Green Reading

Chappell set for PGA Tour success

Kevin Chappell, the former UCLA All-American who is a pupil of golf instructor Nick Bradley of Sunset Beach, N.C., established three new standards for the Nationwide Tour this past season.
His 19-under-par 61-63-124 start at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic set records for both opening rounds and consecutive rounds. He also set a new mark for eagles, making one every 58.69 holes played. Todd Rose held the old mark of 61.40 set in 2001.
He might be one of the rookies to watch on the 2011 PGA Tour.

Golf's heavy hitters named

Eric Affeldt, president and CEO of ClubCorp, a leader in the managment of private clubs, has been ranked No. 1 on Golf Inc. magazine's Most Powerful People in Golf list.
Affeldt jumped from No. 4 in 2009 to the top spot on the 2010 list, which is based on the influence of an individual and their organization to positively impact the golf industry.
The remaining top 10 spots on the list of 35 include Hud Hinton, CEO, Troon Golf (No. 2); Jack Nicklaus, CEO, Nicklaus Design (No. 3); Peter Hill, CEO, Billy Casper Golf (No. 4); Gary Player, CEO, Gary Player Design/Black Knight International (No. 5); Tim Finchem, CEO, PGA Tour (No. 6); Steve Lesnik & Steve Skinner, Chairman and CEO, KemperSports (No. 7); Tiger Woods (No. 8); David & Ken Chu, Mission Hills Group (No. 9); and Joe Steranka, CEO, PGA of America (No. 10).

Woods' saga depicted on Law & Order, Johnson returns to action

Tiger Woods returns to television this week, and so does his Thanksgiving night saga from a year ago. If Woods is any kind of fan of “Law & Order: Los Angeles,” he probably won’t be after this week.

The plot on Wednesday's 10 p.m. episode on NBC includes a philandering golf star and his club-wielding wife. In one scene of the show, the bleeding athlete says his spouse was merely attempting to rescue him – in this case, from their swimming pool rather than a wrecked vehicle.

Woods 2010 included the suspicious crash, a sex scandal, his subsequent divorce from Elin Nordegren, a winless season and his fall from No. 1 in the world golf rankings.

The plot of the TV crime drama eventually moves to the investigation of a female golf pro’s murder.

Though the “Law & Order” franchise is known for its from-the-headlines approach, a series spokeswoman told the Associated Press the episode is strictly fiction.

Tiger’s final chance to win anything of significance in 2010 is this week in the Chevron World Challenge event that he hosts and benefits his charitable foundation. Woods tees off at Sherwood Country Club at 2:10 p.m. (Eastern) with Steve Stricker.

Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson also returns to action this week in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and goes off in the second twosome at 1:30 p.m. with U.S. Ryder Cup teammate Bubba Watson. The tournament is being aired on Golf Channel from 4-7 p.m. (Eastern) both Thursday and Friday, and on NBC from 3-6 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

If you want more on Woods' 2010 season and future, Woods sat down Tuesday with Golf Channel’s Steve Sands for a one-on-one interview, portions which will air within Golf Central, Wednesday at 6 p.m. In the interview, Woods discusses a variety of topics, including who he believes is the world’s best golfer, his departure from former swing coach Hank Haney and his lowest point on the course in 2010.  Woods also addresses questions from Sands about how this past year – on and off the course – tested him emotionally, how the fans have received him, whether he will marry again, and how much the public has the right to know about celebrities and its heroes.  Following Golf Central the entire interview will be available online at GolfChannel.com.

 

Contest winners visiting Strand this weekend

The winners of a pair of promotional trips sponsored by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday are on the Strand this weekend.

Michael Mead and Richard Farber brought golf teams to the Strand after winning a promotion on the Brandon Tierney and Joseph McDonald Show on ESPN Radio in New York, and are playing The Dunes Club, Pine Lakes and International World Tour Golf Links this weekend.

Steve Axe won a trip on the Darren Daulton show on the radio in Philadelphia, and his group is playing Heather Glen Golf Links, Glen Dornoch Waterway Golf Links and Possum Trot Golf Club, and Daulton was expected to accompany them.

The trips winners were chosen via random drawing. The Tierney and McDonald Show will be broadcasting live from the Barefoot Dye Club today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

Faldo rightfully gets the nod as TV's top analyst

CBS Sports’ lead golf analyst Nick Faldo ranked as the top television golf analyst in a National Golf Foundation Survey of 750 golfers. In the survey commissioned by Golf Magazine in October, Faldo was ranked No. 1 by 40 percent of respondents.
I have to agree. Johnny Miller can be entertaining at times, and David Feherty is always entertaining, though he's more of a roving, walking reporter than an analyst. I'd say Faldo is consistently the most insightful announcer.
Faldo, a winner of three Masters and three British Open titles and more than 40 tournaments worldwide, took over the position of CBS Sports’ lead golf analyst at the beginning of the 2007 golf season and often works alongside Jim Nantz when he's not working with North Myrtle Beach native Kelly Tilghman on Golf Channel broadcasts.

Turning Stone turns the page

The Turning Stone Resort Championship, which will forever be sentimental to Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson because it is the first PGA Tour title he won, will not be part of the PGA Tour schedule in 2011.
The event was held for the past four years at Atunyote Golf Club, and was part of the Fall Series when Johnson won it as a rookie in 2008. He played in it again last year and tied for 29th, but Johnson didn't play in the event outside Rochester, N.Y., this season because the event got moved to the same week as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club, which had a purse of $8.5 million. Turning Stone's purse was $4 million.
Turning Stone had expressed interest in having an unencumbered date during the PGA Tour regular season, but a mutually agreeable date between tournament and tour organizers did not become available.
"We had hoped to secure an unshared date on the PGA Tour schedule that would highlight the peak golf season in central New York State, but unfortunately it did not work out," said Ray Halbritter, Oneida Nation Representative and CEO of Nation Enterprises, in a press release.
Halbritter said that Turning Stone, an acclaimed golf destination owned and operated by the Oneida Indian Nation, is exploring new options to host professional golf events. He also said that if opportunities arise in the future with the PGA Tour “that are consistent with the Oneida Nation’s goals for our Turning Stone Resort Championship, we would be pleased to consider them.”
Johnson can probably still play in an event on the course if he's feeling nostalgic. Turning Stone hopes to host more significant golf events, such as the annual Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge, which features PGA and LPGA tour members competing in a best-ball team format. This past August, the team of Hunter Mahan and Cristie Kerr won, with Rickie Fowler and Annika Sorenstam finishing second.