WAM Golf

Friday Four-Ball Split; USA Maintains Presidents Cup Lead Into Weekend

Team USA went into Friday's Four-Ball matches with a two point lead and that's how they left. Both the International and U.S. Teams won three matches on Friday and Team USA maintained their two point lead (7-5) heading into Saturday, the biggest day of the Presidents Cup. 

(Friday Four-Ball Results via PGATOUR.com)

Watson & Simpson defeat Els & Ishikawa

For the second day in a row Bubba Watson & Webb Simpson went head to head with Ernie Els & Ryo Ishikawa and for the second day in a row Team USA took the points. Watson & Simpson won holes 6 and 7 to go 2up and never lost the lead despite being 1up for several holes on the back 9. Watson closed out the match with birdies on the 15th and 17th holes help USA to a 3&1 victory and a valuable point. 

Baddeley & Day defeat Woods & Johnson

Tiger Woods made birdie on the fourth hole to give Team USA an early lead but that was as close as the Americans would get to victory. A par on the 8th hole by Jason Day squared the match and a birdie on the 13th hole by Baddeley was enough for the International Team to win the match 1up. Day & Baddeley remain undefeated as a team while Tiger Woods becomes the only American to not earn at least half a point in the 2011 Presidents Cup. 

Mickelson & Furyk defeat Scott & Kim

It looked like Mickelson & Furyk would make quick work of Scott & Kim early on. The American veterans won holes three and four to go 2up early and added the 8th hole to go 3up after 9. Scott & Kim made things interesting by winning 12th and 16th holes get to 1-down but a birdie by Furyk on the 17th was enough for Team USA to win the match 2&1.

 Ogilvy & Choi defeat Haas & Watney

Back to back birdies by Geoff Ogilvy on the 5th and 6th holes gave the International Team a 2up lead early. Ogilvy, a member at Royal Melbourne, was facing Haas and Watney for the second straight day after halving the match on Thursday. Bill Haas gave Team USA some life when he birdied the 9th and made an eagle on the 11th to square the match. The comeback didn't last long as Ogilvy made par on the 12th hole to put the International Team 1up, which is how the match ended.

 Kuchar & Stricker defeat Yang & Allenby

Matt Kuchar left no doubt who the best player on the course was on Thursday. His impressive birdie putt on the 3rd hole gave Team USA an early lead. He followed it up with a par on the 5th and another impressive birdie on the 6th to help the Americans go 3up. Allenby's birdie on the 7th cut into the lead but Kuchar answered the bell by making birdie on 12 and 15 to close out the match 4&3.

Goosen & Schwartzel defeat Mahan & Toms

Retief Goosen struck early in this match when he birdied the 2nd and made par on the 3rd to give the International Team a 2up lead. Schwartzel added a to the lead with a birdie on the 11th hole to go 3up and help put away the Americans. Toms made par on the 14th hole to bring his team a hole closer but it wasn't enough as the International Team won 2&1.

Team USA will carry their 7-5 lead in Saturday mornings Foursomes matches with five points on the line. Stricker and Watney will sit out for Team USA while Kim and Yang will rest for the International Team. 

USA Dominates Opening Day at the Presidents Cup

If you turned off the TV after the first couple of hours into the Presidents Cup, you missed all the action. The International team jumped out to early leads and looked like they would run away with day one but Team USA fought hard and clearly had other plans. 

Watson & Simpson defeat Els & Ishikawa

The opening match looked as though it would be a lock for the International team after the first four holes. Birdies by Els and Ishikawa on holes 2 and 4 had the Internationals off to a 2up dream start but it would be the beginning of the end. Watson and Simpson would win three consecutive holes with two birdies and a par to go 1up and never look back. Watson and Simpson would go on to birdie three more holes, including the 16th, on the back on their way to a 4&2 victory.

International and USA Share Two Matches

Bill Haas & Nick Watney staged an impressive comeback to halve their match with Geoff Ogilvy and Charl Schwartzel. Ogilvy, who is a member at Royal Melbourne, helped his team jump out to a lead when he knocked in a lengthy birdie putt on the 3rd hole. The Internationals would go on to add two more birdies on 6 and 14 going 2up in the match. When it looked like it was over, Haas and Watney answered with birdies on 15 and 16 to tie the match and that's how it would end.

The match I was most interested in featured Matt Kuchar & Dustin Johnson going head to head with Australians Aaron Baddeley & Jason Day. It looked like the local boys had put this one to bed early as they went 3up through the first 11 holes. Kuchar and Johnson demonstrated why you can never give up in match play and made birdies at 12, 17, and 18 to comeback and halve the match in an impressive turnaround. 

 Mickelson & Furyk defeat Allenby & Goosen

When the pairings were announced this looked like it would be a battle to the end with four great veteran golfers. Mickelson & Furyk left no doubt who was the top team today. After falling behind on the third hole, the American tandem went on to win holes 7,8 and 9 to go 2up. No blood was drawn on the 10th but birdies on 11 & 12 by Mickelson and Furyk gave them all the lead they would need. The Americans won the match 4&3.

Adam Scott & K.J. Choi defeat Tiger Woods & Steve Stricker

The only American loss came in the most talked about matchup of the day, Tiger Woods vs. Adam Scott. For those of us wanting to see a great match, we were left disappointed. Woods & Stricker didn't make a single birdie while Scott & Choi made seven to end this match early. The International team won this match 7&6 in one of the largest margins of victory in Presidents Cup History. 

 The Presidents Cup resumes play on Thursday (in the USA) at 5:35pm EST with the Four-Ball matches. 

 

 

 

Tiger Woods & Adam Scott Headline Presidents Cup Foursome Pairings

As if the Presidents Cup didn't have enough headlines, we can add one more. Tiger Woods and Adam Scott will be paired together for the first session of the Presidents Cup on Thursday. International captain, Greg Norman and Team USA captain, Fred Couples, made their picks on Tuesday for the foursomes (alternate shot) which paired Scott with K.J. Choi and Woods with fellow American Steve Stricker.

  (Adam Scott & Tiger Woods will go head to head on Thursday. Photo: Links Life Golf)

The story, of course, has very little to do with Adam Scott and Tiger Woods and everything to do with Steve Williams, Tiger's former caddie who is now carrying the bag for Scott. Since Woods "dumped" Williams, it's had the makings of a high school relationship gone wrong. I won't go into details of what Williams said but it has set the stage for what could be a memorable Thursday at The Presidents Cup.

Will They Be Playing Golf?

While the Scott and Woods pairing is sure to get most of the attention, it's not the match I'll be paying most attention to. Match number three pins Australians Aaron Baddeley and Jason Day vs. Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar for Team USA. It's the first Presidents Cup for all four of these players and in an event where every point counts, it could come down to who can handle the pressure best. 

Here are the rest of the foursome pairing for Thursday:

Match 1: Ernie Els & Ryo Ishikawa (International) vs. Bubba Watson & Webb Simpson (USA)

Match 2: Geoff Ogilvy & Charl Schwartzel (International) vs. Bill Haas & Nick Watney (USA)

Match 3: Aaron Baddeley & Jason Day (International) vs. Dustin Johnson & Matt Kuchar (USA)

Match 4: Retief Goosen & Robert Allenby (International) vs. Phil Mickelson & Jim Furyk (USA)

Match 5: K.T. Kim & Y.E. Yang (International) vs. Hunter Mahan & David Toms (USA)

Match 6: Adam Scott & K.J. Choi (International) vs. Tiger Woods & Steve Stricker (USA)

Fans Vote Luke Donald Social Media Golfer of the Year

On November 4th I wrote an article asking people to vote for golf's Player of the Year via Social Media. There were no candidates, voters could choose from any golfer on the PGA, LPGA, and European Tours. All votes had to be cast via social media channels: Twitter, Facebook, Blog, and LinkedIn. The winner, with over 57% of the votes, was Luke Donald (@LukeDonald).

(Golf fans use Social Media to vote Luke Donald their Player of the Year. Photo:YummySports)

 

The fans voting Luke Donald as Player of the Year shouldn't come as surprise. Although he didn't win a major in 2011, he held the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings longer than anyone. He made the cut in 17 of 19 events and finished in the top 10 fourteen times, including two victories. Donald also finished at the top of the PGA TOUR and European Tour money lists. It's likely we will see Luke Donald named PGA TOUR Player of the Year before 2011 comes to an end. 

While Luke Donald received most of the votes, he wasn't in control the entire time. Fans were given one week to vote for their favorite player and the early voting went to Yani Tseng (@yanitseng) on the LPGA Tour. She earned 7 wins this season including victories at the Women's British Open and the LPGA Championship. Tseng earned just over $2.8 million on the LPGA Tour in 2011. She received just over 25% of the votes during this Social Media poll. 

 Other Players Receiving Votes

Six other players received votes for golf's Social Media Player of the Year including all four players who won a major:

• Rory McIlroy: 2011 U.S. Open Champion
• Keegan Bradley: 2011 PGA Championship Winner
• Charl Schwartzel: 2011 Masters Champion
• Darren Clarke: 2011 British Open Champion
• Lexi Thompson: Youngest player on the LPGA Tour
• Webb Simpson: Two PGA Tour wins in 2011.

How Did People Vote?

As the owner of a Social Media marketing company I was naturally curious to see where the votes were coming from on the internet. Fans could only vote using Social Media and the article was posted on Facebook, Twitter, WAMGolf.com and LinkedIn. I didn't limit voting to those networks, but no one went outside the box and voted a different way.

The majority of the votes, almost 66%, came from Twitter. I think the ability to connect with people and the ease of people sharing by simply "retweeting" helped this platform. People simply had to use the hashtag #GolfPOY and their vote was counted. The next network actually surprised me, it was LinkedIn. About 25% of the votes came in through LinkedIn, something I didn't expect when I post the article in one of the golf groups.

Facebook and my blog were the bottom two in terms of voting. Personally, I thought more people would have left comments to vote on both Facebook and the article but I was wrong. Only 6% voted on Facebook and 2% voted on my blog. 

LifeAID Beverage Company Launches GolferAID™ Beverage For Golfers

The LifeAID Beverage Company in Pebble Beach, California, has launched new sports drink aimed to help golfers perform better during their round. GolferAid™ is designed with golfers in mind to improve focus, endurance, flexibility, power, balance and detox.

(GolferAID™ is designed with golfers in mind)

 Designed specifically with golfers in mind, GolferAid™ comes in 12 oz cans and looks like most energy drinks you would find in stores. What differentiates GolferAid™ from other drinks is the focus on being healthy. With only 45 calories per can, it's a 100% all natural beverage with 2,691mg of active ingredients and only 9 grams of sugar. Each can contains specific supplements to help golfers with each aspect of their game. This includes:

• B Vitamins to boost Stamina and Endurance
• Glucoseamine to help with join health and flexibility
• Epimedium increases strength and power
• C0-Q10 helps with Acuity, Focus & concentration
• 5HTP mood and confidence enhancer
• Bilberry and Vitamins A,C,E to help visual acuity and balance

Does It Work?

The one question everyone wants to know is: Does it work? I personally have not been able to test GolferAID™ yet due to a recent snowstorm here in the northeast. The concept is great and golfers are always looking for a way to improve. Their website says it best:

Every pro shop and golf magazine is full of products aimed at improving your game: $400 drivers, special tees, better grips, celebrity endorsed shoes, a dizzying array of balls, and on and on. What do all of these have in common? They attempt to help your game from “Without.” GolferAID is a brand new and unique type of golf product; one that takes an entirely different approach to bringing your game to the next level. GolferAID is designed to improve your game from “Within.”

As golfers, we will try just about anything (except practice) to improve our game. In some cases, these training aids or ways to improve our game costs hundreds of dollars. In my opinion, if a golf designed sports drink has potential to improve my game and costs about $3 a can, I'm willing to give it a try.

*Information for this article was obtained from the GolfersAID website.