May 25, 2013 by Bill HuffmanMickelson has ASU on its way to No. 50Tim Mickelson looks back and laughs, while insisting that there never was a real defining moment of panic in his debut season as the Arizona State men’s golf coach. Indeed, if there were any doubts about the 2011-2012 campaign, a year of that saw the Sun Devils plunge to No. 83 in the country and miss the NCAA tournament, it didn’t come from the little brother of ASU icon Phil Mickelson. |
May 21, 2013 by Bill HuffmanLong and short of it: Ruling bodies ban anchoringWell, it’s official even if it’s not going to be over with for at least another two and a half years. And when all is said and done, I’m not sure the U.S. Golf Association and Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews might have changed a darned thing. |
May 21, 2013 by Bill HuffmanIs TPC’s renovation really worth $15 million?The TPC Scottsdale is planning a $15 million renovation on its Stadium Course in 2014. Some critics of the renovation say the price tag is too steep for keeping the Waste Management Phoenix Open here in the Valley, and want the Scottsdale City Council to reconsider its deal with the PGA Tour. |
May 02, 2013 by Bill HuffmanAhwatukee Lakes closes its doors after 35 yearsThere was a time when little Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Club hosted some mighty big tournaments in Arizona, prestigious events like the AGA’s Arizona Short Course Championship and the Phoenix Metro Championship, a mainstay of the JGAA. Sad as this is to report, the Lakes, which divides its golfing corridor into two equal sections along 44th Street between Warner and Knox, will close its doors following play on Sunday. |
April 16, 2013 by Bill HuffmanAZ Stroke Play theme for 2013: Young and restless?When it comes to the AZ Stroke Play Championship, younger has been better than being older ever since this tournament moved to the Champions Course at the TPC Scottsdale. And being from Chandler’s Hamilton High School certainly doesn’t hurt a player’s chances, either, when it comes to Arizona Golf Association’s second major championship of the season. |
April 08, 2013 by Bill HuffmanWhy Woods won’t win this week’s MastersThe Masters is upon us. Doesn’t it feel good? After a West Coast Swing that weathered wind, hail and snow, after a Florida campaign that gave us (more) rain and darkness, it’s springtime in Augusta, Ga., the home of the Masters. |
March 27, 2013 by Bill HuffmanHeather Farr’s legacy lives on at LongbowEvery year about this time, I start thinking about Heather Farr. I guess that’s because of the tournament that is played in her honor at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa. And also that I’ve never known another golfer in my lifetime that was more inspirational than the former Arizona State All-American and LPGA star. |
March 17, 2013 by Bill HuffmanJust what LPGA needs: Lewis ascends to No. 1Say this about the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup -- it has produced some great champions in its brief history. But of those three winners, Stacy Lewis certainly delivered the most inspiring story at Wildfire Golf Club, overcoming what looked like a disastrous two-shot penalty Saturday and a seemingly invincible Ai Miyazato on Sunday. |
March 16, 2013 by Bill HuffmanMiyazato up big after Lewis’ bunker blunderCatching Ai Miyazato is difficult enough when you trail by two strokes going into the final round of an LPGA tournament. But trailing by four, a predicament that Stacy Lewis finds herself in after a two-shot penalty ended her round on Saturday, might be mission impossible against the rock-steady Japanese star. |
March 15, 2013 by Bill HuffmanLee leads Founders Cup; Miyazato, Lewis lurkingTechnically, Jee Young Lee of South Korea is leading the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup by a single stroke over Japan's Ai Miyazato. But leader board aside, this could be a shootout between Miyazato and Stacy Lewis, the 2012 player of the year from Texas. |
March 14, 2013 by Bill HuffmanMiyazato’s 63 takes LPGA Founders Cup leadAi Miyazato speaks softly a carries a big stick – a putter. The 5-foot-1 Japanese star that drags along with her more media types than any other player in women’s golf, was especially stellar with the flat stick during Thursday’s opening round of the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup. |
March 12, 2013 by Bill HuffmanLPGA Founders Cup looks to be bigger, betterCompared to “the old days,” when over 100,000 LPGA fans would turn out for the week at places like Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club (2004-2008) and Papago Golf Course (2009), the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup has not drawn all that well, with attendance being closer to 30,000 to 40,000 for the week. But this week might be different for the third-year tournament that is being held once again at Wildfire Golf Club next to the JW Desert Ridge Marriott Resort and Spa. |
March 07, 2013 by Bill HuffmanTucson’s Thompson gets first PGA Tour winMost players who compete on the PGA Tour would be demoralized if they missed the cut in three of their first four tournaments of the season. Especially if that only cut they had made translated into tie for 78th. But Michael Thompson, the Tucson native who once was named the Arizona High School Player of the Year twice (2002-2003), doesn’t think along those lines. |
February 24, 2013 by Bill HuffmanKuchar wins Match Play; Finchem steals showMild-mannered Matt Kuchar has the perfect personality for match play, which is why cold temperatures and blustery winds – and a previously unbeatable Hunter Mahan -- failed to rattle him on Sunday at Dove Mountain Golf Club near Tucson. Kuchar also makes few mistakes, which is why he prevailed over Mahan in an All-American final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. |
February 23, 2013 by Bill HuffmanBye-bye Bubba: Watson big loss for Match PlayWhen it comes to the most well-liked or admired or even loveable player in the game of golf, Phil Mickelson probably is the fans’ favorite hands down. But if you conducted a popularity poll, who would be No. 2? |
February 22, 2013 by Bill HuffmanFour pros from AZ among Match Play’s Sweet 16Four of the 16 survivors that remain in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship live in Arizona, at least on a part-time basis. Three are big hitters – Robert Garrigus, Bubba Watson and Germany’s Martin Kaymer -- while the fourth is perhaps the shortest stick in this elite event, South Africa’s Tim Clark. |
February 21, 2013 by Bill HuffmanMore bad news for Match Play: Tiger, Rory goneJust when it looked like things couldn’t get much worse for the winter weather-plagued WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, the gate took a direct hit when the tournament’s top two attractions – world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and No. 2 Tiger Woods – were sent packing. |
February 20, 2013 by Bill HuffmanBizarre beginning: Snow buries Match PlayThe opening round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship had a clear-cut winner at the Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, even if no match reached a conclusion on Wednesday. Mother Nature went game, set and match on this elite field of 64 players. Wind and rain turned into ice and snow, and before anybody could say “Tiger Woods,” the first round had been postponed with only 22 of the 32 matches under way. |
February 15, 2013 by Bill HuffmanWomen take center stage starting with Symetra TourIf you like women’s golf, the next month in the Valley of the Sun is going to shine when it comes to the ladies’ game. First up is the VisitMesa.com Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club. They like to say that the road to the LPGA starts on the Symetra Tour, and for over 100 young women who’ve got game that is certainly true. |
February 04, 2013 by Bill HuffmanMickelson ties records, wins third WMPO titleWith his wire-to-wire win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday, Phil Mickelson joined some famous names in the tournament’s history. But asked what it meant to move alongside legends like Arnold Palmer and Johnny Miller, Lefty took the more practical approach rather than the philosophical. |