected to do well at the Master of the Amateurs include the Keperra Bowl Champion and runner-up to Oliver Goss at the West Australian Open Brady Watt, Todd Sinnott, Brett Drewitt and Jordan Zunic while New Zealand Amateur Champion and that country’s best amateur Vaughn McCall gets a chance to show his class over the great Royal Melbourne.
Busy month for Australian amateur golf | iseekgolf-com
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Paul Fyfe will take over from Philip Hassall as New Zealand Golf's chairman, stepping up from the deputy's role he's been performing for the past three years.
Fyfe was elected to the post on December 22 and took over on January 1.
He joined the board in 2007 and has also acted as chairman of the New Zealand Open Championships subcommittee for the past three years. He has previously been a director of Tennis New Zealand and is the former managing director of ING (formerly Armstrong Jones) and retired in 2006. He holds a number of other directorships which include SIL and MFL Funds.
"We have challenging times ahead of us but we are fortunate to have an excellent management team and a very strong staff who are capable of dealing with these challenges for our sport," he said.
"We are also advantaged by the fact the board of New Zealand Golf has been the same for the past 12 months and will be the same going forward. Having the same people on the board enables us a consistency of thinking and it also helps to keep the momentum as an organisation."
Fyfe was elected to the post on December 22 and took over on January 1.
He joined the board in 2007 and has also acted as chairman of the New Zealand Open Championships subcommittee for the past three years. He has previously been a director of Tennis New Zealand and is the former managing director of ING (formerly Armstrong Jones) and retired in 2006. He holds a number of other directorships which include SIL and MFL Funds.
"We have challenging times ahead of us but we are fortunate to have an excellent management team and a very strong staff who are capable of dealing with these challenges for our sport," he said.
"We are also advantaged by the fact the board of New Zealand Golf has been the same for the past 12 months and will be the same going forward. Having the same people on the board enables us a consistency of thinking and it also helps to keep the momentum as an organisation."
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The Honda Classic will remain at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., for at least the next four years, the tournament announced Tuesday.
“We feel like we have the best venue on the PGA Tour,” Honda Classic executive director Kenneth R. Kennerly said in a release. “The move to PGA National has allowed the Honda Classic to emerge as one of the top events of the year. The players love the course and enjoy their time in Palm Beach County, which is evidenced by the number of top players who continue to move to this area. We are excited that we will be able to stay at PGA National as we move into the future.”
At last year’s event, world No. 1 Rory McIlroy held off a hard-charging Tiger Woods to win one of the most exciting events of the season.
Recently, PGA National underwent a $100 million renovation that included floor-to-ceiling makeovers over its 379 rooms and a new bar and grill called “Bar 91,” among other upgrades.
“We feel like we have the best venue on the PGA Tour,” Honda Classic executive director Kenneth R. Kennerly said in a release. “The move to PGA National has allowed the Honda Classic to emerge as one of the top events of the year. The players love the course and enjoy their time in Palm Beach County, which is evidenced by the number of top players who continue to move to this area. We are excited that we will be able to stay at PGA National as we move into the future.”
At last year’s event, world No. 1 Rory McIlroy held off a hard-charging Tiger Woods to win one of the most exciting events of the season.
Recently, PGA National underwent a $100 million renovation that included floor-to-ceiling makeovers over its 379 rooms and a new bar and grill called “Bar 91,” among other upgrades.
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Woods finished tied third in the European Tour event last year, two shots behind winner Robert Rock of England who he shared the lead with after 54 holes of play.
World number one Rory McIlroy has also signed up to play in the $2.7 million event at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club which starts on Jan. 17.
"I'm excited to compete again," Woods said on his website. "Hopefully my good practice sessions will carry over."
The world number three will then head back home to compete in the US PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open which starts on January 24.
The 37-year-old has a strong record at Torrey Pines, winning the event six times under the previous Buick Invitational name and also claiming the 2008 US Open at the San Diego venue.
He missed last year's event because of a schedule clash with the Abu Dhabi tournament.
"Obviously, I've had good success at Torrey Pines," Woods said. "I practically grew up playing the South and North Courses. The fans have always been supportive, and I look forward to returning."
Woods, who won three times last year to take him to 74 US PGA Tour wins and second on the all-time list behind Sam Snead's 82, did not commit to any other tournaments in Wednesday's release apart from the four Majors.
Golf - Woods to open season in Abu Dhabi - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
World number one Rory McIlroy has also signed up to play in the $2.7 million event at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club which starts on Jan. 17.
"I'm excited to compete again," Woods said on his website. "Hopefully my good practice sessions will carry over."
The world number three will then head back home to compete in the US PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open which starts on January 24.
The 37-year-old has a strong record at Torrey Pines, winning the event six times under the previous Buick Invitational name and also claiming the 2008 US Open at the San Diego venue.
He missed last year's event because of a schedule clash with the Abu Dhabi tournament.
"Obviously, I've had good success at Torrey Pines," Woods said. "I practically grew up playing the South and North Courses. The fans have always been supportive, and I look forward to returning."
Woods, who won three times last year to take him to 74 US PGA Tour wins and second on the all-time list behind Sam Snead's 82, did not commit to any other tournaments in Wednesday's release apart from the four Majors.
Golf - Woods to open season in Abu Dhabi - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
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One of the worst-kept secrets in golf will finally become reality on Monday when Nike puts on a show in Abu Dhabi to announce Rory McIlroy as the latest to put its golf clubs in his bag.
How many of the new tools he ends up using and how much of the company's garb he is required to wear will be unveiled a few days before McIlroy makes his season debut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. But make no mistake, McIlroy is going to be paid handsomely to do so. Various reports have pegged that number at $20 million a year over 10 years, although the estimates are apparently inflated and the terms of the deal shorter. Still, what if it is "only" $10 million a year?
The No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, McIlroy, 23, is cashing in on his ability to hit a golf ball and was reportedly seen with Nike clubs in his bag in Dubai, but not the putter. Ironically, he could be putting that in peril with such a switch. Equipment changes happen all the time with much less fanfare, but there is enough evidence out there to suggest that going from one brand to another is not always a smooth transition.
"It's a big move, no doubt about it," said McIlroy's friend Graeme McDowell. "I think 20 years ago it would have been a monster move and perhaps a mistake. I think as we sit here, there's about six, eight, 10 golf manufacturers on the planet that are making incredibly good equipment, and I don't think there's such a thing as inferior equipment nowadays.
"I think as long as Rory can find a driver and a golf ball that do what his driver and golf ball do right now, which is pretty amazing, to me that's the key stepping stone for him. If he can remain as good a driver of the golf ball as he is right now, I think the rest will fall into place, and I think he'll be okay."
McDowell knows something about this. He switched from Callaway to Srixon/Cleveland golf in 2010 following his U.S. Open victory and a season that saw him clinch the Ryder Cup for Europe.
Players are reluctant to blame equipment companies for their woes -- after all, they are being paid by said company -- but it is interesting to note that McDowell struggled in 2011 and has not won on the PGA Tour since capturing the Open at Pebble Beach.
Then again, those struggles could have been inevitable. And golfers experiment with equipment, whether it be drivers, shafts, wedges, golf balls. ... with amazing frequency.
After winning three times in 2010 and capturing PGA Tour player of the year honors, Jim Furyk also made some equipment moves, among other things switching to a TaylorMade golf ball. He had a poor season in 2011 that saw him fail to make the Tour Championship.
"I hate to sit here and blame it on equipment because I don't really think that's the major thought. I definitely tried to go a little bit different route in my game and maybe tried to address some of my weaknesses and trying to get a little longer off the tee, trying to hit the ball a bit farther," said Furyk, who in 2012 had several heartbreaking defeats.
"I like the ball that I was playing. It was spinning a little bit less than the products that I had played in the past. The driver was spinning a little less than the products I had played in the past, so there was an adjustment period to that.
"And I'll say that I didn't do a very good job adjusting at times either. In hindsight if I had it to do over again, I may have done things a little bit differently. I may have addressed my equipment a little bit different, but I think I learned a lot in the process."
If McIlroy needs any advice, perhaps he could simply ask Tiger Woods. The flag bearer for Nike equipment, Woods made the move to the company when its track record was nowhere near what it is today.
"I think that any time you make a change in equipment, it's certainly a big deal," Woods said. "I think it's about how you go at it. Going through the testing process, trying to get the right shaft and the club head, plus ball ... it's a challenge, and there's a lot of hitting of golf balls or a lot of testing, a lot of days out there spending by yourself testing.
"But when you get it right, it's pretty good. I remember for me in 2000 it turned out pretty good with that ball change. But I went through just a huge process to get to that point. It was very time-consuming, but when things go right and you test properly and you find equipment that's better than what you were playing, then you can do some pretty neat things on the golf course."
It was a gradual process for Woods, probably much slower than the one McIlroy will put in place.
Although Woods signed with Nike upon turning pro in 1996 and wore the company's apparel, he used no golf product until putting a Nike ball in play in 2000 -- the year he won three majors. He added the driver and irons in 2002, wedges in 2003, fairways woods in 2005 and finally the putter in 2010.
"For me, it's knowing that that club or that ball is better than what I was playing with, and it's going to help me in the end while I'm out there," Woods said.
Unlike the major team sports, golf, particularly the PGA Tour, doesn't have to worry about work stoppages because players are independent contractors.
But those who officiate PGA Tour events are part of a union (Professional Association of Golf Officials) and their contract expired -- at the end of 2011. Rules officials worked last year under the terms of the old deal and continue to do so as negotiations with the PGA Tour are ongoing.
"The basics are the guys are going to work unless they are told otherwise," said Christian Dennie, an attorney representing the officials. "They hold the game of golf in high esteem and they don't want to see it hurt."
As for the issues, it is pretty simple: "There is no hidden agenda," Dennie said. "Compensation is one of the major issues."
The contract involves 27 rules officials who work the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour and Champions Tour.
How many of the new tools he ends up using and how much of the company's garb he is required to wear will be unveiled a few days before McIlroy makes his season debut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. But make no mistake, McIlroy is going to be paid handsomely to do so. Various reports have pegged that number at $20 million a year over 10 years, although the estimates are apparently inflated and the terms of the deal shorter. Still, what if it is "only" $10 million a year?
The No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, McIlroy, 23, is cashing in on his ability to hit a golf ball and was reportedly seen with Nike clubs in his bag in Dubai, but not the putter. Ironically, he could be putting that in peril with such a switch. Equipment changes happen all the time with much less fanfare, but there is enough evidence out there to suggest that going from one brand to another is not always a smooth transition.
"It's a big move, no doubt about it," said McIlroy's friend Graeme McDowell. "I think 20 years ago it would have been a monster move and perhaps a mistake. I think as we sit here, there's about six, eight, 10 golf manufacturers on the planet that are making incredibly good equipment, and I don't think there's such a thing as inferior equipment nowadays.
"I think as long as Rory can find a driver and a golf ball that do what his driver and golf ball do right now, which is pretty amazing, to me that's the key stepping stone for him. If he can remain as good a driver of the golf ball as he is right now, I think the rest will fall into place, and I think he'll be okay."
McDowell knows something about this. He switched from Callaway to Srixon/Cleveland golf in 2010 following his U.S. Open victory and a season that saw him clinch the Ryder Cup for Europe.
Players are reluctant to blame equipment companies for their woes -- after all, they are being paid by said company -- but it is interesting to note that McDowell struggled in 2011 and has not won on the PGA Tour since capturing the Open at Pebble Beach.
Then again, those struggles could have been inevitable. And golfers experiment with equipment, whether it be drivers, shafts, wedges, golf balls. ... with amazing frequency.
After winning three times in 2010 and capturing PGA Tour player of the year honors, Jim Furyk also made some equipment moves, among other things switching to a TaylorMade golf ball. He had a poor season in 2011 that saw him fail to make the Tour Championship.
"I hate to sit here and blame it on equipment because I don't really think that's the major thought. I definitely tried to go a little bit different route in my game and maybe tried to address some of my weaknesses and trying to get a little longer off the tee, trying to hit the ball a bit farther," said Furyk, who in 2012 had several heartbreaking defeats.
"I like the ball that I was playing. It was spinning a little bit less than the products that I had played in the past. The driver was spinning a little less than the products I had played in the past, so there was an adjustment period to that.
"And I'll say that I didn't do a very good job adjusting at times either. In hindsight if I had it to do over again, I may have done things a little bit differently. I may have addressed my equipment a little bit different, but I think I learned a lot in the process."
If McIlroy needs any advice, perhaps he could simply ask Tiger Woods. The flag bearer for Nike equipment, Woods made the move to the company when its track record was nowhere near what it is today.
"I think that any time you make a change in equipment, it's certainly a big deal," Woods said. "I think it's about how you go at it. Going through the testing process, trying to get the right shaft and the club head, plus ball ... it's a challenge, and there's a lot of hitting of golf balls or a lot of testing, a lot of days out there spending by yourself testing.
"But when you get it right, it's pretty good. I remember for me in 2000 it turned out pretty good with that ball change. But I went through just a huge process to get to that point. It was very time-consuming, but when things go right and you test properly and you find equipment that's better than what you were playing, then you can do some pretty neat things on the golf course."
It was a gradual process for Woods, probably much slower than the one McIlroy will put in place.
Although Woods signed with Nike upon turning pro in 1996 and wore the company's apparel, he used no golf product until putting a Nike ball in play in 2000 -- the year he won three majors. He added the driver and irons in 2002, wedges in 2003, fairways woods in 2005 and finally the putter in 2010.
"For me, it's knowing that that club or that ball is better than what I was playing with, and it's going to help me in the end while I'm out there," Woods said.
Unlike the major team sports, golf, particularly the PGA Tour, doesn't have to worry about work stoppages because players are independent contractors.
But those who officiate PGA Tour events are part of a union (Professional Association of Golf Officials) and their contract expired -- at the end of 2011. Rules officials worked last year under the terms of the old deal and continue to do so as negotiations with the PGA Tour are ongoing.
"The basics are the guys are going to work unless they are told otherwise," said Christian Dennie, an attorney representing the officials. "They hold the game of golf in high esteem and they don't want to see it hurt."
As for the issues, it is pretty simple: "There is no hidden agenda," Dennie said. "Compensation is one of the major issues."
The contract involves 27 rules officials who work the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour and Champions Tour.
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2006/12/07
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US PGA Tour rookie Russell Henley carded a sparkling 63 to seize a two-shot lead in the $5.6 million Sony Open.
Henley, playing his first tournament as a tour member, had a two-round total of 14-under par 126 -- breaking the 36-hole record at this tournament by two strokes.
He teed off on 10 on the par-70 Waialae Country Club course and notched seven birdies without a bogey to separate himself from playing partner and fellow rookie Scott Langley and Scott Piercy.
Langley, the overnight leader after a first-round 62, carded a 66 for 128. Piercy joined him on 12-under with a second straight 64.
"It's pretty surreal," Henley said, adding that his main aim as he approached his first season on tour was to try to play his game, learn and become a better player.
"I think with that mindset it takes a little pressure off me," the 23-year-old said.
He certainly didn't look as if he felt any pressure on Friday, when he hit every green in regulation.
"I didn't make every putt that was close, but I was hitting great putts, hitting them like I want to hit them, and some were falling. So I'm happy about it," he said.
Henley said he benefited from playing with fellow rookie Langley, who birdied his last three holes to stay in the hunt.
The two, who tied for low amateur honours at the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach, will play together again in the final group on Saturday.
"It's never easy to back up a really good round, I kind of got off to a little slower start," Langley said. "But it was certainly nice to finish the way I did and kind of get back in it with Russ."
Matt Kuchar, winner of the Players Championship last year, carded a 63 and was alone in fourth on 129.
South African Tim Clark (66), Chris Kirk (62) and Charles Howell (64) were tied on 130.
Kirk's effort included two eagles, at the par-five ninth and the par-five 18th.
Clark, who was hampered much of last season with nagging elbow pain, said he thought he now had the problem under control.
"Obviously, I've still got to take care of myself and look after it," Clark said. "But at least coming out to the golf course, I feel like I'm pretty much 100 percent."
Dustin Johnson, winner of the season-opening Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, which was reduced to 54 holes and finished on Tuesday because of weather, withdrew after nine holes of the second round because of illness.
Henley, playing his first tournament as a tour member, had a two-round total of 14-under par 126 -- breaking the 36-hole record at this tournament by two strokes.
He teed off on 10 on the par-70 Waialae Country Club course and notched seven birdies without a bogey to separate himself from playing partner and fellow rookie Scott Langley and Scott Piercy.
Langley, the overnight leader after a first-round 62, carded a 66 for 128. Piercy joined him on 12-under with a second straight 64.
"It's pretty surreal," Henley said, adding that his main aim as he approached his first season on tour was to try to play his game, learn and become a better player.
"I think with that mindset it takes a little pressure off me," the 23-year-old said.
He certainly didn't look as if he felt any pressure on Friday, when he hit every green in regulation.
"I didn't make every putt that was close, but I was hitting great putts, hitting them like I want to hit them, and some were falling. So I'm happy about it," he said.
Henley said he benefited from playing with fellow rookie Langley, who birdied his last three holes to stay in the hunt.
The two, who tied for low amateur honours at the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach, will play together again in the final group on Saturday.
"It's never easy to back up a really good round, I kind of got off to a little slower start," Langley said. "But it was certainly nice to finish the way I did and kind of get back in it with Russ."
Matt Kuchar, winner of the Players Championship last year, carded a 63 and was alone in fourth on 129.
South African Tim Clark (66), Chris Kirk (62) and Charles Howell (64) were tied on 130.
Kirk's effort included two eagles, at the par-five ninth and the par-five 18th.
Clark, who was hampered much of last season with nagging elbow pain, said he thought he now had the problem under control.
"Obviously, I've still got to take care of myself and look after it," Clark said. "But at least coming out to the golf course, I feel like I'm pretty much 100 percent."
Dustin Johnson, winner of the season-opening Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, which was reduced to 54 holes and finished on Tuesday because of weather, withdrew after nine holes of the second round because of illness.
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In a tournament where other PGA Tour rookies have been stealing the headlines through the first two rounds, it may be easy for Scott Gardiner to become lost in the shuffle.
But Gardiner, who begins the third round of the Sony Open in Hawaii tied for ninth, is making history with every shot at Waialae as the first player of Aboriginal descent to ever have full status on the PGA Tour.
Born to an Aboriginal mother and a Scottish father, the 36-year-old toiled for several years on the Web.com Tour with multiple close calls - 30th on the season-long money list in 2007 and 2009, 26th in 2010 - before cracking the top 25 for the first time in 2012, finishing 14th. As he embarks on his first season on the PGA Tour, Gardiner is eager to embrace the status of role model for his fans back home in Australia.
"Golf has become more popular the last 10-15 years with Tiger Woods bringing attention to the game and in turn more Aboriginal people are aware of it," Gardiner told Australian Golf Digest before the 2013 season began. "Hopefully I can help inspire a few others to go for a career in golf and I hope I can be a role model."
Like tournament leaders Russell Henley and Scott Langley, Gardiner is getting his maiden season off to a hot start in Honolulu. After opening with a 2-under 68 Thursday, he made only one par across his final 10 holes Friday, a stretch that included seven birdies and an eagle, en route to a 6-under 64. Entering the weekend at 8-under 132, Gardiner finds himself six shots off the pace and in position to earn a solid payday in his first event. Even before the season began, he was aware that a hot start would be vital to his success during a shortened 2013 campaign.
"I have to make sure I get into the season early and do what I know I am capable of doing," he said.
But Gardiner, who begins the third round of the Sony Open in Hawaii tied for ninth, is making history with every shot at Waialae as the first player of Aboriginal descent to ever have full status on the PGA Tour.
Born to an Aboriginal mother and a Scottish father, the 36-year-old toiled for several years on the Web.com Tour with multiple close calls - 30th on the season-long money list in 2007 and 2009, 26th in 2010 - before cracking the top 25 for the first time in 2012, finishing 14th. As he embarks on his first season on the PGA Tour, Gardiner is eager to embrace the status of role model for his fans back home in Australia.
"Golf has become more popular the last 10-15 years with Tiger Woods bringing attention to the game and in turn more Aboriginal people are aware of it," Gardiner told Australian Golf Digest before the 2013 season began. "Hopefully I can help inspire a few others to go for a career in golf and I hope I can be a role model."
Like tournament leaders Russell Henley and Scott Langley, Gardiner is getting his maiden season off to a hot start in Honolulu. After opening with a 2-under 68 Thursday, he made only one par across his final 10 holes Friday, a stretch that included seven birdies and an eagle, en route to a 6-under 64. Entering the weekend at 8-under 132, Gardiner finds himself six shots off the pace and in position to earn a solid payday in his first event. Even before the season began, he was aware that a hot start would be vital to his success during a shortened 2013 campaign.
"I have to make sure I get into the season early and do what I know I am capable of doing," he said.
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Russell Henley's dream foursome, if we are to take him at his word, would include Kid Rock, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Andres Gonzales, a PGA Tour player who bills himself as "half man, half amazing."
More likely, his was a cheeky response (what, no Nicklaus, Palmer and Woods?), but one that hints at a tour rookie for whom convention is to be bucked. Hinting at that as well and in a more emphatic manner is that he won the first full-field event of the PGA Tour season, the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday in his first start as a member of the tour.
Gone, apparently, are the days when tour rookies audacious enough to appear on a leaderboard, with a few notable exceptions, would still respect the game enough to finish fifth or worse. Among the exceptions were Tiger and Rory. Henley is identifiable neither by his first name, nor his last. Yet.
Henley, 23, played Waialae Country Club in Honolulu last week as though he were enjoying casual rounds with friends at home, posting scores of 63, 63, 67 and 63 and winning three ways and all presses, or 990,000 in PGA Tour dollars.
Henley's performance was either a warning shot of his impending stardom or a sign of changing times, maybe both. Rookies today, the best among them, at any rate, seem to arrive on tour in possession of advanced degrees in competitive golf and wholly unafraid to impose their will on a golf establishment powerless to stop it.
Their growing pains are behind them, endured in college or on lesser tours, and they arrive ready to succeed and disinclined to fail, even when circumstances suggest that that is the more likely option, as it would be in contention on Sunday afternoon. Instead, Henley birdied his final five holes.
"He might be a star right out of the blocks," Golf Channel's Johnny Miller said after Henley holed yet another putt, a nine-footer to save par on the 12th hole. "His game right now, there might be just a handful of guys playing better in the whole world than he is."
Henley, 23, was likely to move into the top 50 in the World Ranking with this victory, his third in his last four stars, his other two coming near the end of the Web-com Tour season last year. He also won a Web-com Tour event as an amateur the year before, and in 2010, he and Scott Langley were low amateurs in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, tying for 16th.
So maybe we should not be surprised with this tour rookie standing out in his debut as a member, but there was another right there with him. Langley, 23, a friend and playing partner in each of the four rounds at Waialae, shot a 62 in his debut as a tour member, the best round of the week, and hung near the lead into the back nine on Sunday.
A year ago, they were playing in a Hooters Tour event together, Henley missing the cut and Langley making it on the number. "We are on the range, trying to help each other find it," Langley recalled.
On Thursday, they were walking toward the 16th green at Waialae together. "You could see the ocean behind it, PGA Tour signs everywhere," Langley said. "We looked at each other and realized this is pretty cool."
Read More Make way for Russell Henley, golf's newest star: Local Knowledge: Golf Digest
More likely, his was a cheeky response (what, no Nicklaus, Palmer and Woods?), but one that hints at a tour rookie for whom convention is to be bucked. Hinting at that as well and in a more emphatic manner is that he won the first full-field event of the PGA Tour season, the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday in his first start as a member of the tour.
Gone, apparently, are the days when tour rookies audacious enough to appear on a leaderboard, with a few notable exceptions, would still respect the game enough to finish fifth or worse. Among the exceptions were Tiger and Rory. Henley is identifiable neither by his first name, nor his last. Yet.
Henley, 23, played Waialae Country Club in Honolulu last week as though he were enjoying casual rounds with friends at home, posting scores of 63, 63, 67 and 63 and winning three ways and all presses, or 990,000 in PGA Tour dollars.
Henley's performance was either a warning shot of his impending stardom or a sign of changing times, maybe both. Rookies today, the best among them, at any rate, seem to arrive on tour in possession of advanced degrees in competitive golf and wholly unafraid to impose their will on a golf establishment powerless to stop it.
Their growing pains are behind them, endured in college or on lesser tours, and they arrive ready to succeed and disinclined to fail, even when circumstances suggest that that is the more likely option, as it would be in contention on Sunday afternoon. Instead, Henley birdied his final five holes.
"He might be a star right out of the blocks," Golf Channel's Johnny Miller said after Henley holed yet another putt, a nine-footer to save par on the 12th hole. "His game right now, there might be just a handful of guys playing better in the whole world than he is."
Henley, 23, was likely to move into the top 50 in the World Ranking with this victory, his third in his last four stars, his other two coming near the end of the Web-com Tour season last year. He also won a Web-com Tour event as an amateur the year before, and in 2010, he and Scott Langley were low amateurs in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, tying for 16th.
So maybe we should not be surprised with this tour rookie standing out in his debut as a member, but there was another right there with him. Langley, 23, a friend and playing partner in each of the four rounds at Waialae, shot a 62 in his debut as a tour member, the best round of the week, and hung near the lead into the back nine on Sunday.
A year ago, they were playing in a Hooters Tour event together, Henley missing the cut and Langley making it on the number. "We are on the range, trying to help each other find it," Langley recalled.
On Thursday, they were walking toward the 16th green at Waialae together. "You could see the ocean behind it, PGA Tour signs everywhere," Langley said. "We looked at each other and realized this is pretty cool."
Read More Make way for Russell Henley, golf's newest star: Local Knowledge: Golf Digest
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Golf is unlike any sport on the planet when it comes to marketing their brand. Basketball players can push shoes, but 60-year-old men aren't salivating at what the new Lebrons are going to look like. The same goes for baseball bats or football gloves or soccer balls. Golf is an ageless sport and it seems the older we get, the more we try to find that "edge" within our game to get just that much better.
With that comes the golf companies. Dustin Johnson isn't just a TaylorMade brand ambassador, he is Patient X when it comes to productivity within their company. TaylorMade comes out with a new driver, Johnson wins with it in his bag that week and bam, you've sold a million more of those white-headed beasts. So what about Nike? The golf company that wasn't even a golf company until Tiger Woods signed his first endorsement check after his third U.S. Amateur win has slowly but surely made an imprint on this game. Woods switched to their clubs after a cup of coffee with Titleist and slowly integrated the Swoosh into his entire bag (with the final piece being the long, drawn-out breakup with his Scotty Cameron putter).
But Nike wasn't surging like some had expected. Woods personal life and golf game went off the side of a cliff, and can't-misses like Anthony Kim and David Duval slowly forgot how to hit a golf ball. The brand was relegated to living through the British Open win of Stewart Cink and the play of Paul Casey, who he himself has fallen from grace almost as extraordinarily as Kim did.
So here came 2013. If 2011 was the year of TaylorMade, and last season was a pretty darn good one for Ping, it seemed that '13 would be that one for Nike. They unveiled their first "wait, what?!" golf club in years with the VR_S, a cavity back driver that is as different as it is eye-catching. And then they started rolling in the big hitters.
Tiger is obviously the biggest name on any staff, but the additions of Nick Watney and Kyle Stanley helped (both seem like the type of players that, while maybe not top-five players on tour, will definitely snag the occasional win and don't seem to be going anywhere). Nike then quietly added Seung Yul Noh, one of the sneaky best pick-ups from any company in the offseason, and on Monday announced the "breaking" news that Rory McIlroy, No. 1 in the world and one of the most marketable athletes in the world right now, would be covered head to toe, putter to driver in Nike.
This announcement happened to come the day after Russell Henley won the Sony Open as a rookie and a Nike ambassador, and if you're talking about having a pretty solid start to the 2013 season, I'd say this is about as good as it gets (could you imagine if Rory and Tiger battled again this week in Abu Dhabi?).
Nike Golf needed a boost. It had struggled to find an identity on tour, and with every Jhonattan Vegas surprise win they had months of droughts from their top stars. Now it has the two biggest names in the game of golf by miles and already a rookie winner just two tournaments into the season. With the red driver hitting the market and Rory McIlroy pushing product worldwide, this could be a pretty fun year to be walking a golf course covered in Swoosh.
How Nike changed their entire golf image in a few short weeks | Devil Ball Golf - Yahoo! Sports
With that comes the golf companies. Dustin Johnson isn't just a TaylorMade brand ambassador, he is Patient X when it comes to productivity within their company. TaylorMade comes out with a new driver, Johnson wins with it in his bag that week and bam, you've sold a million more of those white-headed beasts. So what about Nike? The golf company that wasn't even a golf company until Tiger Woods signed his first endorsement check after his third U.S. Amateur win has slowly but surely made an imprint on this game. Woods switched to their clubs after a cup of coffee with Titleist and slowly integrated the Swoosh into his entire bag (with the final piece being the long, drawn-out breakup with his Scotty Cameron putter).
But Nike wasn't surging like some had expected. Woods personal life and golf game went off the side of a cliff, and can't-misses like Anthony Kim and David Duval slowly forgot how to hit a golf ball. The brand was relegated to living through the British Open win of Stewart Cink and the play of Paul Casey, who he himself has fallen from grace almost as extraordinarily as Kim did.
So here came 2013. If 2011 was the year of TaylorMade, and last season was a pretty darn good one for Ping, it seemed that '13 would be that one for Nike. They unveiled their first "wait, what?!" golf club in years with the VR_S, a cavity back driver that is as different as it is eye-catching. And then they started rolling in the big hitters.
Tiger is obviously the biggest name on any staff, but the additions of Nick Watney and Kyle Stanley helped (both seem like the type of players that, while maybe not top-five players on tour, will definitely snag the occasional win and don't seem to be going anywhere). Nike then quietly added Seung Yul Noh, one of the sneaky best pick-ups from any company in the offseason, and on Monday announced the "breaking" news that Rory McIlroy, No. 1 in the world and one of the most marketable athletes in the world right now, would be covered head to toe, putter to driver in Nike.
This announcement happened to come the day after Russell Henley won the Sony Open as a rookie and a Nike ambassador, and if you're talking about having a pretty solid start to the 2013 season, I'd say this is about as good as it gets (could you imagine if Rory and Tiger battled again this week in Abu Dhabi?).
Nike Golf needed a boost. It had struggled to find an identity on tour, and with every Jhonattan Vegas surprise win they had months of droughts from their top stars. Now it has the two biggest names in the game of golf by miles and already a rookie winner just two tournaments into the season. With the red driver hitting the market and Rory McIlroy pushing product worldwide, this could be a pretty fun year to be walking a golf course covered in Swoosh.
How Nike changed their entire golf image in a few short weeks | Devil Ball Golf - Yahoo! Sports
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From Holywood to Hollywood. The 23-year-old golf phenom, Rory McIlroy, who hails from Holywood in County Down, Northern Ireland, has signed a deal of such magnitude with Nike that the company’s iconic “swoosh” symbol now sounds like the speed in which he’s just entered a new league of earnings. “I chose Nike for a number of reasons,” said McIlroy. “They are committed to being the best, as am I. Signing with Nike is another step towards living out my dream.” There was a similar amount of enthusiasm on the other side of the deal, with Cindy Davis, president of the company’s golf division, saying, “Rory is the epitome of a Nike athlete and he is joining our team during the most exciting time in Nike golf’s history.”
The purported figures are quite staggering. Monday’s lavish announcement in Abu Dhabi confirmed the dirtiest secret in the sport: McIlroy had left Titleist on a multiyear deal for Nike, which could be worth up to $250 million (it’s believed that Taylormade thought it might have had a shot at persuading McIlroy to sign). Perhaps it was always meant to be. When McIlroy won the World Under 10s Championship in Miami, what was he wearing? A Nike cap.
Unsurprisingly, Nike has already put their new endorser to work. He’s spent the past month testing and refining the clubs he will use for the first time at the Abu Dhabi Championship this week. But the bigger talking point, at least in the short term, is the advert he’s made with Nike’s other star golfer. Yes, a certain Eldrick “Tiger” Woods and McIlroy have recorded an ad on a driving range, with their hijinks and good natured trash talk almost sure to put them in the living rooms and on the computers of people who don’t normally care for golf.
Read more: Rory McIlroy Becomes Golf’s $250 Million Dollar Man | TIME-com
The purported figures are quite staggering. Monday’s lavish announcement in Abu Dhabi confirmed the dirtiest secret in the sport: McIlroy had left Titleist on a multiyear deal for Nike, which could be worth up to $250 million (it’s believed that Taylormade thought it might have had a shot at persuading McIlroy to sign). Perhaps it was always meant to be. When McIlroy won the World Under 10s Championship in Miami, what was he wearing? A Nike cap.
Unsurprisingly, Nike has already put their new endorser to work. He’s spent the past month testing and refining the clubs he will use for the first time at the Abu Dhabi Championship this week. But the bigger talking point, at least in the short term, is the advert he’s made with Nike’s other star golfer. Yes, a certain Eldrick “Tiger” Woods and McIlroy have recorded an ad on a driving range, with their hijinks and good natured trash talk almost sure to put them in the living rooms and on the computers of people who don’t normally care for golf.
Read more: Rory McIlroy Becomes Golf’s $250 Million Dollar Man | TIME-com
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US Ryder Cup skipper Tom Watson won't feel too much of a generation gap in Gleneagles with sprightly veterans Des Smyth and Sam Torrance expected to figure on Paul McGinley's European back-room team.
McGinley will probably wait until the end of this year before naming his four vice-captains but don't be surprised if the Dubliner asks his greatest Irish mentor Smyth and Scot Torrance to ride shotgun alongside him in 2014.
Smyth (59) played in two Ryder Cups and was one of Ian Woosnam's assistants at The K Club in 2006. He has been a source of advice and inspiration to McGinley throughout his professional career.
The Bettystown native is still highly competitive on the European Seniors Tour and after racking up 25 professional victories over five different decades, plans to carry on winning into his 60s.
McGinley, meanwhile, has expressed his admiration of Torrance's man-management skills on many occasions since famously clinching victory for the European team captained by the Scot in 2002.
With the ever-affable Smyth and quick-witted Torrance, Ireland's first-ever captain would strike a personable and amiable atmosphere with his assistants, who also are expected to include two current European Tour professionals.
McGinley will probably wait until the end of this year before naming his four vice-captains but don't be surprised if the Dubliner asks his greatest Irish mentor Smyth and Scot Torrance to ride shotgun alongside him in 2014.
Smyth (59) played in two Ryder Cups and was one of Ian Woosnam's assistants at The K Club in 2006. He has been a source of advice and inspiration to McGinley throughout his professional career.
The Bettystown native is still highly competitive on the European Seniors Tour and after racking up 25 professional victories over five different decades, plans to carry on winning into his 60s.
McGinley, meanwhile, has expressed his admiration of Torrance's man-management skills on many occasions since famously clinching victory for the European team captained by the Scot in 2002.
With the ever-affable Smyth and quick-witted Torrance, Ireland's first-ever captain would strike a personable and amiable atmosphere with his assistants, who also are expected to include two current European Tour professionals.
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President Bill Clinton says President Barack Obama quit a recent golf round between them - and he suggested he might have a theory why.
"We played thirteen holes at Andrews Air Force Base the other day," Clinton said, "before he had to leave as a result of being reelected and getting ready for the inauguration, the legislature coming in and everything - the Congress coming in." "He had the lowest score by far he'd ever shot at Andrews," Clinton, speaking at an event in California, continued of Obama. "He was five shots ahead of me after nine holes - but I'm older. I start slow and pick up, so I picked up four of those strokes in the first three holes of the back nine."
That left him within striking distance when Obama pulled his move.
"I'm only one down and he leaves at (hole) thirteen - says, 'Gotta go,' " Clinton continued, laughing.
He stopped short of accusing Obama of quitting the game before chalking up a loss, but said he told Obama, "Hey, you're talking to somebody that's had this job and made that excuse."
They hit the links together on December 2, according to White House officials' accounting of Obama's golfing partners provided to pool reporters. That day U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe rounded out the foursome.
Obama was at the course just under four hours that day. He has been known to spend longer; his latest golf outing, on January 4, lasted six hours.
Clinton spoke in Palm Springs, California at an event associated with the Humana Challenge golf tournament, whose sponsors include the Humana health care company and his Clinton Foundation.
The former president took questions on golf and health care from reporters and said there is a realization that "we can't keep spending more of our income on health care."
It is an argument for Obama's health reform law, he said.
"I think that in the next four years, how this health care bill is implemented will determine whether people see it as I do: as a big step forward - assuming we implement it right - or whether they have their fears confirmed because they don't like the way it's implemented and they think it's more trouble and less good," Clinton said.
His advocacy for the law and Obama was motivated "because I thought it was the right thing to do. And I told him (Obama) when it was over - I said, 'Nobody owes me anything. I'm going back to do my foundation. If I can ever help you, call me, and if you don't, it’s fine with me.'
"I did this because it was right - end of story," Clinton added.
Clinton had no staunch position on one of the latest controversy in golf: the practice of “anchoring” putting clubs, which will be banned from the sport starting in 2016. Anchoring the putter grip in one's belly may give players an advantage, supporters of the rule change say, because it aids players' control of the club on critical shots. Opponents say an anchored club is not swung in the spirit of the game.
"I actually am one of those guys that ought to benefit from it because I have a condition that sometimes you get with aging," Clinton said. "You make have noticed it; my hand has a little tremor when I'm tired and a lot of people do when they're older. The first time it happened, I had to go get myself checked to make sure I didn't have Parkinson’s (disease) and I was so relieved (with a negative diagnosis) I didn't care how much it shook after that.
"But I've never been able to figure out how to use one of those things so I don't care."
"We played thirteen holes at Andrews Air Force Base the other day," Clinton said, "before he had to leave as a result of being reelected and getting ready for the inauguration, the legislature coming in and everything - the Congress coming in." "He had the lowest score by far he'd ever shot at Andrews," Clinton, speaking at an event in California, continued of Obama. "He was five shots ahead of me after nine holes - but I'm older. I start slow and pick up, so I picked up four of those strokes in the first three holes of the back nine."
That left him within striking distance when Obama pulled his move.
"I'm only one down and he leaves at (hole) thirteen - says, 'Gotta go,' " Clinton continued, laughing.
He stopped short of accusing Obama of quitting the game before chalking up a loss, but said he told Obama, "Hey, you're talking to somebody that's had this job and made that excuse."
They hit the links together on December 2, according to White House officials' accounting of Obama's golfing partners provided to pool reporters. That day U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe rounded out the foursome.
Obama was at the course just under four hours that day. He has been known to spend longer; his latest golf outing, on January 4, lasted six hours.
Clinton spoke in Palm Springs, California at an event associated with the Humana Challenge golf tournament, whose sponsors include the Humana health care company and his Clinton Foundation.
The former president took questions on golf and health care from reporters and said there is a realization that "we can't keep spending more of our income on health care."
It is an argument for Obama's health reform law, he said.
"I think that in the next four years, how this health care bill is implemented will determine whether people see it as I do: as a big step forward - assuming we implement it right - or whether they have their fears confirmed because they don't like the way it's implemented and they think it's more trouble and less good," Clinton said.
His advocacy for the law and Obama was motivated "because I thought it was the right thing to do. And I told him (Obama) when it was over - I said, 'Nobody owes me anything. I'm going back to do my foundation. If I can ever help you, call me, and if you don't, it’s fine with me.'
"I did this because it was right - end of story," Clinton added.
Clinton had no staunch position on one of the latest controversy in golf: the practice of “anchoring” putting clubs, which will be banned from the sport starting in 2016. Anchoring the putter grip in one's belly may give players an advantage, supporters of the rule change say, because it aids players' control of the club on critical shots. Opponents say an anchored club is not swung in the spirit of the game.
"I actually am one of those guys that ought to benefit from it because I have a condition that sometimes you get with aging," Clinton said. "You make have noticed it; my hand has a little tremor when I'm tired and a lot of people do when they're older. The first time it happened, I had to go get myself checked to make sure I didn't have Parkinson’s (disease) and I was so relieved (with a negative diagnosis) I didn't care how much it shook after that.
"But I've never been able to figure out how to use one of those things so I don't care."
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The short story is that James Hahn shot 63-67 to share the 36-hole lead at the Humana Challenge in only his third career PGA Tour start. Impressive stuff, only that’s probably the least interesting thing about him.
This week, his half-hour sessions with the media have been more couch therapy than interrogation.
For one thing, he smiles. A lot.
He tells revealing stories, like how he still searches YouTube for swing tips. (“I just want my swing to look pretty.”)
He drinks Coke, but only one, because his wife wouldn’t approve of the excess carbonation.
And on Friday, when answering a question about whether he was surprised to be in this position – in a share of the lead with Roberto Castro, at 14-under 130 – Hahn had to interrupt his thought because his cellphone was ringing. His mom was on the other line. Apparently she was surprised too.
“This is the best job I could ever imagine,” Hahn, 31, said. “It’s one of those jobs where if I die today, I say, ‘Jesus, hey, I had a good time down there.’”
Hahn, a native of South Korea who has lived in the States since he was 2, was a strong junior player from a middle-class family – he purchased his early sets on eBay – and attended Cal on a golf scholarship.
His first year on campus, the Golden Bears made the NCAAs. The second year, he played only four events, after the “extracurricular activities” – read: college life – began to affect his standing on the team. The third year, he rode the bench. The fourth year, well, he finally decided he had had enough – he quit the team before his senior season.
And, of course, one year after Hahn graduated, Cal won the NCAA Championship.
“The running joke,” he says now, “was they finally had to kick James off the team to win a championship. But I was destined not to make that the end of my golfing career.”
That doggedness was tested, repeatedly. After turning pro in 2003, he burned through his savings in three months and searched for oddball jobs to get by. He didn’t pick up a club for a year.
He invested in airline stocks after Sept. 11. He traded stocks daily for three or four months, turning a $3,400 profit.
In 2004, he earned his real-estate license, though that proved a short-term gig. One of his best clients wanted to buy an $800,000 duplex in an Oakland suburb, except that the man owned a 1989 Nissan Maxima that was worth $4,000 (still was not paid off) and worked as a bus driver making $10 an hour.
So he quit that, worked for a marketing company, then an advertising agency. And then, from 2005-06, he sold women’s shoes at Nordstrom.
Random? Perhaps.
Naturally, he was asked: Did you take the job to pick up girls?
“Absolutely,” he said. “No, seriously. I did.”
Were you successful?
“Very successful,” he said, smiling.
Bored after a year, he soon started as an assistant pro at Richmond (Calif.) Country Club, where he could practice and play full-time while also earning a little coin on the side.
In the fall, he went to Canadian Tour Q-School. Didn’t make it. Undeterred, he plopped down $6,000 to sign up for the U.S. Pro Golf Tour. The circuit went under a month after the check cashed.
“At that point, I had lost all my savings,” he said, about $10,000. “The dream of playing on the PGA Tour seemed very far away.”
At the end of the year, and with his opportunities dwindling, he flew to Malaysia for one last shot: Korean Tour Q-School. He advanced, played the tour in 2007, and got through Canadian Tour Q-School the following fall.
Late in 2008, and with just $288 in his bank account, he found himself looking online for jobs and needing a good week in Edmonton. Anything less, and he would need to borrow money to fly home. He finished eighth there, then a season best, and spent another year on that circuit before graduating to the Web.com Tour, where he spent 2010-2012.
Last year, it all came together during an impressive campaign in which he won once, was runner-up twice, and finished fifth in earnings, punching his ticket to the PGA Tour. It was the culmination of a lifelong dream, to be sure, even if the Big Show hasn’t yet been everything he expected.
“I’ve gotta say, I’ve seen more good-looking girls selling women’s shoes at Nordstrom than on the PGA Tour,” Hahn said.
And then he laughed.
“But we haven’t even hit the heart of the schedule yet,” he said. “Come talk to me after Phoenix.”
This week, his half-hour sessions with the media have been more couch therapy than interrogation.
For one thing, he smiles. A lot.
He tells revealing stories, like how he still searches YouTube for swing tips. (“I just want my swing to look pretty.”)
He drinks Coke, but only one, because his wife wouldn’t approve of the excess carbonation.
And on Friday, when answering a question about whether he was surprised to be in this position – in a share of the lead with Roberto Castro, at 14-under 130 – Hahn had to interrupt his thought because his cellphone was ringing. His mom was on the other line. Apparently she was surprised too.
“This is the best job I could ever imagine,” Hahn, 31, said. “It’s one of those jobs where if I die today, I say, ‘Jesus, hey, I had a good time down there.’”
Hahn, a native of South Korea who has lived in the States since he was 2, was a strong junior player from a middle-class family – he purchased his early sets on eBay – and attended Cal on a golf scholarship.
His first year on campus, the Golden Bears made the NCAAs. The second year, he played only four events, after the “extracurricular activities” – read: college life – began to affect his standing on the team. The third year, he rode the bench. The fourth year, well, he finally decided he had had enough – he quit the team before his senior season.
And, of course, one year after Hahn graduated, Cal won the NCAA Championship.
“The running joke,” he says now, “was they finally had to kick James off the team to win a championship. But I was destined not to make that the end of my golfing career.”
That doggedness was tested, repeatedly. After turning pro in 2003, he burned through his savings in three months and searched for oddball jobs to get by. He didn’t pick up a club for a year.
He invested in airline stocks after Sept. 11. He traded stocks daily for three or four months, turning a $3,400 profit.
In 2004, he earned his real-estate license, though that proved a short-term gig. One of his best clients wanted to buy an $800,000 duplex in an Oakland suburb, except that the man owned a 1989 Nissan Maxima that was worth $4,000 (still was not paid off) and worked as a bus driver making $10 an hour.
So he quit that, worked for a marketing company, then an advertising agency. And then, from 2005-06, he sold women’s shoes at Nordstrom.
Random? Perhaps.
Naturally, he was asked: Did you take the job to pick up girls?
“Absolutely,” he said. “No, seriously. I did.”
Were you successful?
“Very successful,” he said, smiling.
Bored after a year, he soon started as an assistant pro at Richmond (Calif.) Country Club, where he could practice and play full-time while also earning a little coin on the side.
In the fall, he went to Canadian Tour Q-School. Didn’t make it. Undeterred, he plopped down $6,000 to sign up for the U.S. Pro Golf Tour. The circuit went under a month after the check cashed.
“At that point, I had lost all my savings,” he said, about $10,000. “The dream of playing on the PGA Tour seemed very far away.”
At the end of the year, and with his opportunities dwindling, he flew to Malaysia for one last shot: Korean Tour Q-School. He advanced, played the tour in 2007, and got through Canadian Tour Q-School the following fall.
Late in 2008, and with just $288 in his bank account, he found himself looking online for jobs and needing a good week in Edmonton. Anything less, and he would need to borrow money to fly home. He finished eighth there, then a season best, and spent another year on that circuit before graduating to the Web.com Tour, where he spent 2010-2012.
Last year, it all came together during an impressive campaign in which he won once, was runner-up twice, and finished fifth in earnings, punching his ticket to the PGA Tour. It was the culmination of a lifelong dream, to be sure, even if the Big Show hasn’t yet been everything he expected.
“I’ve gotta say, I’ve seen more good-looking girls selling women’s shoes at Nordstrom than on the PGA Tour,” Hahn said.
And then he laughed.
“But we haven’t even hit the heart of the schedule yet,” he said. “Come talk to me after Phoenix.”
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Sydney siblings Kevin and Celina Yuan have snared gold and silver in golf's first foray into the Olympics, at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF).
Kevin Yuan, 15, finished 18 under par to secure gold in the final round of the AYOF individual golf competition at the Twin Creeks course in Sydney's west, on Sunday.
His 13-year-old sister, Celina, followed with a silver medal behind Britain's Georgia Hall, finishing four under par.
It's the biggest competition the amateur duo have played but they remain humble about their performance.
"It felt good to win. It's like all of my practice has paid off," Kevin Yuan told AAP on Sunday.
"It feels good to play golf just for the fun of it, and so all those prizes that come are a bonus."
The amateurs are a long way away from the Olympic Games but NSW women's team coach Dennise Hutton thinks they can do it.
"They've got the dedication and the drive to get there," she told AAP.
"It's going to be difficult because only professionals will make it to the Olympics, but certainly their chances of getting in maybe (post-2016) are very good."
With golf making its Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, NSW national team coach Khan Pullen says it's an exciting time for the sport in Australia.
"Hopefully this is a taste of things to come for us," Pullen said.
"For our sport it's great exposure ... I really think it's going to open up opportunities and doors for more youngsters to take up our game."
But it's going to take more than interest to build Australia's Olympic medal prospects in golf.
"We're really lacking in financial resources in the amateur level," Hutton said.
"Australian amateur golf doesn't have a lot of money - we are funded mostly by members. China and Korea are putting a lot more money into (the game).
"And we certainly need to get a lot more women to participate in playing golf. The number of women playing golf is diminishing."
For Kevin and Celina, it's back to practising up to five hours a day at their local Bankstown golf club.
"I'm trying to beat (Kevin)," Celina said.
"Kevin's pretty good so if I beat him, I would be probably better than a lot of girls."
Kevin Yuan, 15, finished 18 under par to secure gold in the final round of the AYOF individual golf competition at the Twin Creeks course in Sydney's west, on Sunday.
His 13-year-old sister, Celina, followed with a silver medal behind Britain's Georgia Hall, finishing four under par.
It's the biggest competition the amateur duo have played but they remain humble about their performance.
"It felt good to win. It's like all of my practice has paid off," Kevin Yuan told AAP on Sunday.
"It feels good to play golf just for the fun of it, and so all those prizes that come are a bonus."
The amateurs are a long way away from the Olympic Games but NSW women's team coach Dennise Hutton thinks they can do it.
"They've got the dedication and the drive to get there," she told AAP.
"It's going to be difficult because only professionals will make it to the Olympics, but certainly their chances of getting in maybe (post-2016) are very good."
With golf making its Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, NSW national team coach Khan Pullen says it's an exciting time for the sport in Australia.
"Hopefully this is a taste of things to come for us," Pullen said.
"For our sport it's great exposure ... I really think it's going to open up opportunities and doors for more youngsters to take up our game."
But it's going to take more than interest to build Australia's Olympic medal prospects in golf.
"We're really lacking in financial resources in the amateur level," Hutton said.
"Australian amateur golf doesn't have a lot of money - we are funded mostly by members. China and Korea are putting a lot more money into (the game).
"And we certainly need to get a lot more women to participate in playing golf. The number of women playing golf is diminishing."
For Kevin and Celina, it's back to practising up to five hours a day at their local Bankstown golf club.
"I'm trying to beat (Kevin)," Celina said.
"Kevin's pretty good so if I beat him, I would be probably better than a lot of girls."
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Jamie Donaldson refused to listen when a doctor told him to quit golf and, nine years on, vindication of his decision to carry on came when the Briton scored the best win of his career at the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Donaldson had such a chronic back condition in 2004 that one specialist suggested retirement. But he was given the go-ahead after seeking a second opinion and on Sunday he held aloft the attractive silver Falcon Trophy in the desert.
It was his second European Tour victory and undoubtedly the most important, the blond Welshman having outplayed a lineup containing world number one Rory McIlroy and second-ranked Tiger Woods.
McIlroy and Woods missed the halfway cut before Donaldson had to overturn a two-shot deficit on world number five Justin Rose to scoop the first prize of 336,725 euros ($447,600) in the closing round.
"The first doctor I went to see in 2004 said, 'Don't play', so I went to see someone else," he laughed after a closing 68 gave him a 14-under-par aggregate of 274 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. "That wasn't what I wanted to hear.
"As soon as someone says that, you just go and see someone else," said Donaldson after beating Rose and Dane Thorbjorn Olesen by one stroke. "The second guy I saw said I needed to do a load of core stability exercises ... so I did a lot of gym work for a year.
"Now I don't do that much gym work any more, to be honest I actually do none," Donaldson told reporters with a big grin on his face. "I do more physio stuff these days and I get massages before and after I play.
"But without doing the work I initially did nine years ago I wouldn't have carried on playing. The back was really bad then."
WILDERNESS
Donaldson, 37, who claimed his first European Tour victory at the 255th attempt when he won last year's Irish Open, blamed himself for his original injury.
"I used to practice ridiculously long hours to a point where I couldn't stretch before or after," he said. "I waltzed on to the practice ground and stayed there all day hitting balls.
"When you're doing that for years and years on end, you're going to have some sort of injury.
"Once I got over the hurdle of stabilising everything I was in a position to manage the problem which I now do through physio and staying flexible and loose, rather than spending hours in the gym."
Donaldson lost his card in 2006 and was forced on to the second-tier Challenge Tour the following year before starting to rebuild his career back on the main circuit in 2008.
He has gradually improved season by season since then and is now at the stage where he can mix it with the best.
"Perseverance is a big word," said Donaldson who has climbed into the world's top 30 as a result of his victory in Abu Dhabi. "I suppose if I look back on my career I was in the wilderness for about four years after the injury.
"It was a case of finding things that work to put in the whole package to be able to keep getting better every year.
"Some of the top names didn't make the cut but they were here in Abu Dhabi and it made it a very big, grand tournament," said Donaldson.
"It was a tough field and a brutally hard golf course so that makes it all the more special for me."
Golf - Golf-Abu Dhabi win proves Donaldson was right not to retire - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Donaldson had such a chronic back condition in 2004 that one specialist suggested retirement. But he was given the go-ahead after seeking a second opinion and on Sunday he held aloft the attractive silver Falcon Trophy in the desert.
It was his second European Tour victory and undoubtedly the most important, the blond Welshman having outplayed a lineup containing world number one Rory McIlroy and second-ranked Tiger Woods.
McIlroy and Woods missed the halfway cut before Donaldson had to overturn a two-shot deficit on world number five Justin Rose to scoop the first prize of 336,725 euros ($447,600) in the closing round.
"The first doctor I went to see in 2004 said, 'Don't play', so I went to see someone else," he laughed after a closing 68 gave him a 14-under-par aggregate of 274 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. "That wasn't what I wanted to hear.
"As soon as someone says that, you just go and see someone else," said Donaldson after beating Rose and Dane Thorbjorn Olesen by one stroke. "The second guy I saw said I needed to do a load of core stability exercises ... so I did a lot of gym work for a year.
"Now I don't do that much gym work any more, to be honest I actually do none," Donaldson told reporters with a big grin on his face. "I do more physio stuff these days and I get massages before and after I play.
"But without doing the work I initially did nine years ago I wouldn't have carried on playing. The back was really bad then."
WILDERNESS
Donaldson, 37, who claimed his first European Tour victory at the 255th attempt when he won last year's Irish Open, blamed himself for his original injury.
"I used to practice ridiculously long hours to a point where I couldn't stretch before or after," he said. "I waltzed on to the practice ground and stayed there all day hitting balls.
"When you're doing that for years and years on end, you're going to have some sort of injury.
"Once I got over the hurdle of stabilising everything I was in a position to manage the problem which I now do through physio and staying flexible and loose, rather than spending hours in the gym."
Donaldson lost his card in 2006 and was forced on to the second-tier Challenge Tour the following year before starting to rebuild his career back on the main circuit in 2008.
He has gradually improved season by season since then and is now at the stage where he can mix it with the best.
"Perseverance is a big word," said Donaldson who has climbed into the world's top 30 as a result of his victory in Abu Dhabi. "I suppose if I look back on my career I was in the wilderness for about four years after the injury.
"It was a case of finding things that work to put in the whole package to be able to keep getting better every year.
"Some of the top names didn't make the cut but they were here in Abu Dhabi and it made it a very big, grand tournament," said Donaldson.
"It was a tough field and a brutally hard golf course so that makes it all the more special for me."
Golf - Golf-Abu Dhabi win proves Donaldson was right not to retire - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
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The man who was allegedly assaulted with a golf club at the Vodacom World of Golf in Sunninghill, more than a week ago, says he is afraid of going back to work. Sixty-year-old Nathan Maluleka is a golf instructor.
He was allegedly attacked by a male visitor after he reprimanded the man's female companion for using the K-word.
He sustained several facial injuries. Maluleka was operated on and discharged from hospital on Saturday.
He says he's disillusioned with South Africa.
"I am bitter at racism. I am bitter at racism because I thought we are living in a free country now and I thought we are supposed to be the rainbow nation. I didn't know that there are some colours that excluded themselves from the rainbow. Then it's not a rainbow anymore."
He was allegedly attacked by a male visitor after he reprimanded the man's female companion for using the K-word.
He sustained several facial injuries. Maluleka was operated on and discharged from hospital on Saturday.
He says he's disillusioned with South Africa.
"I am bitter at racism. I am bitter at racism because I thought we are living in a free country now and I thought we are supposed to be the rainbow nation. I didn't know that there are some colours that excluded themselves from the rainbow. Then it's not a rainbow anymore."
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Two days after telling a small group of reporters that he needed to make “drastic changes” in his life following federal and California state tax increases, Phil Mickelson said in a statement that he should have kept his opinions private and apologized to anyone he may have offended.
In a statement released Tuesday through his spokesman T.R. Reinman, Mickelson said, “I absolutely love what I do. I love and appreciate the game of golf and the people who surround it. I’m as motivated as I’ve ever been to work on my game, to compete and to win championships.
“Right now, I’m like many Americans who are trying to understand the new tax laws. I’ve been learning a lot over the last few months and talking with people who are trying to help me make intelligent and informed decisions. I certainly don’t have a definitive plan at this time, but like everyone else I want to make decisions that are best for my future and my family.
“Finances and taxes are a personal matter and I should not have made my opinions on them public. I apologize to those I have upset or insulted and assure you I intend to not let it happen again.”
After his final round Sunday, Mickelson, 42, was asked about comments he made on a conference call last week, in reference to Steve Stricker’s plan to go into semi-retirement. On the call, Mickelson opined that each player’s way of “handling things” will be different following “what’s going on the last couple of months, politically.”
Asked to clarify those comments after the final round of the Humana Challenge, where he tied for 37th in his season debut, Mickelson said, “I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do yet. I’m not going to jump the gun, but there’s going to be some drastic changes for me, because I happen to be in that (tax) zone that has been targeted federally and by the state. It doesn’t work for me right now, so I’m going to have to make some changes.”
Mickelson, who lives in Rancho Santa Fe, said that he is being taxed at a “62 to 63 percent” rate, and confirmed that his financial situation was one of the reasons why he pulled out of the group that purchased the San Diego Padres.
Though he did not elaborate on what those “drastic changes” would be Sunday, Mickelson said he planned to discuss his situation in greater detail during his pre-tournament news conference Wednesday at the Farmers Insurance Open, in his hometown of San Diego.
This statement, however, may stand as his only comments on the topic.
Phil Mickelson Releases Statement, Apologizes for Tax Remarks | Golf Channel
In a statement released Tuesday through his spokesman T.R. Reinman, Mickelson said, “I absolutely love what I do. I love and appreciate the game of golf and the people who surround it. I’m as motivated as I’ve ever been to work on my game, to compete and to win championships.
“Right now, I’m like many Americans who are trying to understand the new tax laws. I’ve been learning a lot over the last few months and talking with people who are trying to help me make intelligent and informed decisions. I certainly don’t have a definitive plan at this time, but like everyone else I want to make decisions that are best for my future and my family.
“Finances and taxes are a personal matter and I should not have made my opinions on them public. I apologize to those I have upset or insulted and assure you I intend to not let it happen again.”
After his final round Sunday, Mickelson, 42, was asked about comments he made on a conference call last week, in reference to Steve Stricker’s plan to go into semi-retirement. On the call, Mickelson opined that each player’s way of “handling things” will be different following “what’s going on the last couple of months, politically.”
Asked to clarify those comments after the final round of the Humana Challenge, where he tied for 37th in his season debut, Mickelson said, “I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do yet. I’m not going to jump the gun, but there’s going to be some drastic changes for me, because I happen to be in that (tax) zone that has been targeted federally and by the state. It doesn’t work for me right now, so I’m going to have to make some changes.”
Mickelson, who lives in Rancho Santa Fe, said that he is being taxed at a “62 to 63 percent” rate, and confirmed that his financial situation was one of the reasons why he pulled out of the group that purchased the San Diego Padres.
Though he did not elaborate on what those “drastic changes” would be Sunday, Mickelson said he planned to discuss his situation in greater detail during his pre-tournament news conference Wednesday at the Farmers Insurance Open, in his hometown of San Diego.
This statement, however, may stand as his only comments on the topic.
Phil Mickelson Releases Statement, Apologizes for Tax Remarks | Golf Channel
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For somebody who has not lived in his native Southern California since 1996, Tiger Woods seems at home at Torrey Pines Golf Course, where he'll make his 2013 PGA Tour debut this week at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Torrey Pines is the site of six of Woods' 74 PGA Tour wins and the site of perhaps the most memorable of his 14 major titles, the 2008 U.S. Open, where he prevailed in a Monday playoff while competing on a broken leg and a surgically repaired knee.
After skipping the San Diego tournament last year to appear in a European Tour event in the United Arab Emirates, Woods is returning to an event in which his career scoring average is 68.62.
In his season-opening event in Abu Dhabi last week, Woods missed the cut after incurring a two-stroke penalty in the second round for an illegal drop. Woods said he could not remember being penalized for such an infraction in some 30 years of competing.
Woods is his own harshest critic, but even he looks back with wonder at that U.S. Open victory, the most recent of his major titles. He pulled off some remarkable shots while in excruciating pain to beat Rocco Mediate in an 18-hole playoff.
"I don't ever want to experience that again," Woods said Tuesday, adding, "I really don't know how I quite got through it."
The North and South courses are playing faster this year, owing to a lack of rainfall, so they are not playing quite the same as Woods remembers. But still he said he felt comfortable here.
For the first half of his life, Woods was the quintessential California kid. He was born in Orange County and attended Stanford. As soon as Woods turned pro, he relocated to Florida, where there is no individual state income tax.
In November, California voters approved Proposition 30, which imposed a 13.3 percent tax rate for incomes of more than $1 million, an increase over the previous "millionaires'" tax of 10.3 percent. At the Humana Challenge on Sunday, Phil Mickelson, a San Diego-area resident, railed about his tax predicament and said he was faced with having to make "drastic changes" in his life.
Asked if he cared to comment on Mickelson's stance, Woods said: "Well, I moved out of here back in '96 for that reason. I enjoy Florida, but also I understand what he was, I think, trying to say."
Mickelson, a three-time winner at Torrey Pines, said Wednesday it was a "big mistake" to go public with his views.
Portugal's Ricardo Santos had five birdies on his back nine to finish with a 7-under 65 in the first round of the Qatar Masters in Doha, taking a one-shot lead in the European Tour event.
Golf: Tiger Woods on familiar turf at Torrey Pines - San Jose Mercury News
Torrey Pines is the site of six of Woods' 74 PGA Tour wins and the site of perhaps the most memorable of his 14 major titles, the 2008 U.S. Open, where he prevailed in a Monday playoff while competing on a broken leg and a surgically repaired knee.
After skipping the San Diego tournament last year to appear in a European Tour event in the United Arab Emirates, Woods is returning to an event in which his career scoring average is 68.62.
In his season-opening event in Abu Dhabi last week, Woods missed the cut after incurring a two-stroke penalty in the second round for an illegal drop. Woods said he could not remember being penalized for such an infraction in some 30 years of competing.
Woods is his own harshest critic, but even he looks back with wonder at that U.S. Open victory, the most recent of his major titles. He pulled off some remarkable shots while in excruciating pain to beat Rocco Mediate in an 18-hole playoff.
"I don't ever want to experience that again," Woods said Tuesday, adding, "I really don't know how I quite got through it."
The North and South courses are playing faster this year, owing to a lack of rainfall, so they are not playing quite the same as Woods remembers. But still he said he felt comfortable here.
For the first half of his life, Woods was the quintessential California kid. He was born in Orange County and attended Stanford. As soon as Woods turned pro, he relocated to Florida, where there is no individual state income tax.
In November, California voters approved Proposition 30, which imposed a 13.3 percent tax rate for incomes of more than $1 million, an increase over the previous "millionaires'" tax of 10.3 percent. At the Humana Challenge on Sunday, Phil Mickelson, a San Diego-area resident, railed about his tax predicament and said he was faced with having to make "drastic changes" in his life.
Asked if he cared to comment on Mickelson's stance, Woods said: "Well, I moved out of here back in '96 for that reason. I enjoy Florida, but also I understand what he was, I think, trying to say."
Mickelson, a three-time winner at Torrey Pines, said Wednesday it was a "big mistake" to go public with his views.
Portugal's Ricardo Santos had five birdies on his back nine to finish with a 7-under 65 in the first round of the Qatar Masters in Doha, taking a one-shot lead in the European Tour event.
Golf: Tiger Woods on familiar turf at Torrey Pines - San Jose Mercury News
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Police say John Vishion admitted stealing the golf cart from a friend’s house and planned to drive it 109-miles to his house.
Vishion was stopped by the highway patrol 13-miles into his journey.
There were five bottles of champagne and a set of golf clubs in the cart.
He’s charged with drunk driving, burglary, vehicle theft, possession of stolen property and grand theft.